Gryffindor in High Spirits

Gryffindor Tower, third-year girls' Dormitory.

A fireplace burned in the room, the flames crackling and dancing, reflecting on the red and gold curtains, making the whole room warm and cozy.

Outside the window was a vast night sky, with the moon hanging above the Forbidden Forest, gilding the distant mountain ridges with a silvery-gray hue.

Lily had changed into her pajamas and was sitting cross-legged on the bed with her hair down. Her complexion was worse than before school started, and she looked a little tired with dark circles under her eyes.

Things started to get turbulent in Cokeworth at the end of December.

The coal miners went on strike, the country Three-Day Workweek, factories near her home experienced rotating power outages, and Mr. Evans ' factory was also affected, operating only three days a week and receiving wages only for three days.

The heating in the house was intermittent, Petunia huddled under the blankets complaining. Her mother was cooking dinner with firewood in the Kitchen, and the living room lights wouldn't turn on. Lily had spent the entire holiday helping with chores, doing the accounts for her mother, and going out with Petunia to collect wood; life was tough.

Back at Hogwarts, with its warm heating, bright lights, and plentiful food, she finally felt relaxed.

On the Dormitory floor, a small black creature was patrolling.

Nox.

Its short, pure black fur shimmered with a faint silver-gray in the fireplace light. It had long, slender legs, a delicate yet beautifully sculpted frame, and an elegant gait.

Its tail was slightly raised as it moved from under one bed to under another, its deep blue eyes flashing briefly in the darkness before disappearing again.

It walked from Lily's bed to Marcia Fawley's bed, circled around, then went to Susan Hopkins ' bed, squatted at the foot of the bed for a while, sniffed, stood up and continued walking.

They paused at each corner, as if confirming their territory.

Marcia lay on the foot of the bed, her legs crossed and swinging.

She stared at Nox for a while, and as he walked to the bedpost, she tiptoed off the bed, crouched down, and stretched out her hands, intending to attack him from behind.

Nox didn't even turn his head. He gently pushed off with his front legs, swayed to the left, and slipped past Marcia's hand. He moved slowly and calmly, his tail brushing against her fingertips.

Then it sat down, turned its head, and looked up at her with its deep blue eyes.

If a cat has facial expressions, it's probably saying, "What do you think you're doing?" or "I see you, but I don't want to talk to you."

Marcia exclaimed, "It dodged! It actually dodged!"

Susan sat on the bed next to her, hugging her knees and laughing out loud, a hint of envy in her eyes. "Your cat is so clever! My silly orange tabby can roll off the bed even when it's just rolling around."

Lily was also smiling, and seeing Nox squatting on the floor with such a reserved air, she felt inexplicably happy.

Then, looking into Nox's deep blue eyes and the unintentional "I allow you to come close, but don't touch me" expression they held, she suddenly thought of someone.

Regulus.

Thinking of Regulus, she pursed her lips.

I clearly promised to write a letter.

Last time was the same; we agreed to write a letter, but I didn't write a single word. I just apologized and that was it.

This time it was the same. Before the holiday, she even reminded him again, and Regulus nodded, looking very serious.

Then what?

Not a single letter was sent throughout the entire holiday, not even a peep of an owl.

She made up her mind; this time, she wouldn't forgive him so easily.

Marcia got up from the ground, plopped down next to Lily, squeezed her shoulder against Lily's, and had a furtive look on her face.

She raised an eyebrow at Lily, her mouth opening and closing without uttering a sound, only mouthing. "B---Like?"

Lily's ears turned red instantly, and she reached out to scratch her. Marcia screamed and dodged backward. The two of them rolled around on the bed, kicking the blankets off to the floor.

Susan watched the spectacle with a smile.

Nox was startled by the commotion and jumped onto Lily's bedside table, perched on it with his tail curled up, looking down at the two of them bickering.

Marcia, having finished laughing, lay down on Lily's pillow, panting, a something else flashing in her eyes.

She glanced at Nox on the cabinet; she had been observing this cat all night.

Its fur is fine and dense, its frame is long and slender, its neck is thin and straight, its ears are slightly flared out, its movements are abnormally agile, and its eyes are too dark and pure in color. The very faint silver-gray sheen on the tips of its fur is almost invisible in the dark, but in the firelight it looks like a thin layer of Stardust. A Magic pet.

The Flint family isn't among the Pure-blood Circle, but they're not bad either. She's seen quite a few Magical Creature since she was little, and she also keeps Magic pets, like a Diricawl. But she doesn't recognize the breed of this cat; she hasn't seen it in the appendix of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," which means it's either a new breed or specially bred. Either way, it's not cheap.

It was given to Lily by Black.

A Muggle-born Gryffindor witch receives a Magic pet as a gift from the heir of an ancient Pureblood families in UK.

She knew Lily and Black from Slytherin were close, though she couldn't quite put her finger on how close, but it was definitely more than just a normal classmate relationship. They'd been close before— Black taught Lily Magic, Lily read books together in the Library —and now they seemed even closer.

Marcia felt a little worried.

The prejudice against Muggle-born is deeply ingrained in the Pure-blood Circle, and Black is the Pure-bloods among Pure-bloods.

She wasn't sure how people in the Pure-blood Circle would interpret a Black and a Muggle-born girl getting too close, or what impact it would have on Lily, but she was worried about Lily.

Marcia genuinely likes Lily. When Lily smiles, Lily smiles too; when Lily is unhappy, Marcia is unhappy too.

Lily is her best friend.

But she's a grown woman now, and she's long since learned to be tactful; she says what she should say and doesn't say what she shouldn't.

She suppressed those thoughts.

Susan squeezed in, and the three of them sat on Lily's bed, the curtains half-drawn, with the fireplace light filtering in through the gaps.

Nox jumped down from the cabinet, took a few steps on the blanket, and curled up in Lily's knees.

"How was your holiday?" Marcia turned to her side, her head resting on her arm.

Lily sighed, "Don't even mention it. We've had power outages since the end of December, and my dad's factory has shut down. He's been staying home, reading the newspaper and sighing Tiantian."

Susan slapped the mattress. "You too? Same here in Wakefield, the power went out for four hours on Christmas Eve, my mom almost lit the Christmas tree with candles!"

Lily's face was full of distress, her nose and eyes scrunched up. "I don't know when things will get better. I came to Hogwarts, but I'm so worried about home."

Then she mimicked Mr. Evans's tone. "If the Prime Minister can't even handle the miners, how can he manage the country? If I were in charge, at least I could fix the heating."

Susan laughed so hard she bent over, "That's what my dad said too! He said if Heath keeps doing this, I'll vote for Labour Party."

Lily asked, somewhat annoyed, "Didn't your dad always vote for the Labour Party?"

Susan asserted confidently, "That's why he shot more aggressively this time."

The two of them laughed for a while.

"The worst off is Petunia," Lily laughed and then sighed. "She couldn't use the hairdryer because of the power outage, and her hair was frizzy all vacation. What's worse is that she's been throwing tantrums the whole time."

Susan hissed, "Still the same?"

Lily shrugged, gently stroking the kitten's back with her palm, a glint in her eyes. "Much better than before."

"My family is alright," Susan thought for a moment, "But my mom hoarded three cases of canned goods, filling the Kitchen cupboards. My brother opened the cupboard to look for cookies, and knocked down two cans of tomato soup, which made him cry."

Lily covered her mouth and laughed, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

Marcia listened to their conversation about the Muggle world, unable to join in, but not bored. She simply lay on her side listening, a smile playing on her lips. Power outages, candles, canned food, her frizzy sister—these things were far removed from her life. The Flint family manor never experienced power outages; the fireplace was Magic lit, and the food was prepared by House-elf.

But she loved listening to Lily talk about these things—frowning, rolling her eyes, mimicking her father, sighing for her sister—every single one was amusing.

After they finished talking, she leaned forward, her tone becoming a little mysterious. "Christmas this year was quite lively. Did you receive any news during the holidays?"

Lily and Susan both looked at her.

"What news?" Lily tilted her head.

"The Wizarding World," Marcia said, "The stuff inside the Pure-blood Circle."

Lily and Susan exchanged a glance and both shook their heads.

Their family are all Muggle, and they don't subscribe to the Daily Prophet during holidays, so news of wizards doesn't reach Cokeworth and Wakefield.

Marcia glanced at them, bit her lip, and felt there were some things Lily should know.

She understands the boundaries of friendship; she doesn't say what shouldn't be said, but she says what should be said.

"Something happened at the Christmas Banquet," she said in a low voice. "The Black family, you know, the Black from Slytherin, apparently got into a fight with Bellatrix Lestrange."

Lily removed her hand from Nox's back, her smile vanished, and she frowned. "Conflict? What kind of conflict?"

"I don't know the specifics," Marcia said. "It seems like a fight broke out."

A hint of worry flashed in Lily's eyes. "And then?"

Marcia blinked. "It seems like they even burned down someone's house."

Susan gasped.

Lily paused, then her brows furrowed even more. "Where is he? Is he alright?"

Marcia looked at Lily, sighed, and reached out to ruffle Lily's hair.

Lily tilted her head to dodge, but couldn't avoid it and got her hair ruffled.

"She should be fine," Marcia shook her head, patting Lily's head twice as if comforting a child. "She's back from school now." She added, "My father said she wasn't hurt."

Lily pressed for more information: what kind of conflict, why they fought, and who Bellatrix was.

That's all Marcia could say; she had only heard a general outline from her family and couldn't provide the specific details.

Susan listened without interrupting, her gaze shifting from Lily's face to Nox, who was curled up in the crook of his legs, then back again, lost in thought. Lily frowned, her lips slightly pouting, tilting her head as she pondered.

So Regulus didn't write during the holidays because he was busy with this?

Getting into a conflict with Bellatrix Lestrange and burning down his house doesn't sound like a small matter.

She didn't know exactly what had happened or why, but her intuition told her that Regulus must have had his reasons for doing what he did. He always had his reasons.

She was genuinely worried, but Marcia's father said she wasn't injured; it wasn't something she saw with her own eyes.

I need to ask him about it tomorrow.

She lowered her head again, scratching Nox's chin with her fingers.

Nox tilted his head back, revealing a small patch of lighter fur under his throat, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"This time the excuse for not writing is quite convincing," she muttered. "Okay, I'll use a different reason this time."

At the same time, in Gryffindor Tower, the third-year boys' Dormitory was in complete chaos.

The box was overturned on the ground, and clothes, pants, socks, and shoes were scattered all over the place.

James ' Quidditch gear was pulled out of the box and hung on the bedpost, while a sock somehow flew to the ceiling light fixture and was hanging there dangling.

Lupin's books covered half the bed, and he was stacking them one by one on the bedside table.

He looked terrible; the moon would be full in a week, but he moved swiftly.

Peter sat on his bed, clutching a bag of toffee, popping it into his mouth one by one, his eyes darting around the Dormitory. Sirius lay on his bed, legs dangling over his suitcase, one hand behind his head, staring blankly at the ceiling.

He didn't have time to stay for long.

James rolled off his bed, wearing only one slipper, and went straight for Sirius, wrapping his arm around his neck and hanging on his shoulder.

"Speak," his eyes gleamed, "Were you there?"

Sirius was pushed to the side by him, and he reached out to pull his arm away, saying irritably, "Can you let go first?"

"No," James hugged her tighter, "Tell me first."

He opened his mouth, about to call him Slytherin's little viper, when Sirius glanced at him sideways.

James reluctantly changed his address. "Your brother."

"What exactly did your brother do?" He released one hand, gesturing and speaking in the air.

"The news my dad heard during his vacation almost made him speechless. They said Black had caused a huge uproar at the Lestrange Manor, Bellatrix was crippled? The manor burned down?"

The Potter family wasn't on the list of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Old Potter had publicly denounced that list as a joke of blood worship, but being Pure-bloods, none of the messages that were supposed to reach them were missed.

James heard third-hand information from his father, Fleamont, but third-hand information wasn't enough.

He knew Sirius must have attended the Christmas Banquet, and he must have witnessed his brother's actions firsthand.

That's firsthand information.

"Speak," James shook Sirius's shoulder, "You were there, you know for sure."

Sirius was shaken so badly that his head was bobbing back and forth. He reached out and slapped James across the face, then pushed him away.

He grinned. "I know."

James kept urging, "Then say it!"

Sirius, seeing his anxiety, bared his teeth and shook his head. "I won't tell."

James glared at him and asked, "Why?!"

"Whatever makes me happy." Sirius put his hands behind his head, a smug look on his face.

James grabbed his collar in anger. "Are you trying to tempt me? Do you know how outrageous the versions my dad told me are? Some people say Bellatrix's hand was chopped off, some say half her face was burned off."

Some people say your brother set Fiendfyre to the entire manor and burned it to the ground. Which one is true?

Sirius listened to these distorted rumors, the corners of his mouth widened, and he was almost unable to contain his smugness.

"None of them are correct," he said slowly.

"What exactly is that?"

"It wasn't cut."

"What's that? Burnt?"

Sirius stared at the ceiling, saying nothing.

James was going crazy. He jumped out of bed, straddled Sirius, and pressed his hands down on his shoulders. "Tell me!" Sirius flipped him over, throwing James to the side. James rolled halfway and almost fell off the bed, but Sirius grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him back. "Just one," James said, still unwilling to give up, holding up one finger. "Just one detail, just one." Sirius looked at the ceiling beam, his lips curling up even wider. "That's how it was fought."

"How did you do it?" James pressed. "A spell? What spell?"

Sirius turned his gaze from the ceiling and glanced at James: "Spells, lots of spells."

James stared at him for a moment, then grabbed the pillow next to him and pressed it against Sirius's face.

Sirius let out a muffled groan, kicked his feet on the bed, and grabbed James's wrist, pulling it outwards.

The two were entangled together, the bed curtains were torn loose on one side, and the entire bedpost was shaking.

Lupin chuckled beside him, and Peter shrank back, leaning forward a little more.

Sirius threw the pillow aside, his hair a mess, a smile still on his face, "Why are you asking so many questions? Do you want to fight him?" "I..." James opened his mouth, his face turning slightly red. "I can do it myself!"

Sirius glanced at him, said nothing, but merely raised an eyebrow.

The meaning behind that expression was crystal clear: you're no good.

James's face turned even redder, and he reached for the pillow again, but Lupin grabbed him from behind.

James turned and glared at him. "Don't pull me, whose side are you on?"

Lupin raised his hands to indicate neutrality.

Sirius turned to look at him and laughed.

They laughed so loudly that even Lupin couldn't hold back anymore, and Peter chuckled twice, the sound echoing throughout the entire Dormitory.

James couldn't help but laugh, so he grabbed a pillow and threw it at Sirius. Sirius caught it, threw it back, and the two of them started bickering again.