Northern Disturbance

"Yeah," Harry replied.

There were not many people in the castle's Entrance Hall. A few students were walking out from the direction of the Great Hall.

As they headed down the corridor toward the tower, Harry stopped by a windowsill at the turn of the stairs. Through the window, he looked out at the Forbidden Forest shrouded in dusk and the evening glow reflected on the distant lake.

"The weather's really nice today," Harry remarked.

"Mm." Cassandra stopped beside him and followed his gaze outside. "It's warmer than the past few days, and there isn't much wind."

"Tomorrow should be nice too."

"I have class tomorrow morning, but nothing scheduled in the afternoon. If you want to go to the Greenhouse, you can go by yourself."

"I'll check on how Pabbie's mint is doing first, then come back and wait for you to finish class."

"Then come back for lunch."

"Okay."

They stood by the windowsill for a moment before continuing toward the tower.

Harry pushed open the tower door. The air inside was as warm and quiet as when they had left. The Silverleaf Chrysanthemum on the windowsill glimmered silver-gray in the twilight, as though it had never left that spot.

Cassandra set her backpack on the table and hung up her coat. Harry walked over and sat by the windowsill, letting out a long breath.

"We walked quite a lot today, but I don't feel tired," he said.

"That's because we spent most of the day sitting down. There wasn't much walking." Cassandra sat across from him. "And there was nothing particularly stressful today, so your body didn't use up extra energy."

"Then if the Confederation has another meeting like this, we can go together again."

"We can. As long as you let me know in advance so