The flapping of wings rose and fell in waves as students throughout the Great Hall lifted their heads, ready to catch the packages dropped by owls before they could land in anyone's oatmeal.
Luna received a reply from Xenophilius Lovegood. She gently unfolded the parchment, pressing her head close to Wizet's as they read it together.
Wizet's roommates received their own packages as well. Chris Moen, for instance, got a letter from home and carefully broke the wax seal.
Anthony Goldstein opened his package, and a rolled-up copy of the Daily Prophet slid out.
He had subscribed to the Daily Prophet for the entire year, and a paper was delivered to him every morning.
"Hm?" He slowly unfolded the Daily Prophet, and the first thing he saw was a moving photograph of Dolores Umbridge surrounded by camera flashes.
"This person looks pretty familiar..." Michael Corner's attention was drawn to the moving photograph on the Daily Prophet's front page. "Why does it feel like I've seen her somewhere before?"
"Oh! Michael, you're kind of scary..." Terry Boot, sitting opposite him, deliberately leaned back as though trying to get away from Michael. "You think you know every woman you see, don't you?"
"What kind of thing is that to say!" Michael raised his eyebrows, growing agitated. "I really have seen this woman with my own eyes! I'm certain of it! It's definitely not some pickup line!"
Terry reacted quickly, immediately seizing on Michael's words. "So when you tell girls at the Three Broomsticks, 'I think I've seen you somewhere before,' that's a pickup line?"
Anthony looked up from the Daily Prophet. "Wasn't it that time a few years ago when Wizet received Transfiguration Today's 'Most Promising Newcomer Award'?"
"Cornelius Fudge brought a lot of Ministry of Magic employees then and specifically held