Just as Harry received his package, Leo also received a letter from home delivered by his eagle owl, Radish.
Opening the envelope casually, Leo immediately recognized his mother's elegant handwriting.
The contents were extremely simple.
Princess Li wanted beauty products.
More specifically—
She wanted Leo to brew and send more skincare potions home immediately.
As an obedient son, Leo naturally agreed without hesitation.
Honestly, this was one of the major reasons Snape's opinion of him had improved so dramatically.
Talent alone meant nothing if it never translated into practical results.
Meanwhile, Leo constantly brewed potions for both alchemical research and his mother's increasingly demanding "orders."
Which naturally resulted in terrifyingly good practical performance during Potions.
While reading the letter, Leo casually continued feeding strips of dried meat to Radish with his other hand.
Then suddenly—
He noticed the owl wasn't eating.
"Hm?"
Leo looked up.
Only to see Radish puffing out his chest proudly like a victorious little general.
The eagle owl's bright eyes remained fixed on the strip of jerky in Leo's hand with extraordinary determination.
Then, after tilting his head thoughtfully for several seconds—
Radish appeared to make some kind of monumental life decision.
The owl immediately marched confidently across the table toward Hedwig.
Harry's snowy owl had been quietly standing nearby while Harry read his own letter.
But the moment Radish approached—
Hedwig visibly shrank back.
Almost shyly.
She tucked her snowy head inward like an embarrassed young lady.
Even her wings twitched nervously.
Meanwhile, Radish displayed absolutely zero hesitation.
The eagle owl proudly dropped the strip of dried meat directly in front of Hedwig before making several soft cooing noises.
The meaning was painfully obvious.
Beautiful lady.
Please accept this gift.
Hedwig looked at the jerky.
Then at Radish.
Then back at the jerky again.
Finally, unable to resist temptation, she delicately picked it up with her beak.
After finishing the treat, Hedwig hesitated awkwardly for several moments.
Then she slowly stepped closer and gently brushed against Radish's feathers.
The eagle owl immediately looked ecstatic.
Both birds began making soft chirping noises toward one another as though holding a private conversation.
The entire table froze.
Everyone stared.
Then collectively lost their minds.
Leo rubbed his forehead helplessly while pointing accusingly toward Radish.
"This owl..."
He genuinely didn't know whether to laugh or scold him.
The little traitor had actually used Leo's dried meat to flirt.
Harry burst into laughter first.
"I didn't know Hedwig and Radish got along so well."
Hermione smiled warmly while resting her chin against one hand.
"This is honestly adorable."
Rose immediately clapped excitedly.
"They look like they're confessing to each other!"
Ron nearly choked.
"Merlin's beard," he said incredulously. "Those two owls are unbelievable."
Draco remained silent.
But the slight envy in his eyes betrayed him completely.
Internally, he compared Radish to his own unimpressive owl and felt deeply dissatisfied.
Neville simply looked delighted.
"They're really cute."
The table erupted into laughter.
Meanwhile—
Elsewhere inside Hogwarts, someone definitely wasn't laughing.
Hidden within a dark, empty corridor, Professor Quirrell trembled violently while speaking toward the twisted face concealed beneath his turban.
"Master... I failed again."
His voice shook terribly.
"I couldn't obtain the raven."
Voldemort's furious roar exploded directly inside Quirrell's mind.
"USELESS FOOL!"
Dark magic instantly flooded through Quirrell's body.
He collapsed against the wall in agony while muffled screams escaped his throat.
Pain burned through his skull mercilessly.
Desperate to calm Voldemort's anger, Quirrell hurriedly revealed another piece of information.
He explained how he had tricked Hagrid previously.
How a dragon egg and a few drinks had loosened the giant's tongue inside the Hog's Head.
And how Hagrid had accidentally revealed the method for passing Fluffy.
Thankfully, Voldemort's rage lessened slightly afterward.
Back inside the Great Hall, Radish and Hedwig finally noticed all the little wizards laughing at them.
Both owls immediately spread their wings indignantly before flying away together.
Ron pointed dramatically.
"They actually left together!"
Hermione laughed helplessly.
Since it was Friday, everyone only had Potions that morning.
Originally, after lunch, Draco and Hermione planned to drag the group toward the library for homework and revision.
Particularly because Hermione had recently entered a state of academic crisis.
Thanks to Draco.
More specifically—
Thanks to Draco suddenly deciding he absolutely could not lose academically anymore.
This development caused immense suffering for Ron.
Harry, meanwhile, actually didn't mind the library nearly as much these days.
Mostly because he had gradually learned more information from Hagrid regarding Voldemort, his parents' deaths, and even Snape's complicated history.
Though one thought constantly lingered in Harry's mind.
Everyone insisted Voldemort was dead.
Yet Harry couldn't fully believe it.
Some instinct deep inside him whispered otherwise.
Neville had changed noticeably as well.
After spending time around Leo, Harry, Hermione, and the others, Neville's feelings toward the Death Eaters grew stronger every day.
His parents remained trapped inside St Mungo's because of them.
And Neville hated his own weakness more with each passing week.
Especially after witnessing Leo create the terrifying Equalizer.
At that moment, Neville silently made another decision.
One day—
He wanted to help Leo create even stronger weapons.
After all, Neville had noticed something important during the Equalizer tests.
Those weapons were probably intended for Harry and Draco eventually.
Leo's attitude made that obvious.
Just as Leo finished eating and prepared to leave for his laboratory—
Two familiar voices suddenly echoed through the Great Hall.
"Fred, look!"
"George, I'm looking!"
The twins had arrived.
Every Weasley within hearing distance immediately looked exhausted.
Which was impressive considering the twins had only spoken two sentences.
Fred and George marched dramatically through the Great Hall carrying a long wooden crate between them.
The crate rattled ominously.
That alone was enough to make several professors glance over suspiciously.
The twins ignored them completely.
"Brothers and sisters!"
"Fellow victims of education!"
They placed the crate directly onto the Gryffindor table with an exaggerated thud.
Harry immediately looked wary.
Hermione looked alarmed.
Ron looked terrified.
The difference between those reactions came entirely from experience.
"What is it this time?" Ron asked.
Fred looked deeply offended.
"Such distrust."
George nodded sadly.
"We're wounded."
Then both twins grinned.
"Open it."
"No."
The answer came simultaneously from Harry, Hermione, Ron, Draco, Rose, and Neville.
Even Leo didn't move.
The twins looked disappointed.
Then Fred pointed toward Leo dramatically.
"Look at that."
"He's corrupted them."
"Nobody trusts us anymore."
"A tragedy."
Leo calmly took a sip of pumpkin juice.
"I consider that personal growth."
The twins gasped.
"He's become unstoppable."
"Absolutely ruthless."
Then George suddenly lowered his voice conspiratorially.
"Actually, we're looking for you."
Leo paused.
"For me?"
Fred nodded immediately.
"We've had an idea."
"A brilliant idea."
"A revolutionary idea."
"Possibly illegal."
"Probably illegal."
Hermione immediately stood up.
"No."
The twins ignored her completely.
Instead, they leaned across the table toward Leo.
"You know that Equalizer thing?"
Leo's eyes narrowed.
Across the table, Harry nearly spat out his drink.
Draco immediately sat up straight.
Ron groaned.
"Oh no."
Fred grinned.
George grinned.
Then both twins spoke simultaneously.
"What if we made prank versions?"
Silence.
Complete silence.
Leo stared at them.
Hermione stared at them.
Harry stared at them.
Even Draco looked horrified.
Then Rose burst out laughing so hard she nearly fell off the bench.
And for the first time all afternoon—
Leo seriously considered whether giving the Weasley twins access to advanced alchemy might be one of the worst decisions in human history.
....
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