The Slytherin common room was much quieter than Hufflepuff's. Most of the young witches and wizards here were from pure-blood families and had returned home for the holidays.
At a glance, the ones who remained were mostly the unfortunate students from Durmstrang. A group of them had gathered to watch Emily Larsson "torment" her owl with Transfiguration—turning it into a mouse, then a rabbit, and then back into an owl again.
A girl who, like Neville, kept a toad as a pet, immediately tossed it onto the table.
"Emily, turn my toad into a cat! I've always wanted a cat, but Mum and Dad never let me!"
"But Transfiguration only lasts for a limited time," Emily said. "You're just lying to yourself."
"Well, a lie's a lie, at least I'll enjoy it while it lasts," the girl mumbled with her chin in her hands. "Ugh, if I'd known, I'd have paid more attention in Transfiguration."
"Exactly."
Emily's eyes glinted as she smiled.
"You should go find Edward and have him tutor you."
"You got turned down by him multiple times. What makes you think we'd succeed?"
"Then take your toad and ask him to turn it into a cat. With his skills, I bet that kind of transformation would last ten days or more."
She turned to the others.
"Anyone here who doesn't like their pet should go ask him too. I'm sure he wouldn't refuse a little favour like that."
The girl nodded.
"Alright, worth a try…too bad we can't leave the common rooms right now. Why do you think Hogwarts suddenly announced that rule?"
The others all shook their heads.
Emily gently stroked her owl.
"Obviously, it has to do with that Dark Mark the other day..."
Soon, the group drifted into meaningless gossip about the Dark Mark, Karkaroff, and the mysterious Dark wizard.
Just then, Audrey stepped out holding a book, with Susie trailing behind her.
Susie wagged her tail as she scampered along.
"Audrey, is that book the Christmas gift you're giving Edward?"
"That's right." Audrey smiled. "But don't tell him ahead of time, okay? It's supposed to be a surprise~"
"I got it! A surprise!" Susie added quickly, "I won't tell Lilith either."
"Good~"
Audrey entered the common room, nodded politely to the Durmstrang students, and got back to what she was doing.
"I wonder if Edward will like it...or maybe I should get something else?"
——
9:00 PM.
Under his Invisibility Cloak and with the [Concealment] ability active, Edward silently passed through the wall using [Open Door] and returned to his room.
His past self was already lying in bed, still fully dressed, teaching Lilith how to write Chinese characters.
"Lilith, you're amazing! You already have the literacy of a third-grade primary schooler!"
She proudly raised her chin.
"Of course! Miss Lilith is the smartest!"
Then she tilted her head in confusion.
"Is third grade really that impressive?"
"Absolutely! I'm only in third grade myself—and Audrey's just in first."
Lilith gasped in realisation.
"Ohh~ that means Miss Lilith is just as impressive as Edward now!"
"Exactly!"
"You're amazing, Miss Lilith!"
Overjoyed, she rolled around on the bed and then looked at Edward with puppy eyes.
(Past) Edward shook his head with a smile and conjured a small red flower, which he gently pinned onto her head. That made Lilith even happier.
"But Lilith, you mustn't get cocky~"
She immediately straightened up and sat like a proper little lady.
"Understood~"
Leaning against the wall a few meters away, Edward watched the scene unfold from a third-person perspective for the first time. A rare smile appeared on his face.
He truly was raising Lilith like a daughter.
(Past) Edward continued teaching her for another ten minutes, then closed the book and patted her on the head.
"Alright, time for bed~ We've got important things to do tomorrow!"
"Okay~"
Lilith rolled over again and buried herself under the blankets. Then she grabbed her tail and started chewing and wrestling with it playfully.
(Past) Edward watched her affectionately for a while, then flicked a gold coin into the air. "Tomorrow, the Death Eaters will attack Hogwarts."
He caught the coin with both hands. The side with the head faced up—confirmation.
Then, with a snap of his fingers, he turned off the lights and slipped under the covers.
The dorm room was instantly plunged into darkness. Only the soft sounds of breathing and Lilith's occasional movements could be heard.
Time ticked by.
Edward held his breath, eyes fixed on the bed where his past self was slowly drifting off to sleep. From the corner of his vision, he glanced at the clock on the wall.
9:30.
9:40.
10:00.
10:30.
His past self lay quietly on the bed, sound asleep, showing no sign of disappearing.
"So it wasn't time travel…but rather a loss of memory over the coming days?"
Edward waited patiently for another half an hour. When Lilith finally drifted off around 11 o'clock, he slipped back through the wall into the neighbouring room.
Holding a strand of his past self's hair, he attempted a dream divination: "The experiences of 'him' over the next five days."
Unfortunately, the dream remained as dark as ever. A black mirror, a pitch-black door—nothing else revealed itself.
In the darkness, Edward sighed softly and murmured:
"...What exactly did I experience in the 'past'?"
———
December 20th, 1991.
A date destined to be a milestone in the wizarding world.
On this day, the greatest white wizard—Albus Dumbledore, who had repeatedly declined the position of Minister for Magic—officially entered the race for Minister.
At 10 a.m., under the supervision of the Wizengamot, the election began at the Ministry of Magic—and at that very moment, enormous Dark Marks began appearing in the skies over various parts of Britain.
Above Hogwarts, the sky was nearly blanketed in Dark Marks—sudden and without warning.
At the gates of the castle, Professor Snape and several others stood gazing solemnly up at the sky.
"They're here."
Professor Flitwick clenched his fists, looking eager. "Heh! The Hogwarts magic wards have already been activated. The moment they set foot inside school grounds, they'll be struck down immediately!"
"Dumbledore believes Voldemort's target is most likely the Philosopher's Stone. So whatever the Death Eaters and goblins are planning, it's just to create a diversion for it."
"Don't worry. The Philosopher's Stone is under Edward's protection—even if Voldemort were to resurrect on the spot, he still wouldn't get his hands on it."
Snape's expression was grim as he interjected, "But something doesn't add up."
"If the Stone is their real target, why go through all this trouble? Even if we fail to stop them, someone could just Apparate away with the Stone in an instant."
The others fell silent, stunned by the question.
But they had no time to dwell on it—dozens of massive figures suddenly appeared in the sky, diving down toward Hogwarts.
"Dragons!"
"The goblins are here!"
Professor McGonagall swung her wand. "Stone knights, attack!"
Armoured statues positioned throughout the castle sprang to life, marching into action.
Flitwick darted off. "I'll control the castle's defence array. The rest is up to you!"
Arthur Weasley raised his wand high. "Then let's take these bastards down together." A burst of crimson fire erupted from his wand, exploding into the sky to form a giant phoenix.
In the next instant, figures began emerging from all corners of the castle: Mad-Eye Moody, Dedalus Diggle, Rufus Scrimgeour, Sirius Black, Edgar Bones, Hagrid, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Sturgis Podmore, Augusta Longbottom, Elphias Doge, and many others. Some were former members of the Order of the Phoenix, others were Aurors from the Ministry, allies of Dumbledore, or simply those who had taken a stand against the Death Eaters.
Soon, hooded Death Eaters in black robes began to appear as well, flooding toward the castle from all directions. Behind them followed two to three dozen frenzied giants.
Sparks of spellfire shot into the air as the Death Eaters unleashed wave after wave of dazzling curses—yet most of them were stopped by Hogwarts' golden shield, conjured by the castle's magical defences. But the Death Eaters were far less fortunate when it came to the return fire; many were hit and dropped to the ground.
Still, it became quickly apparent that the majority of the Death Eaters weren't too eager to press the attack. After losing over a dozen in the first wave, they pulled back, hiding behind the giants and occasionally casting a few curses for cover. It was the giants who led the main assault on the protective barrier.
The goblins drove their dragons hard, commanding them to breathe fire and crash repeatedly against the golden shield. After several consecutive attacks, the barrier began to crack.
At that moment, something unexpected happened—several goblins atop the dragons suddenly went berserk, flinging themselves off the beasts and tumbling through the air.
The remaining goblins were forced to suspend their assault and retreat with their dragons.
Standing at a window on the eighth floor of the castle, Audrey let out a breath of relief. The goblins' madness had been caused by her recent casting of Frenzy and Mass Chaos in rapid succession.
She was currently with a strike team led by Professor Lupin, intercepting enemies launching aerial assaults—a mission she had fought hard to be allowed on. Edward had finally relented, but not without taking heavy precautions: Lilith and Susie were ordered to stay close and protect her, and he'd insisted she wear the Resurrection Stone ring as an extra safeguard.
Soon enough, the retreating dragons returned, diving once more—this time, six or seven of them at once.
"Half of you, go for the dragons' eyes with Conjunctivitis Curses! The rest, target the goblins directly!"
Audrey slashed her wand fiercely through the air, unleashing a blazing Fiendfyre straight toward the sky. The spell wasn't particularly fast, and a nimble dragon could've easily dodged it—if it wasn't under the influence of other spells.
Frenzy! Mass Chaos!
This time, her spells were aimed directly at the dragons. One of them suddenly stiffened mid-air, then began flailing its wings wildly, screeching uncontrollably. The goblins on its back whipped at it furiously, but to no avail.
BOOM!
Seconds later, the Fiendfyre engulfed both the dragon and its riders. Though dragons had extraordinary magical resistance and weren't instantly incinerated, the attack severely injured the beast, and it plummeted toward the ground.
The goblins, infuriated by this, let out a deafening roar.
The one-eyed elder goblin at the front raised a wand taller than himself and bellowed:
"CHARGE WITH ME—TO WAR!!!"
———
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