A Peaceful Day

"Peeves really knew how to pick his moments..."

Andrew sighed inwardly, but he had no intention of heading to the castle entrance—he was only a first-year. Was he supposed to go there and offer himself up on a platter?

That was a spirit who dared defy every headmaster Hogwarts had ever had!

He had ruled the castle before Dumbledore arrived, and now he was still happily pulling pranks.

"Just wait. The chaos will die down..."

Andrew leaned back in his chair and resumed quietly working on the Shoelace Charm. Driven by that faint spell, the two laces slowly wriggled as though trying to restore themselves. His roommates curiously shifted their chairs closer and began trying the rather boring charm themselves.

By the time Andrew could make his shoelaces tie themselves properly, Peeves's prank had finally been brought under control. The returning older students, arriving in groups, hit him several times with the bread he had thrown at them. The spirit finally lost interest, cursing as he left the passageway.

All right, the first rule of defending against Peeves—make him drop a rock on his own foot...

Andrew quietly noted that down, then thanked Ham, the older student who had bought him a pile of snacks and also happened to be a minor club leader.

"Study hard. Going to the library is a good habit—knowledge is the greenhouse where wisdom is born."

He smiled and patted Andrew on the shoulder with all the air of a leader inspecting his subordinates, then turned and left.

"No wonder it's the strictest club in the house..."

After Ham left, Hal looked full of envy. Clearly, he had been completely won over.

It was all an act, and I can't even say so...

With that complaint in mind, Andrew kept his mouth firmly shut. What he thought about club meetings was one thing, and those opinions were not meant to be spread outside the club. He had no desire to be targeted repeatedly by a bunch of older students because of something he said.

If they were tormenting people or bullying them too badly, he would definitely do something about it. But this was only a matter of attitudes they never openly displayed—if he turned against them over that, even Voldemort would say he was being too extreme.

Of course, that nickname was rather abrupt. For one thing, he had heard that the Dark Lord's real name was cursed, so no one dared say it. For another, most of what Andrew knew about him came from commentary...

As far as he knew, Mr. Noseless had plenty of subordinates with their own agendas, but he only punished them for failing at their tasks. Andrew could not possibly be more outrageous than Mr. Noseless himself, could he?

Back in the common room, they divided up the snacks. Naturally, Andrew's share was the largest, but there was no need to separate everything so carefully. They simply piled all their food together on the table where they played cards, and anyone could take whatever they wanted.

"Sleep, sleep. There might be owls tomorrow, and we absolutely can't let something like this happen again!"

Yet when Andrew got up the next day, dawn had only just broken, and the owls showed no sign of disturbing anyone.

After thinking for a minute or two and remembering what he had told his roommates before bed, Andrew decided to sneak out. They had studied so hard over the previous days that they were exhausted and had been sleeping longer than usual. He had probably gone to bed too early the night before, so after a little more rest, he was completely refreshed. If he woke everyone at this hour, he was afraid he would end up in the hospital wing...

"Go for a run... My essay's done, my homework's done... I've been so busy with magic these past few days that I've neglected something as important as running..."

Quietly getting up and dressing, Andrew headed downstairs while taking in the common room in the morning.

Hogwarts was still slightly dark at five in the morning, and most of the paintings on the walls were resting as well. As Andrew passed, one or two portraits would yawn and glance at him before going back to sleep.

"Looks like there really isn't anyone else up this early..."

He decided to run around the Black Lake for a while—the pitch was nice, but it would definitely be occupied.

"Phew..."

After less than half a lap, Andrew stopped beside a willow tree and caught his breath, then continued forward at a slightly faster walking pace. He had only stopped for a little over a week, yet he was already getting tired.

The Black Lake was beautiful at this hour, and the best part was that there were no couples around. There might have been couples who ran together in the mornings, but considering it was Sunday after Saturday, even that slim possibility had been wiped out.

But the unlikely thing Andrew feared still happened—there was a Hufflepuff wandering along the lakeshore ahead, pacing back and forth as if he were about to charge into the lake.

"Sorry, excuse me. Have you seen my toad?"

Andrew hesitated only briefly before coming up with an excuse.

"A toad?"

The other student froze for a moment and turned around. "I haven't seen one over here."

"Ah?"

Andrew put on a disappointed expression. "It's not very big. It's been cooped up lately, so I thought I'd bring it to the Black Lake for a swim while there weren't many people around. But it suddenly ran off..."

"Want me to help you look?"

The other student only asked tentatively, but Andrew immediately seized the chance. "Would you? That'd be great, thanks..."

First, keep him occupied so he won't think about anything else. Then ask around about what's been happening lately, and finally try to talk him out of it.

With that in mind, Andrew's lies rolled right off his tongue. "My roommate said it might prefer freedom. I don't know. Maybe we really aren't suited to each other..."

"That's possible. Think about it—the Black Lake is such a huge body of water. Living here would definitely be better than living in a dormitory. And they say there's a Slytherin treasure hidden here. Maybe it went off to study."

After hesitating slightly, the Hufflepuff Andrew did not know lowered his voice. "I've read quite a few theories saying that, so I've been researching it. You know, there's been another strong piece of evidence lately."

???

Something felt off.

"Actually, there's no harm in telling you. Several of my classmates have started preparing to visit the Black Lake. We've all been making preparations for a while... If we see your toad at the bottom of the lake, we'll bring it your thoughts and bring back its blessings while we're at it..."

Who were you trying to fool here, a child?

Wait—after mocking him inwardly, Andrew realized he had been overthinking things.

The other student was not contemplating suicide. He was simply longing to explore the Black Lake—and that story had become further proof to him.

"Fourth-year, Jack."

The other student held out his hand. Andrew felt a little awkward, but ultimately chose to give his real name. One lie could be covered up; any more and things would get difficult to explain.

"First-year, Andrew."

"Got it. I'll remember. I'll help you look properly, and if I find anything, I'll have the school owls send you a message. I'll check over there, and I'll look for it while I'm at it. Though I still think it may have chosen a free life. Well then, goodbye."

"Goodbye. I'll look over there for him. Maybe he's just being naughty..."

Andrew put on an anxious expression and pretended to search for the nonexistent toad. Then he would slip back, grab some snacks, and head straight to the library... He was not even going to the Great Hall! This was far too embarrassing!