Academic Faction

At dusk, the sky gradually darkened.

An owl flew in from the horizon toward a small estate on the outskirts of the remote Cennas Village. It circled above the estate once before flying straight into the house through an open window.

The sudden arrival of the owl startled the house-elf busy in the kitchen. She hurriedly shielded the freshly prepared dinner and shouted at the uninvited owl, "Don't fly around! Give me the letter, and I'll deliver it to my master."

The owl clearly had no intention of handing the letter over to the house-elf. It flapped its wings and circled above the kitchen, frightening the house-elf into shrieking, "Don't do that! You'll ruin my master's dinner and turn Mara's kitchen into a complete mess!"

The house-elf tried to catch the owl that had barged into the kitchen and was flying about wildly, but quickly realized she was wasting her time. She could only open the kitchen door and cry, "I'll take you to see my master. Stop flying around."

The owl glided through the doorway, flew down the corridor toward the dining room, and tossed the envelope to the middle-aged man reading the Daily Prophet.

"Sorry, Master. I couldn't stop it," Mara said uneasily.

"It's fine. Is dinner ready?" Hertok asked as he flipped through the newspaper.

"It's ready. I'll bring the food at once." Mara opened the dining room window, threw out the owl that had caused her so much trouble, then hurried back to the kitchen and brought in the freshly prepared meal.

"Who sent the letter?"

Hertok put down the Daily Prophet and picked up the envelope before him. Seeing that it was from Albert, whom he had met not long ago, he opened it and quickly began reading the contents.

Halfway through the letter, Hertok