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Just as the air grew so heavy it seemed ready to drip with water, an owl flapped into the Hospital Wing, breaking the oppressive atmosphere.

Mrs. Dallaire hurried over to chase the owl away. She swung a spare candlestick at it while muttering angrily, "How improper! What hospital lets owls fly in to deliver letters?"

Xiwen glanced at the owl and suddenly froze.

"Jabi?"

The black-and-gray mottled owl seemed to hear Xiwen's voice. It nimbly dodged the candlestick in Mrs. Dallaire's hand, flew onto the bedside table beside him, and held out its right claw, revealing a letter tube.

Xiwen had already noticed Mrs. Dallaire approaching with a dark expression, so he hurriedly fumbled the letter out of the tube, then had Abu open the window and quickly sent Jabi away.

Deprived of its snack reward, Jabi gave an indignant hoot before flying out the window.

"So that owl was yours?" Mrs. Dallaire asked in a gloomy tone.

Xiwen nodded awkwardly.

Fortunately, Xiwen was still a patient, so Mrs. Dallaire did not immediately unleash her temper on him.

Even so, she still lectured him. "Who knows how many filthy places owls fly over, and they eat raw mice too. They might be carrying all sorts of harmful things. Cleanliness and hygiene are what matter most in the Hospital Wing. If owls are allowed to enter whenever they please, they will cause all sorts of trouble here. So remember: don't let owls into the Hospital Wing!"

Xiwen nodded obediently and replied guiltily, "There won't be a next time, Mrs. Dallaire."

"Hand it over." Mrs. Dallaire extended a hand toward Xiwen.

"What?" Xiwen paused, confused.

"The letter," Mrs. Dallaire said.

"The letter needs to be inspected too?" Xiwen looked at her in bewilderment and protested, "That doesn't seem appropriate."

Mrs. Dallaire had no patience to argue with him and snatched the letter from his hand.

"You have no right to do that!" Elshiona said loudly. "That is..."

Her voice gradually trailed off.

Mrs. Dallaire had not opened Xiwen's letter at all. She merely took out a spray bottle and spritzed the envelope before returning it to him.

So she was disinfecting it... Xiwen realized shamefully that they had misunderstood Mrs. Dallaire.

"Be more careful next time. Don't let owls in again!" Mrs. Dallaire instructed as she thoroughly disinfected every place the owl had been, only stopping once the smell of disinfecting potion had become so strong it stung their noses.

"You two patients, pull your blankets up!" she said.

Xiwen and Professor Kettleburn were both baffled about why they needed to cover themselves with blankets, but believing that patients should follow the nurse's instructions, they obediently did so.

Then, even through the blankets, they felt a powerful gust of wind sweep over them.

Mrs. Dallaire had opened the windows and used a spell to air out the entire Hospital Wing. The pungent scent of disinfecting potion quickly faded away as well.

"That's much better!" Mrs. Dallaire nodded in satisfaction, not forgetting to remind Xiwen once more, "So don't let owls fly into the Hospital Wing!"

Xiwen helplessly crawled out from under his blanket and began reading the letter Jabi had just delivered.

The letter was from Sandrine. The past two days had been so eventful that Xiwen had only just remembered that he had sent a letter home three nights ago, asking about the family's French branch.

Before he had even reached the halfway point, Xiwen's expression grew increasingly strange, and he could not help glancing at Elshiona.

The letter read: "It is good that you and Elshiona are getting along well. Before term began, Mrs. Greengrass told me that both she and her daughter were quite satisfied with you, and that the two families could arrange an engagement. However, because the girls of the Greengrass family are often in poor health, I did not agree immediately. If the two of you truly get along well, then this matter can be settled..."

So the reason she didn't agree wasn't because she hadn't asked for my opinion, but because of the Greengrass family's health? Xiwen was speechless at this custom among pure-blood families. He decided that once he was discharged, he would write home and firmly reject the idea. What kind of engagement were eleven-year-old children supposed to have?

Seeing Xiwen looking at her with such a strange expression, Elshiona blushed slightly and asked, "Xiwen, wh... what is it?"

Only then did Xiwen realize that his gaze was still fixed on Elshiona. He gave an awkward cough and said, "Nothing. I was just spacing out."

"Oh." Elshiona answered softly, somewhat disappointed.

Xiwen did not notice her reaction and simply lowered his head to continue reading the letter in his hand.

"As for the family's French branch, we have not had much contact with them. However, I have heard that funds have been moving frequently over there lately, and there may be some activity soon. So you must work hard to improve yourself and take control over there as soon as possible. Do not let the family's accumulated wealth benefit outsiders..."

There was not much of substance after that. Xiwen put the letter away, feeling that the situation was far from encouraging.

The unusual movement of funds in the French branch, the destruction of the castle's Magic Node, the Dark wizards who had infiltrated the Forbidden Forest... All these events had converged within the same period, and every one of them suggested that someone was planning a major move against Hogwarts.

Xiwen frowned.

"Your five minutes were up long ago!" Just as Xiwen was deep in thought, Mrs. Dallaire's voice rang out. Without ceremony, she drove the four young Slytherin wizards out of the Hospital Wing.

"Xiwen, take good care of yourself!" Elshiona shouted as she was about to leave the Hospital Wing.

Xiwen waved at her and called back, "No problem! Make sure you listen carefully in class, and tell me later what I missed."

Elshiona nodded firmly, then Mrs. Dallaire ushered her out the door.

After watching his friends leave, Xiwen rubbed his brow and began thinking over all the strange incidents from this period, feeling mentally exhausted.

I'm only a first-year wizard. How did I end up running into everything? he thought in confusion.

The destruction of the castle's Magic Node had gotten his Soul Body wrongly accused and imprisoned in the dungeon; the unusual movement of funds in France came from his own family's branch; even the few Dark wizards who had infiltrated the Forbidden Forest had happened to be discovered when the Unicorn Xilisi led him there...

"Ridiculous!" he muttered in frustration, then picked up the lunch the Hospital Wing had prepared on the table beside him and wolfed it down.

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