The forest was dark and quiet in the night. Wind that flew past the big trees made a whistle as a warning almost.
This didn't have any effect of the young gray, he strode inside the forest calmly, taking in the view of the so called forbidden forest.
His main reason for coming here was to see why it had gotten this name, he was expecting demons or giant snakes. But after 20 minutes of walking, he had neither seen or heard anything.
He stopped in an opening, surrounded by the giant trees of the forest he stood still. Closing his eyes and focused on his smell and hearing sense. He could hear the ant below him, and smell the decaying dead animal to his left further inside the forest but nothing else.
Linus felt rather disappointed, not even a spider had been seen.
The disappointment lingered only for a moment.
Then it shifted, the smell, something moved. Linus focused his senses.
'not infront, not to the side… above' he thought, and his fingers moved slowly but he didn't shift if body. The lightning sparked between his fingers, he was ready.
The sound came closer slowly, and the smell of damp fur slowly increased.
And then he felt the thing dropped fast, Linus blinked forward and looked back to the place he was just standing.
A acromantula. His lips curved upward slightly.
"about time, I thought I was going back disappointed tonight" he said towards the giant spider.
Its mandibles clicked in response before lunging forward. Linus side stepped with minimal effort, its massive legs crashing into the place he had been standing. Before it could recover lightning shot up from the ground hard. The giant spider twitched hard as its whole body was electrocuted.
The acromantula thrashed, tearing up soil and snapping saplings like twigs. Linus advanced calmly, boots sinking slightly into the churned soil.
He raised his hand toward it and a big ice sickle formed, the spider hissed and was preparing to lunge again, but the sickle flew fast and pierced into the head of the giant spider.
With a thud it collapsed onto the ground.
The forest was once again quiet. Linus walked up to the acromantula and looked down on it.
Dripping from the mouth of the spider was the oh so precious poison. He collected a couple of vial of it before burning the spider up.
Linus looked at the vials filled with venom from the spider, this was actually very expensive material, since these acromantulas weren't legal to own of farm. This made the demand and price go up, of course it couldn't be sold normally either and would most likely have to be sold on the black market.
But Linus didn't plan to sell them, he had enough money. He was planning on keeping it for future need.
He stood in the now quiet forest and breathed in the fresh cold air.
The boy soon disappeared as he apparated out of the forest Infront of the castle doors, and yet again into the Gryffindor common room. It had already been two hours since his excursion. But what shocked him the most was meeting two boys who was about to go out themselves.
The three stood there for a moment and just looked at each other.
"seems that Durmstrang has is trouble makers aswell" one of the ginger boys said.
Linus just smirked and stepped out of the way, the twins walked past him and gave him a nod before he heard the painting close behind him.
"This school is really different." Linus said before heading up the stairs leading up to the dorm rooms.
The guest room was a one bed room for just this. it wasn't big but it didn't need to be either.
A single bed stood against the stone wall, neatly made with thick crimson blankets. A small desk sat beneath a narrow window, moonlight spilling through it in pale strips. The fire in the hearth had burned low, leaving only a soft orange glow and the faint crackle of dying embers.
Linus closed the door behind him quietly.
And he dove into the bed, he didn't even bother taking of his clothes, just waved his hand and they appeared on the chair in the room.
Laying in the bed staring at the blazing fireplace on the other wall made him think of his comrades, they would do anything to spend a day like this. without worrying about lessons and the constant teachers yelling. The cozy feeling of the rooms and the warm feeling he felt all the time.
Transferring didn't sound that bad anymore.
The next morning, he woke up early, and when he went down to the common room he noticed he woke up way too early. He took a seat in one of the armchairs by the fireplace.
He waited for a while before he could hear activity above him, students started walking down the stairs, everyone looked like they hadn't slept at all.
But at the sight of the red guest sitting in the common room some woke up and straightened their backs.
The little lions made their way to the great hall for breakfast. Linus didn't join them but he did look around the hall and saw another familiar face, a face he hadn't seen since he was in London the first time.
He made his way over to the Slytherin table. And Here she sat daphne Greengrass, Linus tapped her shoulder and she turned.
"Oh, Mr. Gray, ive been waiting for you to greet me again" she said with a bright smile.
Linus smiled back towards the very beautiful blond girl he had seen almost 3 years ago. "I sorry for delaying my greeting, I had a tour with the headmaster which took up my time." he said back, "But it is really nice to see you again."
She moved a little on the bench to make room. "here sit with us."
He liked her, she was the only pureblood who had made it feel like she wasn't the arrogant type to boast about it. while the others couldn't go a sentence without talking about their parents and so on.
Linus sat down and joined them for their breakfast.
Across from him sat someone he thought he recognized, the boy started at Linus for a bit before reaching out his hand.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Draco Malfoy" he said.
And as soon as Linus heard it he almost rolled his eyes, he thought about this kids arrogant father who was the one that started the whole deal with Britain just a couple of months ago.
"Nice to meet you aswell." Linus gave him a handshake, but with a bit of extra force just to show some sort of dominance.
Draco stiffened for just a fraction of a second as Linus's grip tightened.
It was subtle. Anyone not looking for it would have missed it. But Daphne noticed. Her eyes flicked briefly to Draco's hand, then back to Linus, a hint of amusement dancing behind her calm expression.
Breakfast continued with polite conversation. Daphne asked about Durmstrang's curriculum, about the northern climate, about dueling etiquette. Linus answered without embellishment. Draco, on the other hand, made sure to mention his father's influence whenever possible, each sentence carefully crafted to remind everyone at the table who he believed he was.
"What will you be doing today?" Daphne asked as she drank her juice.
Linus took a bit out of the bacon he had in his hand and answered. "I will be going around and attending some classes, just to see what its like."
She looked at him with excitement in her eyes. "Will you come watch us in the potion class this afternoon?" she asked with big eyes.
He thought for a second. "Yeah that sounds fun"
Eventually the hall began to empty again, students rising as one as schedules pulled them toward classes. Linus stood as well.
After a short walk around the castle he soon entered what was the Defense against the dark arts classroom.
The classroom wasn't the biggest, but it felt alive. Stone walls and big long windows on the left side. Bookshelves lined the right side with jars and books of different kind. The desks that would be in the middle of the room had been placed on the sides and at the end of the room stood a cabinet.
The students looked on and let out small laughs as they realized they wouldn't need their books this time.
And soon the professor stepped out of his office down to the class floor.
"Today we are going to do something unique, no books needed so put them back."
As professor Lupin told everyone what would happen, Linus had put himself in the far back of the class. Listening to the students conversations and the teachers instructions. It became clear that today the students would learn about the boggart.
A creature that feeds on fear by becoming what you fear the most. And to defeat it, you would cast a spell to make it less horrifying.
And with a laugh it had begun, a boy named Neville had snape as his worst fear, and with a spell professor snape now wore his grandmothers clothes making the whole class erupt in laughter.
Laughter echoed off the stone walls, some of it nervous, some of it genuine. Neville stood frozen for a moment longer, then hurried back to his place, face red but eyes bright with relief. Professor Lupin gave him an encouraging nod before turning back toward the wardrobe.
One by one, students stepped forward.
A mummy wrapped itself in bandages and was promptly dressed in a tutu. A banshee gained a squeaky voice. A giant spider rolled over onto its back, legs flailing helplessly as it wore roller skates. Each transformation drained the creature a little more, its form losing cohesion.
After a while, it was Harry's turn. Linus looked on with interest and so did the rest of the class as it went quiet.
The boggart emerged slowly this time, mist pooling around its form. The temperature in the room dropped enough that Linus felt it against his skin. Not cold enough to hurt, but enough to be noticed.
A dementor.
The class that had just before been filled with laughter and jokes, was now dead silent. Linus looked around and saw that Harry was not the only one that was scared out of their mind.
The Malfoy kid hid behind his classmates, Ron and Hermoine looked at harry in horror, but as he looked towards more students, he noticed the golden hair of Daphne. She wasn't looking at the boggart that was scaring the whole room, she was looking at him with a calm expression.
He looked eyes with the girl and gave her a smile, she returned it. and a bang could be heard from the front which made both look forward.
The professor had showed the boggart back into the cabinet.
"right sorry about that, that is the end of todays lesson." He said clearly a little shocked himself. "Thank you for attending" as he said that the class slowly dwindled but harry remained.
Linus walked up to his left and said, "You have all the right to be scared of that harry" he paused for a moment. "There is a reason they guard the cruellest prison Afterall."
What he had said made Harry think about it, and it made him feel slightly better.
But Linus wasn't done. "Professor, mind If I try?"
Professor Lupin looked towards Linus and thought for a moment, "Can you handle it yourself?"
Linus didn't answer and unlocked the cabinet, slowly the boggart crept out, but it stopped.
The boggart twitched but it didn't move outside the cabinet.
"what's happening?" Ron whispered in the back.
Hermoine answered him after she had to make sure herself. "It can't decide what to become."
The once so fearful boggart was stuck, it didn't know what to do. Standing before it stood a boy who had seen his family die, and had seen the horrors of the magical world.
Linus flicked his finger, and the boggart was pushed hard back into the cabinet with a big thud.
After that he looked at potter, "I heard that we are visiting Hogsmeade today, lets go" and he walked out of the classroom with calm steps. the trio followed after and professor lupin stood left in the classroom.
The corridor outside the classroom felt warmer somehow, like the castle itself had decided to be kinder after the whole boggart incident.
Harry rolled his shoulders once, as if shaking off an invisible weight. Ron stayed close at his side, stuffing his hands into his pockets, while Hermione walked with her usual purposeful stride, already halfway lost in thought.
"That was… weird," Ron finally said. "I mean, it just froze. Didn't even try to scare you."
Linus walked a few steps ahead of them, hands tucked casually into his coat pockets. "Boggarts are simple creatures," he said lightly. "They prefer easy targets."
Hermione glanced at him. "Easy… as in?"
"As in loud fear," Linus replied. "Clear shapes. Screaming instincts."
Harry looked up at him. "So what did it see when it looked at you?"
Linus shrugged. "Nothing worth copying."
That seemed to settle the question, at least for now.
They stepped into the entrance hall, sunlight pouring in through the tall doors and warming the stone floor beneath their feet. Outside, students were already gathering, voices buzzing with excitement as professors organized them into loose groups.
Hogsmeade day always felt different. Less like school. More like a reward.
Ron perked up instantly. "Butterbeer," he said with conviction. "I don't care what we do after, but we're getting butterbeer."
Linus scanned the groups and saw daphne who yet again was already looking at him, he walked up to the professor who was professor MacDougall.
"Excuse me professor, may I walk with that group." Linus asked politely to the professor. While motioning to the group with Daphne in it.
The professor nodded. "very well, but since you are not a Hogwarts student, you are responsible for yourself do you understand?" she asked.
He nodded. "I understand perfectly well professor." He said and turned to walk towards the group and soon joined in with Daphne who had a big smile on her face.
"I was hoping you would," she said softly, her smile bright but relaxed. "Hogsmeade is much nicer with company."
The group began moving down the path, boots crunching gently over gravel and fallen leaves. The air was cool and clean, carrying the scent of pine, smoke, and something sweet drifting up from the village below.
Hogsmeade came into view like something out of a storybook. Snow had not yet fallen, but the rooftops looked dusted with pale light, chimneys puffing lazily as shop windows glowed with warmth. Laughter drifted through the streets, mixed with the sound of bells and footsteps.
Linus slowed slightly, taking it all in.
"It feels," he said after a moment, searching for the right word, "comfortable."
They reached the village proper just as the bells over the shop doors began chiming in earnest, each one adding to the gentle noise that filled the street. Snow had not yet fallen, but the air carried that crisp promise of it, cool on the cheeks and pleasant rather than biting.
The Three Broomsticks stood at the center of it all, windows glowing amber, steam fogging the glass from the warmth inside. The smell hit Linus first. Butter, sugar, something faintly spiced. He slowed without realizing it.
Daphne noticed and laughed quietly. "You have never had butterbeer, have you"
Linus shook his head. "We do not really do sweet drinks at Durmstrang."
"That is tragic," she said, already pulling him toward the door.
Inside, the pub was everything Hogwarts seemed to promise. Low wooden beams overhead, tables crowded close together, laughter bouncing warmly off the walls. A fire crackled near the back, its glow mixing with floating candles that drifted lazily above the room. Students packed the place, coats tossed over chairs, cheeks flushed from the cold.
Madam Rosmerta moved through the crowd with practiced ease, mugs floating along behind her in neat lines. Daphne secured them a small table near the fire, close enough to feel the warmth without being overwhelmed by it.
Moments later, two frothy mugs landed in front of them with a soft thump.
Linus lifted his cautiously. The foam tickled his nose.
"Well," Daphne said, lifting her own, "welcome to Hogsmeade."
He took a sip.
His eyebrows rose just a fraction.
It was warm and sweet without being overwhelming, rich like melted caramel and cream, with a faint fizz that made it feel alive. He took another sip immediately, slower this time.
Daphne watched him with clear satisfaction. "I knew it."
"This," Linus admitted, "is dangerously good."
She laughed, the sound light and easy. "You say that like it is a bad thing."
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, listening to the noise around them. A group of Hufflepuffs nearby argued cheerfully about which pastry was best. Somewhere closer to the bar, Ron's voice rose in excitement as he loudly declared butterbeer superior to pumpkin juice in every way.
After finishing their drinks, they wandered back out into the street. The snow had settled enough to coat rooftops and lampposts, turning the village into something almost unreal. Laughter followed them as they walked, boots leaving shallow prints that quickly filled again.
They passed Honeydukes next, its windows overflowing with color. Chocolate frogs leaped in their boxes, sugar quills shimmered, and jars of sweets glowed faintly under enchanted lights.
Daphne stopped in front of it. "You are not leaving without going in there."
Inside, it was chaos in the best possible way. Bells rang every time the door opened, shelves stacked high with sweets from floor to ceiling. The air smelled like sugar and cocoa and something fizzy that tickled the back of the throat.
Linus wandered slowly, eyes scanning everything with quiet fascination. He picked up a box of chocolate frogs, turned it over once, then set it back down.
"You look like someone dropped into another world," Daphne teased.
"In a way," he replied, "I think I did."
Eventually, they left with small paper bags in hand. Daphne had chosen neat little wrapped chocolates. Linus had allowed himself a single bag of something labeled Fizzing Whizzbees, mostly out of curiosity.
They walked back toward the edge of the village, snow crunching underfoot. The sky had darkened into a deep blue, stars beginning to peek through the clouds.
For a moment, neither spoke.
"This," Linus said at last, voice quieter than usual, "is the first time in a long while I have not been thinking about training, or danger, or what comes next."
Daphne smiled and spoke. "I think that's Hogwarts doing its magic, and telling you to come." She stepped closer to Linus and leaned forward, her face had a hint of blush now. "And I'm telling you to come as well, would be awfully boring here without you" she said with a bigger blush now. She then turned around and ran to her friend group who were whispering and giggling in our direction.
'That girl is dangerous' he thought as he looked at her.
Dangerous indeed, he thought again, but this time there was no edge to it. Just warmth.
The professors began calling students back together soon after, voices rising gently above the chatter. The village seemed reluctant to let them go, shop windows glowing brighter as if trying to tempt them into staying just a little longer. Linus walked back with the rest, hands tucked into his pockets, the small paper bag of sweets rustling faintly with each step.
The walk back towards the castle was enjoyable, the view was amazing.
As the students returned and Linus stood and talked with some Ravenclaw students, there was suddenly a call for all students to gather in the great hall.
"everyone to the great hall now!" professor Lupin shouted out which made the students worry a little.
As all students made their way into the great hall, it was soon filled with chatter and worried looks.
Soon after the headmaster Dumbledore came into the hall and stood at his pedestal. "everyone, please quiet down." He said and waited until there was silence. "there has been an incident with the Gryffindor entrance." He paused to look at the reactions.
Linus leaned against the wall on the right side of the hall, he scanned the students. Worried faces, curious faces.
"Sirius black has entered the school" Dumbledore added, but surprisingly there wasn't panic. "But I assure you, with us teachers here you will be safe" he added to get extra confidence."
The students all exchange whispers and worried expressions.
This went on for a while before the students finally could sit down and calm down.
But Linus wasn't one of those who wanted to sit around doing nothing when a powerful wizard could be hiding in this very castle. He saw Headmaster Dumbledore who spoke with professor snape and walked up to them.
Linus waited for them to complete their conversation before Dumbledore turned to him and asked. "What can I do for you Mr. Gray?" his voice was calm, way too calm for this.
"headmaster I would like to join the search of the school." The question got the attention of the students around, and snape turned his head to look as well.
Dumbledore stood and thought for a moment.
Dumbledore studied Linus for a long moment, blue eyes sharp behind the half moon glasses. Around them, the Great Hall hummed softly with restless energy, students whispering into sleeves, fires crackling a little louder than before.
Severus Snape's gaze slid toward Linus, dark and assessing. "Absolutely not," he said flatly. "This is not a game, nor a demonstration ground for foreign students."
Linus met his stare without flinching. "I am aware," he replied evenly. "That is why I asked."
Dumbledore lifted a hand, silencing whatever sharp retort Snape had been preparing. "Your concern does you credit," he said gently. "However, Hogwarts is not without its own protections. And tonight, caution will serve us better than courage."
Linus inclined his head slightly. He did not argue, but his eyes flicked briefly toward the doors that led deeper into the castle.
"I suspected as much," he said. "Still, I wished to offer."
Dumbledore smiled, the kind that held more weight than warmth. "And the offer is appreciated."