Ever since Damon's lightning attack on Malfoy, the number of wizards sleeping in had plummeted. Needless to say, this applied to the Gryffindors and Slytherins involved in the incident. Ravenclaws had always risen early, while only the Hufflepuff students were not particularly keen on getting up early.
But influenced by the students from the other three Houses, most of them began getting up early as well.
By now, several weeks had passed since the incident that young wizards so eagerly talked about. Some of them had gradually been defeated by laziness and could no longer get out of bed.
And then—those people experienced the second gut-wrenching regret of their lives.
With the release of the latest issues of Transfiguration Today and the Daily Prophet, countless wizards sent letters to the student who was supposedly still a first-year at Hogwarts, all while exclaiming again and again, "This is impossible!"
There were accusations, requests for guidance, threats, and discussions. Their attitudes ranged from respectful to humble, aggressive to panicked.
People from every side, of every sort, sent every kind of letter.
Red Howlers, official Ministry of Magic notices sealed with purple wax, anonymous threatening letters bearing words written in blood, and cursed letters carrying cursed objects.
Countless Owls circled above Hogwarts, unwilling to leave after failing to find their target.
The Owlery on the west side of the Seventh Floor was completely packed. The young wizards' Owls had never seen so many of their kind before, and they flapped their wings and screeched without pause.
The lower-year wizards chattered endlessly in the Great Hall, thrilled by the commotion the Owls had brought.
Inside the Great Hall, outside it, through the windows, beyond the windows—everywhere the eye could see had been occupied by Owls. From time to time, more Owls flew into the