Besides dealing with Hermione, who was constantly trying to pound sense into Harry and Ron's heads, Julian also had to stop Luna from getting herself killed by Dusk because she kept insisting that "he looks like he needs a hug" and could not seem to grasp that if Dusk had his way, that would be the last hug she ever gave. That bird truly hated being touched by anyone except Julian and made that very clear after "warning" whoever offended him. Helena had already told Julian what sort of "warning" Dusk had given Dumbledore, and he had no desire to explain to Madam Pomfrey why Luna had magical fire burns across her skin.
Everything might have stayed under control if Peeves had not crept up on Dusk and yanked out one of his long tail feathers. The bird completely lost his mind. Fire burst from him as he furiously chased the poltergeist down the corridor, hurling blasts of flame after him without the slightest concern for what else he might hit in the process. It got so bad that McGonagall herself had to intervene to keep the rest of the school from suffering the wrath of a very enraged ho-ho. Her solution was essentially to put him in time out by transfiguring an unburnable stone box around Dusk.
"I believe I made it quite clear that you were to keep this ho-ho under control, Mr. Ravenclaw?" McGonagall asked, glaring at him over her spectacles. Julian could only give a helpless smile and explain what had provoked Dusk so badly. After hearing the entire story, McGonagall simply sighed in frustration before handing the still furious, though less murderously so, Dusk back over to Julian. She then left to deal with Peeves, who was entirely responsible for an enraged immortal bird rampaging through the corridors in the first place.
Once he released Dusk from the transfigured box, Julian finally got a proper look at the bird's tail and let out a sigh when he saw the bloody patch where the feather had been torn free. He gave Dusk some wiggenweld to close the wound, then took the very unhappy bird to see Madam Pomfrey. The older woman gave Julian an odd look when he stepped into the hospital wing before speaking. "You don't appear sick or injured, so please tell me this is not another strange incident like last year," she said worriedly. Julian shook his head. "Not me this time. It's Dusk," he said, pointing at the large black and red bird sulking on his shoulder.
Madam Pomfrey raised an eyebrow at that, then came over and examined Dusk from head to tail before stopping when she saw the still fresh, bloody wound. "Peeves," Julian explained before she could demand to know what had happened. The nurse ground her teeth, clearly having no trouble believing that answer, then disappeared to the back of the infirmary and returned with a potion and a small tin of bluish cream. Dusk gave her a furious glare, but she merely scoffed at him before addressing Julian.
"Give him a quarter of this potion every morning for the next four days, and once the flesh has healed, apply this balm to the skin to encourage regeneration for the week after that. I am sorry to say I can do nothing about the feather itself, however, since Peeves ripped out the root along with it," she said as she handed him the items. Julian tucked them into Greed and thanked her for helping Dusk, even if the bird was in an absolutely foul mood. Madam Pomfrey just waved it off, saying it was her job, before shooing him back out of the infirmary.
Meanwhile, Fawkes became angry as well after McGonagall reported to Dumbledore what had happened and handed over the feather she had taken from Peeves. It was about a foot long, and its base still carried bits of flesh and dried blood. To say Dumbledore was displeased would have been putting it mildly, since more than most, he understood how much value an immortal bird placed on its feathers and which among them were most precious. Fawkes had only ever allowed two feathers to be plucked from him, and those had been the least important on his body.
Every ho-ho, much like a phoenix, attached enormous significance to its tail feathers, so having one violently ripped out would have enraged any of them, no matter how gentle they usually were. Dusk had never been a particularly gentle bird to begin with, so Dumbledore was not surprised by his reaction in the slightest. "It seems severe punishment is in order for Peeves, as his actions this time placed many at serious risk of injury or worse. I shall ask Severus to choose an appropriate punishment, since he will no doubt be harsher on Peeves than any of the rest of us," Dumbledore said in a tone that left no room for argument, though McGonagall had no intention of defending the poltergeist after something so dangerous anyway.