Harry Potter: Prince of Shadows

The feast began.

Every student switched into full-on eating mode.

At the same time, countless ghosts drifted out from every corner of the castle, startling quite a few of the newly arrived young witches and wizards. Ian, too, was intrigued, stealing several glances at these spectral figures.

Each ghost had a transparent body, its vibrant colors gone—very different from the departed spirits Ian had seen in the Mysterious Realm.

"Eat, eat, my little wizards! Fill those bellies!"

"Hahahaha, we've got ourselves another crybaby!"

Their presence only added to the lively atmosphere of the feast.

Nearly Headless Nick, the Bloody Baron, the Fat Friar… Among them, Ian did not spot Helena Ravenclaw. Perhaps she hadn't attended such gatherings for many years.

He went back to being a "chowhound," digging in with gusto.

"I'm Penelope Clearwater, the other Ravenclaw prefect. Welcome to Ravenclaw."

Not long after they started eating, Ravenclaw's female prefect, seated across the table, took the initiative to greet Ian. Like the male prefect Dietrich, she was clearly quite sharp.

"Hi there—just call me Ian…"

He mumbled through a mouthful of roast pork, speaking around his food.

"All right, Ian. If you need anything, feel free to let me know."

Penelope smiled, her eyes hinting that she anticipated some interesting developments this term.

"Need anything…?"

Ian paused for a second.

"Do you really mean it?"

He did have something he might need help with from a higher-year student. After all, these seasoned veterans could accomplish things he, as a rookie, couldn't.

"Absolutely."

Her expression remained warm and patient.

After weighing it in his mind for a moment, Ian set down his fork and spoon.

"This may sound abrupt, and maybe even a bit rude, but I'm wondering if you could help me find out whether there's someone at school whose sister has died."

Ian certainly hadn't forgotten his promise to a friend.

"Huh?"

Penelope clearly wasn't expecting that.

"It's…complicated. Very important to me, for reasons I can't fully explain,"

Ian said, glancing at his plate just in time to see the last piece of fried chicken snatched by a neighboring wizard with dark skin.

"No problem. I'll ask around."

Penelope didn't pry, readily agreeing.

"Any useful clues?"

She resumed her meal, likely in a hurry to avoid going hungry tonight.

"I think they might be twins—or perhaps not. Basically, I'm looking for two brothers who lost a little sister. Her name might have been…Ariana, but I'm not sure."

After all, Ian wasn't even certain Ariana's brothers were still in school. No one knew how long ago she'd died, nor how many years she'd lingered in the Mysterious Realm. There was a chance even the name "Ariana" might not be the one she'd used in life.

Just like Pandro,

who'd forgotten his original name and picked a new one in the Mysterious Realm. There was no telling whether Ariana might have done something similar.

"If we have a name, we can work with that. If such people exist in the school, I'll find them."

Ravenclaw's female prefect sounded confident enough.

"Thank you—truly. We're lucky to have a prefect like you looking out for us."

Ian expressed genuine gratitude, adding a small dollop of flattery in return.

"It's no big deal."

Penelope smiled as she continued eating at a steady pace. She gave Ian an "OK" sign, clearly pleased by his praise.

"You can call me Prefect Penelope. I like it when people I find agreeable address me that way."

****

The feast carried on.

Cho Chang, apparently even hungrier than Ian, had been single-mindedly chowing down since the meal began. She didn't once interrupt Ian and Penelope's conversation, wholly focused on battling her plateful of food.

On Ian's other side sat a dark-skinned boy, who was even faster at grabbing food than he was. As a result, Ian missed out on most of the fried chicken and chips.

When everyone had eaten their fill, all the dishes vanished and were replaced by desserts. Ian spotted a watermelon jelly that looked delicious, but before he could react, the nimble-fingered neighbor on his left scooped it up.

He had to settle for a cream chocolate pudding instead.

Once everyone polished off dessert, the plates vanished entirely—along with all the remaining sweets. Dumbledore slowly rose to his feet again.

"Just a few final words,"

he began, waiting for silence before continuing.

"To our new first-years: remember, the Forbidden Forest near the castle is off-limits to all students. And this applies to many of our older students as well."

His voice was booming, possibly aided by a sonorous charm.

"Is there anywhere else near the school that's dangerous?"

Cho Chang sounded worried, having apparently regained her ability to speak post-meal.

"Dangerous or not, I only know that if Dumbledore hadn't mentioned it, we'd never realize there's a new area on the map we could explore,"

Ian mused with a sly grin. He cast a glance toward the Slytherin table, where Aurora Grindelwald was also hunched over, using both hands to tackle her plate.

"You're even braver than some Gryffindors,"

Cho teased, still mulling over his perspective.

Just then,

Dumbledore added a quick mention on behalf of Argus Filch, warning everyone not to cast magic in the corridors, and especially not to defecate in front of Filch's office.

A round of giggles spread among the younger students.

As the noise died down,

Dumbledore led the hall in the Hogwarts school song, as was customary:

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts

Teach us something please…"

The lyrics were short and memorable.

Each group was free to choose its own tune—completely uncoordinated—and one over-the-top Gryffindor sang it to the tune of a funeral march.

Ian chose a melody from "Secondhand Roses," prompting the surrounding Ravenclaws to gawk at him in astonishment and edge their seats a bit farther away.

Merriment ended soon enough.

Though Ian was still somewhat reluctant to stop, Dumbledore announced it was time to return to the dormitories. Under the guidance of each House's prefect, the crowd of young witches and wizards formed lines and began to leave.

Ian waved to Aurora standing among the departing Slytherins. After a brief pause, she hesitated, then lifted her hand in return.

Students left in an orderly fashion.

The professors also vacated their seats.

Once all the first-years had filed out of the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall prepared to carry the Sorting Hat back to the Headmaster's office. A long-fingered hand abruptly snatched it from hers.

"What are you doing?! I'm Hogwarts property! You can't violate me like this!"

the Hat screeched as Snape hoisted it into the air, more shrill than a startled groundhog.

"Help! McGonagall! Help me!"

"Dumbledore! Dumbledore, turn around!"

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