Chapter 80: I Have Friends

“No letters arrived, no one to contact, not even knowing my own birthday...”

At the long table, Jia Jia Siting whispered something to Hermione.

The first rays of sunlight now pierced the tall stained-glass windows, casting dappled shadows across the lengthy dining hall table. The air was filled with the sweet scents of toasted bread, fried bacon, and pumpkin juice, yet all of it was nearly drowned out by the clamor.

Not far from Wizard Sean, several second-year students were passionately debating a spell gesture, gesturing wildly and nearly knocking over a jar of jam;

At the Hufflepuff table, a burst of exclamations erupted as a round-faced boy pulled a cauldron cake from a package—the little badgers of the “Never Go Hungry” club nearly pounced on it;

The Gryffindor table was even noisier, a group of students gathered around to watch the Gryffindor Quidditch captain demonstrate his new broom maintenance tools, chattering nonstop.

Suddenly, a fluttering sound came from afar, growing closer, like hundreds of small drums beating at once.

“The owls are here!”

Someone shouted.

The noise instantly peaked, then swiftly shifted into a hum of anticipation and tension.

Dozens of owls surged into the Great Hall like a gray tide, flying in through the high windows on all sides and circling beneath the enchanted ceiling.

Letters, packages, and magazines rained down like hail.

“It’s a reply.”

Hermione tucked away the letter from home; though owl mail was delivered as soon as sent, the time still wasn’t short.

But owl messengers rarely caused congestion, because owls arrived reliably every day, preventing large backlogs of mail.

Yet in Hogwarts’ history, there had been one chaotic incident when a flood of owls poured into the Great Hall all at once.

That was when Gilderoy Lockhart was a student at Hogwarts; out of vanity, he mailed himself eight hundred Valentine’s Day cards.

“It’s a reply.”

Jia Jia Siting likewise tucked his letter away, his voice low; he glanced at the young wizard beside him, whose quill never stopped scribbling on his notebook—even though an ice pack still clung to his head and steam still rose from his ears from the Stimulating Draught, it didn’t stop his ceaseless studying.

And above, at the long table in the Great Hall, such eyes were far from rare.

Jia Jia Siting lowered his gaze, his hand unconsciously tightening his robe.

In this low-pressure atmosphere, he spoke:

“Scottish winters are especially cold. I... have never seen his robe.”

“I mean to say, it was those losses that shaped him, right?”

Hermione seemed to be speaking of the robe, yet perhaps not; when she tried to clarify, she met those weary green eyes and pale face again, and for a long while, she could not return to herself.

“No, Hermione,”

Jia Jia Siting turned his head away, his face hidden in shadow.

“I think, in those cold winters, what he needed wasn’t strength—but safety.”

When the Owl Master said those words, Jia Jia Siting felt his blood nearly boil.

“No one to contact? Of course that’s a lie! Ha—there’s a wizard who very much wants to contact him—”

“Owl Master, you mean—!”

“I despise lowly lies!”

“Merlin... Merlin’s owl!”

“I am the Owl of Lady Ravenclaw!”

“Oh, sorry, sorry, Owl Master.”

Jia Jia Siting’s mind had completely short-circuited.

Of course—Wizard Sean was so talented and outstanding; how could he have been abandoned?

There must have been some special reason for his being lost.

He would never question the Owl Master; this miraculous being had existed since Hogwarts’ founding, and the little stories he casually told about Gryffindor were the funniest jokes Jia Jia Siting had ever heard.

If it said a wizard wanted to contact Wizard Sean, then one certainly did—and very likely it would be...

Jia Jia Siting, my goodness! What an incredible thing you’ve done!

Lady Liliana Fenleri would be so proud of you!

“Owl Master, please—”

Jia Jia Siting was pleading now.

“Heh—I have only one question—”

“A hundred would do!”

“Are owls eagles?”

“Of course!”

“I shall handle this myself—go find your friend!”

The Owl Master flapped his wings; Jia Jia Siting had never imagined an owl could glow.

“Wizard Sean, Wizard Sean, you need to come here.”

As Jia Jia Siting hurried into the classroom,

Wizard Sean was reading “Dark Arts: A Making Guide to Self-Defense” and his notes, considering the upcoming lesson.

Knockback Jinx, a type of dark magic.

Among the four categories of spells—Charm, Curse, Jinx, Hex—

the Jinx’s ending indicates that the Knockback Jinx belongs to the Jinx category—the least severe, annoying but amusing.

Yet Professor Flitwick was extremely cautious in his teaching; he gave Wizard Sean a notebook filled mostly with the side effects of dark magic, the first line on the cover reading:

【Caution and restraint are the first essentials in studying dark magic】

“Wizard Sean, come with me, quickly...”

Jia Jia Siting’s anxious smile could not be contained, and these past days of illness had brought him and Hermione an absurd amount of concern, leaving Wizard Sean somewhat exasperated.

It was hard to imagine he’d merely closed his eyes for two seconds before Jia Jia Siting and Hermione covered him with a blanket and turned off the lights.

“Hmm.”

No matter how he thought about it, Wizard Sean still nodded.

The fireplace blazed fiercely; behind the roaring flames were three faces with different expressions—

Jia Jia Siting and Hermione were nearly breathless with tension; Wizard Sean looked puzzled—

They called him here just to sit by the fire?

...Well, that wasn’t so bad either.

“Yes, Hermione, family—true family...”

Wizard Sean heard Jia Jia Siting murmuring to himself, while Hermione sat rigid, her face flushed—whether from the fireplace’s warmth or sheer nervousness, it was hard to tell...

Suddenly, a handful of powder appeared out of thin air in the fireplace.

Jia Jia Siting and Hermione held their breath; even Wizard Sean looked toward the fireplace with anticipation.

—A serious face appeared before them.

“How could it be... how could it be...”

Jia Jia Siting was utterly stunned,

“Owl Master, what exactly did you do...”

“Professor.”

“Professor.”

“Professor McGonagall.”

Wizard Sean was not disappointed; he had never seen a professor appear in the fireplace before.

The shrunken professor was marvelous.

Professor McGonagall glanced around the room and immediately knew this was the Owl’s doing.

She gave two brief acknowledgments, then saw a pair of curious, sincere eyes.

Her gaze softened completely:

“Mr. Wizard Sean Green.”

“Although seeing such a gentle Professor McGonagall surprised me—yes, and it was worth it—I didn’t want this!”

Jia Jia Siting muttered in frustration.

Hermione gave him a withering look:

“It’s common knowledge that Professor McGonagall favors Wizard Sean; it’s natural she’d want to contact him. Only one person is a fool.”

At that moment, Wizard Sean was closing the fireplace, and he heard Jia Jia Siting’s quiet voice:

“I’m sorry, Wizard Sean. I thought...”

“Jia Jia Siting, this isn’t your fault. You’ve done more than enough. I’m grateful.”

Wizard Sean picked up Professor Flitwick’s notebook,

“What I’ve lost doesn’t matter. What matters is what I still have—like friends.”

“Friendship—that’s two hearts swaying together.”

Jia Jia Siting thought he heard his mother whispering; for the first time, his heart felt ready to shatter.

Thank you to Puppet Old K, Wang Yi Qi, Jing Jing Xuan, Ling Feng Mian, Wu Wei Shan Ren, Mu Mian, Jin Laikai k, Ji Xia Shisih, Shou Mian Ren Gan, Yi Feng Chang Yun, Kong Bai Tu Hua, Bai Shu, LikeWater, Shen Shi De She, Hu Ru Yi Ye Yu Long Wu, Shuyou 160109133635570, palenight, Ke Kou Nai Su Su Ma Ma, Xi La Xiao Ming, Bai Tian Lan Yan, Shuyou 20210818201025635, Qian Yu Ling Feng, Xia Shuang, San Huan Shi Ba Wan, 7South, 500 Nian Gao Kao 300 Nian Mo Ni, Yun Dong, Shuyou 20191216142530013, Bei Fang Ke Xue Yuan Shi Zhi Wen Dao Jun, hayato5959, Suonian Jie Xing He Su Yi Jie Shi Ni, tutouran, Shuyou 20240322143152906, zp_bB, Guangyin Xu Guo De Shao Nian, olingo, wznlssy, Shuyou 20240512014236600, Kai Xin Le Zi Ren, Man Yue Qi Qi, Shuyou 20220613075513134, siehe, Yu Tian Yao Shui Jiao, Liuguang Bu Shi, Wan Wo Di Er Shi Niu Liu Hu Shen Yin, Jerrome, supernova518, Shuyou 20190611134244884, Gai Pian, Lan Lan De Rayi, Shuyou 20250825110856556, Yuan Ye, .{}, Shuyou 20190526223102544, Kuang Feng Tian Lei, Xiang Yao Shui Jiao Wo De Yue Piao,

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