Hogwarts' Halloween feast was especially grand that year. Dumbledore had invited the lead actors of The Gryffindor Legend, and Sirius Black and Lupin were naturally there as well.
From dozens of meters away, Snape, seated at the staff table, caught a whiff of a sickening presence.
His expression remained calm as he raised his goblet and tipped the freshly squeezed orange juice into his mouth in one clean motion.
Perhaps the sweetness was just right, for an elegant curve touched the corner of his lips.
Sirius raised his brows at the sight. "What's wrong with that bastard?"
Lupin, beside him, followed his gaze and looked over, then turned back in confusion. "Ignore him. We rarely get to come back to school, so let's just enjoy the feast."
The fifth season of The Gryffindor Legend had reached new heights in viewership, and the crew was busily preparing the sixth season. If all went well, filming could begin in mid-November.
Sirius withdrew his gaze and draped an arm over Lupin's shoulder. "Come on, let's find Harry."
Hagrid was not at school. Though that year's Halloween feast lacked enormous pumpkins, it had thoughtfully prepared plenty of strangely shaped tables and chairs.
Unicorns, fire dragons, Basilisks, owls, Nifflers, thunderbirds, Murtlaps... and even bats.
"Gu gu—" Along with a long-unheard cry, the round, chubby Gu Gu squeezed through a small window of the Great Hall and crashed heavily down in front of Hermione.
She picked Gu Gu up in surprise. Its weight made her laugh helplessly. "Little guy, how did you get here by yourself?"
Gu Gu wriggled in her arms and laboriously raised its tiny wings, gesturing at something.
"Mm... Uncle Eric brought you here? He and Aunt Evelyn went to Italy for a car show?"
"Gu gu!" The little fellow turned around and