As the bell rang once more, Divination class finally came to an end.
Professor Sybill Trelawney halted her dull, monotonous lecture and dismissed the students.
Ravenclaw and Slytherin students began packing their things and filing out of the classroom.
Sean Avery leaned toward Jon, his expression full of awe. "How did you know, Patrick? I didn't even realize I'd brought the wrong book!"
Because I cast the Confundus Charm on you, Jon thought wryly to himself.
Outwardly, he simply smiled and said, "I caught a glimpse of it in the crystal ball."
"All I saw in mine was a burn mark on the table," Avery sighed. "Someone must've knocked over a candle... Guess that old fraud Trelawney was right—Divination really does take some talent after all."
The two left the classroom together.
As they passed a table near the door—
Astoria Greengrass was speaking to Tiffany Selwyn. "I need to go to the hospital wing. I'm worried there might be something on the shards from Professor Trelawney's crystal ball, so I'd better see Madam Pomfrey."
Her voice was raised—deliberately so.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Selwyn asked, concerned.
"No need... It should be fine," Astoria replied, shaking her head.
Following behind Avery, Jon passed by her without expression.
...
The Great Hall was bustling with students, and the aroma of lunch wafted enticingly from the four long tables.
"Pork chops for lunch today!" Avery shouted in excitement.
"Oh—right!" Jon suddenly remembered. "I left my notebook in Divination class!"
"Then you'd better hurry!" Avery called back, already heading toward the Slytherin table. "By the time you get back, there won't be any food left!"
Jon hurried out of the Great Hall—but instead of returning to Divination, he quickened his pace toward the Hospital Wing.
Along the way, he kept an eye out for Astoria, but she was nowhere to be found.
When he reached the door, he heard voices from inside—
"It's just a shallow cut. A quick bandage and you'll be fine!" came Madam Pomfrey's voice. "But do be careful. You're a witch—how on earth did you manage to cut yourself on a crystal ball?"
"Yes, Madam!"
Recognizing the second voice, Jon froze.
Moments later, a familiar figure stepped out of the Hospital Wing.
Astoria Greengrass also stopped short.
They were alone at the entrance—meeting privately for the first time in days.
Jon considered removing his ring... but Madam Pomfrey could come out at any moment, and students might pass by. If anyone saw him, he'd have no choice but to use a Memory Charm.
In the end, he decided against it.
"Meet me in the Forbidden Forest after classes this afternoon," Astoria said suddenly as she walked past him, her tone flat. "If you even know where that is."
Without another word, she strode back toward the castle.
...
Jon was in high spirits during lunch—even though the pork chops were long gone.
His good mood carried into the afternoon's Transfiguration class, which Gryffindor and Slytherin shared.
Professor Minerva McGonagall was as stern as ever.
"You are entering a crucial stage of your magical education," she declared, her sharp eyes gleaming behind square spectacles. "Your O.W.L. exams are approaching—"
"Aren't they two years away?" whispered Colin Creevey from Gryffindor.
But he only dared to mutter quietly. No one would ever question Professor McGonagall aloud.
That day's Transfiguration lesson involved turning a guinea fowl into a guinea pig.
Professor McGonagall brought in an entire cage of guinea fowl, distributing one to each student. The classroom erupted in noisy chaos.
It was a complicated bit of Transfiguration, and Jon spent over ten minutes mastering the technique for the first time (he'd read Intermediate Transfiguration Guide cover to cover during his idle summer in London).
By the end of class, only Jon and Gryffindor's Ginny Weasley had succeeded—though Ginny's guinea pig still had a few lingering feathers.
Professor McGonagall didn't look pleased. She assigned homework to everyone except Jon and Ginny: "Provide examples of how Transfiguration spells must be modified when performing cross-species transformations."
...
The next Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson was equally exhausting.
Although the real Alastor Moody wasn't as unhinged as the impostor had been (though calling them the fake Barty Crouch Jr. and the real one would've been equally fitting), his teaching was hardly gentle.
The lesson took place on the Quidditch pitch, which Moody had somehow turned into a muddy swamp.
According to him, they needed to practice camouflage, stealth, and endurance—vital skills for fighting dark wizards.
Are we training as wizards or common thieves? Jon thought wryly.
Still, he didn't exactly disagree. Mad-Eye Moody was, after all, an expert when it came to battling dark wizards.
By the time the lesson ended, Jon was utterly spent.
And he was one of the lucky ones—several Slytherin students were flushed, panting, and barely able to speak.
Thankfully, Moody cast a Cleaning Charm on everyone before dismissing them. Otherwise, covered head to toe in mud, they'd have had to head straight for the baths.
...
Once the two afternoon classes were over, Jon hadn't forgotten his lunchtime arrangement with Astoria.
She hadn't forgotten either—she'd vanished the moment Defense Against the Dark Arts ended.
Still weary, Jon made his way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
He quickly found the part of the forest where the Bowtruckles lived, spotting their tiny shapes perched among the branches.
Jon thought for a moment, then slipped the iron ring from his finger.
For the first time, he appeared at Hogwarts in his true form.
Approaching a tree, he extended his hand gently, letting a Bowtruckle climb onto his palm.
Footsteps approached from behind, drawing steadily closer.
Jon turned, lips pressed together.
"Does this make you happy, Mr. Hart?" Astoria Greengrass asked, her voice trembling with emotion.