Over the next few days, news of the Hufflepuff common room explosion spread through Hogwarts as if it had grown wings.
Even students who didn't care for gossip noticed the change the moment they passed the Great Hall. The Hufflepuff hourglass had dropped dramatically, its golden gems looking as though an invisible hand had scooped out a huge chunk.
Because the professors never revealed the exact cause, and the few Hufflepuffs who knew the truth didn't want to embarrass their classmate further, no one shared the real story.
Thus, most students only knew that Nymphadora Tonks blew up her own common room—but not how or why.
Which only made the incident more mysterious.
Rumors spread everywhere:
"I heard she was practicing some ancient Dark Magic."
"No, she tried to blow open the kitchens for a midnight snack and lost control of the spell."
"Nonsense, it was obviously an experiment!"
Among the speculation, a few upper-year students who took Alchemy realized something.
Their faces turned pale. The moment they returned to their dormitories, they grabbed their alchemical puppets and hurriedly erased the crooked, uneven runic circuits they had carved earlier. Then they spent half a day carefully engraving new ones according to the textbook before finally breathing a sigh of relief.
---
Time passed... Its now friday.
By now, all seven year groups had attended their Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons.
Because William used clearly different teaching strategies, student opinions had become dramatically polarized.
First and second years adored Professor Shafiq.
He was kind, funny, and engaging.
Instead of testing them immediately, he demonstrated Boggarts transforming under observation and used spectacular counter-curse demonstrations to spark curiosity.
In their eyes, he was handsome, reliable, and practically a Hogwarts celebrity.
Third to fifth years, however, were miserable.
They described him as a demon in human skin.
No one had ever seen a professor conduct surprise assessments in the very first lesson—and most of their answers were calmly but ruthlessly criticized, some even described as "worse than a troll's."
Complaints spread through the common rooms. Some students even stabbed little voodoo dolls in frustration.
Sixth and seventh years, on the other hand, felt genuine regret that they hadn't met William Shafiq sooner.
After surviving O.W.L.s, they recognized his razor-sharp exam drills and logical explanations as exactly what they needed for their N.E.W.T.s.
Many actively sought him out with questions.
...
Friday Evening – 7:00 PM
Several students arrived at the Defence Against the Dark Arts office on the third floor.
The atmosphere inside was relaxed.
"I knew you'd come, Charlie," Percy Weasley said sternly to his older brother.
Nearby, Cedric Diggory chatted quietly with prefect Gabriel Truman.
Others sat nervously—like Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw first-year.
She had planned to watch Quidditch practice, but had received a paper airplane letter from Professor Shafiq summoning her to his office.
She replayed the week's lessons in her head.
"I paid attention… handed in homework… it can't be punishment, right?"
Seeing older students present reassured her—but also made her curious.
While waiting, she began examining the office.
It was tastefully decorated, filled with defensive instruments and elegant alchemical ornaments.
Then she noticed a plush velvet pet bed with a food bowl beside it.
Her eyes lit up.
"Does the professor have a cat? Maybe a Puffskein?"
She loved animals.
As she searched the room for the pet, she suddenly felt something cold and slippery brush her ankle.
She looked down.
A brightly colored snake with orange scales and black stripes had slithered to her feet, flicking its tongue.
It had three heads.
All three heads lifted and stared at her.
The air froze.
"AHH!"
Just as Cho reached for her wand—
A calm voice spoke:
"Wingardium Leviosa."
The snake lifted into the air and gently floated back into its velvet bed.
Cho spun around.
A boy stood behind her, wand in hand.
"Are you alright?"
"I—I'm fine. Thank you. I'm Cho Chang, from Ravenclaw."
"Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff."
He smiled warmly, like a little sun driving away the chill.
Students gathered quickly.
"What is that?" Truman asked, staring at the snake.
"It looks like a dangerous magical creature," Percy said.
Charlie opened his mouth to explain—
Just as the office door clicked open.
=================
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