Morning light squeezed through the cracks in the cave that had been blasted out beneath their secret base, landing right on Kayson's eyelids. He clicked his tongue and buried his head deeper into the pillow.
"I should've used black stained glass, or hung up some curtains," he muttered.
"Wake up! Potions class!" Lily's voice was like an awl stabbing straight into his ear. She was frantically pulling a crumpled robe over herself, her hair as messy as if slugs had crawled through it.
Snape was already on his feet, his face even grayer than usual. He rubbed at it futilely, his movements stiff.
Kayson slowly sat up, feeling so hungry that his stomach was practically pressed against his back. The food stores he had eaten from Professor Slughorn's place last night had long since been digested.
"Hurry up, Kayson! We're going to be late!" Lily stamped her foot anxiously, grabbing his and Snape's arms and dragging them outside.
"Wait, wait! You're going out looking like that?" Kayson hurriedly pulled them back, set three cauldrons in the corner of the room, and poured in three buckets of water.
"Wash your faces properly. It's only polite," Kayson said, taking the lead by scooping up water and splashing it over his face.
After washing up, the three of them left the cave and returned to the corridors of Hogwarts, which should have been bustling at this hour. Yet there was no one there but them.
That made one thing clear... they were very late.
The three of them instantly became like startled Nifflers, sprinting toward the underground classroom. The moment they rushed into the cold corridor, they nearly collided head-on with someone.
"Kayson? Last night, you...?" John Abott held a greaseproof-paper package and watched the three of them run in from outside the