Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

0589 Changes

The twists and turns of the long, eventful night finally drew to a close as the first rays of dawn peeked over the horizon. Dumbledore's astonishing words about potentially absorbing the Druids into Hogwarts was ultimately brushed off as a joke by Horn and even Bryan didn't take them seriously. Even if one day they could really absorb these Druids into the Wizarding world, it would at least have to wait until after they had defeated Voldemort.

As the group prepared to part ways, Horn's curiosity got the better of him and he still tried to pry for more information to understand why both Dumbledore and Watson had acquiesced to Cliodna lurking within Hogwarts under the identity of Mad-Eye Moody. But they couldn't possibly tell the centaurs the truth now. Even Dumbledore sternly warned Horn, not allowing him to reveal that they already knew her identity.

"It seems to me that Horn places more trust in those Druids than he does in us," Bryan said abruptly as he and Dumbledore entered the Hogwarts grounds and made their way towards the castle.

"I assure you, Bryan, I do not underestimate the significance of this matter," Dumbledore replied calmly. "However, it is important that you learn to have faith in others. Relying solely on magic to ensure others keep your secrets is, quite frankly, a rather sad state of affairs."

To a certain extent, Bryan's vigilance and caution exceeded even his own. Dumbledore had initially anticipated that it would require more persuasion to bring Bryan around to his point of view. Much to his surprise, though, Bryan did not refute his perspective. Instead, he simply nodded in silent acquiescence.

"Bryan?" Dumbledore suddenly called out as he watched Bryan quietly ascend the stairs in the dimly lit hall. His blue eyes twinkled with an inscrutable light and he smiled saying. "As I mentioned just now, it is crucial that you learn to trust others. If you ever find yourself in need of guidance, whether in matters of magic or life itself, you should know that in terms of age and experience, I daresay you have little hope of surpassing me."

Bryan raised his eyebrows in surprise at Dumbledore's words. After a moment, he too smiled. "I am truly grateful for your offer, Headmaster Dumbledore. But I fear the confusions I currently face are not ones that anyone in this world can provide answers to... not even if you were to live to see the dawn of the next century."

With those cryptic parting words, Bryan turned and continued his climb, disappearing into the shadow of the castle.

As November slipped away quietly and December strolled in with its usual festive air, the atmosphere within Hogwarts also began to shift gradually.

The buzz surrounding the recently concluded first task of the Triwizard Tournament, which had dominated the headlines for a fortnight, started to fade. In its place, a growing sense of anticipation for the approaching Christmas holidays took root in the hearts and minds of the young wizards.

On a clear Tuesday evening, the first in nearly half a month where the stars graced the sky with their twinkling presence, Professor Aurora Sinistra made an abrupt urgent announcement. She temporarily switched the Astronomy class schedule, calling the young Gryffindor and Hufflepuff witches and wizards to the top of the Astronomy Tower for a spontaneous stargazing session.

This unexpected change in plans elicited a flash of irritation from Hermione. She had meticulously planned out her evening, intending to spend hours in the library searching for clues about the perplexing sound emanating from the golden egg that was the clue for the tournament's second task.

Moreover, she had other pressing matters to attend to, the details of which she kept close to her chest. As she climbed the stairs to the tower, Hermione vented her frustrations to Harry and Ron lamenting the disruption to her carefully laid plans.

"Oh, come off it, Hermione," Ron said brightly, his tone revealing a distinct lack of concern. "You've got a good three months until the next task, and there's the Christmas holiday tucked in there too. Plenty of time to suss out what that blasted screeching from the egg is all about."

He tilted his head as his eyes narrowed focusing on the bag Hermione clutched tightly to her chest. "Hang on, what's that jingling noise coming from your bag? Definitely not more of those barmy fan letters, is it?"

Since the end of the competition, the several champions participating had become the darlings of the European Wizarding world. Each of them received countless letters, most expressing admiration for them, but quite a few also used sharp words to satirize their methods of getting past the dragons. While these letters did initially bring some distress to Hermione, as she read more, she became calm.

"Oh, no, it's not that," Hermione stammered, her grip tightening on her bag as if to shield its contents from prying eyes. "It's just... well, I won't be able to make full use of the Christmas break for research, Ron. I'm planning on going home for the holidays, which means no access to the library to look up for information."

"Going home?" Harry interjected, unable to cover the surprise in his voice. A moment later, he realized his reaction might inadvertently reveal his own hope that his friends would choose to stay and accompany him at Hogwarts for the holidays.

But embarrassingly for Harry, Hermione had clearly picked up on the reason of his surprise. She looked at Harry with an apologetic expression and took a deep breath before saying. "Yes, I've decided to spend this Christmas with my parents. If something were to happen to me during the second task... well, ... I mean, I would have spent the last Christmas with them."

The old Hermione would never have been able to utter such words with the level of composure and acceptance she now showed. Becoming a champion had brought no small change to Hermione too—Harry and Ron, looking at each other uneasily, and both saw what the other was thinking.

"Don't you worry about it, Harry," Ron took the lead in breaking the awkward silence. He had obviously also seen the reason for Harry's surprise just now. "I'm planning on sticking around Hogwarts for the Holidays. Won't make much difference with or without me at home anyway. Plus, it'll give you plenty of time to help me with all this extra training. Maybe by the time term starts up again, I'll be ready to have a go at that second training exercise... blimey, I still can't wrap my head around how you lot managed to dodge and endure all those dungbombs!"

"You're making great progress, Ron," Harry knew Ron was saying this to comfort him, but a warm current rose in his heart. He was grateful again that their friendship was saved. "I reckon by the time the holidays roll around, you'll be more than ready to start working on your evasion skills. With most of the castle emptied out, we should be able to make good use of the gaps in the schedule for PE class."

One by one, Harry, Ron, and Hermione climbed the final few steps to appear onto the Astronomy observation deck. Designed to offer an unobstructed view of the sky, the deck was completely open on all sides, without even a wall to provide shelter from the biting winds that whipped across the exposed space and the remaining pillars obviously couldn't shield them from the cold wind.

As the chilly air sliced through their cloaks and robes, eliciting involuntary shivers from the gathered students, Harry wished he could learn from Quirrell in the first year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class and wrap his head tightly with a scarf.

Just as he was burrowing deeper into his cloak in a vain attempt to hide from the chilly wind, a piece of conversation drifted over to him from the direction of one of the stone pillars.

"I'm terribly sorry, Bryan, but I really must start the lesson."

Harry glanced over curiously, to see Professor Sinistra addressing none other than Professor Watson. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Hermione, Ron, Neville, and several of their classmates also staring in the pair's direction, and they were also similarly surprised.

Bryan, who was bending over with his face pressed against an astronomical telescope, came back to his senses. He straightened up, looked back at the young wizards staring at him, and smiled apologetically,

"Oh, sorry, Aurora, I... um, got a bit engrossed—"

"No worries at all, Bryan. The allure of the stars has ensnared many great minds over the centuries."

Professor Sinistra said beaming at Bryan, not minding at all. On the contrary, she looked positively delighted by his apparent enthusiasm for her subject.

"You weren't so interested in my class when you were studying at Hogwarts, perhaps you've finally come to appreciate the true importance of astronomical study!" Her eyes sparkled with barely contained excitement. "You know, if you'd like, you're more than welcome to stay and observe with us. I'm sure these students wouldn't mind in the slightest."

Bryan smiled at the offer but shook his head. "Thank you, Aurora. But I have some rather pressing matters to attend to." He nodded gratefully to Professor Sinistra. "Perhaps another time."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

With that, he turned and walked towards the stairs and disappeared from view, leaving a group of students looking at his back in confusion.

Professor Sinistra turned her attention back to the class, and her expression became solemn.

"As some of you may have already noticed, even a wizard as accomplished as Professor Watson is utterly captivated by the subtle laws of planetary motion. It is my sincere hope that each and every one of you comes to appreciate the magic of astronomy. As I said to you all during your very first Astronomy lesson, Astronomy is the most mysterious and incomprehensible of all the magical subjects. Only through diligence, dedication, and a keen eye will you begin to unravel the secrets of the cosmos."

"Funny, I seem to recall that old fraud Trelawney spouting something similar about Divination," Ron muttered under his breath, earning himself displeased looks from Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, they were the two people among Gryffindor students most infatuated with Professor Trelawney.

Hermione, meanwhile, was frowning thoughtfully, and her eyebrows were furrowed. "You know, now that I think about it, Professor Watson's behavior has been a bit odd lately. Maybe you two haven't noticed, Professor Watson's hardly been seen in the Great Hall for meals, and even in Physical Education last week, he seemed rather distracted. He's usually not like this."

"Really?" Harry blinked, somewhat taken aback by Hermione's observation. He tried to recall if he'd noticed anything amiss himself, but found... he hadn't noticed anything.

Hermione let out a small, exasperated sigh at Harry's apparent obliviousness, before turning her worried gaze back to the stairs down which Professor Watson had vanished. "Well, whatever it is that's troubling him, I do hope he manages to sort it out soon."

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