The Cognitive Dormancy persisted for four days.
Then, the Ad Infinitum began loosening its hold on Kai and Black's active thoughts, letting them catch up with the events surrounding the Grimoire and the fight between the Storm Pirates and the Soul King that ended up with all of them in a mortally injured state.
Meanwhile, in the last four days, the boys had spent most of their time trying not to get lost.
There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts; of all sizes and shapes.
Walls pretended to be doors and doors pretended to be walls.
Some you had to tickle and some you had to please for them to open themselves up and let you through. Everything was in such a constant state of motion that it was hard to remember where were you going and where would you end up.
Then there were ghosts.
A few were polite enough to point you in the right direction.
However, if you encountered Peeves the Poltergeist, then you were bound to get even more late.
Worse than Peeves was Argus Filch, the Caretaker. He always kept moving around, following his cat, Mrs. Norris; a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp-like eyes just like Filch's.
She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later.
On Wednesday night, they studied the night sky using a telescope to remember the names of different stars and the movements of the planets.
For Herbology, they went to the Greenhouse behind the Castle. There a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout taught them how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and what they were used for.
The most boring ones, of course, were the History of Magic classes, with Professor Binns droning on and on while they scribbled names and dates.
The Charms teacher, Professor Flitwick, let out a squeak when taking attendance and reaching Harry's name. He went into detail about the types of Magic they would be practicing in the year, however, he didn't go beyond that.
They got to try their hands on magic for the first time in Transfiguration Class.
They had already come to know that Professor McGonagall, the Head of Gryffindor House, was as strict as they had believed.
So, when they lost their way to her class as well, she gave them an earful.
"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned. And Mr. Black. Tuck in your shirt and straighten your tie. We are in class, not in the air playing Quidditch."
She followed the stern words by changing her desk into a pig.
The entire class opened their mouths, their jaws hanging as low as they could.
"That was bloody brilliant," Black let out.
"Well, thank you, Mr. Black," the old witch said, lifting her chest. "Now take your seats, or do you three need a map for that?"
To their disappointment, though, Professor McGonagall forced them to note down some complicating terms for half the class. Then she handed them matches which they were supposed to turn into needles.
By the end of the lesson, unsurprisingly, neither Harry, Ron, or Black had managed to turn even a single match into a needle.
Contrary to the boys, the two girls brought out change, making even the Professor smile at them.
Hermione Granger had barely brought out a shine onto her matchstick, turning its one end pointy.
On the other hand, Daphne Greengrass had turned half of the matchsticks into needles.
Professor McGonagall praised them, awarding points to their House; Slytherin.
Professor Quirrell turned out to be the greatest joke.
They had all been waiting to attend the Defense Against the Dark Arts, especially given the circumstances.
The ministry had already confirmed the presence of You-Know-Who, the Lord of Azkaban, and an unknown Yellow Wizard, perhaps the most dangerous, trying to break the peace of the world.
Though, according to the ministry, they had injured the Dark Wizards, it wouldn't be long before things take the turn for worse.
They all needed to learn how to defend themselves!
However, Professor Quirrell kept smelling of garlic, jumping like a squirrel at the mention of zombies, vampires, and other dark creatures.
But what really was torture was the pink toad patrolling through the Hogwarts corridors.
Professor Dolores Umbridge, Director of Student Discipline and Order, was taking her title to the extreme.
There wasn't a single instance when she didn't swish her wand or clear her throat, interrupting students here and there.
It didn't come as a surprise that she had already turned the caretaker, Argus Filch, into her confidante.
If there was any solace, then it was in the face of Madam Villanelle, High Counsellor of Student Welfare and Security, who kept rescuing students from Umbridge's grasp.
With the term just starting, the feud between the two witches was bound to escalate.
And that's how Friday arrived in their lives; lost, but with fresh expectations.
Harry and Ron found their way to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.
"What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge.
"Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them — we'll be able to see if it's true."
The Weasley Twins dropped next to them.
Fred snatched a toast out of Ron's hands, smacking him on his head.
"Ready for Snape, you both?" George quipped, sharing a smile with Fred.
Harry suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right!" he said, putting his juice down. He first looked around if someone was listening or not. "She is in your class, right? How she is? Like, you know…"
For a breath, the Weasley Twins went quiet.
Seating opposite Harry, even Ron just reached out for another toast silently.
If there was one thing common in the last four days, then it was the whispers.
Where was Darcie right now? In which Class was she sitting right now? What was she doing exactly right now? If she went to the library, then which chair she used? What did she eat for breakfast?
If this wasn't enough already, then there was a circular distributed among Darcie's fans, informing them about everything she did that day to the next day's predicted schedule.
Harry and others had seen the circular and had found nothing more cringe than that.
"She is good," Fred said.
"Kinda excellent," George added.
"We always knew she was far better at magic than others," Fred said.
"But when we saw her casting Spells…" George left it unsaid.
Harry frowned. "How is that possible?" he asked, dabbing his toast in jam. "She's of our age. How can she be…"
"The less you think, the better, mate," Fred said, patting Harry's back.
"Plus, you aren't something less of a celebrity, either," George laughed, making Harry blush.
"Oh, where's your friend?" Fred asked.
"Yeah, you know, the goofy, funny one," George commented.
"Black?" Ron made a face. "He said he forgot his wand in the bathroom."
The Weasley Twins laughed.
"Why?" Ron asked, sensing something amiss.
"Nothing," Fred said, shrugging.
"Absolutely nothing," George added.
"Let's go, or we will get late again," Harry said, standing up.
"What about Black?" Ron asked, snatching his robe out of George's hand.
"Ugh!" Harry stopped. "OK. Let's go and check on him."
As the two boys ran for the dormitory, something much sinister was happening to the Gryffindor's Common Room.
**************
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