The spring sunshine streamed through the deep green greenhouse glass, warming people gently.
"...It seems like the greenhouse has been robbed lately; these cabbages seem to be getting fewer and fewer by the day," said Professor Sprout, who was loosening the soil for the Mandrakes. These soon-to-mature baby plants would soon be able to fully emerge from the soil and then be turned into potions.
"Really?" William paused his hand that was trimming the leaves.
"Yes, do you have any idea?" Professor Sprout nodded, asking casually.
"Uh... absolutely not, Professor." William shook his head impassively as he deftly repotted the Poisonous Tentacles in front of him.
"Very well, five points to Hufflepuff—" Professor Sprout turned her head, waved her wand, and placed the Poisonous Tentacles repotted by William out of the reach of the lower-year little wizards. She looked at William, "You’ve done very well. It’s unfortunate that this year your final exams are the O.W.L., otherwise you would’ve passed my class."
"Thank you, Professor. There’s always next year, right?"
"Haha..."
"Bang, bang, bang—"
The bell for recess rang at this moment, and Professor Sprout stopped conversing with William. She clapped her hands, and the surrounding fifth-year little wizards turned around. "You all did well, but still, keep in mind, the O.W.L. might not be as tough as you think, but it’s definitely not easy—"
Then came a familiar lengthy speech; the professors have all been doing this lately, as there are only about three months left until the O.W.L. exams. This is called... what...
Oh, the hundred-day vow.
After listening to the speech, the little wizards streamed out of the greenhouse. It was lunchtime, and their rumbling stomachs urged them to quicken their pace.
"Good afternoon."
There were quite a few student groups around, and as William walked into the castle, a small silhouette separated from another group and breezed through the crowd to William’s side without a hitch.
"Oh... good afternoon?"
William turned his head and met the gaze of a dark blue eagle. "This kind of behavior... there’s a good chance you’ll get beaten up." His gaze continued downward, noticing the unruly dirty blonde hair spilling out from the "eagle’s beak." Hearing William’s voice, the girl lifted her head, and a pair of rather peculiar glasses covered her eyes.
"...What is this?"
After hesitating for a moment, William couldn’t help but ask.
"Oh, these are Wrackspurt glasses, researched by my dad. Do you want to try them?" Luna took them off and handed them to William. "Once you put them on, even those who aren’t gifted can visually see the Wrackspurts..."
"..."
William was silent for a long time before finally deciding to take the Wrackspurt glasses, which seemed to cosplay as an owl. Curiosity is a troublesome thing, after all.
"Do you see those black spots? The little bugs crawling in and out of the ears of these people..."
Luna’s voice wasn’t exactly soft, so much so that even some of the people nearby instinctively scratched at their ears, as if worried something was indeed crawling inside.
"...Alright."
The more one hopes, the bigger the disappointment. With just one glance, William could tell this was merely a pair of glass lenses producing light spots, but he didn’t argue with the girl. He merely nodded and handed the glasses back, "Did you come looking for me for something?"
He wasn’t joking earlier; the girl wearing the eagle head was truly somewhat "unsafe," especially since Gryffindor would face Ravenclaw in the Quidditch Cup finals in two days, and the Gryffindors had always taken Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. This meant they were now surrounded by a bunch of fifth-year Gryffindor students—
"Oh, I wanted to find your Niffler. Is it with you?"
"...It’s not." William rummaged through his pockets, then shook his head.
"Alright, are you planning to look for it?" Luna continued asking.
"Not planning to."
"Alright then..."
"Why are you looking for it?"
"We’re going to... oh no, it’s its secret."
"?"
A Niffler has secrets? William didn’t ask further, but he decided to interrogate Kabuda when he saw it tonight to find out what it was planning.
"Are you going to the Great Hall?"
"No, I’m going to the Hospital Wing—"
"Okay, I’m going too."
Then, the girl silently followed William up the stairs. They turned three corners down the corridor before pushing open the door to the Hospital Wing.
"...It’s quite lively."
William’s gaze swept across the room—Cedric lay on a bed in the corner, with Cho Chang sitting beside him. Her golden-haired friend Mary... alright, William forgot her name, but he remembered she was a Ravenclaw student. She was sitting on the empty bed behind Cho Chang at the moment, staring idly at the ceiling.
On the other side of the ward, two beds had been pushed together, where Ron and Filch still maintained their positions from when they were Petrified. Harry Potter, wearing hospital clothes, lay on one side of the bed, while Hermione with her fluffy brown hair whispered something to him. Ginny stood behind the girl, staring down at her toes.
But William could tell the boy wasn’t listening attentively—his gaze kept drifting inadvertently toward the other end of the room, across the aisle from him.
Unexpectedly, the Savior seems quite dubious... Hmm, it appears this world is doomed.
Beside Filch, Mrs. Loris crouched near the window, and William squinted—hmm, Kabuda was there too, now lying on the cat’s head, basking in the sun with closed eyes, living life more comfortably than William himself...