Everything went pretty much the way Charlie had expected. They came down from the Astronomy Tower, stopped by the Room of Requirement to help him move a few things, and then headed back to the common room.
Of course, along the way Charlie also linked back up with Fiona.
She'd spent the whole night keeping Mrs. Norris busy, pinning Filch's movements between the dungeons and the first floor.
"Charlie, I'm starving. And exhausted." She landed on his shoulder with a tired flop.
Charlie didn't answer. He just reached up and gently tapped her little head with his fingertip.
She'd really been working hard these past few days.
But things never stay smooth for long.
The next morning—Sunday—Charlie woke up to some bad news.
Neville had been caught last night.
He'd somehow found out Malfoy and his crew were planning to ambush Harry, and he knew Harry and the others weren't in their dorm. So he'd snuck out in the middle of the night to warn them.
Charlie hadn't seen that coming. He'd only been focused on making sure his own group didn't get grabbed. Even if he had remembered Neville might try something, he couldn't have done anything about it anyway—he was already stretched too thin.
"Bad luck, but we respect the heart," Anthony said, clapping Neville on the shoulder. "You ran out in the middle of the night to warn them. That took guts. You're a real Gryffindor."
Harry, Hermione, and Ron nodded along, backing him up.
Neville just looked miserable. "Yeah… sure."
His whole vibe was heavy, like the world had kicked him in the teeth. After all, that was fifty points. The biggest single deduction in Hogwarts history, and he was the one who caused it.
"Did I completely embarrass Gryffindor?" he asked, eyes red. Dark circles sat under them—Charlie figured he hadn't slept at all.
"My God, why would you think that?" Anthony shook his head fast. "You tried to do the right thing when it mattered. That badge on your chest should be shining right now."
"No…"
Anthony slapped his own face, looking helpless.
Luckily, the usual ostracism that hit point-deductors in the original timeline never happened here. Malfoy had gotten caught too. Both sides lost points, and since Neville was such a background kid, even the Gryffindors who were disappointed about the points didn't pile on.
The deduction also knocked both Gryffindor and Slytherin out of the top tier at the same time. Now Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw were sitting pretty close in points. Hufflepuff was a step behind.
As for unlucky Neville, the only thing anyone could do was try to cheer him up.
After they finished talking, Charlie, Anthony, and Hector headed back to the Ravenclaw table for breakfast.
Malfoy walked over a minute later—but he didn't head for the Gryffindor table this time. He stopped right at theirs.
"You won," he said, voice tight. "Messing with me is fun, isn't it?"
"I didn't win, Draco," Charlie said calmly. "The information I gave you was real. You just got caught because you weren't good enough. That's on you."
Malfoy's face twitched. He clearly wanted to snap back with threats, but he couldn't anymore. This time he'd lost completely.
"You'd better hope I never catch you with anything," he muttered, low and heavy.
Charlie gave him a warm smile. "Me? I learned my lesson. From now on you can keep bothering Harry all you want. I won't get in the way again."
Malfoy just shot Harry one cold glance, then turned and walked off without another word.
"He's such a psycho," Hector said flatly.
Anthony slapped his knee and grinned. "I love when you say intense shit in that calm voice. The contrast is perfect."
Hector gave him a flat look. "Then you're a psycho too."
Anthony burst out laughing. Hector and Charlie just exchanged a look and shook their heads.
After breakfast Charlie went straight back to the dorm and threw himself into the suitcase project again.
That afternoon in Professor Chambers' office, the professor grabbed him the second he walked in.
"Charlie, come look at this."
On the workbench sat a wooden owl, tilting its head and preening its carved feathers like it was real.
"Look at it. Feel anything?" Chambers asked, excited.
Charlie studied it for a moment, then shook his head. "Nothing special, Professor."
Chambers picked the owl up and turned it around, showing the back of its neck. A familiar set of runes glowed there.
"Moonlight absorption?!" Charlie stared.
"Yes. I've found that moonlight gives alchemical life creations a lot more… spirit."
Chambers launched into an explanation. Charlie listened, then understood.
Regular alchemical creations were basically programs—simple ones like wizard chess pieces with fixed behaviors, or smarter ones like the owl on the office door or the gargoyle at the headmaster's office. The difference was just complexity. They were still far from real life.
But moonlight-infused ones were different. They broke out of pure programming and gained something closer to an artificial soul. As long as there was enough moonlight, that soul stayed active.
"Of course, we can't be sure yet," Chambers said, calming down. "This is just one test. We still need to keep observing it."
Charlie nodded, eyes on the wooden owl. It tilted its head and stared back with dark, curious eyes that almost looked alive.
But Charlie knew better. He'd seen Fiona born. He had natural harvesting. This thing wasn't complete. It still wasn't truly alive. Something was missing—nature, real life, an actual soul. He couldn't name it exactly, but he could feel the gap.
Still, the experiment might help them figure out more about what moonlight could actually do.
Work continued.
Time flew. After Norbert left, Charlie buried himself completely in the new project.
"What's wrong with him? He hasn't even been eating properly lately."
Hermione couldn't remember how many dinners she'd gone without seeing him.
"He's just sleeping in the dorm all day," Anthony said cheerfully, grabbing the lunchbox. "See you guys later."
He and Hector headed out of the Great Hall.
Outside, on the stairs heading up, Anthony asked, "Today's moving day, right?"
"Yeah. He should be done by now. We should knock lightly though—just in case we startle him and his knife slips. Wouldn't want him messing up the engraving on the suitcase."
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