In the distance, the dimming sky swallowed the last pine needle.
In the quiet crackle of the hearth, the bite-proof glove quivered in the cold wind.
Filch lowered his head; a sliver of sunset fell into his hands.
…
Sean walked lightly down the corridor; the castle's clamor hadn't stopped for a moment.
Bruce had brought back a mountain of things for them—there were even floating candles. But when Sean saw him, Bruce didn't look great: hair a mess, robe dusted with some unknown powder, boots caked in mud.
Pister and Leon didn't look much better. Leon, boiling over like a kettle, hauled Bruce straight back out the Great Hall doors.
"Senior Bruce… he…" Sean hesitated, then asked anyway.
"Oh, him," Pister said with a good-natured smile. "He swapped all the toffees in Honeydukes for Hiccup Sweets, so the wooden stairway in the shop was piled with hiccupping wizards. Even down in the cellar you could hear them—louder than the bell…"
"…"
Sean didn't know what to say. Switching all the toffees with half the village watching wasn't exactly easy. He observed a moment of silence—then noticed all the holes in Pister's robe.
"That was when he set off fireworks during someone's public confession. One rocket toppled and exploded in the boy's arms… and that boy's Fire-Making spell was very good…"
At that, Hermione's mouth fell open at the doors of the Hall, and Neville, picturing it, was already trembling.
"Oh, and… he spiked someone's hair-growth tonic with Itching Powder… and told them, 'If it itches, it's working.'"
Now the four of them no longer found Bruce's pained shriek—when Leon dragged him off—quite so grating.
"Sometimes we wonder if he shouldn't be in Gryffindor…" Pister said with a placid smile. He set a box of Fudge Flies in Sean's hand and left the Hall.
Fudge Flies—what a curious idea, equating the Minister for Magic with a fly.
Curious or not, the classroom was getting decorated.
"Set that here, Sean."
Justin bustled about the room, brimming with enthusiasm. He claimed he could do it all himself, but the other three weren't about to watch him work alone.
He hung floating candles in the corners—especially above each desk, so everyone had good light. Bruce had also brought three pumpkin lanterns with ever-burning candles—enchanted to burn indefinitely.
Floating candles, ever-burning candles… Sean wasn't entirely sure of the difference, but it didn't stop him from placing the jack-o'-lanterns under the two oak tables; their warm light cast slow, toothy grins across the rugs. A third went into the entry cabinet beside Sean's notebooks.
The cabinet's lighting wasn't great; Neville kept taking the wrong books—last time he swapped the "Herbology" and "Potions" notes. Next to the entry cabinet, Justin installed a little switch-like device—the candle controller. No need for the room to be quite so bright all the time.
After a good spell of work, the small room looked brand new.
Rugs were laid near both oak tables; on them, floor cushions and pumpkin lanterns. The cabinet bristled with candles, and inside lay stacks of notebooks and everyone's spell-progress charts. Greenery sat on every desk—truth be told, in every corner of the room—and Neville, smiling shyly, tended it all.
At the entry, Justin set up a mirror—a magical, talking mirror. Its job was to remind whoever stood before it to keep themselves tidy.
When Neville stepped up, it barked, "Chin up! Straighten your clothes! Tuck that shirt in—slovenly!"
Mr. Longbottom jumped and scrambled to comply.
Spells flew around as they cleaned, and only then did they realize how many corners weren't quite clean and how much could be improved—so Cleaning Charms and Levitation got a lot of use. Compared to dry practice, they were buzzing; by the end, everyone was wiped out.
Sean's Levitation Charm climbed from Expert (110/9000) to Expert (600/9000), and his Cleaning Charm from Adept (100/3000) to Adept (300/3000).
"I've got a question…" Justin said as they rested. "If we call this a classroom, how's it different from any other classroom?"
They all froze.
"Good point!" Hermione said, a little dazed. "We need a name. That way, when we say 'the classroom,' we know which place we mean."
The idea won quick approval.
"We need a special name," Justin said, excited. "Something that reflects what we're doing."
"How about… After-Class Study Base?" Hermione ventured, instinctively glancing at Sean—he'd already recovered the fastest after his potion and was reading a Transfiguration notebook again.
"Mm," Sean nodded.
"Hey—you two are way too casual about this!" Justin protested. "Neville, any ideas?"
"Warm… a warm room," Neville said without thinking.
"Tough to use as a name—but not bad," Justin frowned. He knew he couldn't count on this room's three to carry the naming.
"The Gifted Hope Room—the Hope Nook, for short!" Justin blurted. "The name implies the room itself is a gift—a place for nurturing and holding hope. Like a safe harbor, where anyone who comes in can rediscover the hope given to them. How's that?"
"W-wow…" Neville was stunned; he wanted to say yes, but only managed to croak like a frog.
"Not terrible," Hermione said, lifting her chin—though she was clearly pleased.
"What about you, Sean?" Justin asked.
"Mm," Sean nodded. Feeling he'd said too little, he added, "Good."
"Settled, then! We need a sign with the name to hang on the door."
~~~
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