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At the Ravenclaw table, Anthony, Michael Corner, and the others were firing questions at Hector about the details of his chess competition.
"Where was the tournament held? Were there a lot of people? How hard was it?"
Some of the questions Anthony and Charlie already knew the answers to, since they were his roommates. The event had been held in Manchester and used a points system—two points were enough to qualify for the next round of the British selection.
Listening to questions they'd already heard and watching the crowd swarm around Hector, Anthony and Charlie exchanged a knowing glance and smiled.
Whatever. If they wanted to know more, they could ask later in the dorm. For now, they'd let Hector enjoy his moment in the spotlight.
Of course, they hadn't actually asked Hector if that was what he wanted.
Hector had always been quiet and reserved in public, and he wasn't great with words. Being surrounded by people asking about every little detail of his victory—something that had happened plenty of times before—was never something he enjoyed or had gotten used to.
He shot Anthony and Charlie a pleading look, only to see both of them with their heads down, focused on their food and completely ignoring him.
The questions kept coming, each one stranger than the last. A lot of young witches and wizards had no real idea what the magical world outside Hogwarts looked like.
They asked about everything from whether high-ranking Ministry officials had attended to whether there were cameras filming the matches like on television, and whether there were interviews afterward.
Question after question piled up until Hector started feeling overwhelmed.
Luckily, fifteen minutes later, after Anthony and Charlie finally set down their knives and forks with satisfied looks, Hector quickly pretended he was full too.
He grabbed both of them and gave the others an apologetic smile. "Alright, we've got to go. We'll talk more later."
He led the way out of the Great Hall, walking fast like he had somewhere important to be, with Anthony and Charlie right behind him.
Once they were outside, Hector's entire demeanor changed. He leaned against the wall like he was exhausted and let out a long breath.
"Why are you acting like being surrounded by people drained your soul?" Anthony laughed.
"Isn't it exhausting?" Hector shot back.
Anthony shook his head, still smiling. "If it were me, I'd be getting more excited by the second."
Charlie chuckled and shook his head. "Hector just isn't the type who likes being the center of attention."
Hector nodded quickly. "Exactly."
Anthony turned to Charlie. "What about you?"
"I'm not either," Charlie said with a small smile, steering the conversation away. "How did the matches feel?"
With no one else around, Hector immediately lifted his chin and put on a casual, confident expression. "It was basically a walk in the park for me."
The three of them headed upstairs while Hector launched into a detailed, animated retelling of the tournament. Anthony's chess skills had improved a lot from acting as Hector's practice partner, and Charlie already knew how to play.
Thanks to Hector's vivid descriptions, both of them could almost see the tense traps and psychological battles playing out right in front of them.
Charlie was honest with himself—if he had competed, he wouldn't have done much better than Ron.
By the time they reached the common room, Hector was wrapping up his story. But being Ravenclaws, they didn't waste time. Once they were back in the dorm, Hector immediately started checking how much of the Easter holiday homework he still had left.
"How much have you two done?" he asked, looking at them.
"I'm basically finished," Anthony said with a grin. "Just a tiny bit left."
Charlie just shook his head. He hadn't had nearly as much free time for homework. He'd only managed about a quarter of it, and that was after squeezing every spare minute he could find. With Easter break, a lot of the professors had already started review work, so the assignments were heavier than usual.
"Looks like I need to get moving," Hector said.
After checking his workload, he didn't start working right away. Like Anthony, he went over to Charlie's window to look at the strawberry plant. He was clearly excited about it too.
Then his gaze drifted outside.
The weather hadn't been this good since last winter. The sky was clear and bright, a deep forget-me-not blue. Thin white clouds drifted across it like dandelions scattered in a flowerbed.
How long had it been since the three of them had gone outside together to just mess around?
They glanced at each other at the same time.
Charlie shook his head. "I can't. I have to go to Professor Chambers' office this afternoon."
To be honest, he was a little tempted. The weather really was perfect. He walked over to his bed, pushed the window open, and let the gentle breeze blow in. The whole dorm instantly felt cooler and fresher.
"That feels amazing."
"Then Hector and I will go out for a bit," Anthony said to Hector. "Just for a little while. Homework can wait. Good weather doesn't."
Charlie nodded in agreement. "Go have fun. If I finish early this afternoon, I'll come find you guys."
To be fair, staying cooped up inside this gloomy castle for too long could make anyone feel a little stifled. It would be a shame to waste such a nice day.
Charlie looked out the window again, breathing in the fresh air. There was already a hint of summer in it.
Fiona flew over and landed on his shoulder. She looked outside, felt the air for a moment, then suddenly said, "Charlie, it might rain soon."
Charlie gave her a puzzled look, then glanced at the sky again. He'd lived in Britain for over ten years—he could usually tell whether it was going to rain just by the feel of the air.
He took another deep breath, but the air didn't give him a clear answer.
"Am I wrong, or—"
He turned to look at the weather orb. Inside it, Hogwarts was currently covered in darkness. Heavy rain was pouring down, and lightning was flashing across the sky.
"Looks like the little strawberry sprite's senses are a lot sharper than mine."
A spark of excitement flashed in Charlie's eyes. That meant he had one more thing to do today. He quickly gathered up the notes from last night's experiments and headed for the door.
"I'm going to Professor Chambers' office. See you later."
Just like he'd said, Professor Chambers had brought fresh green mandrake leaves that afternoon.
In Potions, mandrake was almost always prepared by boiling. But Moon Dew couldn't handle high heat.
After a short discussion, they decided to boil one batch of mandrake and use fragments of the Philosopher's Stone to purify another.
They would then mix each version with Moon Dew to create two different combined essences.
Finally, they would test the effects and properties of both mixtures.
To be honest, the research they were doing right now felt more like pharmacology to Charlie.
Everything he'd been studying so far was ultimately about how the different essences reacted under various conditions. It didn't feel very connected to alchemy.
He wanted to know more. He wanted to learn more. But at the same time, he had to admit that some of the deeper research topics probably weren't things Professor Chambers needed to involve him in.
It was possible that even just watching could be considered interference.
He felt the same way himself. When he was working in the alchemy workshop inside the Room of Requirement, he didn't want anyone else around.
That was why the alchemy workshop stayed the alchemy workshop, and the club stayed the club. He couldn't mix the two.
By the time they finished that afternoon's work, it was already four o'clock. The rain still hadn't started, and the air was still warm. Charlie went out to the grounds and enjoyed the gentle breeze, but unfortunately, he couldn't find Anthony or Hector.
He went back to the dorm, grabbed Fiona and Alice, and played outside with them for half an hour before returning.
Dinner time. The Great Hall. Raindrops were pattering against the high enchanted ceiling.
Beside him, Hermione was explaining the twelve uses of dragon's blood while Charlie looked up at the rain falling across the sky.
"Hermione, have you ever heard of spring thunder?"
"Spring thunder?" Hermione shook her head. "Why are you asking about that all of a sudden? How's your revision plan going, by the way?"
"I don't have a revision plan," Charlie said.
Ron and Harry immediately looked smug. "See? We told you. Only you would be this worried about revision already."
They clearly thought Charlie's words gave them full backup.
But the very next second, Charlie spoke again. "To be honest, I actually think Hogwarts doesn't have enough exams."
Harry and Ron instantly went quiet.
"I think the point of exams is to show us what we've missed or forgotten.
I don't care about my grades, but I do want to know if I've missed any spells or forgotten any important steps in potion-making.
I haven't been slacking off, so if I've forgotten something, exams are the best way to find out.
My actual revision plan will come after the exams, based on how I do."
Hermione opened and closed her mouth. "I thought—I—"
"What?" Charlie turned to look at her.
"Nothing," Hermione said quickly, shaking her head.
"Were you secretly hoping I'd study hard so we could compete head-to-head on the final exams?"
Hermione's face went bright red. "No! What? I never thought that! Absolutely not!"
Charlie didn't bother teasing her further about her flustered denial. He just smiled. "I really don't care that much about grades or exams.
What I care about more is—"
He pointed upward at the ceiling. "This."
Hermione nodded rapidly. "Oh, right. When I was reading A History of Hogwarts, I kept wondering what kind of magic was used on the ceiling.
Judging by your expression, it must be alchemy, right, Charlie?"
"Huh?" Charlie tilted his head. Well, that wasn't the answer he'd expected, but it was very on-brand for her.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "It's the rain. It's raining. It's thundering. Spring has arrived.
I really like spring. When that first thunder rolls, it means a new year is beginning."
"Doesn't the new year start after Christmas?" Ron cut in.
Charlie sighed. "I mean in nature. A new cycle.
Trees grow new buds. Flowers bloom. Animals in the forest wake up."
As if on cue, a loud crack of thunder rolled across the sky.
After the thunder faded, the entire Great Hall went quiet for two full seconds. A lot of people had clearly been startled.
Charlie had thought he'd have to wait longer for the rain to start. Looked like he didn't have to wait after all.
He quickly shoveled the last bite of pudding into his mouth, wiped his lips, and stood up, clapping his hands once.
"Alright, my dear friends. I've got to go."
"Where are you going?" Hermione asked.
"I'm going to sit by a window and quietly enjoy the rain."
He gave the three of them a mischievous wink.
"See you later." He turned and walked briskly toward the doors without looking back.
Of course, that wasn't actually what he was going to do.
Why would he sit by a window? That would be way too inefficient for collecting thunder.
The moment he'd found out it was going to storm tonight, he'd already put one of his material vials in his club bag.
After leaving the Great Hall, he didn't head upstairs. Instead, he turned left into a quieter corridor.
Thanks to it being dinnertime, this out-of-the-way hallway was completely empty.
He glanced around, then walked straight down the passage, pushed open the door, and stepped out into the rain.
It was coming down hard. Even though the expensive robes Anthony had given him had quick-dry, warming, and breathable charms, they didn't have waterproofing.
Not that Charlie minded getting wet.
Water droplets clung to his hair. He gently flicked the ends and smiled silently to himself. Hogwarts didn't exactly have a place to get a haircut.
His hair had gotten pretty long.
He pushed it back and kept walking across the dark grounds.
Soon, far from the castle in the middle of the grass, he slowly raised his right hand, fingers pointing toward the sky.
Another loud crack split the air. Thick clouds lit up the entire sky.
With a sharp, world-shaking snap, a bolt of lightning tore straight down and struck the tip of his finger.