"What a beautiful Levitation Charm."
Ernie, short and chubby, stared fixedly at the feather swirling in the air.
Coming from a pure-blood wizarding family, he naturally understood the skill required—especially for someone who had never been exposed to magic before.
"If it were that Mr. Green… Wait, what? Finlery?!"
When Hannah moved her braided head aside, Ernie finally followed Professor Flitwick's voice and recognized the little badger in question.
"Merlin's beard, the last class Finlery couldn't even get the feather to float!"
It wasn't just his doubt; the surrounding young wizards were equally bewildered.
Especially the Hufflepuffs who knew Justin well—it was like finding out your poor friend had secretly been a rich heir all along.
"Looks like you haven't wasted that classroom, have you?"
Professor Flitwick descended from the book staircase, came to stand before Justin, and tucked away his wand with satisfaction.
"I suppose I'll have to come see it myself… but not right now—three points to Hufflepuff!"
…
As soon as class ended, Justin was immediately surrounded by an enthusiastic pack of badgers.
"Oh, oh, how did you do it, Mr. Finlery?"
The speaker was Hannah, freckled and shy.
"Really now… Finlery, making such huge progress and keeping it from us!"
Ernie folded his arms and lifted his chin high.
"I think we should punish this little wizard who betrayed the 'Never Go Hungry Club,' unless you tell us how you did it."
His declaration made several badgers nod fiercely—at least six of them were "menacingly" staring Justin down.
Sean glanced once at the noisy group, then quietly left the classroom holding Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1.
If Professor Flitwick was going to visit their classroom, Sean thought, then perhaps he could find a suitable moment to bring up his desire to learn the Smoke Charm and the Knockback Jinx.
At the same time, he knew professors were usually very busy. Personal instruction was not common.
Only their star pupils—like Hermione later on—often managed to get first-hand information from Professor Flitwick, sometimes even exclusive tips.
At present, Sean wasn't sure if he was qualified for that.
The Charms classroom was packed with badgers, while outside the door a lazy evening breeze began to blow again.
Friday's leisure always felt like a warm spell blanketing the ancient castle.
In the corridors, several Hufflepuffs leaned against the window sills, watching golden ripples shimmer across the Black Lake under the sunset.
Their laughter grew soft, drifting like dandelions.
A suit of armor in the corner trembled lightly, shaking off a bit of dust with a faint metallic creak.
Compared to Justin's popularity, hardly anyone dared approach Sean.
Except—
"That Levitation Charm was awesome! I bet it has something to do with you, Sean?"
Michael popped out from behind an unexpected portrait, revealing a deep secret passage.
"Oh, but you don't need to tell me. I think this will be a fun mystery to solve! More interesting than secret tunnels or weird magical trinkets!"
With that, his eyes gleamed, his steps quickened, and in seconds he disappeared.
Leaving Sean, who hadn't quite caught what was said.
Wait… someone was talking just now?
Sean had just closed Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, and silently opened it again.
Climbing the spiral staircase upward ,Sean tapped in a specific pattern to wake the sleeping Mr. Owl.
The owl seemed rather excited today:
"Young wizard! Clever little wizard, answer my question!"
Sean waited silently.
"Simple questions, hard questions… I once observed a trickster—he craved worship, attention, to be the center of everything. His wisdom made it happen. I once observed a rogue—she stirred up trouble with her words because mischief was her deepest desire, and her wit made it happen. Their intellect always obeyed their inner selves…"
Mr. Owl clutched a parchment in his claws, pacing around inside the portrait.
"Oh, tell me—was that wisdom, or madness?"
Sean thought for a few seconds.
"Idiocy."
Mr. Owl froze. Unwilling to give up, he flipped through the parchment again. His posture stiffened, but his mouth didn't stop:
"Young wizard, greedy little wizard! Ambitious little wizard! Truly, Lady Ravenclaw…"
Its last sentence faded into a murmur, as the sky-blue door slowly materialized.
Lost in thought, Sean pushed the door open.
Ambitious?
Not really.
Greedy?
Sean considered that an obvious prejudice.
Inside the classroom, three magical lanterns cast warm arcs of light, and three chairs had soft black-and-yellow cushions placed on them.
At the center, a small cream-colored sofa leaned against a little wooden table, and scattered across the wood were plenty of candies and biscuits—but above all, various kinds of pudding:
Yorkshire pudding, strawberry mochi pudding, mint pudding, even chili pudding… Justin was sitting on the sofa, handing Hermione a cup of pumpkin soda. The young witch accepted it absent-mindedly, still looking a little dazed.
All in all, one little badger had managed to turn the place into a proper secret base in just a few days.
Yes, that industrious badger was Justin—
Justin?!
Sean was surprised. Wasn't he supposed to be surrounded by people?
"Oh, Sean, we need to talk…"
The moment Sean reached the sofa, Justin quickly came over. Hermione didn't even notice someone had left her side.
"Did you see that? I mean Hermione—she must be hiding something from us…"
At that moment, there came a knocking sound from the blue door.
A paper airplane drifted through the gap, unfolding into glowing words:
[Are you there, children?]
"Oh! It's Professor Flitwick!"
"—Professor Flitwick!"
Hermione's sudden exclamation startled Justin.
As Justin hesitated, Sean quietly stepped forward and opened the door.
Meanwhile, Justin sat down beside Hermione with a hint of concern.
"If you want to talk, we'll be here, no matter when—
Mom says that's what friends are for."
Hermione slowly lifted her head and met his sincere, gently concerned gray eyes for a few seconds.
"All right. I'm such an idiot. How could I forget about you all…"
Her voice regained its usual strength.
"Oh, children?"
Professor Flitwick's voice floated in, though he was nowhere to be seen.
Justin, who had just started to smile, suddenly looked confused again.
He didn't dare speak, so he turned pleadingly toward Sean.
Suddenly, several books appeared out of thin air, landed on the ground, and expanded. Professor Flitwick's small figure rose from behind the sofa.
"Mr. Finlery, well done. Now, Mr. Green, Miss Granger?"