After the chain reaction of troubles caused by waking up late the day before, Esther got up very early this time. She first brought the letter she had written the previous night to the Owlery and asked "Donut" to deliver it to her parents.
In the letter, she briefly described what had happened yesterday, while emphasizing that she was capable of handling the situation herself. She also clearly stated that if anything occurred beyond her ability to manage, she would immediately seek help from the professors at Hogwarts or from her family.
After sending the letter, she stood on the tower and looked into the distance. The sky was still gray and dim, but faint threads of pale golden morning light were already piercing through the clouds and spilling down. The cold, slightly sharp wind brushed past her ears, and her golden-brown hair fluttered with the breeze, occasionally sweeping across her fair cheeks.
The view from here was wonderful. She stood there for a short while, then finally headed back down.
Since it was still early, she returned to the dormitory, where her roommates were already awake and waiting for her.
Because of what had happened yesterday, everyone had gotten up early today—though Esther, who had gone out to send the letter, was clearly the earliest of all.
"Oh my goodness! Why did you run off without saying anything? You scared us to death!"
Donna complained as she hugged Esther tightly.
Esther smiled. "It's fine. It's so early—there weren't even many portraits awake in the entire castle. What could possibly happen to me?"
"You should still tell us next time," Fiona said. "If something really did happen again, at least we'd know where you went."
Esther understood that yesterday's events had genuinely frightened the girls, so she nodded obediently. "Okay, I understand."
After washing up, they went to the Great Hall together for breakfast.
Ernie and Justin soon arrived as well. Ernie's blond hair was sticking up messily, and his collar wasn't even straight.
Esther frowned slightly, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable, and told him to pay more attention to his appearance instead of being so sloppy.
No wonder Neville eventually managed to get together with Hannah, she complained silently. You've been in the same House as her for years and are even close friends, yet you've never made any progress at all.
After finishing her internal criticism, she happened to see Neville jogging toward the Gryffindor table.
…Well. His robes were also worn rather haphazardly.
Forget it. Boys at this age were all more or less the same.
Esther withdrew her gaze, took a sip of pumpkin juice, and immediately frowned.
"I was too anxious," Ernie complained to her indignantly. "I was planning to ask Hannah and the others to knock on your door so you wouldn't oversleep again, but they overslept themselves! I was so worried! And you—without saying anything—came out early and now you're mocking me!"
Esther quickly comforted him. "My fault, my fault. I know Ernie is the best brother in the world. Here, have a drink."
As she spoke, she casually handed him the pumpkin juice she didn't particularly like.
Ernie happily took it without thinking twice. Being called "the best brother in the world" made him beam with joy, and he didn't notice the small detail at all.
Justin, his good friend, hesitated as if he wanted to say something, but seeing how happy Ernie was, he chose not to ruin the moment.
Breakfast at Hogwarts was incredibly abundant. Since it was rare to have the time to properly enjoy a meal, Esther ate with great focus.
After finishing a piece of toast, she heard a resentful and disdainful snort behind her.
She turned around and saw Malfoy striding past her with his two cronies, chin lifted high.
Well then—she would like to retract her earlier statement about boys this age not caring about appearances. Young Master Malfoy was clearly an exception.
His school robes were immaculate, not a wrinkle in sight. His platinum blond hair was slicked neatly back, and there was even a faint scent of cologne lingering around him.
At twelve, boys were beginning to grow into themselves. His face hadn't fully shed its childishness yet, but it was already tinged with youthful sharpness. With his naturally striking features, even his nose-in-the-air arrogance was oddly difficult to truly dislike.
Of course, that was only as long as he didn't open his mouth.
Esther met his gray-blue eyes. He deliberately glared at her, then turned away proudly and returned to the Slytherin table.
Esther turned back as well and calmly continued eating her breakfast.
As long as he didn't cause trouble, he could glare all he wanted. It wasn't like she'd lose a piece of flesh over it.
The first class of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts.
The newly appointed professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, was a famous author. He was good-looking, well-dressed, and carried himself with great flair. Combined with his identity as a writer, he was extremely popular among Hogwarts students—especially the girls.
Esther, however, was definitely not among them.
She had even brought her Potions textbook with her—the one Draco had finally returned to her the previous night under Professor Sprout's watchful gaze—planning to review the material ahead of time. It was better than going into the evening make-up lesson completely clueless.
Honestly, she truly couldn't understand why Professor Snape had offered to tutor her. Was he really that kind and considerate of a teacher?
This is completely out of character, hello?!
After thinking it over, she concluded that Snape was probably annoyed with her overly timid behavior. Since she was "afraid" of Malfoy and the others, he had decided to make her attend the make-up lesson together with them as punishment.
Esther felt irritated.
She felt even more irritated watching Lockhart strut around like a peacock, endlessly praising himself and turning what should have been a proper Defense Against the Dark Arts class into a "Gilderoy Lockhart Personal Lecture Tour."
Still, upon further reflection, Lockhart was merely foolish and narcissistic. He wasn't like last year's Defense professor, who had two faces behind the scenes, nor like next year's, who would turn out to be a werewolf, and certainly not like the year after that—who would be an actual Death Eater.
Hmm…
Compared like this, Lockhart suddenly became a bit more tolerable.
He was useless, but at least he wasn't dangerous.
After Defense Against the Dark Arts came Charms class, which Hufflepuff shared with Slytherin.
As soon as class began, the Hufflepuff students clustered around Esther, placing her firmly in the center and keeping her far away from the Slytherins, clearly afraid that someone might trouble her again.
Esther felt both touched and helpless.
Because being placed in the very center also meant being the most conspicuous seat in the room. Not only could she not daydream during class, but she was also far more likely to be called on by the professor.
Fortunately, the Charms professor, Professor Flitwick, was exceptionally kind. He was the Head of Ravenclaw House and a half-human, half-goblin, so he was quite short—but no one dared underestimate him. His spellwork was incredibly powerful, and he was both wise and gentle.
In addition to these classes, Hogwarts also offered Astronomy, Flying Lessons, and Transfiguration taught by Professor McGonagall.
First-year coursework was not particularly heavy, and time passed quickly.
No matter how unwilling Esther was, the moment finally arrived for her to attend the make-up lesson.
***