When Wade left his dormitory, there were not many students on campus.
The corridors were empty and quiet, filled only with the echo of Wade's own footsteps. He spiraled down the staircase of Ravenclaw Tower, passing beneath dozing Portraits and several tall windows reflecting the morning light...
This route he had walked for four years suddenly felt somewhat unfamiliar.
Wade soon reached the Great Hall, which was already more than half decorated with lights and ornaments. Compared to Christmas in previous years, several tall fir trees had been added to the Great Hall this year, adorned with glittering golden baubles. Looking closely, one could see tiny fairies inside those translucent spheres.
Wade sat in his usual spot at the Ravenclaw table, looking around at everything with both appreciation and nostalgia.
After experiencing the storm in the United States, looking at Hogwarts now gave him an involuntary illusion—as though the school, too, had been placed inside a crystal ball, possessing a peaceful beauty isolated from the outside world.
Wade had already eaten breakfast and only wanted to sit in the Great Hall for a while. He poured himself a glass of juice and casually opened a copy of Transfiguration Today.
After going without studying for some time, various subscribed magazines and newspapers had piled up in his dormitory. Wade planned to take his time reading through them all.
More than a dozen new books had recently been published in the Wizarding World. Marchioni had sent him the three most valuable ones, and they were currently sitting in Wade's schoolbag.
As students gradually entered the Great Hall for breakfast, the sounds around him grew louder—the soft clink of knives and forks, students talking quietly, owls flapping their wings as they delivered packages...
"Smack!"
Someone suddenly slapped him on the shoulder from behind.