The Calm Before the Final Battle (Thanks to Bob Milk Tea, Who Is Definitely Not a Lolicon! Thank You!)

At breakfast the next day, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were chattering excitedly at the Gryffindor table, their three heads huddled together as they talked over one another.

At the Slytherin table not far away, Su Yu ate quietly with Daphne, occasionally responding to the conversations of the little snakes around him. He held a fork in one hand while the other clasped Daphne's beneath the table, his thumb tracing circles over the back of her hand.

Kurama crouched on the table with a small piece of cheesecake in front of him, nibbling at it in tiny bites.

The atmosphere at the two tables could not have been more different. Gryffindor was as lively as a festival, while Slytherin was as quiet as a library.

After finishing his food, Malfoy began clowning around. Sitting sideways in his chair, he gripped Crabbe's arm tightly with one hand. His eyes were wide, his head jerking rapidly from side to side in a nervous fashion as he repeatedly shrieked, "What is it? What is it?" He was deliberately exaggerating Ron's panicked appearance from the night before.

His over-the-top performance made several Slytherin students nearby burst into laughter.

Ron's face turned red with anger. He whipped his head around and fixed his gaze on the cup of pumpkin juice in front of him, as if some priceless treasure were hidden inside it, deliberately refusing to look Malfoy's way.

Hermione glanced at Ron, then at Malfoy, sighed, and continued eating her fried eggs.

Things changed during their first Transfiguration lesson.

Ten minutes into class, Professor McGonagall suddenly announced that exams would begin on June first—only one week away.

The classroom instantly erupted. Seamus Finnigan rose from his seat, shouting in disbelief, "Exams? What are we taking exams for now?"

The moment he finished speaking, Neville's wand slipped from his hand with a clatter. A flash of red light shot from its tip, and one leg of the desk in front of him suddenly vanished. The tabletop collapsed crookedly, sending textbooks and quills clattering to the floor. Neville's face went pale at once. As he bent to pick up his wand, he nearly smashed his head into the fallen tabletop.

Professor McGonagall swiftly raised her wand and gave it a light flick. The desk leg reappeared, and the tabletop returned to normal. Then she turned, fixing Seamus with a sharp look, her expression clearly displeased.

"Classes are held so that you may continue your education," she said sternly. "Therefore, the exams will proceed as usual. And I trust you have all been studying diligently."

"Studying diligently?" Harry could hardly believe his ears. The castle was already in such chaos, and they still had to take exams. His head was filled with the Chamber of Secrets, the monster, and the attacks. How could he possibly fit Transfiguration spells and Potions recipes in there too?

A wave of dissatisfied complaints immediately rose through the classroom.

"Headmaster Dumbledore's instructions are to ensure the school continues operating normally." Professor McGonagall's voice held an unquestionable hardness. "And I need hardly point out that this is precisely the time for you to show what you are capable of. We will see just how much you have learned this year."

Harry lowered his head to look at the pair of rabbits he was supposed to turn into slippers. What had he learned?

Ron looked even more despairing than Harry, as though he had just been told he would have to move into the deepest part of the Forbidden Forest. His face was filled with resistance and fear, while a wisp of black smoke rose from his wand tip, which began making a beeping sound.

"Can you imagine taking an exam with this?" Ron asked Harry, raising the wand that had just begun beeping loudly, its tip still sputtering black smoke from time to time.

Three days before the first exam, Professor McGonagall made another announcement at breakfast. The entire Great Hall fell silent at once, every gaze turning toward her.

"Good news," Professor McGonagall said.

Before she could say anything else, several students began whispering among themselves. The hall's previously quiet atmosphere became noisy in an instant. Some guessed in low voices, some leaned together to talk, and some could no longer sit still in their chairs.

"Yes! Is Headmaster Dumbledore coming back?" several students shouted happily.

"He must have caught Slytherin's heir already!" a girl at the Ravenclaw table shrieked.

"Is Quidditch starting again?" Wood roared excitedly.

Only after the noise died down did Professor McGonagall continue. "Professor Sprout informed me that the Mandrakes have matured enough to be used. Tonight, we will be able to revive the petrified victims." She paused, sweeping her gaze over the students' faces. "I need hardly remind you that one of them may be able to tell us who—or what—attacked them. Let us hope this terrible year ends with the culprit being captured."

Cheers erupted from the crowd. Ron looked much happier than he had in the past few days, and then the three of them started discussing things again, their heads huddling together once more.

Su Yu had never really taken the exams seriously. Daphne had even been surprised, thinking he had simply given up trying.

That was because he knew there would be no exams by the end of second year. He just could not say so now, and so he quietly watched the students in the hall cheer and celebrate.

After lunch, Professor Graves led the Slytherin students to the History of Magic classroom and waited there for them to finish class.

Su Yu noticed that Hermione and the other two were absent from the Gryffindors attending class today. Hermione had the Kurama Cloak, so he was naturally not worried. He was also waiting for the person with the diary to reveal themselves, to see who it really was.

But the dismissal bell never rang.

Instead, Professor McGonagall's voice echoed through the corridors, magically amplified.

"All students are to return to their dormitories immediately! All teachers are to return to the staff room! At once!"

Su Yu knew the final battle was about to begin.

The students in the corridor began to stir uneasily. Professor Graves stood at the classroom door, watching the crowd surge past.

Then he walked over, slung an arm around Su Yu's shoulders, and pulled him away from Daphne's embrace.

"Oh, you terrible little brat," Professor Graves said with teasing amusement in his voice. "At your age, you should not be lying around in a pile of women. That is what displeases me most about you, you know?"

Su Yu could not be bothered with this old queer. He quickly slipped free, straightened up, adjusted the rumpled collar of his robes, and looked at Professor Graves expressionlessly.

"Professor Graves, what is it?"

In a voice low enough for only the two of them to hear, Professor Graves said, "Want to take a look at the Chamber of Secrets? I bet you're interested."

Su Yu rolled his eyes. He had long known what this old man was after.

"Isn't it Myrtle's girls' bathroom? Did you think I didn't know?" Su Yu lowered his voice as well. "Mr. Gellert Grindelwald?"

Professor Graves's shoulders trembled uncontrollably. His smile grew more unrestrained, revealing a sharp confidence that victory was already his. The longer he looked at Su Yu, the more excited he became, his mismatched eyes gleaming in the candlelight.

"You really are becoming more and more interesting to me." His voice carried barely restrained excitement. "You always manage to surprise me, little one. So, shall we?"

Su Yu stared into Grindelwald's eyes, then suddenly shrugged.

Su Yu turned and told Daphne to lead everyone in their class back to the Slytherin common room while he went to take care of something. Daphne looked at him, her lips moving as though she wanted to say something, but in the end she merely nodded, reached out to straighten his collar, and said, "Be careful."

Daphne watched worriedly as Su Yu and Professor Graves walked away, then called everyone back to the Slytherin common room.

When they arrived at Myrtle's girls' bathroom, Su Yu did not hurry down.

He was waiting for someone—someone he was not certain about.

The bathroom was filled with a damp, moldy smell. Water dripped from the taps, one drop after another, bursting across the tiled floor.

Grindelwald did not disturb Su Yu either. He simply stood off to one side and waited quietly.

Second by second, time passed.