Under the bright moonlight, Lys Black ventured into the Forbidden Forest with Gawp. It was a chance for Gawp to enjoy some good food since once they returned home, it would be stuck eating rats. The forest was as eerie as ever, with ghostly shadows flickering between the trees. The occasional cawing of crows and hooting of owls amplified the unsettling rustling sounds, making the atmosphere even more unnerving.
Holding her wand horizontally across her chest, Lys wasn't as frightened as she had been during her first visit in her second year, but her vigilance remained unwavering.
As she tracked the position of Gawp's collar, Lys found her thoughts drifting. After that day when Gawp had expressed fear, it hadn't shown any similar emotions since.
Even though Gawp refused to coil around Lys's neck while she was researching the ring, it would slap her with its tail both before she left and after she returned, leaving red marks on her face and tangling her red hair. It had even torn two of her hairbands.
Yet, there were no longer any clear emotions like "fear" or "grievance" being transmitted. Lys sighed, stopping in her tracks as she sensed Gawp's location. She crouched down on the spot.
Gawp's species traits made it an expert ambusher, so Lys had no choice but to wait quietly without making a sound that might disturb it.
Suddenly, the flapping of wings reached her ears. Lys widened her eyes and looked toward Gawp's position. It seemed Gawp had caught a bird this time. Lys didn't particularly like it when Gawp caught birds, as their feathers and beaks required careful handling. After eating a bird, Gawp would often lean its weight heavily on one of Lys's shoulders.
However, this time was different. Gawp hadn't extended its venomous fangs but had merely bitten the bird's wing, using its thick body to pin the bird down as much as possible.
Lys glanced at the bird's sharp claws and sighed at its futile struggle. The protective enchantments on Gawp's collar were the strongest she could currently manage. A mere owl wouldn't stand a chance…
"Bang!" Hearing the noise, Lys pointed her wand at the bird and cast a "Petrificus Totalus" spell. The bird had actually managed to tear through one of the protective layers, even though it had been added back in her fourth year. That was impressive.
As Lys reached out to pick up the bird, Gawp quickly twisted its body, released the bird, and raised its head, swaying slightly to convey feelings of pride and happiness.
Holding the bird in her left hand and her wand in her right, Lys half-opened her mouth and chuckled foolishly. "Yes! Gawp is amazing! You caught such a big bird—Gawp is getting better and better!"
Haha, Gawp was clearly expressing emotions again!
Shaking the owl in her hand, Lys chuckled while feeling that something was off about the bird. Flipping it over, she discovered that it had a letter tied to its belly. It was a messenger owl.
Moreover, Lys rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Wasn't this the same owl that had delivered her wand at the start of her second year? The one that had attacked her and Gawp multiple times in the Great Hall and the Forbidden Forest? What had happened to it later? Oh, right—Professor Flitwick had taken it away.
Since it belonged to someone, it wouldn't be appropriate to deal with it casually. Lys, with Gawp swaying its head beside her, carried the bird back to the castle. She blended in with a group of sixth-years who had just finished their Astronomy exam and returned to the common room.
The next day, Lys handed the owl over to Professor Flitwick. "Oh, so Yoni was with you. My apologies—did it attack you again?" Professor Flitwick untied the letter and placed the owl into a cage.
"It loves fighting so much that it even flies to Albus's window to provoke his phoenix. Two years ago, I bought it from the Owl Post Office when I sent it back there. Miss Black," the professor raised his eyebrows, "I never thought I'd one day receive a tattered letter because of my owl's love of fighting."
Lys patted Gawp's head and happily discussed the differences between the Severing Charm, the Diffindo spell, and the Reducto curse with the professor.
They even experimented with summoning flowers other than orchids. The professor successfully conjured a bouquet of daisies, while Lys only managed to produce a handful of common grass, which looked as if it had been roughly crumpled.
"Child, this is the subtlety of magic. You'll need to explore it on your own in the future. Haven't you already started finding your own path?"
Having answered her second-year self's questions about spells, and with Gawp having defeated the owl that had bullied it, Lys was in high spirits!
She snuck into the kitchen to make a variety of dishes and candies to vent her joy. That evening, dishes that had never been seen before appeared on each house's table, and the dessert time featured candies that had never been served before. Headmaster Dumbledore was so delighted by the candies that he kept praising the hardworking house-elves and requested that candies be included in future meals.
On the day of the holiday, Professor Slughorn hesitated before inviting Lys to join his Slug Club next term. Lys agreed.
Not knowing whether her parents would pick her up for the holiday, Lys decided to wear the dress her father had bought her. However, she found that the dress, which she had only worn twice, had already become too small, with the sleeves and waist entirely too short.
With no other choice, Lys pulled out her most stylish deep green silk blouse, which she had bought last month in Hogsmeade, and paired it with black trousers.
Rummaging through her trunk, she realized that most of her clothes were now ill-fitting, including the coat she had bought just last holiday.
She stuffed those clothes into a corner of her trunk, freeing up a large space for her mother's potion ingredients and Gawp's stones and bones. As for the Ashwinder eggs, they had all been eaten.
She also packed a compressed magical crystal stone as a gift for her father. After some hesitation, she squeezed a large crystal ball of prophecy into the already packed trunk.
Stacking her book trunk and luggage together, Lys used a following charm to bring them to the platform and boarded the train.
The fifth year was over.
Standing at the junction between train cars, Lys swayed her head in rhythm with Gawp. In her compartment were the third-year Hufflepuff leader Tok Moody and his friend Dolores Blake.
"Senior, senior! I'm Tok Moody, and he's Dolores Blake. Senior, is your arm better? Senior, how were your OWLs exams? Senior…"
Now, just hearing the word "senior" gave Lys a headache. Weren't Hufflepuffs supposed to stay away from Slytherins? Why was this Moody so… how to describe it… enthusiastic?
But she couldn't stand at the junction all day, could she?
Sitting in the compartment, annoyed by Moody's questions, Lys decided to quiz the two on their studies. Watching the kids struggle to cast even a basic Shield Charm that only protected their faces, Lys grinned wickedly.
By the time they got off the train, Dolores Blake was sniffling, still shaken by the terrifying senior. As for Moody? He pouted, dissatisfied with his own performance, and resolved to practice diligently once he got home.
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