The Serenity of Black Lake

Friday arrived in the blink of an eye.

Early that morning, Su Yu was, as usual, lying on Daphne's lap. The Great Hall buzzed with chatter as owls flew in through the windows above, weaving between the four long tables and dropping letters and packages to their owners. Today was apparently a massive team-building event at the Owlery; countless owls flooded in, their flapping wings sounding like an endless gust of wind.

But the most eye-catching one was still Su Yu's Qingluan.

When she flew in through the Great Hall's archway, the light throughout the hall took on a soft hue with a faint blue-green gleam. She was slightly larger than an owl, with a wingspan nearly a meter wide. Her feathers were a vivid emerald, shining with a metallic luster under the candlelight, while her tail feathers trailed behind her like a long cloak.

Qingluan flew before Su Yu and landed. She rubbed her head against his leg and let out a low sound, like a bell stirred by the wind. Su Yu reached out to stroke her head, sat up from Daphne's lap, and pulled several bags of potato chips and a bottle of cola from his bag.

You heard that right. Qingluan was a bit of a homebody, and she liked potato chips and cola.

She stuck her head into a bag of chips and began crunching away. Su Yu unscrewed the cola cap for her, and she held the bottle opening in her beak, tipped back her head, and gulped down a mouthful, letting out a satisfied rumble.

The young wizards in the hall stared in stunned silence.

"What kind of bird is that? She's so pretty—"

"She's drinking cola..."

"She eats potato chips too..."

Several younger girls covered their mouths, their eyes full of stars. One Hufflepuff boy forgot to lower his plate, and didn't even notice when the fried egg on it slid onto the floor.

Kurama poked his head out from the other side of the table, glanced at Qingluan, and used a paw to push over the untouched cheesecake in front of him. Qingluan lowered her head to look at the cake, then at Kurama, and gently tapped his ear with her beak. Kurama's ear twitched, and he huffed.

Daphne's eyes practically turned into stars. She shook Su Yu's arm, her voice half an octave higher than usual. "Su Yu, I want to pet her. Can I?"

Su Yu leaned back in his chair and glanced at Qingluan. She was pecking at the chip crumbs in the bag, completely indifferent to everything around her.

"Qingluan's a little aloof," he said. "You can try feeding her something first, like I did, then see if she wants to let you pet her."

Daphne took a butter biscuit from the table and carefully held it out before Qingluan. Qingluan looked at the biscuit, then at Daphne, before turning away and continuing to peck at the chip bag.

Daphne switched to a chocolate cookie. Qingluan ignored her.

Daphne switched again, this time to a Pumpkin Pasty. Qingluan still ignored her.

Daphne tried every snack she could reach on the table. Qingluan maintained the same attitude the entire time—not looking, not responding, not touching.

Daphne was a little disappointed, and her shoulders drooped slightly. But she quickly pulled herself together, tucked her handkerchief into her pocket, smiled, and said, "It's okay. Next time, I'll bring potato chips too!"

Su Yu patted Daphne's head. He really liked her personality. Then he snatched the unfinished bag of chips away from Qingluan's beak and put it back into his bag. Qingluan cried out unhappily and smacked his head with a wing, but then Su Yu handed the bag to her and let her take it back to eat. Qingluan was overjoyed, spread her wings, and flew out through the Great Hall window with the bag.

History of Magic with Professor Binns was in the morning.

As usual, Su Yu and Kurama slept through the entire lesson.

The classroom was so quiet that only Professor Binns's droning voice could be heard, like a fly circling inside a glass bottle. Su Yu lay facedown on his desk, his face buried in his arms, breathing steadily and deeply. Kurama lay on the other side of the desk, his chin resting on his paws, his nine tails hanging over the edge and swaying softly with his breathing.

Daphne sat beside them, her quill scratching across her notebook. Her handwriting was neat and elegant, line after line. Every now and then, she paused to glance at Professor Binns before lowering her head and continuing to write.

Then—

"Thud."

Kurama must have dreamed of something. He rolled over, and his entire body tumbled off the desk, landing on the floor belly-up. Only after he hit the ground did his nine tails react, falling over him a beat too late like a blanket blown inside out by the wind. His eyes remained shut. His four legs kicked once in the air, then drooped limply.

The entire class froze for a second before everyone began quietly laughing.

Daphne failed to react in time. She was still holding her quill, her mouth slightly open, her expression caught somewhere between surprise and laughter. She looked as if someone had pressed pause on her.

Su Yu woke up groggily, rubbed his eyes, and looked down at Kurama on the floor. Kurama lay there with his eyes still closed, but his ears were standing upright—the tips trembling slightly, a tiny habit he only had when pretending to sleep.

Su Yu did not expose him.

Daphne bent down and picked Kurama up from the floor. Kurama remained motionless in her arms, all four legs dangling and his tails hanging down, looking like a fox thoroughly dead to the world. But Su Yu saw the tip of Kurama's tail lightly brush against Daphne's arm.

From then on, whenever Kurama slept, he would go sleep on Daphne's lap. After all, Daphne never slept during class, so she could keep an eye on him.

At noon, Su Yu had a king crab feast.

He had bribed the kitchen house-elves to make it. The elves had gone to Norway to catch everything fresh that morning—apparently by Apparition, taking only ten minutes for the round trip—and had also brought back several salmon and a great many Norway lobsters. Su Yu had even asked them to pick up light soy sauce and wasabi from an East University supermarket in Britain, naturally leaving them money.

A great many king crabs were arranged on the Slytherin table. Their red shells gleamed with an oily sheen beneath the candlelight, their legs as long as arms, their cracked joints revealing snow-white crab meat. The salmon had been cut into thick slices and laid over ice, its orange-red flesh clearly marbled and glistening with freshness. Norway lobsters were piled onto another platter, their shells bright red and their meat firm and plump.

Su Yu broke off a crab leg, poked out the meat with chopsticks, dipped it in soy sauce and wasabi, and stuffed it into his mouth. The crab was sweet and fresh, while the wasabi's sharp heat burst through his nose, making him narrow his eyes in bliss.

Kurama also had a crab leg in front of him. He held it in both front paws and crunched away at it, shell fragments sticking to the tip of his nose without him noticing. Qingluan had somehow flown back at some point and was perched at the other end of the table, with a small dish of salmon before her. She ate far more elegantly—gently picking up a slice with her beak, tilting back her head to swallow it, then taking a sip of cola.

Daphne and the other Slytherins ate quite a lot as well.

It was a very satisfying meal.

There were no classes that afternoon.

Hermione pulled Su Yu and Daphne into the Great Hall to do homework all afternoon. A walkway separated the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables. Hermione sat on the Gryffindor side, while Su Yu and Daphne sat on the Slytherin side. The three of them spread their homework across the tables, with quills and ink bottles lined up in a row.

Su Yu had no intention of writing any of it.

He wanted Kurama to write it.

Kurama lay on the table with a sheet of parchment spread before him. He glared at Su Yu with amber eyes, his mouth slightly open to reveal two sharp canine teeth. His expression clearly said, You'd have to be out of your mind to think that.

"You can't write?" Su Yu asked.

Kurama lowered his head and pushed the parchment toward Su Yu with a paw. His expression carried the helplessness of, What the hell do I know about magic?

Su Yu sighed.

In the end, he copied a little from Hermione and a little from Daphne. Hermione's handwriting was neat but small, while Daphne's was slightly larger but more flowing.

That afternoon, Hermione mentioned, "I saw Harry and Ron heading toward the Forbidden Forest."

Su Yu gave an "Mm," but said nothing more.

"What are they going to the Forbidden Forest for?" Daphne asked.

"I don't know," Hermione said, wrinkling her nose. "I heard Professor Hagrid lives over there."

Su Yu leaned back in his chair, remembering that part of the story. He said nothing, merely turning to Daphne. "Let's go fishing tomorrow."

Daphne froze for a moment. "Fishing?"

"Yeah. At Black Lake."

Hermione's eyes lit up. "I'm coming too!"

Su Yu looked at Hermione, then at Daphne. "Fine. Early tomorrow morning."

The next day, dawn had only just broken.

Daphne arrived outside Su Yu's dormitory door. She had changed into a light-colored robe, tied her hair into a ponytail, and carried a small basket filled with sandwiches and juice. She knocked on the door.

Kurama was still the one who opened it. Afterward, he sat at the doorway, his amber eyes watching Daphne.

"Where's Su Yu?" Daphne asked.

Kurama tilted his head toward the washroom.

"He's still bathing?"

Kurama nodded.

Daphne walked in and sat on the sofa to wait. Kurama jumped onto the sofa, lay beside her, and rested his chin on her lap. Daphne reached out to stroke his head. His ears twitched, and his tails curled into a ball.

By the time Su Yu came out after washing up, he was already neatly dressed. He fastened the buttons on his cuffs as he walked, his hair still carrying a trace of undried moisture.

"Let's go," he said.

The two left the dormitory, and had just reached the common room when they saw two others preparing to leave as well.

Gemma Farley stood beside the fireplace in a dark robe, her languid waves draped over her shoulders, holding some unknown book in her hand. Cassandra Vole stood beside her. Her pale golden hair curled slightly, and her green eyes brightened for an instant when she saw Su Yu before returning to that faintly amused expression.

Ever since Kurama had knocked Fa-jie out during that night attack, she had never appeared again. Su Yu was certain she had been too embarrassed to show her face these past few days.

They happened to run into each other today.

Su Yu greeted them. "Morning."

Daphne asked, "Where are you two going?"

Ka-jie and Fa-jie exchanged glances. Fa-jie spoke first. "Nothing in particular. We just wanted to take a walk."

Ka-jie nodded, then asked Su Yu, "What about you? Where are you going?"

"Fishing," Su Yu said.

"Fishing?" Ka-jie's brow rose. "At Black Lake?"

"Yeah."

Fa-jie and Ka-jie exchanged another glance. This time, their expressions were surprisingly identical—they wanted to go.

"We're coming too," Ka-jie said.

Su Yu looked at the two of them, then at Daphne. Daphne showed no particular expression and merely nodded.

Su Yu had never been able to refuse pretty girls. He brought Fa-jie, Ka-jie, and Daphne to the Great Hall, where Hermione was already waiting. She wore an ordinary robe and held a copy of Beginner Potion-Making. Seeing the group behind Su Yu, she froze for a moment.

"So many people?"

Four little snakes and one little lion arrived at Black Lake just like that.

Black Lake was quiet in the early morning. A thin layer of white mist drifted over the water, Hogwarts Castle reflecting in the distance. Occasionally, a fish leaped from the lake with a splash before falling back in.

Su Yu told the four girls to wait, then walked to the shore and pressed his palms together.

"Wood Release, Wood Boat Technique."

The four girls' mouths fell open at once.

Several thick tree trunks grew from the grass by the lake. They did not grow upward, but stretched out across the water—as if someone had rotated a tree's direction of growth ninety degrees. The trunks intertwined, joined, and fused atop the lake, creaking as wood rubbed against wood. Minutes later, a wooden boat appeared on the water. Its hull was the color of raw timber, marked with fresh wood grain and carrying the clean scent of pine. It was not small—it had a canopy, a deck, cabins, a toilet, and a dining area, about the size of a yacht. There was even a small platform at the stern, perfect for fishing.

Hermione was the first to recover. She ran to the lakeshore, crouched down to touch the hull, then turned to look at Su Yu with an expression that screamed, Just how many things are there that I still don't know about you?

Daphne followed behind her, the corners of her lips raised, but said nothing.

Fa-jie and Ka-jie stood at the very back. Fa-jie's eyes shone a little too brightly, her lips slightly parted as she gripped the hem of her robe. Ka-jie quickly concealed her surprise and returned to her faintly amused look, but her eyes never left Su Yu.

Su Yu carried the four girls aboard one by one.

Kurama played on the shore. Once all the girls were aboard, he gave a light leap and landed steadily on the railing at the bow. His nine tails spread behind him like a proud captain's banner.

Su Yu boarded last. Standing at the stern, he pressed both hands against the deck. Chakra seeped from his palms into the wood. The boat trembled lightly, then slowly sailed away from shore.

The five of them spent the entire day aboard the boat.

Su Yu fished at the stern. He propped his rod against the railing, let the line hang into the water, then lay down on Daphne's lap to take a nap. Daphne gently stroked his hair and hummed an unknown song. Her voice was soft and the melody slow, like wind brushing through reeds.

Hermione did homework in the cabin. She spread parchment across the table, her quill scratching away. Every now and then, she looked up at the scenery over the lake before lowering her head to continue writing.

Fa-jie and Ka-jie chatted about gossip at the stern as well. Their voices were not loud, but Su Yu caught a few phrases—"that one from the Malfoy family," "I heard about that Potter from Gryffindor," "have you heard, Professor McGonagall..."

Kurama lay between Fa-jie and Ka-jie, his ears perked up and his tails swaying softly across the deck. At first, he was only listening casually. Later, he raised his entire head, his eyes widening into round circles.

Fa-jie said, "I heard from my father that the Fuli family has an estate on the Eastern Continent as big as a mountain."

Kurama's ears twitched.

Ka-jie said, "More than that. Su Yu's mother was the most beautiful woman in the entire wizarding world back then—Mr. Malfoy pursued her for three years, and she did not even glance at him."

The tips of Kurama's tails rose.

Fa-jie said, "Really?"

Ka-jie said, "Really. My aunt told me. Later, she ran off with Su Yu's father—Mr. Malfoy was so furious that he smashed everything in his study."

Kurama's mouth opened slightly, revealing two sharp canine teeth. He looked at Fa-jie, then at Ka-jie, before turning around to shoot Su Yu at the stern a look that said, This brat never told me any of that.

Su Yu kept his eyes closed, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

They did not catch a single fish. Su Yu did not care. Daphne's lap was soft, her singing was lovely, the wind over the lake was cool, and the sun overhead was warm. Kurama was being left utterly stunned by Fa-jie and Ka-jie's conversation, and they practically coaxed out enough information to reveal everything about Su Yu.

Su Yu liked this.