The season turned, soft and imperceptible—snow retreating like memory, and Hogwarts settling into the hush of spring.

  But there was no peace for us.Exams were coming.

  The great beast of academic terror had reared its horned head, and suddenly even Jake had stopped flirting long enough to open a textbook. Mostly.

  Our common room had become a war camp. Books stacked like barricades. Notes scattered like maps. Wand sparks occasionally flew when someone got frustrated mid-spell.

  Even the Bloody Baron looked in once, saw us revising, and floated out like "no thanks."

  Study War Council – Library

  Desmond had transfigured his quill into a twitching weasel by accident. Again.

  Jake was practicing pronunciation of "Aparecium" like it was a love poem.

  “I’m telling you,” he muttered, “this spell will help me find out what Evie really writes in that diary.”

  Evie rolled her eyes and whacked him on the head with her book. “If you try that, I’ll transfigure your eyebrows into centipedes.”

  Jake smiled dreamily. “Romantic and dangerous. Perfect.”

  Nathaniel groaned. “How are we surrounded by books and still getting dumber?”

  I sat beside the firepce, flipping through a spell theory text, eyes only half-focused.

  That was when she returned.

  The Ravencw girl—the one from the Astronomy Tower.

  She approached slowly, clutching a stack of parchment against her chest like it might shield her.

  “Caelum?” she asked softly.

  Four pairs of eyes turned to me instantly.

  Evie looked up from her notes.

  Jake raised an eyebrow and leaned forward with a grin that could only mean trouble.

  “Oh?” Jake said, drawing out the vowel like it was wine. “And who might this be?”

  She gnced at him, unsure, then back to me. “I was wondering if you’d… help me study for the practical Charms exam. I’ve been having trouble visualizing spell structure and—well—you expined things really well st time. With the… matchstick transformation.”

  I closed my book with a quiet thud.

  “She’s the girl from the Tower, isn’t she?” Evie asked, eyes narrowing with faint amusement.

  “She is,” I said.

  Evie raised an eyebrow. “Tower girl has a name?”

  “...Aurelia,” the girl answered for herself, nervously brushing her raven-bck hair from her face. “Aurelia Morningside.”

  Jake grinned. “Well, Aurelia Morningside, our boy Caelum is very good at spells—especially the broody ones that involve violence, fire, or casual reality manipution.”

  “Jake,” I warned.

  “What? I’m just being accurate.”

  Aurelia flushed. “I can… come back ter.”

  “No need,” I said evenly. “We’re all studying. Pull up a chair.”

  She gave me a grateful look, then hesitated.

  Evie patted the seat beside her. “Come sit here. I’ll make sure Jake behaves.”

  “Hey!”

  New Circles, Old Habits

  As the evening deepened, the fire cracked with golden warmth and we leaned over shared books and scribbled notes.

  Aurelia proved sharp, if shy. She watched everything—especially me—out of the corner of her eye when she thought I wasn’t looking.

  Evie noticed. Of course she did.

  Jake whispered behind his palm, “Someone’s got a rival~”

  Evie smacked him with the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1.

  Desmond muttered bitterly, “Why is they getting attention from girls? I can conjure steam, you know.”

  Nathaniel sighed. “You did that by spilling hot tea on your p.”

  Aurelia ughed quietly.

  Despite the chaos, there was an ease in the air.

  We were still just children. Young wizards. Friends. Some awkward, some brave, some brilliant.

  There was no war here. Not yet. Just exams.

  And the quiet flicker of candlelight against parchment, and the whisper of potential hanging in the air like magic waiting to be named.

  Late That Night – Common Room, Post-Study

  Most of the group had wandered off to bed. Only Evie and I remained near the firepce. Jake had passed out snoring over a pile of half-eaten sweets, drooling onto his Herbology notes.

  Evie didn't speak at first. She just looked into the fire.

  Then, casually:

  “You like her?”

  I looked up from my spellbook. “Aurelia?”

  She nodded, still watching the fmes.

  “No,” I said honestly. “She’s kind. Curious. But no.”

  Evie didn’t look surprised. “She likes you.”

  “I know.”

  “You’re good at pretending you don’t notice.”

  “I used to be better.”

  She gave a small smile at that, then gnced at me sideways. “You do have your own fan club, you know. Jake’s convinced you’re going to become the next Dark Lord.”

  “That’s idiotic.”

  “He said it lovingly.”

  I rolled my eyes. “That makes it worse.”

  She giggled.

  Then, softly: “You’re more human than you let people see, Caelum.”

  I met her gaze. “And you’re more dangerous than you let people think.”

  She smiled wider. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  As the fire burned low and the castle drifted into sleep, I sat there—quiet, observant, watching.

  Friendships. Rivalries. Love. Magic.

  The future was spinning itself around us.

  And for the first time in a long time…I didn’t mind being in the middle of it.

  [End of Chapter 23]