Victor stood on the pitch, watching a smiling Adele. She held her broom tightly, while Luna stood beside her, lost in thought.
— I understand that you enjoyed flying, but why am I here? — he asked.
— Because I want to take to the sky, and Madam Hooch only allowed me to fly if you were nearby. By the way, why does she trust you so much?
Victor sighed.
— During my very first flying lesson, I saved a guy who almost crashed.
— Yes, I heard how you caught Neville Longbottom when he fell off his broom, — Luna added, twirling a flower in her hands.
Victor nodded.
— When? Why didn't I know about this? We always go everywhere together! — Adele wondered, hugging her broom to her chest.
— I heard about it while we were sitting in the common room, but you were studying History of Magic at the time and weren't paying attention.
Adele thought for a moment but quickly brushed the thoughts aside. She gripped her broom more comfortably and commanded:
— Up!
She slowly lifted off the ground and cautiously flew forward. Victor shook his head and flicked his palm; a broom immediately appeared near him, hovering in the air.
— Damn, my ba... will hurt all day again, — he noticed Luna's innocent gaze just in time and coughed. — My legs will hurt from these stiff brooms. Luna, why aren't you flying?
— I'm not very good at steering a broom, — she replied.
Victor hopped onto his broom, flew up to her, and, scooping her up, sat her in front of him.
— Oh, — Luna squeaked. She clung to his hands as he held the handle. It ended up looking like he was hugging her to keep her from falling.
— Relax and don't panic, — he told her.
The broom rose smoothly, quickly catching up to Adele, who was watching the scene with a frown.
— Stop circling in place. Follow me; I'll show you the beauty of Hogwarts from above.
Adele, still casting side-glances at Luna, nodded silently. Victor smiled and steered the broom toward the Black Lake. Luna trembled at first but gradually relaxed. Victor saw her cautiously spread her arms, feeling the wind, and he descended lower, nearly skimming the water. Luna watched the lake with interest, smiling as the backs of fish flickered beneath the surface.
— Do you like it?
— Yes, — she nodded.
— Adele, keep up! — he shouted to his sister.
They gained altitude and flew toward the Forbidden Forest. From above, the forest looked like a vast dark-green sea. Victor saw the treetops swaying below, with birds flying in the distance. The wind whistled in his ears, and the sense of freedom was unreal. Then they turned back toward the school and flew right over the roofs of the towers, nearly clipping the weather vanes.
After flying like that for a couple of hours, he felt he'd had enough. Looking at his sister, he asked:
— Well, dear, had your fill of riding?
— Yes, we can go back.
They landed gently on the clearing. Luna hopped onto the grass cheerfully.
— How wonderful! Flying is almost like being a bird.
— I'm glad you liked it.
Victor dismounted, and his broom vanished. Adele landed nearby.
— Well, are you satisfied? — he asked his sister.
She nodded, but there was no joy on her face.
— What's wrong?
— Nothing! — she snapped, grabbing Luna by the hand. — Come on, Luna, we need to return the broom.
Victor watched them leave, shaking his head with a smile. But as he took his first step, he suddenly winced and grabbed his hip.
— Strange... I got used to ignoring pain long ago. But why, when it comes to the groin and these oak brooms, does it hurt so much? — he muttered. — I urgently need to find some kind of strengthening spell for intimate areas.
And Victor, limping slightly, trudged toward the school.
Daphne and her sister entered the common room and saw Victor. He was sitting on the sofa, pressing something to his groin.
— Victor, what are you doing? — Daphne froze, staring at him.
— Pressing ice to my balls. What else, — he grumbled without even turning around.
Astoria turned beet-red and quickly looked away toward her sister.
— Why?! — Daphne asked in surprise.
— I went for a broom ride, and now they hurt.
Daphne only shook her head.
— Astoria, go to your room.
The younger sister nodded silently and shuffled toward the stairs. Victor watched her go with surprise.
— That's it? No quips or snide remarks?
— She's upset, — Daphne sighed, approaching him. — I shouldn't have scolded her so harshly yesterday.
— It's fine, it's good for her. If she had pulled that last year, I would have just crippled her, — Victor replied calmly.
— Yes, it's a good thing she wasn't here then. Everyone pampers her at home; I think she clearly wasn't ready for reality.
Victor stood up slowly, trying not to make any sudden movements.
— Damn, how do Quidditch players train all day? — he winced and hobbled toward the stairs. Daphne followed.
— You were at Defense Against the Dark Arts today. I thought you were going to ignore them.
— Dumbledore threatened to take a hundred points from Slytherin for every class I miss. You have no idea how much I held back from turning Lockhart into a peacock.
They entered Victor's room. He sat heavily on the bed.
— By the way, people are asking if you'll be holding extracurriculars like last year. And everyone is looking forward to the opening of the Dueling Club.
Victor nodded.
— Tell everyone: we start next week. Extracurriculars on Saturdays, the club on Sundays.
— Why not this week?
— I have business this week.
Daphne sat beside him on the edge of the bed.
— I asked my mother to find out everything about the newcomers who joined Slytherin this year.
Victor looked at her.
— You think the Heir is among them?
— I don't know, but everything started just now. They are the prime suspects.
— Well, good luck with the search, — he said indifferently.
— Don't you care at all who it is?
— No. I don't care.
Victor stood up and walked to his desk. He frowned, examining the shelves.
— Is it just me, or are a couple of books missing?
— I saw your sister come in and take something.
— Is the library not enough for her? — Victor shook his head. — Let's see... she took Carrie and Pet Sematary. Interesting choice.
— What kind of books are those? — Daphne asked.
— Stephen King, a Muggle author. Quite interesting books. By the way, how long until dinner?
— A couple of hours.
— Too long; I think I'll skip it, — he replied thoughtfully.
Daphne narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
— Are you going to disappear somewhere in the school again? Like last year?
Victor turned and smiled.
— Yes, darling. I'm expecting a long, sleepless night tonight.
— Doesn't your... well... groin hurt? — she asked shyly, watching him move confidently across the room.
Victor leaned down and pulled a bag from under the bed.
— Good question. Did it even hurt at all? — He straightened up and looked at Daphne. — I don't really feel physical pain as pain, but rather as discomfort. Thinking about it, I realized it was phantom pain. Apparently, when it involves my groin, I subconsciously manifest it.
— Then why were you applying ice? — Daphne was completely confused.
Victor simply shrugged.
— I don't know. I was hoping I could treat phantom pain with ice.
He slung the bag over his shoulder and headed for the exit.
— See you in the morning, Daphne.
Having ascended to the eighth floor, Victor paused, checking for any prying eyes. Once certain the corridor was empty, he performed the ritual, and a door slowly materialized in the wall. Inside the Room of Requirement, an ideal alchemy lab awaited him.
— Oh, how I've missed this place, — he smiled.
Placing the bag on the nearest table, Victor spoke softly:
— Can you take all the resources out of the bag and arrange them here?
In that same instant, the shelves began to fill with the rarest ingredients he had "borrowed" from Nicolas.
— Thank you, — he thanked the room.
Approaching the table, Victor raised his right hand and slowly passed his palm over it. Glowing patterns appeared on his skin—runic chains that tightened toward his fingers and turned into three elegant rings. He had created these spatial storages with Flamel, inspired by xianxia stories.
— Hmm... — Victor frowned, recalling the flight. — When I pulled out the broom, the ring manifested for a split second. Curious, why?
He pulled out a notebook where all the diagrams and runes used to create the rings were drawn.
— A chair, please, — he requested, and a comfortable seat materialized right behind his back.
Victor sat down and immersed himself in reading, trying to figure out exactly where they had made a mistake.