The release of the monthly exam results sounded the horn of liberation.
Students slumped in their chairs, quills flung everywhere as though they were casting off instruments of torture.
"It's over! Merlin's beard!"
Ron tossed his quill aside and shouted excitedly to Harry.
"How about we get something from the kitchen to celebrate? I bet the house-elves have made eggplant and pepper buns and treacle tart!"
Harry gave an absentminded "Mm" and rolled up the parchment covered in answers.
His mind wasn't on celebrating.
Eggplant and pepper buns? Treacle tart? Not remotely appealing.
Only one goal remained in his mind.
A grander, more exciting goal.
Headmaster Moody, that truly important mission.
Over the past few days, he had been a tightly wound sentinel, with only one thought in his head: constant vigilance.
It was time to report his results.
"I'll pass, Ron." Harry stood up, his tone carrying a distance he didn't even notice himself. "I... I'm a bit tired. I want to head back to the dormitory first."
He made up an excuse at random.
The smile on Ron's face froze for a moment, but soon returned. "All right, get some rest, then. I'll tell Hermione. She's still over there agonizing over what she got wrong."
Harry nodded and said nothing more.
He squeezed through the crowd, but instead of returning to the tower, he turned and hurried toward the corridor leading to Moody's office. He walked faster and faster until he broke into a run.
A sense of glory.
Excitement.
I was one of them now. This was the real action.
No longer the Harry Potter who needed protecting.
He was a soldier now, a sentinel.
The corridor was empty, with only his own footsteps and heartbeat echoing.
Harry stood outside Moody's office.
The door was scarred and