At 5:00 PM, the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station. The young wizards poured out of the train.
In the crowd, Richie quickly spotted Neville and Seamus standing together.
Having not seen him for over ten days, Neville immediately expressed how much he'd missed Richie—and how incredibly grateful he was. The reason was simple: somehow, Neville's grandmother had found out about his stellar performance in Charms class (being the first to step up and successfully complete the practical test). Because of that, she had actually praised him in front of their entire extended family on Christmas Day.
Neville attributed the entire victory entirely to Richie, firmly believing that without his help, he never would have earned that praise. As a result, he was overflowing with gratitude. Seeing Neville on the verge of happy tears, Richie could only pat him on the shoulder and offer a few words of encouragement.
Soon, guided by their respective House Prefects, the students began heading in the same direction. Starting from the second term of their first year, students no longer took the boats across the Great Lake; instead, they rode in horseless carriages.
"Actually, there are horses pulling the carriages," Ravenclaw Prefect Joel Rogers explained bluntly when a first-year asked. "They're magical creatures called Thestrals. However, they can only be seen by people who have personally witnessed death."
Hearing that, the young wizards instantly swallowed their curiosity. Death—a heavy, murky concept—had suddenly been dropped right in front of them. Even at their young age, they subconsciously shied away from the topic.
Richie, however, found the situation a bit strange. He had explicitly witnessed death in his previous life when his parents passed away. According to Joel's logic, he should have been able to see the Thestrals. Yet, when he looked at the front of the carriage, it was completely empty.
Was it because in this life, as Richie Harland, he hadn't witnessed death, so the rule didn't apply? Unable to figure it out, Richie decided not to dwell on it.
Once they climbed into the carriages, the vehicles quickly took off, rolling smoothly toward the brilliantly illuminated Hogwarts Castle.
"Welcome to the new term. I expect you all to continue working hard," Professor Dumbledore announced. "First-years, please be aware that at the end of this term, every year level will face their final exams. I highly recommend you take your studies seriously and prepare accordingly."
"Now then, let the feast begin."
Following Dumbledore's declaration, the students dug into their dinner.
"Hey, did you guys read the papers over the Christmas break?"
"Oh, you mean the Daily Prophet? Nothing really stood out..."
"No, I mean The Quibbler! It said You-Know-Who isn't actually dead, and he's going to make a comeback!"
"Haha! You actually believe that garbage rag?"
As they ate, the young wizards actively swapped stories and gossip from their time away.
Suddenly, an ear-piercing shriek echoed through the room, instantly grabbing everyone's attention.
"It reeks! It reeks!"
A semi-transparent figure bolted frantically through the Great Hall doors and vanished out of sight.
"Was that... Peeves?"
"What the hell happened to him?"
"Who knows? Probably just another one of his pranks backfiring!"
"Oh, I think I know exactly what just happened..."
Shrugging it off, the students went back to eating and chatting.
A few minutes later, two highly suspicious figures slipped into the Great Hall.
"George, after that display, our Dungbombs are guaranteed to be famous!"
"Fred, I'm thinking we can start scouting for new buyers tonight!"
The Weasley twins squeezed onto the Gryffindor bench and started aggressively piling food onto their plates.
Soon enough, the welcome feast wrapped up. After dropping his bags off in his dorm and grabbing a few books, Richie headed straight for the abandoned third-floor classroom.
To his genuine surprise, he was actually the last one to arrive.
"Hey, Richie! You made it!" Neville called out, waving him over. "Get over here! We're trying to come up with a name for our secret base."
Richie blinked, deeply curious, and walked over.
Neville, Hermione, Seamus, and Ventis were all huddled around a desk. Slapped in the center of the table was a massive sheet of parchment with several crossed-out names scribbled on it.
Young Wizards Study Support Group (X) — Way too boring.
The Secret Castle Cabin (X) — Zero character.
The Four Sages' Secret Exploration Room (X) — Sure, it sounded cool, but it entirely failed to represent them as a group.
After getting caught up, Richie was completely speechless. When he saw them show up so eagerly on the very first night back from break, he honestly assumed they were hyped to study or had made a massive breakthrough on the second riddle. Instead, they were holding a committee meeting to pick a club name...
If it were up to Richie, he would have just called it "The Abandoned Classroom". It was simple, easy to remember, and didn't subtract from its actual value. But they were just kids, and being slightly dramatic was totally normal. Honestly, Richie wasn't strictly against giving the place a proper name. So, he pulled up a chair and joined the debate.
Just then, Neville's eyes lit up. "I've got another one!"
Neville looked around the table. Seeing everyone staring at him, he suddenly looked a bit shy.
"Well, everyone already calls Richie the 'Seven-Pointed Star,' right?"
"What if we name this place after stars too?"
Hearing that, the rest of the group exchanged looks, genuinely intrigued. First-years had one Astronomy class a week, and they were all deeply fascinated by the vast, beautiful night sky. Naming their secret room after the stars sounded cool, romantic, and highly unique. Everyone unanimously agreed that Neville's idea was solid.
"Maybe we should just name it 'Starlight' or something similar," Hermione suggested, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "It's a broader concept, and it feels more inclusive."
The others nodded. Richie thought it over and completely agreed.
After a rapid-fire brainstorming session, a few new names hit the parchment:
The Starlight Sanctum
The Sirius Hub
The Hidden Star Classroom
The Astral Canopy Support Room
Eventually, they held a vote. In the end, the simple, clean, yet deeply meaningful name The Starlight Sanctum won out.
"Haha! That is brilliant!" Seamus cheered, clapping his hands. Ventis just gave a cool puff of air to blow his bangs out of his eyes, while Hermione's lips curled into a proud smirk. Watching them celebrate, Richie just smiled helplessly.
Now that the naming ceremony was over, the group sat down to actually chat. The main agenda? Formally establishing the true purpose of the Starlight Sanctum.
In the beginning, Richie had specifically tracked down this abandoned classroom just to help Neville practice his magic. Later on, Neville had brought Seamus into the fold. Then, they discovered the room's magical anomaly, found the hidden puzzle pieces, and eventually recruited Ventis during their decryption efforts.
Because of that history, the Starlight Sanctum currently served two core purposes:
Providing a secure, distraction-free environment for the group to practice magic and study deeply.
Acting as a base of operations to decode the clues and hunt down the lost treasure left behind by the Four Sages' unsolved mystery.
Due to the highly sensitive nature of that second point, the group unanimously agreed on strict secrecy. Under absolutely no circumstances were they to reveal the existence of the Starlight Sanctum to anyone else.
And just like that, the Starlight Sanctum was quietly, officially established within the walls of Hogwarts.