The sun hadn't even breached the horizon when Arthur stepped out of his room.
Saturday morning. 0500 hours.
The academy was dead quiet. The sprawling hallways were draped in pre-dawn shadows, the usual chaotic energy of the students replaced by the soft, ambient hum of the magical heating wards.
Arthur adjusted the collar of his dark training jacket as he walked down the grand staircase into the main lobby of the S-Class dormitory.
He wasn't the only one awake.
Sitting behind the polished mahogany reception desk was Camilla Madison. The dorm warden looked bored, her hair tied in a tight bun, her reading glasses perched perfectly on the bridge of her nose as she sorted through a stack of disciplinary reports.
Arthur's footsteps were completely silent, courtesy of his newly upgraded agility.
He didn't announce himself. He simply walked around the desk and stepped directly into her personal space.
