From that day on, the young witches and wizards at Hogwarts became busier than ever.
Harry Potter and his two companions remained convinced that Draco Malfoy was the one who had opened the Chamber of Secrets. Determined to extract the truth from him, the so-called savior of the wizarding world and his friends threw themselves into brewing a potion called the Polyjuice Potion.
The three young Gryffindors set up their cauldron in the abandoned girls' bathroom, lighting a fire right inside one of the toilets. The potion needed to be stewed for months, and Harry and his friends spent all their free time tending to it.
Meanwhile, little Ginny Weasley was still the same—dazed, lethargic, and looking as if she had caught a cold that would never go away. Her nose was runny, and she often had tears in her eyes.
The Weasley brothers were running around trying to cheer her up, convinced that Colin Creevey's petrification had dealt her a heavy blow. They attempted all sorts of ways to make their youngest sister smile.
One time, George decided to surprise Ginny with a cute little stuffed rabbit. However, the moment she hugged it, the rabbit transformed into an ugly, snarling grey wolf with a massive tail. Merlin only knew why George thought a toy like that would appeal to a young girl.
The result? The red-haired girl burst into tears, and Percy chased George down two entire corridors, threatening to hex him into oblivion.
"He deserved it," Eve commented to Cho one weekend in December. "The Weasley boys don't seem to have much sense. Lately, I keep seeing the youngest one sneaking into the girls' bathroom. I bet he's up to something suspicious."
"You mean Ron Weasley?" Cho thought for a moment. "We've all seen him go in there, but that bathroom has been abandoned for ages. No one uses it anymore because it's Moaning Myrtle's territory."
Eve had some recollection of Moaning Myrtle. "The ghost who's always crying?"
When Cho nodded, Eve blinked. "Maybe that Weasley boy is in love with her."
"Speaking of which, what's Nolan been up to lately?" Cho stirred her cherry syrup wine absentmindedly. "He hasn't joined us for our weekend gatherings since November."
"Nolan and Professor McGonagall's book has already been published. It's selling like crazy at Flourish and Blotts," Eve said proudly. With a wave of her hand, she produced a hardcover book. The cover was black, with gold lettering that read:
"Marvels of Transfiguration—By Nolan Von Draugr and Minerva McGonagall."
"This is amazing!" Cho held the book close to her chest, eyes gleaming. "I always knew that one day his name would appear somewhere truly prestigious, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon!"
She flipped open the book. On the back page, both authors had left dedications:
"Dedicated to Professor McGonagall—she was the one who taught me how to turn a chair into a kitten." —Nolan Von Draugr.
"I swear he is the most talented Transfiguration wizard of this century. Oh, and there is no second." —Minerva McGonagall.
There was also a foreword written by a highly respected German wizard. His words were filled with praise for Nolan's abilities, though the complexity of his vocabulary had clearly given the translator quite a headache.
The final line of the foreword read:
"In this book, you will find everything there is to know about modern Transfiguration. Once you understand what Nolan Von Draugr is trying to convey, try setting aside your broomstick—use your own wings to soar into the blue sky. I have attempted it myself, and I can confirm—it is truly marvelous."
Cho shivered slightly, hugging the book even tighter.
"Nolan really did it!" she whispered in awe.
"I heard that Professor McGonagall and the others are trying to get Nolan nominated for a medal," Eve said with a smile. "Like the ones Professor Lockhart brags about. They do look impressive... But you know Nolan. He couldn't care less about these things."
"Maybe because he knows that Lockhart received those same medals," Cho speculated. "And he doesn't exactly think highly of Lockhart... Wait, what's this?"
The two of them had just finished packing up their tea set and were walking back to the dormitory when they spotted a new notice posted on the wall. A group of students had gathered around, engaged in a heated discussion.
"The first-ever Dueling Club will be held after dinner today. Those interested may sign up with their House Prefect?" Cho read aloud, hesitating. Then she turned to Eve. "Should we join?"
"I don't know..." Eve replied uncertainly. "Nolan thinks wizard dueling is silly. He believes that in a real fight, you should use everything at your disposal to defeat your opponent, not stand around shooting flashy spells like an idiot..." She paused, then added, "Of course, even if we're just shooting colorful spells, Nolan is still incredibly good at it."
"Well, he did coach you, and you ended up winning second place in the European Youth Cup last year," Cho pointed out.
Eve grinned. "And Nolan also beat up the champion who tried to use Dark Magic on me..."
Cho laughed awkwardly. "I thought that was just a rumor."
Eve linked arms with her. "Let's go find that troublemaker. He skipped our gathering today—who knows where he's run off to?"
…
Meanwhile, inside Snape's Potions storeroom…
Nolan was hunched over a cauldron, carefully tending to a simmering potion over the fire. The liquid inside was a peculiar shade of blue, releasing wisps of strangely colored steam despite having no discernible scent.
"Chameleon skin, Norman Devilflower petals... Next up is... eight-legged gecko toes? Four or five of them?"
He tossed a few gecko toes into the cauldron, and the potion immediately turned grass green.
Just then, the door to the storeroom swung open.
"Hmm? Class already over, Professor Snape?" Nolan murmured absentmindedly, not bothering to look up. Then, realizing something, he raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Oh... I didn't know Professor Snape had gotten shorter. And—strangely enough—turned into a witch I'm quite familiar with. Polyjuice Potion?"
"No..." The visitor—Hermione Granger—looked absolutely livid. Her eyebrow twitched violently. "I just didn't expect to run into you here, Nolan."
"Didn't expect it?" Nolan's expression turned amused. "Then that means you came here while no one was around to... steal something? If I recall correctly, second-years are supposed to be in Potions class right now, Granger. Shouldn't you be in class?"
"Please, Nolan, I just need some Boomslang skin! Just a little!" Hermione pleaded.
Nolan's lips curled into a smirk. "Boomslang skin? Hmm... I remember that's an ingredient for a hemorrhoid remedy. You have hemorrhoids, Granger?"