Here's Block 1 of Chapter 5 (~2k words):
Chapter 5 – Shadows and Starlight
(Block 1)
The Halloween night incident spread like wildfire through the school. By the next morning, Hogwarts was a cauldron of rumors and speculation. Students filled corridors and common rooms with whispers about the majestic beast that had appeared, the starlight wings, the cry that had shaken stone itself.
"It was a dragon!" one first-year swore in the Gryffindor common room.
"No, a phoenix," insisted another. "Bigger than any phoenix ever seen."
"You're all wrong," Seamus interrupted, eyes wide. "It was both. A phoenix-dragon. Half flame, half night sky. It nearly blew the windows out!"
Even older students, usually harder to impress, joined the speculation. In the library, a cluster of Ravenclaws argued in hushed tones over which magical texts might explain the creature. Hufflepuffs whispered reverently as though speaking of something sacred.
But Slytherins whispered differently. Draco's account painted Percy as arrogant, flaunting some forbidden beast. "He thinks he's special," Draco hissed to anyone who would listen. "Summoning monsters to show off—he'll bring the whole school down with him."
Few believed Draco's dramatics, but jealousy spread easily.
Gryffindor Tower
In the Gryffindor common room, Percy's trio sat apart near the fire. Their presence, already commanding, now radiated something untouchable. Artemis's silver gaze caught firelight and made it dance. Athena turned the pages of a book with quiet precision. Percy leaned back in his chair, arms folded, his calm confidence filling the space.
Other students stole glances constantly. The girls whispered. The boys muttered.
"Look at them," Ron grumbled to Harry, not quietly enough. "It's like they own the place."
Harry frowned but said nothing. He remembered the way Nyxios' eyes had fixed on him in the corridor, how the great creature had judged him and somehow found him worthy. To Harry, Percy wasn't a rival—he was something else. Something protective.
Hermione, sitting nearby with her notes spread across the table, sniffed. "They're not trying to own anything. They saved us from a troll, in case you forgot."
Ron flushed but didn't argue further.
Across the room, Lavender and Parvati giggled behind their hands. "Did you see the way Percy stroked that creature's feathers? Like it trusted him completely."
"And Artemis, standing beside him like a queen," Parvati added.
"And Athena…" Lavender sighed. "Brilliant and beautiful. It isn't fair."
The envy simmered louder every night.
Dumbledore's Unease
In his office, Albus Dumbledore paced. Fawkes trilled uneasily, feathers ruffling at the lingering echo of Nyxios' presence. The headmaster's face, normally serene, was etched with deep lines.
The boy—Percy. The girl with silver eyes, Artemis. The sharp one, Athena. They unsettled him in ways Voldemort never had. Voldemort was predictable: ambition, hunger, cruelty. But these three… they were unpredictable. Too powerful. Too unknown.
He had spent decades cultivating Harry's path, ensuring the prophecy could unfold in his favor. But Percy's trio shielded Harry too well. Already, events bent away from their proper course. The troll should have tested Harry, brought him and his friends together. Instead, Percy had intervened, and the great creature Nyxios had destroyed the test before it began.
Dumbledore stopped at the window, watching students cross the grounds. His plans were unraveling. He could not control what he did not understand.
"Who are you?" he whispered, staring at the horizon. "And why now?"
Fawkes trilled again, but the sound was uneasy, subdued. Even he seemed diminished beside Nyxios.
Voldemort's Restlessness
Far from the castle, in the dark recesses of Quirrell's mind, Voldemort seethed. His parasitic form writhed whenever Nyxios' power echoed through the walls of Hogwarts.
That beast's presence smothers me, he hissed, his voice sharp and thin. I cannot reach Potter when it is near. Even through you, I weaken. Do you understand what this means?
Quirrell stammered, "I—it means we must be cautious, master—"
Cautious? Voldemort spat. It means that boy is not mortal. I feel it. The creature answers to him, not to me, not to this castle, not even to fate. He is… outside of time.
Quirrell shivered. "Then what do we do?"
Voldemort's voice sank low, venomous. We wait. We strike where they least expect it. The beast cannot always watch them. And when it falters, we will find the crack.
But beneath the fury lay something rarer: fear.
Quiet After Curfew
That night, the trio slipped once again into their secret tower chamber. The lantern glowed softly, the walls bathed in warmth.
Artemis leaned against Percy, her silver eyes weary but tender. Athena sat on his other side, resting her head on his shoulder for once, her sharpness softened. Percy held them both close, the weight of the day pressing against his chest.
"They stare at us more every day," Artemis murmured. "The students. The professors."
"They don't understand," Athena added. "They see a creature greater than their headmaster's phoenix and assume it's vanity. They don't see the purpose."
Percy brushed a hand through Artemis's hair, then linked his fingers with Athena's. "Let them think what they will. We know why we're here. Harry's what matters."
Still, his voice carried a trace of weariness. "But I won't lie. Sometimes, I wish it were just us. No whispers. No stares."
Artemis tilted her face to him, brushing her lips lightly against his jaw. Athena's fingers squeezed his hand, her quiet affirmation needing no words.
For a while, they simply stayed like that, the world beyond their secret chamber forgotten.
Outside, unseen, Nyxios circled the castle, a vast shadow against the stars, watching.