After mentioning the corridor on the third floor and the three-headed dog inside that day, Rhys never took the initiative to bring up the topic again.
Daphne didn't mention it again either, but she began paying attention to books and materials about three-headed dogs while studying in the library.
Hermione was of great help in this regard—the young girl spent almost all her free time in the library, making her more familiar with it than most graduates.
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, this book definitely has records on three-headed dogs, and Magical Creatures and Plants of the Mediterranean Coast also mentions them—they are magical creatures native to Greece."
"Thank you!" Daphne said with genuine gratitude.
"So why are you suddenly interested in looking up information about three-headed dogs?"
"My family wants to raise one," Daphne lied as naturally as she breathed.
Hermione fell silent.
In her understanding as a muggle born, three-headed dogs are the creatures used to guard the gates of hell. But thinking of those Middle Eastern tycoons who kept lions and leopards as pets, she found it understandable.
The rich among Muggles raise lions, and the rich among wizards raise three-headed dogs. This is reasonable.
The young girl wisely refrained from asking if this was against wizarding laws.
Watching Hermione, who was sitting at a nearby table with a stack of books, Rhys remarked, "She really is diligent. I feel like the chances of finding her in the Ravenclaw tower are much lower than running into her in the library."
This remark seemed to spur Daphne into action, and she stubbornly studied until the library closed.
Watching her, Rhys mused that while educational books often suggest using encouragement, occasionally praising a child's peers can also have a remarkable effect.
As he stepped out of the library, a snowflake carried by the cold wind landed on Rhys's hand. Feeling the chill in his palm, he realized that winter had arrived.
With winter came Christmas and the eagerly anticipated Christmas holidays for the young wizards.
Rhys was also looking forward to Christmas. Although Christmas is not like the Halloween it's still a holiday that; what mattered were the festive atmosphere and the break. If Hogwarts celebrated Holi, Eid, or Lunar New Year and gave holidays for them, Rhys would be just as excited for their arrival.
The biting cold wind arrived even before the Christmas holidays. Although the castle was filled with roaring fires, the corridors were still cold enough to chill one to the bone.
Almost constantly, the wind would rattle the windowpanes.
Surprisingly, the worst classroom environment wasn't in the dungeons where Potions class was held—there, at least, the heat from the cauldrons provided some warmth.
The most dreaded class during the winter was Astronomy. Students had to climb the Astronomy Tower at night, exposed to the freezing wind, to observe the stars.
This session couldn't be canceled due to the weather because the Geminid meteor shower, one of the three major meteor showers in the Northern Hemisphere, occurred in mid-December.
According to Professor Sinistra, the Astronomy teacher, "Even if you have to go to Madam Pomfrey for a potion after class, you can't miss this meteor shower."
"I wonder what the founders were thinking, choosing to build the castle in this wretched place."
Rhys glanced at the Hufflepuff boy named Justin Finch-Fletchley.
What, you got a problem?
"This is already one of the best spots in the Scottish Highlands. If you prefer a more pleasant climate, like Beauxbatons, you can ask Professor Dumbledore to write you a transfer letter," Rhys retorted as he assembled his telescope, giving the cheeky young wizard a piece of his mind.
The environment at Hogwarts was actually quite favorable. Further north, it was even colder.
His friend, Nerida Vulchanova, had founded Durmstrang Institute in the icy Nordic region of Scandinavia, where it was as cold as this for three-quarters of the year.
'I wonder how Durmstrang is doing right now.'
The school strictly followed his principles for admissions and focused heavily on martial magic, and Rhys sincerely wished it well.
Despite his sharp words, Rhys conjured a small basin of magical fire, making the surrounding area a bit warmer.
"Oh, it's just that I am not good at French. What proper Englishman would bother with French anyway?" Justin wasn't upset at all. Seeing the fire Rhys had conjured, he happily brought his telescope over to warm himself.
"You learned French?" Daphne asked, slightly surprised that this seemingly ordinary person had such a skill.
"I learned a little when I was a kid, just enough to say 'hello,' 'thank you,' 'croissant,' 'goodbye,' and things like that," Justin replied with an embarrassed smile.
"That's quite impressive."
"I only know Latin."
As they chatted, the meteor shower began. Hundreds of stars streaked across the night sky, as if the north wind had blown them down from the heavens. The phrase "stars falling like rain" became a reality in that moment.
"It's said that the origin of magic comes from the stars. A few stone tablets fell with a meteor shower in the Nile region of North Africa, giving ancient Egypt the first wizards in human history. The splendid and prosperous ancient Egyptian civilization was born from this. The night sky truly holds infinite secrets and possibilities," Rhys remarked, deeply moved as he watched the meteor shower, unchanged from a thousand years ago.
A thousand years ago, he and his friends had stood there gazing at the night sky, the brilliant starlight reflecting on their faces.
Now, returning to the same spot, his friends were nowhere to be found, leaving only the meteors to traverse the cold, empty sky....
"Hmm. Rhys, are you going home for Christmas this year?" Daphne interrupted Rhys's thoughts. The legend about the origin of magic hadn't captured her attention. She was more interested in knowing whether Rhys would be going home this year.
"No, I'm staying."
"Great!"
"Hm?"
...
A few days later, when Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall began compiling the list of students staying at the school over the holiday, Rhys was surprised to see Daphne's name on it.
"Why aren't you going home for Christmas?"
"Going home means being dragged around by my dad to meet all sorts of random relatives like a puppet. I'd rather stay at school and learn magic. Come on, think of some spells you can teach me over Christmas!" Daphne declared.
Rhys had no objections to a student eager to learn.
He had an abundance of spells to share. Daphne had already mastered her control over magic and had practiced the most basic offensive and defensive spells to a proficient level.
Rhys thought it was time to teach her some potion recipes and let her practice potion-making.
After all, she was a Slytherin student; it wouldn't do for her not to excel at potion-making.
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