The distant, dim sky swallowed the last sliver of pine needle.
By the quiet crackle of the fireplace flames, the anti-bite gloves trembled slightly in the cold wind.
Filch looked down, a small piece of sunset falling into his hand.
...
Sean walked briskly through the corridors, the castle's bustle never letting up for a second.
Bruce, their prefect, had brought back a ton of stuff—even some floating candles.
But when Sean saw him, Bruce looked rough: hair all over the place, robes dusted with some mystery powder, boots caked in mud.
Pister and Leon didn't look much better. Leon was like a boiling kettle, dragging Bruce off through the Great Hall doors.
"Bruce... he..." Sean hesitated, then decided to ask what happened.
"Oh, him?" Pister said with a goofy grin. "He swapped all the toffees at Honeydukes with hiccough sweets. Ended up with a bunch of burping wizards piling up on the wooden stairs. Even down in the dungeons, you could hear the burps louder than bells..."
"..."
Sean wasn't sure what to say. Pulling off a swap like that in front of a crowd of wizards? Not easy.
He paused for a moment of silence, then noticed the holes in Pister's robes.
"That? He set off fireworks outside while someone was confessing... fireworks tipped over, exploded right in the guy's lap. And that wizard's got a mean Fire Charm..."
At this, Hermione's mouth dropped open at the hall doors, and Neville started shaking just picturing it.
"Oh, and... he snuck itching powder into someone's hair growth potion. Told 'em, 'If it itches, that's just your hair growing!'"
Now, the four of them figured Bruce's screams as he got dragged away didn't sound so bad after all.
"Sometimes we wonder if he should've been in Gryffindor," Pister said with a calm chuckle. He handed Sean a pack of Fudge Flies—those creamy fudge flies—and headed out of the hall.
Fudge Flies, yeah. Weird, right? Naming a candy after the Minister for Magic like he's a fly.
But even weirder? The classroom had been decked out.
"Just set that here, Sean," Justin said, buzzing around the room full of energy. He insisted he could handle it alone, but the other three weren't about to let him slave away by himself.
Justin started by hanging the floating candles in every corner, especially over each desk, making sure everyone had plenty of light.
Bruce had also snagged three jack-o'-lanterns stuffed with everlasting candles—those magical ones that burn forever.
Floating candles, everlasting candles—honestly, Sean wasn't sure the difference, but it didn't stop him from placing the jack-o'-lanterns under two wooden desks. The cozy glow spilled across the rugs, casting sharp, toothy shadows.
One more went into the wooden cabinet by the entrance, right next to Sean's notebooks.
The cabinet wasn't super bright inside, and Neville kept grabbing the wrong stuff last time—mixing up the "Herbology" and "Potions" notes.
By the entrance cabinet was a little switch-like thing, the candle controller. The room didn't need to be this lit all the time.
After all that hustling, the not-so-big space looked brand new.
Rugs covered the area around the two wooden desks, topped with cushions and the jack-o'-lanterns. The cabinet was hung with candles and stocked with notebooks and everyone's spell progress charts.
Green plants dotted every desk—and actually, every spot in the room. Neville, smiling shyly, was in charge of them.
At the entrance, Justin set up a mirror—a magical one, a talking one.
Its job? Reminding anyone who looked to smarten up their appearance.
When Neville stepped up, it yelled: "Chest out, straighten your clothes, tuck in that shirt, you slob!"
Neville fumbled to fix himself, startled.
Spells flew everywhere as they tidied up. That's when they spotted all the dusty corners and spots that needed fixing—perfect for a Cleaning Charm or Levitation Charm.
Compared to the boredom of regular practice, the young wizards were pumped now. By the end of decorating, everyone was wiped out.
Sean's Levitation Charm had climbed from Expert (110/9000) to Expert (600/9000), and his Cleaning Charm went from Skilled (100/3000) to Skilled (300/3000).
"One issue..." Justin said during a break. "If we call this the classroom, how's it different from the others?"
Everyone froze.
"Yeah!" Hermione blurted, dazed. "We need a name, so when we say 'classroom,' we know which one."
The group nodded in agreement.
Justin got excited. "Something special, that captures what we're doing here."
"After-Class Study Base?" Hermione suggested, glancing at Sean—he'd downed a potion for a quick recovery and was already flipping through a Transfiguration notebook.
"Yeah," Sean nodded.
"Hey... you two are way too casual!" Justin protested. "Neville, any ideas?"
"Warm... a warm room," Neville mumbled.
"That's not great for a name, but it's sweet," Justin said, frowning. He knew he couldn't count on these three.
"The Gifted Hope Room! Short for Hope Hut," Justin announced suddenly. "It says this room itself is a gift, meant to nurture and hold onto hope. Like a safe harbor where anyone who enters can rediscover that gifted spark. What do you think?"
"Wow, wow..." Neville stared, trying to say it was great but sounding like a croaking frog.
"Not terrible..." Hermione said, chin up—she actually loved it.
"Sean?" Justin turned.
"Yeah," Sean nodded. Realizing he'd said too little, he added, "Sounds good."
"Settled then! We need a sign with the name on it."