Sterling's expression hadn't looked good from morning until now.
Last night's exploration in the snowfield had predictably yielded no results, and he'd even clashed with a small team of Black Knight scouts, exhausting Sterling considerably.
Seeing his tightly pressed lips, even Ron unconsciously slowed his page-turning speed. This also let him see more clearly. At his previous speed, forget him; even Hermione with the best memory couldn't remember anything.
"Sigh... Terry, is there any news in today's Daily Prophet?"
"You should ask Padma about that. She's the most serious newspaper reader among us. You don't just read The Quibbler, right?"
Faced with Terry's counter-question, Padma raised the Daily Prophet in her hand in response.
Though she preferred the interesting Quibbler, the magical world's mainstream media was still the Daily Prophet. Since she wanted to develop in this direction after graduation, she had to engage more with the Daily Prophet.
Incidentally, Padma's current small goal was to steal the former tower's star reporter title within two and a half years after graduation.
"Let me see... nothing particularly major. The International Transfiguration Conference will be held in France, Auror Office recruitment, Egypt's Ministry of Magic has completed curse-breaking work on another pyramid... all things not closely related to us."
"Egypt... I seem to remember the Egyptian Minister of Magic is a pharaoh's descendant?" Terry's eyes widened. "Don't they fear being punished by ancestors after death?"
"According to Gringotts specialists' estimates, this exploration earned Egypt's Ministry at least a hundred thousand Galleons, and that's just from discovered alchemical items. With magical gems and such, they'll earn plenty more Galleons when they open pyramid interior exhibitions later."
Padma folded the Daily Prophet and pulled out The Quibbler, pointing to the headline: "Pyramid Mystery: Tomb or Hidden Vault? Pharaohs' Millennium-Spanning Contingency!"
"The Quibbler says pyramids were actually safes where pharaohs stored money they couldn't spend while alive. Whenever later Egyptians faced financial difficulties, the current pharaoh would crack open a safe to help Egypt through hard times."
"Is The Quibbler's report normal?" Sterling finally lifted his head from his Transfiguration notes.
"Not finished yet. At the report's end, Mr Lovegood calls on Minister Fudge to learn from Egyptian pharaohs by storing all improper benefits from his years in office underground. This would be the greatest political achievement he could manage for England's magical community."
Sterling and Terry exchanged glances.
"Terry, have you heard of any... irreconcilable hatred between Mr Lovegood and Minister Fudge?"
The report was really harsh. Talking about accepting bribes and scorning his abilities... Those unaware might think it was election season with Lovegood as Fudge's political rival.
"No, but don't be surprised. For tabloids or entertainment newspapers, criticising Fudge is a major trend. Whoever sits in the Minister position becomes the target of tabloid bombardment."
"Believe it or not, tomorrow Fudge won't even issue a statement about this. He's used to it. Maybe Lovegood himself pays improper benefits to Fudge."
Sterling marvelled. Was this how adults interacted? Indeed too complex.
"Oh, right, The Quibbler also mentioned something the Daily Prophet didn't."
"Fudge's romantic scandal?" Terry said. Padma glared at him.
"No. According to reliable Gringotts agent intelligence, the exploration team discovered mysterious magical fluctuations while passing the Red Sea. Supposedly a curse-breaker fell in on the spot and vanished without even leaving a body..."
"Sounds boring. Is Mr Lovegood out of inspiration? This story's much worse than previous ones." Terry made a sharp critique.
"Indeed, why not put this incident into the pyramid exploration process, then describe the troubles it brought the team? Better yet, kill off a pharaoh descendant. That would definitely increase sales." Ron finally finished his book and joined the conversation.
Unfortunately, his momentary boldness would cost him a day of silence.
"Then Lovegood would be sued by Egypt's Ministry and lose his shirt. Ron, Egyptian magical society's very different from England's. They care about their reputation." Terry instructed. Ron blushed and continued with the next book, "Magical Trauma Case Collection".
Sterling continued studying biological transfiguration principles by comparing them with Professor McGonagall's third-year Transfiguration notes. Just then, flames rose in the room's centre, followed by a bright cry.
Robin, curled on the cauldron rack nearby, was startled and flew cursing to Sterling's shoulder.
"Chirp! What is that? A phoenix?"
A beautiful phoenix flew from the flames, its condition much better than when Sterling last saw it. Fire flowed over its body, emanating breathtaking magical fluctuations.
"Fawkes, has Professor Dumbledore returned?" Sterling extended his hand, letting it land on his arm. Warm flames brushed Sterling's cheek without any pain.
Fawkes responded with a cheerful song. Robin watched this scene and proudly puffed its chest.
"So what if it was a rare phoenix? It couldn't even speak human language. Just watch me show you how it's done!"
Sterling tilted his head. Robin held its chest too high, making his ear uncomfortable. Wonder what it was doing? Maybe frightened by the phoenix? Understandable; according to "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", phoenix fire could reach temperatures capable of melting alchemical creations.
So he soothingly patted Robin's head, unexpectedly making its chest puff higher.
Witnessing all this, Fawkes buried its head in its wings and chuckled quietly, then pulled out a tri-folded note from its back feathers and tossed it to Sterling.
Sterling caught and opened it.
"Very sorry to hear Harry's condition has deteriorated so severely... and Voldemort. You needn't worry too much about him attacking the castle. As long as I hold the Hogwarts headmaster position, my magic will continuously supply Hogwarts' defence systems. Unless Voldemort recovers to full strength, he can't breach Hogwarts' defences head-on."
"And we both know he can't recover fully, so don't worry too much about him. As for Nicolas, I'm also searching for this old friend. Please tell Vitam not to worry too much. Nicolas's capabilities need no questioning. Finally, Sterling, I think I need to ask a favour of you."
Sterling felt an ominous premonition rising. He opened the final fold.
"Replace me in watching over Hogwarts during this time, mainly Harry's body. I strongly suspect this involves Avalonian power, and in this regard, probably no one's more skilled than you. I can't return to Hogwarts anytime soon."
'Terrible,' Sterling thought.
Hogwarts' anchor had left Hogwarts during the most turbulent times... What kind of hellish joke was this?