Lucien returned to the Hufflepuff dorms, the world finally quiet again.
He slid into bed without a word, Akeno already half-asleep. She instinctively wrapped her arms around him, and Lucien relaxed completely, resting his forehead against hers. Whatever chaos Hogwarts still held, it could wait.
For once, Lucien Aurelius Lionhardt slept peacefully.
Back in the Great Hall, the air felt… different after Lucien's departure.
Harry sat at the table, staring down at his plate, barely touching his food. His thoughts replayed Lucien's words again and again—knowledge, worth, judgment—but one thing lingered more than anything else.
Lucien's adopted father.
"Hey, Harry."
Angelina Johnson slid into the seat across from him, Tonks beside her, still mid-gossip.
Harry blinked.
"Oh—uh—sorry."
Angelina tilted her head.
"You look like you're thinking too hard. What's going on?"
Harry hesitated, then said honestly,
"Lucien… he had a really great adopted father."
Angelina smiled softly.
"Yes," she said.
"He really was a great man."
Harry looked up.
"Do you know his name?"
Angelina nodded casually.
"Edmund Lionhardt."
The reaction was instant.
Several students from the Muggle world choked on their drinks.
Someone dropped a fork.
Another whispered, "No way."
Harry stared around the table.
"…Did I miss something?"
Hermione slowly turned toward him, eyes wide.
"Yes, Harry," she said flatly.
"You missed everything."
Harry shrank a little.
"I… did?"
Hermione rubbed her forehead.
"Are you an idiot, Harry?"
Harry blushed.
Hermione took a deep breath and launched in.
"Every household in England knows stories about Edmund Lionhardt," she said.
"He was an ex-colonel in the army—"
"The youngest colonel," she emphasized.
"He fought for England, retired at thirty, and then built the Lionhardt empire from nothing over forty years."
Harry's jaw slowly dropped.
"Political influence across Europe and Asia," Hermione finished.
Harry swallowed.
"…That was Lucien's adopted father?"
Angelina nodded calmly.
Harry looked like his brain had stopped working.
Hermione turned back to Angelina.
"You said earlier that you were neighbors," she said suspiciously.
Angelina shook her head.
"No," she replied.
"I knew Grandpa Edmund since I was a kid."
Hermione blinked.
"Grandpa?"
Angelina smiled proudly.
"My grandfather, Edgar Johnson, was Edmund Lionhardt's deputy."
The table went silent.
Hermione's eyes widened even more.
"…Edgar Johnson?" she whispered.
"The Wolf of Lionhardt?"
Angelina puffed out her chest proudly.
"Isn't my grandpa great?"
Hermione opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
For once, she had no words.
Harry leaned back slowly, staring at the ceiling.
So that's the man who raised Lucien…
Somewhere deep in the castle, Lucien slept soundly—completely unaware that his peaceful nap had just shattered half of Hogwarts' understanding of who he really was.