Chapter Seventy-Six: The Day After the Revelry

The next day, the little wizards who had celebrated all night were immediately met with a lesson—they had classes as usual on Tuesday!

This news struck them like a bolt from the blue, leaving their heads buzzing. Those who had had some sense and only played until midnight could just about drag themselves up before class, but the real troublemakers who had pulled an all-nighter were another matter entirely.

Among those restless souls were Abraxas and Mowbray, two leading figures in the rowdy little Slytherin crowd. They hadn’t even considered being punctual for class the next day, and spent the night in the common room with other Slytherin scions, organizing a grand wizard chess tournament.

Some less well-off half-bloods saw an opportunity to make a quick Galleon, setting up a rather dubious betting pool to lure in those “gullible and wealthy” pure-bloods. At first, wagers were only placed on which player would win each match, but before long, someone had managed to offer odds on the final champion, though it was anyone’s guess how those odds were calculated.

Reasonable or not, Abraxas and Mowbray were thoroughly caught up in the excitement. The tournament didn’t end until a sixth-year emerged victorious as the ultimate chess champion, just as the six o’clock bell rang out across Hogwarts…

Only then, still unsatisfied, did Abraxas and Mowbray feel the weight of exhaustion. Lacking the energy to check how many Galleons they’d lost over the night, they simply collapsed into bed and fell fast asleep.

Young Siwin, however, was quite different from them. The day before, he had survived a harrowing battle and, despite his exhaustion, had insisted on following the heads of house around to help repair magical nodes for the sake of learning more. His body was completely spent. The moment he lay down in his dormitory, he sank into a deep sleep.

…

The next morning, Siwin was woken by the commotion of Abraxas and Mowbray crashing onto their beds. He pulled his pocket watch from under his pillow and saw that he was running a little later than usual.

He sat up, preparing to begin his daily morning exercises.

However, he had barely managed to sit up before he winced and fell back onto his bed.

“Hsss…” He drew in a sharp breath, his whole body aching. His back and waist were sore, and every limb throbbed with pain.

Even with Siwin’s constitution, the strain of the previous day had been too much. He felt as if he were a lifelong couch potato who had suddenly decided to tackle a triathlon.

The aching in every muscle made him not only unwilling to exercise, but even reluctant to walk the distance from the common room to the great hall for breakfast.

Fortunately, breakfast was a problem that Siwin could solve easily. If his body didn’t want to move, his spectral form could do it for him!

So, Ghost Siwin floated off toward the kitchens under Helena’s bemused gaze.

“So you’re going to the great hall just because you’re too sore to move?” Helena asked, unable to stifle a laugh.

“Let me rephrase that,” Helena said, trying to keep a straight face. “So you’re going to the great hall because Siwin Rozier is too sore to move? …Wait, that still doesn’t sound right. Aren’t you Siwin Rozier? How odd!”

Ghost Siwin looked at Helena helplessly, feeling that this clever lady ghost’s mind seemed a little muddled today…

Once in the kitchen, Siwin summoned his most familiar house-elf, Buddy, and ordered a few dishes to be sent up to the dormitory. Under Helena’s gentle threats and coaxing, he also memorized most of the kitchen’s recipes, planning to liven up the menu at the next ghost’s banquet.

…

In the Slytherin boys’ dormitory, Siwin, skipping his morning exercise, ate breakfast in his room and then began some gentle stretches, hoping to speed up his recovery.

Around eight o’clock, just before class, Gomez returned to the dormitory. Together, the two of them managed to rouse the still-sleeping Abraxas and Mowbray.

“Huh? We have class today?” Mowbray asked in shock, blinking up at them.

“Probably because they expected people like you, Professor Slughorn came down to the common room this morning and posted a notice on the announcement board that classes would proceed as normal,” Siwin told them.

“I barely slept a wink!” Abraxas grumbled, clearly a little cranky. “Maybe I just won’t go. You skipped a whole afternoon your second day here—so why can’t I skip one class?”

“How does this always come back to me…” Siwin muttered, the corners of his mouth twitching.

“This morning is Defense Against the Dark Arts,” Gomez interjected. “Professor Lorey’s been taken away, so we’ll probably have a substitute.”

“That’s even better. With a substitute, maybe they won’t know how many first-years we have and might just forget our names,” Mowbray said, burying his head under the covers, his muffled voice emerging from beneath.

“What I mean is… this morning’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class will most likely be taught by Professor Melus!” Gomez finally revealed his trump card.

“What?!” Mowbray and Abraxas immediately shot out from under the blankets, shouting in alarm.

Siwin shrugged and explained quietly, “The head of Defense Against the Dark Arts is also our Deputy Headmistress. Do you understand what that means?”

“We’re doomed. If we dare skip the Deputy Headmistress’s class, who knows what punishment awaits us!” Abraxas muttered, forcing himself to fight off his sleepiness as he dressed.

“Hurry up, class is about to start,” Siwin urged, glancing at his pocket watch.

…

The four of them arrived at the classroom with only three minutes to spare before nine o’clock.

As expected, it was Professor Melus who was substituting. She was already standing at the lectern, smiling kindly at the young wizards below.

In her hand was a roster, and she glanced down at it from time to time, checking off names against the students in the room. Abraxas and Mowbray, who had ultimately decided to attend, were filled with relief.

“Very good, all of Slytherin is here!” Professor Melus checked the roster once more after the four arrived and nodded with satisfaction. “Now, only three Gryffindor boys are missing.”

However, even when the bell rang for class, those three boys had still not arrived. Siwin guessed privately that they, too, had been up all night.

Professor Melus’s expression darkened as she looked at the list. “Mr. Alastor Moody!”

“Present!” Moody started in surprise, leaping up from his seat in the front row. Abraxas, who sat next to him out of habit due to Professor Lorey’s previous seating arrangements, was startled in turn.

“Mr. Moody, as I understand it, those three absent students are your roommates?” Professor Melus inquired.

Moody glanced around the classroom before replying, “Yes, Professor.”

Professor Melus fixed him with a serious gaze. “Then tell us what’s going on with them.”

…

…