Altair was bored.
The first classes at Hogwarts covered a brief review of the previous year. In the past, Altair would have found the classes challenging, struggling to cast each spell due to his lack of magical power. Now he no longer had that problem, and with a wand that suited him, he felt no academic pressure whatsoever. Especially since he had already mastered the theory.
Now he was in the library, with an anti-eavesdropping spell so that the librarian, Irma Pince, couldn't hear Harley Potter's complaints.
"But one thing has nothing to do with the other!" the woman almost shouted at Altair.
"It would steal the spotlight," he replied.
The Potter girl was still angry about the cancellation of the Quidditch tournament. It was an activity she loved madly, both the game and humiliating her rivals. Altair could partially agree with her, but if he remembered correctly, the last test was conducted on the Quidditch field, which could have caused interference. It was a rather loose justification.
Most likely, they didn't want Quidditch to get more attention.
"Or that the other schools would feel excluded," Altair added belatedly.
"Then include them!" Harley said, her face a little red. Altair placed his hand on the girl's leg, and she fell silent immediately.
Despite the muffliato spell, Altair couldn't prevent everyone from seeing Potter's gestures. Altair looked at Madam Pince, who was squinting in their direction, looking like she was five seconds away from casting a curse on them both.
"You can talk to the headmaster, he's your grandfather, take advantage of nepotism," Altair smiled at her, stroking her thigh with his thumb.
Harley nodded, completely silent now. Altair moved his hand closer to her crotch. Just as he was about to slip it under her skirt, a thick book hit the table.
"Ah, Hermione, good to see you," Altair greeted her with a smile. Harley leaned on Altair's shoulder, looking saddened by the interruption.
"Pervert," Hermione whispered, but she didn't have the strength behind it. She looked down, where the table covered Altair's movements from the witch's view. "In public, really?" she asked in a whisper.
"No one was watching until you arrived," Altair lied. They had already attracted enough attention before, and Hermione obviously didn't believe him, but she didn't say anything else either.
"Your scar is gone," the witch said with a frown. "What magic can heal a scar like that?" she asked quietly. "Not even Poppy could, and she's one of the best nurses in all of Great Britain," she seemed skeptical, even though the evidence was right there in front of her.
"A friend healed it," Altair didn't give many details. It was a secret that it was Asia who had healed him so much that the old scar on his face, courtesy of Snape, was gone.
"Was it Japanese magic?" Hermione asked, her face beginning to light up. "That sounds quite interesting. Are there many wizards in Japan?" she asked, now addressing both of them.
"We didn't see many wizards... but I met a fallen angel," Altair said with a smile, as if mocking her. "Oh, he even sent me a message just now," he said as he took out his W-Phone.
"What kind of message would a fallen angel send you?" Hermione looked a little irritated, her cheeks slightly red as she tried not to be rude.
"Oh," Altair looked at the message with a blank expression. Then he showed it to Hermione.
"A fallen angel sent you that?" she asked, now convinced they were pulling her leg. "Some... breasts," she seemed to find it difficult to say the word in public.
"Well, he had to fall for some reason, right? Otherwise, he would still be in heaven," Altair replied.
"For a moment there, you made me believe the rumors were true," Hermione said.
"Rumors?" Harley asked, seemingly recovered from being caught by Hermione groping in public.
"That you-know-who captured a demon and stole its powers," Hermione whispered, seeming almost ashamed to believe it.
"Those rumors are public knowledge?" Altair had never heard that before.
"It was at the Quidditch World Cup," Harley said this time, her expression turning serious.
"Somehow, it became the gossip of the event. I could see that the attendees were uncomfortable for a long time, until they got drunk and forgot about it." Harley had gone to the Quidditch World Cup final during the week Altair was unconscious. Both Lavender and Lily had to beg her to attend. In the end, she attended with Hermione, Charles, and the Weasley family.
"How curious," Altair rested his chin on his hand and stared at a fixed point on the table as he thought.
"Curious? Nonsense. They just wanted to glorify you-know-who. His followers want to spread terror," Hermione said a little brusquely.
"They have reasons to spread terror," Altair said with a serious look. Hermione remained silent, but her eyes did not believe his story about demons at all. "That cross... are you Catholic?" Altair asked.
"Me?" Hermione looked at the cross on her chest, one her mother had given her. "I am," she said vaguely, as if her faith was simply the result of having been instilled in her by her parents since childhood.
"If you believe in God, believing in angels and demons isn't very complicated," Altair said.
"And if there are demons, do you think you-kno—"
"Voldemort," Harley interrupted her.
"It's tiring the way you say his name," she said, a little annoyed. "Voldemort," Hermione replied quickly, not letting the name spend too much time in her mouth. Altair found it fascinating how the wizarding world had instilled so much fear in a wizard she had never even met; the terror of Lord Voldemort extended even to those outside the wizarding world. "Do you think he's capable of capturing a demon?" Hermione asked.
Altair shrugged. "Maybe. Even demons are born and have moments of weakness," Altair commented with a tired sigh. He felt a tingling sensation on his back, where his devil wings should be.
"You say he kidnapped a baby demon?" Hermione had an expression that was somewhere between amused and concerned. "You're just teasing me," she said finally, but she didn't leave.
"Maybe," Altair let the subject drop. "What happened at the Quidditch tournament?" Altair asked.
In the canon, there had been an attack that same night, with former Death Eaters wanting to relive old times. But Altair hadn't read any news about that event, so much so that he had almost completely forgotten about it.
According to Harley, it was boring, though that may have been because she was already worried about Altair and felt guilty about attending the event. Hermione spoke a little more; she had seen hooded people watching, but they did not intervene. Both girls ended up sitting in the box next to the Minister of Magic, just like Harry in the canon.
"Were all the seats taken?" Altair asked.
"No, there was one empty seat. Apparently, the minister had been expecting the Malfoys to show up, but only Narcissa and Cassiopeia attended," Hermione said. "Draco's seat was empty," she commented with a hint of concern. "No one has seen him," she whispered.
"No one misses him either," Harley said with a snort, "although if you had removed half the Weasleys, it would have been pretty incredible." The redheads had also snuck in the same box, just like in the canon. "Ron tried to give me gold to win me over... what an idiot," Altair tensed a little upon hearing that.
"It was a leprechaun," Hermione said, about to laugh. Her hand went to her mouth to cover it.
"Even more of an idiot," Harley said.
"Didn't you realize at the time that it was fake?" Hermione asked, a little surprised.
"Why would I pay attention to a gift that came from his hands?" Harley replied, leaning on Altair.
"He's a Weasley," Hermione stopped immediately.
"How classist," Altair said to Hermione.
"That's not what I meant!" Hermione jumped, surprised by the accusation.
"Will you help me convince Albus to hold a Quidditch tournament between the three schools?" Harley interrupted them as he stood up.
"He's the Headmaster, you shouldn't address him so casually," Hermione stood up, picking up the book she hadn't even opened.
"I'll see you later, Altair," she said, kissing him in front of everyone, causing the students to start whispering. "And Albus is my grandfather, I can call him whatever I want," she said to Hermione as they left.
Altair watched them leave before turning his gaze back to his W-Phone.
"What are you looking for, Violet?" Altair wondered, looking at the address the woman had sent.