Inside the Transfiguration office—
George suddenly clasped his hands together and pleaded,
"Professor McGonagall, could you return our prank items? We promise we won't use them around the castle!"
"No!"
McGonagall refused instantly.
Then she paused, her expression shifting into one of weary realization, as if to say so this was your real goal all along.
"Many of the items you brought are explicitly forbidden by school rules. I cannot return them."
"We don't need all of them, Professor! Just the color-changing candies will do—please!" George blinked earnestly, trying to look as sincere as possible.
McGonagall pressed a hand to her forehead.
"And your reason? What do you intend to do with those candies?"
"It's for Lee Jordan," Fred cut in. "He hasn't been in a good mood lately. We thought... maybe a prank would cheer him up."
A prank would cheer someone up?
McGonagall had many things she wanted to say.
But soon she realized, with a trace of sadness—
Well, this was Gryffindor.
Although she appreciated their intention to help a friend, she still shook her head firmly and refused.
She hadn't forgotten that Lee Jordan's strange behavior might still be tied to Voldemort.
No amount of pleading could change her mind.
The twins tried everything, until George blurted out, "I know where to get the best catnip—"
That was the final straw.
McGonagall's face darkened, and she ended the conversation on the spot.
Dawn watched as the twins were driven out of the office.
He flapped his wings, intending to slip in through the corridor window and intercept them.
But by the time he squeezed through the narrow gap—
All he saw were their retreating figures.
Fred's voice echoed faintly down the corridor, "Hurry up, George! Dinner's already started—I'm not going to bed hungry!"
Dawn hovered in midair, narrowing his eyes.
He didn't chase them.
Instead, he decided to catch them later in the Great Hall.
But, thinking back on recent events, the seed of suspicion in his mind grew stronger.
He slipped back out through the window and blended into the crimson glow of the evening sky.
From afar, he looked toward the figure by the Black Lake.
Avery stood up, preparing to head back to the castle for dinner.
Dawn circled around, landed silently on his back, and climbed up into the cover of his hair.
Together, they entered the Great Hall.
The smell of food filled the air.
Though British cuisine was generally unimpressive, Hogwarts' roasted steak was undeniably good.
Dawn swallowed, his stomach empty.
He made a silent decision—he would definitely find something proper to eat later.
Peering out through Avery's hair, he searched for the twins.
He planned to land on them first.
But then—
A scream suddenly cut through the hall!
Chairs scraped. Plates shattered. Students shouted and shoved.
Avery stood up abruptly, sending a jolt through Dawn's perch.
What happened? Curious, Dawn climbed higher, perching at Avery's collar to get a better view.
At the Gryffindor table— A pale-faced student stood frozen in place, bound by magic.
In his hand was a knife, pointed directly at Harry, who sat on the floor.
I see.
Dawn understood instantly.
Another student briefly possessed by Voldemort, trying to seize the opportunity to kill Harry.
But Dumbledore and the professors had intervened in time. Only a few nearby students were left shaken.
So not a "revived" case like Avery.
And Tom's intent to kill Harry remained unwavering.
As Dumbledore stepped down from the staff table and approached the restrained student, Dawn lost interest and resumed searching for the twins.
But, to his surprise, they weren't there.
Dawn frowned.
He scanned the hall again.
Nothing.
Certain he hadn't missed them, he slipped back into Avery's hair.
The disturbance soon settled.
After Dumbledore escorted the attacker to the infirmary, the students sat down again, their conversations now entirely focused on what had just happened.
Dawn listened for a moment, then lost interest.
Quietly, he slipped away.
Finding the twins now would be inefficient. He decided food was more important.
Transforming into an owl, he flew out toward the Forbidden Forest and beyond.
Night deepened.
Stars glittered overhead.
Dawn returned, transformed into a small insect, and slipped into the Gryffindor common room.
He found Lee's dormitory.
Avery was already asleep.
But—
The Weasley twins were nowhere to be found. Their beds were empty. They had gone out again.
Once more, they had avoided him completely. Dawn clicked his tongue and settled on the windowsill, waiting.
But the entire night passed.
Dawn waited. And waited. Until dawn lightened the sky— They still hadn't returned.
At that moment—
Dawn finally understood something.
This wasn't coincidence. The Weasley twins were doing it on purpose...They were avoiding him.
There was no way all of this—talking with McGonagall, running through the corridors, claiming to go to dinner yet never appearing—could be mere coincidence.
Impossible.
But why?
If they were avoiding him, it meant they knew he existed. And not only that—they could accurately track his movements.
Dawn narrowed his eyes.
Even Dumbledore didn't know certain things. So how could two students, who barely interacted with him, know?
And, from the way they had deliberately led Avery beneath the tree where he had been— It almost seemed like they were helping him.
Absurd.
Dawn refused to believe they were truly the Weasley twins.
There had to be a deeper secret.
He considered capturing them outright. But given the strange state of the castle, he dismissed the reckless idea.
Instead— He let out a soft scoff.
He would deal with them properly. There was no way he wouldn't catch them eventually.
Morning came.
Avery woke up.
He stared blankly at the red-decorated dormitory for a long moment before remembering his situation.
His eyes cleared.
He dressed and considered heading to the Room of Requirement to train his magic—preparing for revenge against Dawn.
But then—
He remembered Dumbledore's suspicions.
After hesitating, he decided to live as Lee for a while longer.
On the windowsill, Dawn flapped his wings and landed on Avery again, following him out into the common room.
He wasn't in a hurry to find the twins.
Since they had avoided him so many times already, chasing them blindly would likely fail again.
Instead, he would wait.
He would see if they showed up for class tomorrow.
So—
Dawn stayed hidden in Avery's hair, half-dozing as he listened to the chatter around him.
In schools—whether wizard or Muggle—trends always appeared out of nowhere.
Like wearing short sleeves in winter.
Or blindly following some fleeting craze.
The fortune-drawing fad from before had been the same. It had come quickly—And disappeared just as fast.
Now, a new rumor had taken over.
"Voldemort is coming back!"
No one knew where it started. But it spread with remarkable detail.
They said that after his death, Voldemort's soul lingered in Hogwarts. He would randomly possess students.
And once he possessed enough— He would fully resurrect in one of their bodies.
Those who had attacked Harry earlier in the year— And the attacker at dinner—Were all unfortunate victims of his control.
Avery frowned as he listened.
He had been dead less than a year. Yet everything in the castle felt unfamiliar.
Peeves had gone completely mad.
Students were attacking the so-called savior. Some had even tried to stab him through the heart during class.
After learning everything that had happened this year, Avery couldn't help but wonder— Had he entered a parallel world?
This Hogwarts was nothing like the one he remembered.
So, when it came to the rumor of Voldemort's return— He found himself almost believing it.
Otherwise, how could all these absurd events be explained?
Besides, resurrection wasn't that difficult.
Was it?
Avery slowly clenched his hand.
___________
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