The Defence Against the Dark Arts office was unusually peaceful. Douglas savored the rare tranquility—no twins lurking about, no students serving detention. For once, the room was his alone.
He unfolded the Marauder's Map and watched as the cluster of tiny black dots in the Great Hall rapidly scattered, each one winding its way back to its respective house common room. The professors, too, returned to their offices.
But then, he noticed something curious: the dot labeled Percy reappeared outside the Gryffindor common room soon after entering. Within a minute, the Weasley twins—George and Fred—slipped out as well, trailing Percy at a suspicious distance.
Douglas only relaxed when he saw Percy heading toward his own office. As for the twins, once they realized Percy's destination, they quickly abandoned their pursuit, darting into the nearest secret passage and making a beeline back to Gryffindor Tower.
Douglas couldn't help a cold snort. What were those two up to now?
When Percy was nearly at the door, Douglas rose and opened it before he could knock.
Percy blinked in surprise.
"Boss, heading out?"
Douglas ushered him in with a smile.
"It's late, Percy. Shouldn't you be sleeping? What brings you here?
Don't tell me you've had a spat with your little girlfriend and need my advice?"
Percy choked, thinking privately that Douglas—and for that matter, Bill and Charlie—had never dated anyone during their school years. Who was he to give relationship advice? Even that Half-Blood Prince book from Slytherin would probably be more helpful.
"Not at all, Boss. I just noticed you never came back after leaving tonight. Professor McGonagall said you were fine, but I wanted to check for myself..."
Douglas shrugged, picking up a pastry and taking a bite.
"No worries. You don't need to be concerned about that.
And as for the task I gave you before, you can drop it—the other professors have taken over.
Hmm, these pastries have gone a bit dry. Want one?"
Percy shook his head. If even Douglas thought they were dry, why offer?
"Actually, I wanted to ask... is all of this... is it about... You-Know-Who?"
He looked at Douglas anxiously.
Douglas, mid-sip of water, nearly choked.
He didn't believe for a second that Professor McGonagall had leaked anything.
"Where'd you hear that?"
Percy straightened, face serious.
"From your reaction, and the professors', and what happened last term.
You once warned me that Moaning Myrtle's bathroom might be dangerous.
And just now, Headmaster Dumbledore announced it's closed until further notice—no one allowed in.
Last year, he made a similar announcement about another place, and at the end of term, You-Know-Who showed up there.
So we figured—"
Douglas cut him off.
"We? Who else knows about this?"
Percy looked sheepish.
"Penelope. She asked, and I let slip a little.
You know how clever she is...
And when one of the Ravenclaw students didn't return tonight, she was really worried."
Douglas rolled his eyes.
"So, for your girlfriend, you risked a late-night visit just to find out if there's still danger in Ravenclaw?"
Percy scratched his head in embarrassment.
It was the first time Douglas had seen him so flustered.
He rapped the table.
"Your guess is right. We can pretty much confirm Voldemort was involved..."
At that, Percy visibly flinched.
Douglas knocked the table harder, chiding him.
"Be brave! Don't tremble at a name.
You want to be Minister for Magic one day? The Ministry would collapse overnight!
Anyway, the threat's been driven off for now.
We don't know if he'll return, so stay vigilant.
If you come across any Dark Magic artifact that seems to think for itself, no matter what it says, let me know immediately."
Percy nodded, then hesitated.
"Can I tell Penelope?"
Douglas gave him a look.
"Oh, so you do know some things are supposed to be secret.
Say what you like—Professor Flitwick will be briefing them anyway."
Percy nodded, embarrassed, muttering,
"You never said last time it was a secret..."
Douglas didn't reply, but after a moment, added,
"Keep an eye on Harry for me.
If he ever suddenly starts writing a diary, or you see him with an old notebook, let me know immediately.
And that is a secret!"
Percy frowned, but nodded.
"Boss, are you saying You-Know-Who's real target is still Harry?
Speaking of which, I just remembered—Harry once mentioned a house-elf warning him that the school would be in danger.
We all thought it was just some pure-blood family's prank.
But now it seems... was that connected?
Did you realize something back then?
And why would Harry writing a diary be a warning sign?"
Douglas grinned.
"Seriously, who writes a diary for fun?
Do you?
Alright, it's late. Off you go, get some rest."
Percy pouted regretfully as he headed for the door.
Just as he was about to leave, Douglas called after him,
"Tell George and Fred that tomorrow's dictation will be one-third longer than usual."
Percy looked puzzled.
"But didn't you say they could rest tonight, no detention?"
Douglas smiled thinly.
"They'll know exactly what I mean..."
——
Midnight.
A new month had begun.
Douglas opened the system interface for a quick check, then shut it down and went to bed early.
After all, tomorrow marked the start of a new round of monthly exams.
—
The next morning, the Great Hall buzzed with the usual breakfast crowd, but hardly anyone discussed the events of the previous night.
Even Tom Cruise, who'd returned early, was only greeted with a handful of polite inquiries before everyone returned to their own business.
The mood was tense—
the second Defence Against the Dark Arts monthly exam loomed.
Every year group took this assessment seriously.
After all, everyone had seen the consequences of poor performance on the last monthly exam.
Though the lower-year students who'd failed had been allowed to join the practical classes after memorizing all the material,
none of them wanted to go through that ordeal again.
This time, the exam would test not only their knowledge of Dark creatures, but also include a written component on textbook content.
Some outstanding fourth-years had been permitted to attempt the fifth-year spell-breaking corridor,
and in Ravenclaw, there were already students who could clear the fifth-year challenges solo.
The pressure on fifth-year students from other houses was immense.
Even the Hufflepuffs were studying furiously, scrambling to keep ahead of the ambitious fourth-years.
Being overtaken by a younger year would be mortifying.
The sixth-years, after a month of sunrise runs at Hogwarts, had several students who could now cast the special version of the Lumos Charm.
They could clear the first test with ease, and last even longer in the second.
Douglas was very pleased—not that there was anything magical about the sun itself,
but daily runs under the golden morning light had a way of brightening even the gloomiest mood,
and with time, their mastery of positive magic had noticeably improved.
The seventh-years were even more driven, training whenever they could.
Douglas was generous with his experience and tips, and they benefited greatly.
Many were determined to last at least five minutes against him in this month's exam...
As everyone ate and nervously chatted about the upcoming test, the morning owl post swooped in right on schedule.
The Weasley children immediately spotted their family's poor old owl, Errol,
wobbling through the air toward Percy with a sizable package clutched in its claws.
Percy hurriedly cleared a space on the table for the landing.
Of course, Errol missed it entirely, crash-landing into a nearby plate instead.
The other Weasleys rushed over, excited.
"Oh, Mum's sent something else to our model student, Percy!"
"George, I think we're model students this term too!"
"Blimey, have we really sunk so low? Model students, and still no presents from Mum..."
Ginny and Ron joined the crowd.
"Percy, what did Mum send?"
Percy frowned as he took the letter from Errol's beak.
Inside was a single line:
Dear Percy, enclosed are gifts and letters from Bill and Charlie for Professor Douglas.
It seems no one can send mail directly to Douglas, so please forward these for us...
He quickly slapped away George and Fred's hands as they tried to unwrap the parcel.
"These are from Bill and Charlie for Professor Holmes. Still want to touch them?"
George and Fred recoiled as if burned.
"Just kidding!"
"Need us to deliver them for you?"
"Yeah, we just wanted to help the Professor out!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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