When Edward returned to the dormitory, Cedric had already packed his luggage and was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking visibly frustrated.
"What's the matter? Can't bear to leave me and head home early?" Edward teased.
Cedric rolled his eyes dramatically and sighed. "I…I was planning to ask Cho out next week. Now that the holidays have been moved up, that plan's totally ruined."
"Oh come on, it's just a few weeks' delay! Now you'll have more time to prepare. The success rate might even be higher."
Cedric blinked in realisation. "You know what? That actually makes sense."
"What about you? Any plans for the holidays?"
Edward did a quick mental calculation and said with a touch of helplessness, "Chances are, before the holiday even ends, I'll be heading out with Audrey again—our next field study trip."
"What?" Cedric looked panicked. "But the Christmas present I got you is still at my house!" He clutched the coin hanging from his neck. "And you already gave me a life-saving gift early!"
Edward chuckled. "Then when I come back, just give me two gifts."
"..."
Cedric instinctively wanted to fire back, but after thinking it over, he could only agree, "Yeah, I guess that's fair."
Edward patted him on the shoulder. "Next time I'm back, I'll bring you something else."
"What is it?"
Edward grinned slyly. "It's a secret."
———
Monday. Clear skies.
Early in the morning, warm sunlight streamed into Hogwarts Castle, casting golden halos across the snow-blanketed grounds.
The old saying "It's not cold when it snows, but it is when it melts" applied here too—across the whole Eurasian continent and even in Britain. Still, whatever chill lingered was nothing compared to the excitement of an early holiday.
The students of Hogwarts had long since packed their bags and were now gathered in groups, chattering excitedly about their plans for the next couple of weeks.
A smaller group of troublemakers were prowling around, hoping to spot a Dementor or two so they could unleash the dungbombs they'd been saving all term—but to their dismay, the Aurors had already escorted the Dementors far from the school grounds.
At 10 a.m., Harry escorted Hermione and Ron out of the castle. He watched as they joined the crowd heading toward Hogsmeade Station to board the Hogwarts Express. As their figures disappeared, the smile on his face vanished as well, replaced by a wave of regret.
If he'd known this would feel so lonely, he wouldn't have overthought it—he'd have just gone home with Ron. That would've been far better than staying behind all alone in the empty castle. As for Number 4, Privet Drive…well, he hadn't even considered that a real option.
Edward had just finished saying his goodbyes to Cedric and the Weasley twins and was heading back when he saw Harry looking glum. He walked up to him and matched his pace.
"Missing your friends already?"
Harry looked a little sheepish. "A bit…but it's fine. They'll be back soon."
"Remember how I said I'd give you a Christmas gift?"
Harry scratched his head, his expression a little awkward. "Yeah…but I already got the gift of a gift from you." He was referring to the Nimbus 2000, which was still safely tucked away in the dorm, waiting to be returned.
Edward burst out laughing. "That was just a joke."
Then he said warmly, "Once Professor Dumbledore finishes the election, I'll have him introduce you."
"Introduce me to who? Your gift is…a person?"
"That's right."
Edward didn't keep it a secret any longer. "He was your father's best friend…and he's your godfather."
"My…godfather? I have a godfather?"
Harry's jaw dropped. "Where is he now? Why do I have to wait until after the election to see him?"
"Well…he'll explain everything himself when the time comes. Just be patient."
Edward gave his shoulder a reassuring pat. "Harry, I'm telling you this because I want you to know—you're not alone in this world. You still have family."
"…."
Harry's lips trembled slightly. Then he suddenly took a step back and gave Edward a deep, sincere bow. "Thank you, Edward."
"What for?"
"What happened?"
Two voices suddenly piped up from either side of him.
Startled, Harry looked up—only to freeze in disbelief. "Ron? Hermione? You…you came back?!"
"We talked it over again…"
"And we decided it was just too sad to leave you here all alone."
"Besides, my dad's been called away on a sudden business trip…"
"And I've always wanted to attend the Hogwarts Christmas feast. Professor Dumbledore said he'd be giving gifts to everyone who stays behind—do you think I'll get a new wand?"
"But more importantly, we know someone's after the Philosopher's Stone—how could we just go home for Christmas knowing that?"
Edward quietly watched as Harry was overwhelmed with emotion. He didn't say another word, only turned and left, silently giving the trio space.
Hogwarts Castle had grown noticeably quieter, which made it a bit difficult for most of those who chose to stay behind to adjust—but no matter what, holidays were always something to be happy about.
No need to get up early, no classes, no essays. Just the thought of it brought joy—and this kind of life would last for three full weeks!
———
8:00 P.M.
Edward and Audrey hadn't been in the Room of Requirement long when everyone else started arriving. The last to show up were the Weasley couple, who immediately began apologising upon entry.
"Sorry, sorry! We originally planned to take the kids to Romania for Christmas to visit Charlie. Now that Molly and I can't go, we still had to follow through and send them there."
Molly then took out a handful of small gift boxes and handed one to each person. "These are little souvenirs we picked up in Romania."
Dumbledore smiled gently. "Actually, you could have gone as planned. The timing doesn't really conflict."
"No, that won't do," Arthur said seriously. "Until everything settles, Molly and I have decided to stay at Hogwarts. I've already taken leave from work."
"You're overestimating the Death Eaters and the goblins."
"It's not overestimating. It's caution."
"Fair enough. Thank you, Arthur, Molly."
Dumbledore smiled warmly. "Alright, let's wait just a few more minutes—he should be arriving any moment now."
Just as he finished speaking, a figure in black robes entered the room, face like thunder, looking as if everyone owed him hundreds of Galleons. Snape nodded slightly at Dumbledore, exchanged a glance with Edward, then strode quickly to his seat.
Dumbledore clapped his hands softly. "Excellent, everyone's here. Let's all welcome Severus back to the team."
Professor Flitwick and Professor McGonagall were clearly surprised.
"Oh my goodness, the Ministry actually released you?" Flitwick exclaimed. "I thought at the very least they'd wait until the election was over."
Snape gave a cold snort. "That idiot Fudge didn't want to let me go. But fortunately, the Ministry doesn't operate solely at his whim. In fact, Scrimgeour had already cleared me of suspicion on the very first day—but Fudge insisted on keeping me locked up."
"A whole week passed and all Fudge did was spew empty threats every other day. He couldn't even manage to fabricate a proper charge. Today, members of the Wizengamot showed up—what choice did he have but to release me? Karkaroff, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. The moment he arrived, Moody took him away."
Needless to say, the presence of the Wizengamot was undoubtedly Dumbledore's doing.
"My apologies," Dumbledore said instead. "I had hoped that while you were at the Ministry, you might be able to extract some useful information from Fudge. I didn't expect it to be a waste of time."
Edward suddenly understood—No wonder Dumbledore didn't seem the least bit worried when Snape was taken.
"It wasn't completely useless," Snape said, frowning slightly. "This morning, Fudge suddenly issued an order—claimed that they'd found prisoners escaped from Azkaban in France and sent nearly 90% of the Aurors out."
Arthur looked shocked. "Really? I hadn't heard anything."
Molly rolled her eyes. "You're being silly. We left for Romania first thing this morning—how could you know?"
"Oh, right! Today's been so chaotic I forgot!"
Snape continued, "Although Fudge's order seems reasonable, my instincts tell me…something's off."
Dumbledore's blue eyes sparkled as if speaking to himself, "Of course it's off...He's sending the Aurors away in advance—making sure we can't call for help. Fudge, Fudge…I didn't think you'd stoop this low just to keep your seat."
"Call for help?" someone echoed.
"Mhm. Unless something changes, on the day of the Ministerial election, the Death Eaters and goblins will attack Hogwarts."
"!!!"
Snape's eyes widened in shock. "They…they dare?!"
"The one leading them will be Barty Crouch Jr. He's not dead after all."
Snape immediately nodded. "That explains it."
"How can you be so sure?" Professor McGonagall asked.
Edward stepped in. "Divination and spirit channelling. Though the timing of the attack is only a prediction."
He then gave a brief overview of the events that took place after Snape was taken to the Ministry.
Even someone like Snape—known for his perpetually cold demeanour—was visibly stunned by the end of it:
Good grief! The Azkaban incident was YOUR doing?
You invaded Gringotts and emptied the Lestrange vault?
Lucius Malfoy, that coward, actually chose to support Dumbledore?
Is this still the wizarding world I know?!
The Weasley couple couldn't help but chuckle. When they'd first heard all this, they'd nearly fallen over from shock.
Clap.
Dumbledore clapped his hands again. "Alright, Severus. I'll fill you in on the details later. Professor Edward, please begin today's lesson."
Edward stepped up to the front. "Before we begin, I'd like to ask—has everyone made their decision about which pathway they want to pursue?"
Professor Flitwick eagerly raised his hand. "I choose the Warrior pathway!"
"Warrior?"
Edward was completely caught off guard by this. Going from wizard to warrior in one step? That was a pretty big leap.
Is Professor Flitwick bored of wizard duels and wants to try some good old-fashioned hand-to-hand combat?
"You're sure?"
"Absolutely!" Flitwick said without a trace of hesitation.
Arthur raised his hand next. "I'm choosing the Savant pathway."
That one made sense.
Molly cleared her throat. "I…I choose the Assassin pathway."
Uh-oh.
Everyone turned to look at Arthur.
He was momentarily dumbfounded, then quickly realised the misunderstanding and blurted, "Molly said the Scholar pathway doesn't have combat power early on, so she chose one that does—I didn't tell her to pick Assassin!"
Everyone else nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, you're absolutely right!"
———
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