The weeks leading up to Christmas passed in an atmosphere of cautious relief mixed with continues unease. The corridors of Hogwarts gradually returned to their normal rhythm of student chatter and the rustle of robes.
No new petrification incidents had occurred since Professor Lockhart's transformation into living stone.
The basilisk hadn't been found and had completely vanished without a trace, as if it had evaporated into thin air.
Adrian found himself returning again and again to the sa troubling thoughts during his patrols through the castle's corridors.
Perhaps, the creature had found so chamber where it could hibernate through the winter months.
But it was the pattern of attacks that truly puzzled Adrian. The basilisk's victims seed chosen at random. Ray, the first victim, was a thunderbird. And Lockhart had been a half-blood wizard.
If this truly was Voldemort's basilisk then the attacks should have followed a clear pattern. Muggle-born students should have been the main targets.
This was truly perplexing.
Christmas Day dawned ca with fresh snow painting the Scottish Highlands in white.
Most students had left for the holidays on the Hogwarts Express a week earlier.
In the Gryffindor dormitory, Harry and Ron stayed in their dormitory unwrapping their Christmas presents.
The Christmas Eve snowfall had stopped soti during the night, leaving the world outside their window white and silent. But even as they watched, fresh flakes began to dance through the air once again.
It was then that an unexpected visitor arrived, carrying two wrapped packages.
"This is the boys' dormitory..." Ron muttered under his breath.
Hermione, however, was in no mood for such concerns. "There's no one else here," she said gesturing to the empty beds that surrounded them.
She tossed one of her packages to Ron, and he caught it reflexively.
Harry accepted his package from Hermione with a grateful smile, imdiately began unwrapping it.
"Hermione, this is beautiful," Harry said, turning the quill over in his hands to admire the craftsmanship.
Then he began unwrapping other packages: Hagrid's fudge, Ron's book about Quidditch, Mrs. Weasley's annual sweater...
The last package Harry unwrapped was a very small one, signed by Adrian.
Eagerly unwrapping it, Harry obtained a very small plaque that looked like a good luck charm.
There was also a note.
Harry quietly read the words on the note aloud: "rry Christmas, Harry. As you can see, this is another charm, one I carved by hand—without using any magic. Of course, don't expect any enchantnts on it either. Hope all goes well for you."
Those were the qualities possessed by Hufflepuff students.
Unfortunately, the line of text was crooked, clearly showing that the carver's craftsmanship was lacking.
"This gift isn't magical..." Hermione said, looking at the charm in Harry's hand.
"But it's very good." Harry put the charm in his pocket.
Hermione's Disappointnt
After unwrapping all the gifts, Hermione suddenly suggested, "I'd like to ask Professor Westeros about so dueling techniques. I've found several new spells in books recently and I want to understand the proper wand movents and timing."
Harry, who was still adjusting the fit of Mrs. Weasley's sweater, looked up with an expression of regret. "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed," he said gently. "Professor Westeros isn't at school."
Hermione's face fell with obvious disappointnt. "Where did he go?" she asked.
"I don't know," Harry replied with a helpless shrug. "He left yesterday morning, but he didn't say where he was going or when he'd be back."
Hermione nodded silently. This wasn't strange—after all, professors had their own lives too, and this was Christmas vacation.
But she was still sowhat disappointed.
She had previously engaged in a mock duel with Harry, and she had lost quite badly.
When asked about his improvent, Harry had attributed it entirely to Adrian's guidance and training thods.
Across the Atlantic
While Harry, Ron, and Hermione were enjoying their Christmas morning in the warmth of Hogwarts, Adrian was in a hospital room on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
In the Tiamorrison General Hospital in Arica, Adrian was sitting beside his sister's hospital bed.
Ariana Westeros lied quietly with her eyes closed on the bed.
The Tree of Wisdom had long since finished extracting the Voldemort soul fragnts absorbed from the diary.
As the soul power from the Tree of Wisdom's leaf in Adrian's hand entered his sister's forehead, the Tree of Wisdom displayed her current condition.
[Status: Soul Integrity (66%)]
Adrian frowned deeply.
The result was simultaneously better and worse than he had expected.
On one hand, his sister's soul integrity had increased by five percent which was a significant improvent.
But the total amount of energy gained was only half of what he had extracted from Ravenclaw's diadem the last year. This ant that the diary Horcrux had contained less soul essence than expected.
Did Voldemort sohow created the diary with a smaller fragnt of his soul than the diadem? That seed unlikely, given what Adrian knew about the creation of Horcruxes. The process required the deliberate splitting of one's soul through the commission of murder, and the resulting fragnts were typically of similar size and potency.
Adrian was more inclined to believe that part of Voldemort in the diary had escaped. This would explain what was happening at Hogwarts.
Perhaps it was the escaped part of Voldemort that controlled soone and released the basilisk from Hogwarts' Chamber of Secrets.
'So, when did it escape?'
Adrian pondered for a mont. 'Was it before it ca into his hands?'
A soft knock on the hospital room door interrupted his troubled thoughts. "al ti," called a cheerful voice from the corridor.
"Coming," Adrian replied, standing slowly and taking one last look at his sister's peaceful face.
The day after Christmas, Adrian returned to Hogwarts.
Naturally, he had missed Hogwarts' Christmas feast.
Of course, this couldn't be helped—compared to the Christmas feast, spending ti with his family was obviously more important.
The Great Hall at Hogwarts still retained a rich Christmas atmosphere: dozens of Christmas trees decorated with ornants, garlands woven from holly and mistletoe, Christmas wreaths on the long tables...
Because he had arrived rather hurriedly, Adrian hadn't even eaten breakfast. Fortunately, the house-elves had prepared so muffins in advance, which were placed on the Gryffindor table.
Adrian casually sat at a Gryffindor seat and used his fork to pick up a muffin.
There was no one else in the Great Hall at the mont.
"Professor Westeros!"
A sowhat delighted voice ca from behind him.
Adrian casually chewed his muffin and turned around to find Hermione walking quickly toward him, her ears red and her hair more disheveled and damper than usual.
"Um..." Adrian said, pausing in his al to study her more carefully. "You look like you've run around the castle."
"Pretty much," Hermione replied, lifting her head with a mixture of pride and slight embarrassnt. "I was just practicing dueling with Harry in the courtyard."
Adrian's eyes widened in surprise. "Just now?"
If he rembered correctly, there was currently a blizzard outside.
Hermione nodded. "Harry said that training in harsh environnts could better strengthen a person. That's what you told him."
"Ah, yes." Adrian said. "Extre environnts can indeed accelerate growth. But rember to take proper warm-up asures next ti, and be careful of frostbite."
Hermione's expression suddenly brightened as she seed to rember sothing important. "By the way," she said, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm, "Professor Westeros, will the Dueling Club be held again? Everyone is looking forward to the next gathering."
Adrian finished his muffin and took a mont to consider his response. "That would probably require asking Professor Lockhart—he was the founder of the Dueling Club."
"That's terrible," Hermione muttered, her disappointnt obvious in both her voice and her expression.
But Hermione was not one to accept defeat easily, and she quickly turned to a new approach. "Then... Professor, why don't you start another one? Everyone thinks your dueling instruction is more professional and effective than Professor Lockhart's."
'Start another one?'
Honestly, Adrian really wanted to do this. It was very important for students to gain so self-protection abilities, because the wizarding world would most likely be quite turbulent in the future.
"That's a very good idea, Hermione." he said.
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