The Sorting Ceremony ended quickly.
Besides Kathoom, no one seemed to notice anything suspicious about Ravenna. She likely cast a charm to prevent others from questioning her true identity.
After the feast, the young witches and wizards followed their prefects back to their respective common rooms.
Thus ended the first day of the new school year.
—
The next morning, Bruce woke up to find a peculiar, egg-shaped bird nest beside his bed.
Constructed from twigs and dried grass, it had a small cloth curtain over the opening. A sign read:
“Kathoom’s Home. Do Not Disturb.”
Bruce tapped on the nest, and soon, the owl’s head poked out from behind the curtain.
“What do you want?” Kathoom asked grumpily.
“Uh… what exactly is this?” Bruce asked, trying to hold back a grin.
“Keep it down!” Kathoom shushed him, flapping his wing to signal Bruce to come closer.
Lifting the curtain, Bruce felt a sudden pull, and the next moment, he was drawn into the nest.
After steadying himself, Bruce looked around and was surprised to see that the inside of the nest was much larger than it appeared from the outside.
The interior was cleverly divided into two sections. One side was decorated like a cozy apartment, complete with miniature furniture—clearly a comfortable abode that Kathoom had designed for himself.
The other side was set up as a workshop, with a workbench covered in shards of Mjölnir. Beside it was a small forge, and atop it sat a single egg.
“Is this the egg you ‘borrowed’ from the vault?” Bruce asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Watch your words!” Kathoom huffed. “This egg and I were meant to find each other. I merely brought it somewhere more… suitable.”
Bruce gave him a skeptical look but decided to leave it alone. “You do realize that egg came from Kingpin’s stash, right? He’s a fan of dinosaurs. You might just hatch a T-Rex in the castle.”
“A T-Rex could be a perfect fit for you, don’t you think?” Kathoom said offhandedly, then sighed. “But that’s even if it hatches. I’m cursed—I’ve never managed to keep anything alive.”
Hearing this, Bruce quickly shifted his tone.
“Well, who knows? Maybe it’s just for fun. Hogwarts already has its fair share of pets—snakes, spiders… the school doesn’t seem to mind.”
“True.” Kathoom chuckled, unfazed. “And if we do get caught, you’re the one taking the blame.”
Bruce: What?
Before he could protest, Kathoom nudged him out the door.
“All right, that’s enough chit-chat. Time for breakfast! Today’s first class is with Lockhart, and you don’t want to miss it!”
—
Breakfast at Hogwarts was as hearty as ever.
The tables of the four houses were piled with bowls of porridge, platters of pickled herring, stacks of bread, and plates of eggs and bacon.
Breakfast entertainment wasn’t lacking either. Mrs. Weasley had sent Ron a Howler, filling the hall with uproarious laughter.
Bruce enjoyed the show, finishing off three bowls of porridge.
After breakfast, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students headed to Lockhart’s classroom.
Once everyone was seated, Lockhart cleared his throat loudly to gain their attention. His appearance was as immaculate as ever, dressed in a billowing blue and silver robe, a matching hat with a gold trim perched perfectly atop his gleaming blond hair.
“Seems he’s made some adjustments,” Kathoom noted.
In the original story, Lockhart was known for his unique wardrobe, sporting different colors almost daily.
But things had changed. Every time Kathoom had seen him recently, Lockhart’s colors hadn’t varied—always blue and silver, the colors of Ravenclaw.
Perhaps, now that Ravenclaw was revived, Lockhart was trying to ride the wave of popularity.
Classic Lockhart.
Holding a copy of Break with a Banshee, he displayed the cover, where a photo of him winked and smiled at the class.
“I—”
He pointed to his own picture, which gave another wink, and said, “am Gilderoy Lockhart. Order of Merlin, Third Class, honorary member of the Dark Force Defense League, five-time winner of Witch Weekly’s Most Charming Smile Award—but I don’t mention that to boast. It wasn’t my smile that drove out the Bandon Banshee!”
The young witches swooned, completely taken by his modesty.
Pleased, Lockhart continued, “I see you’ve all bought my entire collected works—excellent. Now, let’s start with a little quiz.”
“Don’t worry—it’s just to see how well you’ve read and absorbed…”
True to form, Lockhart handed out a test filled with questions about himself.
Bruce had to remind himself that this was supposed to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
“I know the answers,” Kathoom whispered from his shoulder. “I could help you score full marks.”
Bruce declined immediately.
He’d rather hand in a blank sheet than score full marks on this test.
The half-hour of answering questions dragged on painfully, and when the students finally handed in their papers, Lockhart flipped through them, tutting as if disappointed.
“Looks like there wasn’t enough pre-reading done.”
He sighed. “You couldn’t even get the simplest question right—my secret ambition! The answer was simple, really—it’s to…”
“Eradicate all evil and sell his line of haircare products,” Kathoom muttered.
“…to make sure everyone in the world lives for themselves!” Lockhart announced proudly.
Kathoom froze mid-thought.
Hadn’t he gotten that answer right? Why was it different now?
Bruce smirked. “Guess you’re not such a devoted Lockhart fan after all.”
Kathoom didn’t respond, staring at Lockhart with a perplexed expression.
“To be honest, I think everyone’s living a little too hard these days,” Lockhart continued, smiling down at the students. “Most people—almost everyone, actually—live for some obsession. I want them to let go of that, to be their true selves. Wouldn’t that be lovely?”
This didn’t sound like something Lockhart would say.
A student raised their hand and asked, “Professor, what do you mean by obsession?”
“Oh, there are so many kinds!”
Lockhart chuckled. “Holding onto things we can’t get, refusing to let go… In my opinion, people who live that way are just fools.”
The young wizards glanced at each other, completely baffled by Lockhart’s words.
“Oops, perhaps I was too cryptic.”
Lockhart apologized with a wink. “But you’re all lucky because you get to see the most perfect person before any of that—me!
“If you’re ever confused, just think of my smile. At least that’s something that belongs to each of you.”
After these cryptic, almost sarcastic remarks, Lockhart moved on to the lesson.
“All right, time to start the real class!”
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