"Ted, I want to take all the courses!" Hermione blurted out, her eyes slightly red and frantic, like a desperate gambler placing her last bet.
Ted gently took her hand, guiding her to sit down. "Come on, Hermione. Let's talk about this calmly."
He gave her a patient look. "You don't need to do this to yourself. Not all knowledge has to be chased with such intensity. You're being too impulsive. Think about it—do you really need to take Muggle Studies?"
Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but paused under Ted's steady gaze. She hesitated, her confidence faltering.
She knew better than to lie to Ted. He could read her as easily as Professor Snape could detect a fake potion.
Ted went on, "You've seen that old Muggle Studies textbook. It's outdated and filled with things any Muggle-born kid already knows. Half the stuff in there feels like it's from twenty years ago. Honestly, they should really update that syllabus."
Hermione bit her lip and nodded reluctantly. He was right. The book was full of overly simplistic facts that felt almost insulting.
It was as silly as someone in the wizarding world researching whether Muggles could afford a chocolate frog or asking if they'd ever seen a lightbulb.
She had felt almost offended the first time she read through it.
Ted leaned back and added casually, "And what about Divination? Or Numerology? You really believe in all that?"
"Well... maybe just a little," Hermione muttered.
A little belief—like how people sort of trust astrology or read tea leaves for fun.
Even though divination existed in the magical world, most wizards didn't truly believe in it. Accurate predictions were rare, incredibly rare.
Take the author of Through the Veil: A Seer's Glimpse, the most famous fortune-teller of the past century. Even she only managed a handful of real prophecies, and most of them were vague at best.
Usually, people only understood the predictions after they happened. It was less prediction and more hindsight.
And only a few seers were ever born in a generation. Divination required an innate gift—one usually passed down through bloodlines where prophecy had a long history.
Hermione, being a logical thinker, naturally felt skeptical of such a vague, talent-based subject.
Even Dumbledore didn't put much stock in divination.
Yes, even him.
His former companion had once possessed incredible seer abilities. Her piercing sea-blue eyes could catch glimpses of what was to come. It was part of what had inspired Grindelwald's early ambitions.
But that was exactly why Dumbledore became wary of divination. Grindelwald had seen parts of the future and acted on them, yet still failed.
Those glimpses, ironically, may have shaped the very fate he tried to avoid.
Dumbledore had seen it all—Voldemort's rise and fall, the prophecy about the Chosen One—and knew better than to blindly trust predictions.
He believed that choices defined a person's future, not visions.
It was Voldemort's belief in the prophecy that led to his downfall. By choosing to act on it, he sealed his fate. He targeted Neville—and in the end, was destroyed by him.
If Voldemort had dismissed the prophecy, none of it might have happened.
That's why Dumbledore now subtly fueled Voldemort's obsession with fate. So long as he clung to the prophecy, his end was certain.
But back to Hermione—Ted offered a practical solution.
"Why don't you try each course first? Sit in on them. Then decide what's worth your time."
He also had his own reasons. He wanted to test Professor McGonagall's rumored Time-Turner. If she really had one that could reverse time... maybe, just maybe, he could take a peek.
Just a look! He wasn't going to keep it!
"Tomorrow's Easter," Ted said, smiling. "Let's enjoy the break. Course selection can wait."
...
Easter might not be the biggest holiday, but it was still a welcome one.
The students were eager for a bit of peace. It had been a wild year so far—what with the Chamber of Secrets incidents keeping everyone on edge.
Lockhart hadn't helped much either. First the Dueling Club, then the Valentine's Day dwarf debacle. He nearly gave half the castle heart attacks. Everyone desperately needed a break.
So, the day before Easter, students from all four Houses—even some of the more aloof Slytherins like Lothar—came to Ted with an idea.
"Let's throw a little party," they said. "Make things fun again!"
Last Valentine's Day had been memorable, in its own chaotic way. The students were eager for more.
Ted agreed. He met with the house-elves in the kitchens to arrange a feast—a proper twelve-course meal.
He even recruited a few Hufflepuffs to help prep and sneak in a bit of kitchen experience.
The house-elves gave them a look that said, You want to cook in the Hogwarts kitchen? Hope you're ready to train for ten years. (Shaolin Bronze Men challenge, unlocked!)
Ted also spoke with House representatives. Everyone agreed to prepare a few fun activities or performances.
"I can't be the only one singing this time," Ted joked. "Gotta keep it fair, for the sake of House unity!"
On Easter Day, thanks to the holiday, the Great Hall had been buzzing with activity since lunchtime.
The long house tables were moved to the sides of the hall to clear space in the center—a large open area where a bunch of excited students had gathered to dance.
Ever since the last Valentine's Day celebration, dancing had become quite popular. Some boys and girls, faces red with embarrassment, tried to follow the rhythm while clumsily stepping on each other's toes, making the surrounding crowd giggle.
Still, wasn't it a bit early for this?
Sure, people in the wizarding world matured quickly, and maybe things were a little more relaxed at Hogwarts, but ballroom dancing at twelve or thirteen? That felt like a bit much.
(What? I can't dance yet? That's fine. You lot carry on, I'll just quietly enjoy from the sidelines.)
By the evening, just before sunset, the Great Hall was already packed. Many students had arrived in costume, thanks to a limited batch of Transformation Candies. For a moment, it almost looked like a masquerade ball.
Ted waved his wand and lanterns floated into place above the crowd, casting a soft golden glow.
He waved again—meant to summon floating candles, but instead accidentally released a wild boar illusion. Several students screamed and scattered before realizing it wasn't real. The creature crashed into a wall and vanished, leaving everyone in peals of laughter.
The show hadn't even properly begun yet, but two warm-up acts were already lined up.
Gryffindor brought out a four-person chorus—Harley, Neville, Ron, and Seamus.
Ron was thrilled to finally live out his dream of being a "literary guy," but unfortunately, he sang off-key and stumbled over half the words. The four of them together managed to create something so offbeat that it sounded more like a group of misfiring musical charms. But that didn't matter—everyone was in stitches. What counted was the atmosphere.
Soon after, a few others brought out their own instruments—flutes, violins, and more. Some of them were naturally gifted, while others sounded like they were strangling their instruments with magic. It was chaotic, but lively.
For a second, it almost felt like the sound of a busted old horn playing downstairs...
Finally, the feast began.
In a blink, twelve courses of delicious food appeared on the long tables. Platters of every shape and size brimmed with dishes, and the little wizards cheered as they dove in.
After more than half an hour of eating, Ted stepped onto the stage for the final performance of the night.
This time, he didn't sing.
Instead, he performed the instrumental piece "Kikujiro's Summer"—the hall fell quiet as the music filled the space.
When it ended, thunderous applause echoed through the Great Hall.
Ted had completed his mission for the evening:
----------------------
"Ding~ Task complete: [Spectacular Easter (Green)] —
Reward: 250 experience points, Card [Moonstone (Green)].
----------------------
----------------------
[Moonstone (Green)]
Item Card
Effect: Summons a beam of moonlight that follows the target, making them glow.
Duration: 3 minutes
Cooldown: 1 hour
Note: All eyes on me. I've got something to announce~
----------------------
The Easter celebration ended perfectly. Everyone, full and happy, headed off to bed.
Just as Ted and the others were returning to Ravenclaw Tower, they were stopped by a ghost hovering in the corridor.
Some Ravenclaw students recognized the figure instantly—the silver, blood-stained form of the Bloody Baron, Slytherin's terrifying house ghost.
He had a fearsome reputation. Even Peeves, the school poltergeist, gave him a wide berth. Before the arrival of the enchanted Whip that now disciplined Peeves, the professors used to invoke the Baron's name to keep Peeves in check.
Now, the Baron floated in front of Ted, his cold gaze locked onto him.
Ted blinked and asked carefully, "Mr. Baron, is something wrong?"
The ghost seemed to take several seconds to respond, then finally asked, "Where is Helena?"
Ted's brow furrowed slightly.
The Ravenclaws behind him murmured among themselves.
"Who's Helena?"
"Never heard that name before."
The Baron's ghostly eyes narrowed. "The Grey Lady. Where did she go?"
The whispers grew louder.
"Oh! The Grey Lady! Right, she's been missing for a while."
"Why's the Bloody Baron asking Ted?"
"Does Ted actually know where she went?"
Ted stepped forward and said quietly, "She's made peace with her past. She's chosen to move on."
Baron stared at him in silence. His expression was unreadable—somewhere between sorrow and relief.
"Did she mention me when she left?" he finally asked.
Ted shook his head slowly. He didn't need to say more. Deep down, the Bloody Baron already knew why Helena hadn't.
Still, the ghost gave a strange, broken laugh. "She didn't mention me… she's forgotten me. I see. I see. That's great! That's great... " His voice rose with every word, echoing through the corridor.
Ted watched the Bloody Baron in confusion, seeing him shift from sadness to guilt to relief and joy in the span of a single second.
But before he could say anything else, the Bloody Baron's form began to shimmer.
He floated upward, his body glowing faintly, and with a quiet showsh~, he disappeared.
Ted stared.
He'd seen something like this before.
"What the—?!"
The rest of the students gawked at him in stunned silence.
Everyone's eyes turned to Ted, all full of baffled awe.
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Word count: 1710
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