In He Shenyan's office, the torrential rain outside lashed the windows with an endless rattle, while indoors it was warm as spring. A comforting fire burned in the fireplace, and Dumbledore sat in a rocking chair, cradling a steaming cup of honey tea.
He said contentedly, "There's nothing better than a cup of honey tea in weather like this. It'd be even better with some biscuits."
The white-haired old man beamed happily like a child.
It was the last day of the holiday. Most of the professors had returned, with only Snape still nowhere to be found.
He Shenyan was bent over his desk grading assignments. Over the past two weeks, he had found time to visit Romania, where he met some dragon conservationists and Vampires. He had gained quite a lot, and had even dissected a shortsighted female Vampire. The results had been utterly unremarkable.
He suddenly stopped writing and turned to look out the window. A bolt of lightning struck, and a smile curled across his lips. "Looks like he succeeded."
He Shenyan turned to Dumbledore. Without raising his head, Dumbledore took a sip of tea and said, "No, I won't do that."
He Shenyan's smile widened, but he said nothing and resumed grading papers.
Dumbledore continued sipping his honey tea until the cup was empty. Only then did he say, "...I'll be leaving for a while soon."
He Shenyan acted as though Dumbledore had not just said, "I won't do that." He set down his pen, shook his head with a smile, and said, "Remember to hand in your papers before you go. You still owe me three essays on Magic Power reactions."
Harley and Hermione arrived at school on the last night of the holiday. They parted in the first-floor entrance hall, since Hermione had to return to Gryffindor Tower, while the Slytherin Common Room was underground.
The sights of Hawaii remained vivid in Harley's mind. She had had a wonderful time there.
Hermione's family were all wonderful people. Although Harley had insisted on paying her own share, she could not argue against Mr. Granger having booked the rooms in advance. Smiling at the thought, she said goodbye to Hermione.
She carried her black suitcase, filled with little toys and fruit she had brought back from Hawaii. She planned to read for a while before going to bed tonight. The advantage of having a room to herself was that she did not need to consider a roommate's feelings—there was no roommate, anyway.
She did not know what the others thought, but she was quite happy with the peace and quiet. What was wrong with that?
Harley walked down the long staircase, her shadow cast upon the walls by the flickering candlelight.
She arrived at the first basement level. It was gloomy and cold here. Rumor had it that it had once even been used as a dungeon. Quite a few Slytherin students liked to play scary pranks here at night—only to be frightened half to death by a ghost passing by at just the right moment.
They never learned.
Harley hummed as she continued onward, while the lights around her gradually dimmed.
She stopped before an empty, damp stone wall and said, "In the name of magic."
The stone wall then vanished, revealing a stone door. Beyond it lay the Slytherin Common Room. Its exquisite Gothic decor and green lights gave the place an air of mystery at all times, perhaps even a touch of terror.
Harley entered her room, shut the door with her foot, and set her suitcase on the table.
She noticed that the chandelier on the ceiling had turned green again. Apparently, while cleaning, the Pixies had enchanted the magical candles burning above to shine green once more in order to maintain a "unified style."
She frowned, closed her eyes, and summoned her Magic Power. It took her over a minute to turn the candles back to a warm hue. Warm lighting was better. How was she supposed to read under green light? Did those Pixies have no common sense at all?
Her view outside was unlike Gryffindor's, where one could see ordinary scenery. Thanks to Slytherin's rather abnormal sense of aesthetics, every Slytherin Academy student had to endure the sight of aquatic creatures swimming past their windows for a full seven years.
Harley was no exception. Last time, while eating a late-night snack, she had looked up and found a squid staring at her through the window. Its slimy body had instantly ruined her appetite. These days, Harley kept the curtains over her window tightly drawn.
She took off her leather shoes and tossed them into the corner behind the door. Changing into the fluffy slippers she had received at Christmas, she let out a comfortable sigh before sitting at her desk to read A History of Magic. Although it would not be on the first-year exams, she was very interested in it.
Who knew how much time had passed before she stretched. Just as she was about to wash up and go to bed, a Pixie teleported into her room and said in its distinctive voice, "P-Potter! Professor Severus Snape wants to see you! In his office!"
As soon as it finished speaking, it vanished with a crack, not even giving Harley a chance to ask a question.
She had no choice but to put her leather shoes back on and tidy her hair. Harley hesitated for a while, then decided it really was cold on the way to the office. She put on her wool coat and left her room.
Honestly, no matter which Academy you belonged to, if you had never wandered the halls at night during your seven years at Hogwarts, then your school life was incomplete.
The magically sealed stone door outside the Slytherin Common Room seemed to know that she had been summoned by Slytherin's head of house. It opened by itself the moment Harley approached. Snape's office was on the same underground level as the Slytherin Common Room.
There was no scenery worth seeing here, making it a poor choice for nighttime wandering. The last time she and Ron had dragged Hermione to the Astronomy Tower in the middle of the night, the view there had been excellent.
As Harley walked, she quietly wondered why Professor Snape had summoned her to his office in the middle of the night.
The journey ended quickly. She stood outside Snape's office, knocked on the door, and heard Snape's somewhat weak voice from within. "Come in."
She pushed open the door. The fireplace inside blazed with a vigorous fire, making the room very warm. Snape was wrapped in a thick blanket, weakly sitting in his chair with a cup of hot tea in his hands.
On the other side of the desk sat a red-haired woman who was both unfamiliar and familiar, looking at Harley with an expression Harley had never seen before.
Unfamiliar, because they had never met.
Familiar, because Harley had seen her in photographs.
The beautiful woman with red hair and green eyes wore a black dress. Dampness clung to her, along with the fresh scent of earth, as she sat there like a lifelike painting.
But a painting was only a painting. No matter how lifelike it was, it was still only a painting. Yet the person sitting here was alive. The woman offered a gentle smile and opened her mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by Harley throwing herself into her arms.
Crying filled the room. She did not suppress it as she had when she was bullied before. For the first time, she cried freely and without reservation in her mother's embrace. If this was a dream, she was willing to lose herself in it and never wake up.
Snape watched them with a complicated gaze. He said nothing, and there was nothing he needed to say. He merely drank a sip of hot tea with a relieved smile.
There was nothing better than a cup of hot tea on a rainy day.
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