Ian crossed the lawn and entered the castle.
Inside the Great Hall, four long tables stood in neat rows, candles floating overhead. The people in the portraits on the walls chatted, dozed, played chess, or argued about something. An owl flew in through a window and landed on the Ravenclaw table, dropping a letter in front of a girl. Ian climbed the stairs, walked down the corridor, and stopped outside a classroom. The door was open, and a lesson was underway.
Flitwick stood at the front of the class. He was short, but his voice rang out clearly. "Today we're going to learn the Levitation Charm. Wingardium Leviosa—pay attention to the pronunciation. Wingardium Leviosa, not Wingardium Leviosa. The emphasis is on 'sa,' not 'vi.'" A Hufflepuff girl raised her wand and pointed it at the feather on her desk. "Wingardium Leviosa!" The feather floated gently into the air. Flitwick clapped his hands, a pleased smile on his face. "Very good, very good! Five points to Hufflepuff!"
Ian stood in the doorway, watching that smile for a long time. In the original history, Flitwick had smiled too, but there had always been a trace of strain, a trace of weariness in it. Now it was different.
He continued on.
As he passed the Potions Classroom, Slughorn was teaching a lesson. He stood in the middle of the classroom, his belly bulging slightly beneath his robes, wearing his usual smile. "Today we're going to make Draught of Living Death. Powdered Root of Asphodel, Infusion of Wormwood, Sopophorous Bean—remember, you need to crush the Sopophorous Bean with a silver knife. Don't use a copper knife; copper will ruin its properties."
Snape stood at the back of the classroom, his black eyes sweeping over the students. His face was expressionless, but the gloom that