The bronze Eagle Door Knocker chimed melodiously:
"I have no voice, yet I make kings bow;
I have no form, yet I am sharper than any blade;
I am heavier than gold, yet lighter than a feather;
The wise crave me, the foolish waste me.
—What am I?"
It was a simple riddle, and Wade answered without hesitation, "Time."
"Correct."
The knocker whispered, then the wooden panel swung open, spilling warm firelight and candlelight, and a cacophony of sound washed over them.
"Wade's back!"
Someone shouted, and those standing by the entrance quickly pulled him inside, then lifted Wade's arm, proclaiming loudly, "Our champion!"
"Oh oh oh oh…"
Everyone in the common room shrieked in response. Wade had never realized there were so many Ravenclaw students.
The entrance panel remained open for a few seconds before slowly closing, revealing a faint trail of footprints on the butterbeer-dampened carpet.
The footprints carefully navigated around the crowd, making their way to a relatively quiet corner by the bookshelves. Two girls, who had been eating cake there, suddenly seemed to catch the celebratory fever, dropping their cakes and rushing into the crowd.
Younger students clustered at the front of the crowd around Wade, waving homemade flags emblazoned with ravens and golden flames. Some older students stood a little further back, smiling approvingly and applauding.
The fourth-year students were the most excited, with Terry opening bottle after bottle of butterbeer and pressing them into everyone's hands.
Anthony rushed to the front, throwing an arm around Wade's neck and yelling, "I knew it! I knew it had to be you!"
"Come on, we all knew it!" Aickmore, the prefect, said loudly, a wide smile on his face, raising his bottle. "Let's all congratulate Wade on being chosen as the champion!"
"Cheers!"
Everyone raised their drinks together, even the younger wizards who couldn't drink alcohol stretched their arms, holding up their juice.
Michael frowned slightly, about to swap out the beer in Wade's hand, when he saw him raise the bottle with a normal expression and declare loudly, "Cheers!"
Then he tilted his head back and downed it in one gulp!
"Oh oh oh—"
Another wave of sound erupted in the common room. The crowd pressed in on Wade, and a new bottle of beer was immediately thrust into his hand. Some people eagerly wanted his autograph.
"Wade, will the Spell Study Group continue?" someone asked with concern.
"Of course." Wade took a large swig of beer, smiling. "As long as you want to join, the Spell Study Group will always be there!"
"What's the first task going to be? How can we help you?" Lisa shrieked, seemingly eager to become the champion's assistant.
"The competition details are confidential… Oh, it's not that I'm keeping them from you, it's that the judges haven't told me either!" Wade said. "I think I'll only find out right before the competition."
He suspected they weren't really listening to what he was saying. Soon, more food was pressed into Wade's hands.
"Have some cake, Wade, or would you like a meat pie?"
"Thanks, I'm not hungry."
Amidst the chaotic noise, Wade remained surrounded by the crowd. He handled it with ease, and empty beer bottles quickly piled up on tables and the floor.
"You should come to our parties more often!" someone shouted. "Wade, you're a natural at this!"
Wade just smiled without speaking.
Laughter and conversation bounced off the curved ceiling, beer foam sprayed everywhere, and some people used magic to gently clink empty bottles back and forth in front of the fireplace, creating a somewhat pleasant melody.
So, some students also began to dance in the open space in the middle, their skirts swirling, their steps light, and strings of laughter scattering around.
Michael, however, did not join in. He looked at Wade, who was at the center of the crowd, with a puzzled expression, then silently observed his surroundings.
He saw Luna, wearing her Fairy hairpin and a pair of thick glasses, walk towards a high-backed chair in the corner, but then, as if she had bumped into something, she changed direction and sat on another chair nearby.
Michael raised an eyebrow and walked towards that corner. Before he even got close, he heard Luna say:
"Why aren't you joining in? Are you worried someone will put Fairy eggs in your drink? My dad says they can actually aid digestion."
"I'm not worried about that." Wade's voice sounded from near the empty chair. "And my digestion is perfectly fine."
Michael breathed a sigh of relief and walked over, saying, "I thought something was odd—who's the guy drinking over there pretending to be you?"
"My Magic Golem." Wade, invisible due to a Disillusionment Charm, said lazily, "Can you tell the difference?"
"Indeed," Michael glanced over again and said, "I almost didn't recognize him… Luna, how did you figure it out?"
"Oh, I just noticed there were some bothering gnats here." Luna said nonchalantly, "The center of the celebration, invisible yet conspicuous, isn't that much more interesting than a noisy crowd?"
Michael knew every girl in Ravenclaw, including Luna, who was known as "Loony." He knew that when her words were incomprehensible, the simplest thing to do was to ignore them.
If he pressed her, his thoughts would be pulled into an absurd, otherworldly space.
He picked up a hazelnut from the table, popped it into his mouth, and mumbled to Wade, "If you didn't want to deal with it, why didn't you just go back to the dorm?"
"How should I put it?" Wade rested his chin on his hand. "I want to be alone, but I also love the happy atmosphere of the party. It's better to be a quiet background, and just enjoy this pleasant magnetic field."
Michael's lips curved into a knowing smile. "Alright, this is your observation throne. I'm going to dance!"
He set down his drink and walked over to a black-haired girl standing alone by a bookshelf, arms crossed. He bowed, and a moment later, he was leading her onto the dance floor.
Luna looked thoughtfully at Wade and said, "I heard there's a kind of Quiet Dew. Even if you drink it in the middle of a bustling city, it makes you feel like you're in a forest. I think you need some."
"No thanks," Wade chuckled. "When I want to experience the forest, I'll just go directly to the Forbidden Forest."
He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Lately... are your things still going missing?"
"Oh..." Luna slowly blinked, then said, "No one hides my books and clothes anymore, and my shoes always stay on the floor; they don't run off everywhere."
"I think I heard someone still calling you that nickname?"
"Loony?" Luna shook her head indifferently, a shower of silver glitter falling from her Fairy-decorated hair. She said, "They think I'm peculiar, but it's alright. I just feel very sorry for them."
She looked at the crowd and shrugged. "It's not their fault they can't see a more marvelous world."
Wade smiled.
Sometimes, he wondered if the world Luna saw was the same as the one he saw.
But that question was destined to remain unanswered—even Polyjuice Potion couldn't give him someone else's thoughts.
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