The next morning, the storm quietly retreated, but thick blue-grey clouds still loomed and churned across the Great Hall's ceiling.
When Jerry entered the Great Hall, Harry, Ron, and Neville were sitting together, engrossed in a discussion of their new timetable. Hermione was buttering a slice of bread while leafing through one of this term's textbooks.
"Given up already?" Jerry sat down beside Hermione and teased her. He hadn't expected her to change her tune quite so quickly!
"After thinking it over carefully last night, I realised there are better ways to speak up for house-elves' rights." Hermione looked up with a confident smile, then added a layer of jam to her bread.
"Oh, yes, absolutely!"
Just then, a soft rustling filled the air above the Great Hall as over a hundred owls streamed through the open windows, carrying the morning's first batch of letters and parcels. They circled overhead before delivering their loads unerringly to their respective owners.
Harry's head shot up. His eyes searched the sea of brown and grey, but he couldn't spot the white figure he had been hoping for.
A particularly striking tawny owl spread its wings and glided towards Neville, gently depositing a parcel on his lap. Neville was always forgetting things when he packed, so on the first day of every term, his grandmother sent his forgotten belongings by owl.
"Why do you think Sirius still hasn't replied? Could... could something have happened to Hedwig?" Harry's voice was heavy with worry.
"Come on, Hedwig's an owl. She has to fly to deliver letters," Jerry said, taking a spoonful of porridge. "Do you think she's an email that arrives the moment you send it? How could she be that fast?"
"Yeah, you're right, Jerry." Harry forced a faint smile, trying to shake off the