Luke didn't open the letter immediately, but that didn't mean he wasn't concerned. On the contrary, the unusual nature of this situation set off alarm bells in his mind.
To him, anything out of the ordinary demanded caution, and there was no harm in being overly careful.
So, instead of reading it in the Great Hall, he waited until after breakfast. Before classes began, he chose to open the letter in an empty classroom near the headmaster's office.
Though he didn't dare open it in Dumbledore's office, doing so nearby gave him peace of mind. If the letter posed any immediate danger, he was confident in his ability to handle the first wave of trouble while giving Dumbledore—who could Apparate within the school—ample time to arrive.
And if Dumbledore couldn't intervene, it would mean the situation wasn't beyond Luke's ability to manage. Either way, it was a calculated risk.
Luke also sent Taylor ahead to the office to subtly confirm Dumbledore's presence. While this might tip his hand slightly, he wasn't about to risk a careless oversight like "Dumbledore just happened to be out."
If his life was on the line, he would leave no stone unturned.
Before opening the letter, Luke took out Doris and instructed her to keep watch from the classroom's edge.
Doris looked worried but obeyed reluctantly, crawling to the corner and constantly glancing back. She seemed ready to dart toward Luke at the first sign of trouble.
Luke couldn't help but feel touched by her loyalty, though the task at hand still demanded his focus.
Taking a deep breath, he pulled out a knife, spinning it idly between his fingers to calm his nerves. Then, with a swift motion, he sliced open the envelope.
Nothing happened.
Letting out half a sigh of relief, Luke used the knife to extract the letter inside.
A quick glance revealed an ordinary sheet of parchment. No curses, no enchantments—just plain, unassuming paper.
Even so, he maintained his caution. Using a levitation spell, he floated the parchment closer. His initial impression held true; there was nothing outwardly remarkable about it.
But as Luke read the letter's contents, his expression shifted. Surprise and confusion crossed his face, followed by a growing seriousness.
Though he wasn't angry, it was clear that the letter had delivered something unexpected. After a moment, he folded the letter carefully and stowed it away, letting out a deep breath.
Doris, seeing no immediate danger, rushed back to his side. She couldn't read the letter, but seeing Luke's grim expression, she positioned herself in a defensive stance toward the parchment, ready to shred it to pieces if necessary.
Luke patted her tiny head in reassurance before, once again, unceremoniously stuffing her into his pocket. Doris protested, but he ignored her.
---
Outside the classroom, Taylor was waiting. Noticing his somber expression, she asked worriedly;
"Was there something wrong with the letter?"
Luke's expression had softened somewhat but still carried traces of unease.
"Someone sent a warning about an attack we're going to face."
Taylor's eyes widened slightly as the weight of his words sank in. Luke's guarded tone and demeanor left little doubt about the seriousness of the situation.
Taylor's brow furrowed deeply upon hearing Luke's words. He had already warned her that an attack might occur on Halloween night, but the specifics—particularly the scale and method of the attack—remained uncertain.
The possibility of a magical creature-based assault seemed plausible, even predictable.
However, the location of the attack was anything but ordinary.
Anyone daring to launch an assault on Hogwarts wouldn't do so without a meticulous plan. For such a scheme to be leaked? It might well be a trap. The authenticity of the information was also uncertain.
It could be a ruse to lull them into complacency. But why was the letter sent to Luke? Wouldn't it make more sense to address it to a professor—or even directly to Dumbledore? And who exactly was the sender?
Taylor's expression grew increasingly serious, her mind visibly racing toward darker conclusions. Luke, noticing this, guessed she might be overthinking the situation.
"It's not surprising if the plan isn't as thorough as you'd expect. When you have two mentally unstable individuals orchestrating it, expecting a flawless plan would be the real shock," Luke said, his tone light in an attempt to reassure her.
"So this letter is probably not a trap. They're unpredictable. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they did something completely nonsensical."
After all, considering that the original plan involved only a single troll for such a major operation, the absurdity was difficult to overlook.
"That said, the real concern is how the sender knew about me…" Luke's tone turned more serious as he voiced his deeper worries. "That's the part that really doesn't add up."
His initial unease had stemmed precisely from this point. As for the sender of the letter? Luke doubted it was the same individual who worked under Voldemort managing magical creatures.
How could such a person have the insight to monitor him so closely? It seemed implausible.
This led him to a darker conclusion: there was likely a larger organization at play. One that was hidden, far-reaching, and potentially terrifying.
Could it be The Acolytes?
Luke's first thought went to the loyal followers of Gellert Grindelwald, a formidable group that had largely vanished following Grindelwald's imprisonment in Nurmengard.
After some consideration, Luke decided to shelve the issue for now. There was simply too little information to work with, and further speculation wouldn't lead to solid answers.
Besides, even if it turned out to be a completely new organization that hadn't appeared in the original timeline, it wouldn't surprise him. The original story was narrowly focused on Britain's wizarding community.
Yet even within Britain, it was illogical to assume that only the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix existed. Just because other groups hadn't been mentioned didn't mean they didn't exist.
For now, however, the sender seemed to have no ill intent toward him—otherwise, they wouldn't have revealed themselves so easily.
"Luke, who exactly is planning to attack us?"
Taylor's voice broke through his thoughts.
"It's the Dark Lord"
Luke replied without hesitation, opting for the safer term rather than invoking Voldemort's or Tom Riddle's name.
It wasn't fear that made him cautious—just a pragmatic decision to avoid unnecessary risks.
Luke watched Taylor's expression shift through a range of emotions: shock, anger, hatred, and finally, a calm resolve.
Her ability to maintain composure despite the surge of emotion impressed Luke. Hatred itself wasn't frightening, but the ability to stay rational in the face of it was rare—and invaluable.
"I didn't tell you because I was worried you might lose control of your emotions. But it seems I underestimated you"
Luke said with a smile, gently patting Taylor's head.
Taylor didn't react to his gesture and instead took a deep breath.
"Don't worry. After all these years, I'm not so easily thrown off balance anymore," she replied.
Through the torment of her hatred, what Taylor had learned most was endurance.
"Relax. I've already made preparations, and with this new information, I can refine them even further"
Luke assured her with a confident smile. "I'll make sure their plan fails—and ours succeeds."
But Taylor didn't seem particularly moved by Luke's assurance.
"I believe you can do it. But…" She looked straight into Luke's eyes, her gaze intense enough to wipe the smile off his face. "Dumbledore… does he know about this too?"
Luke studied her expression.
The emotions he saw were so tangled they were almost indecipherable: hope, despair, anger, fear, disappointment.
Finally, Luke gently patted Taylor's head and said softly, "He may not know their exact plan, but he does know he exists."
Taylor's emotions settled into an eerie calm.
Luke watched as the kaleidoscope of feelings seemed to drain away, leaving only a pale emptiness in their place. It was the first time Luke had ever seen such a haunting shade of white in someone's emotions.
He realized that it wasn't mere calm—it was something much darker. Perhaps "hopeless calm" might be more fitting.
Or worse... there is no greater sorrow than a heart that has died.
In that moment, Luke suspected Taylor had entirely given up on the headmaster.
Just as he was about to say something, Taylor shook her head.
"I understand. He might have his reasons or plans. But none of that matters anymore."
Her voice was cold, devoid of warmth or life.
Luke gazed at her for a long moment before stepping forward and wrapping her in a hug.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kept this from you," he said sincerely.
Taylor looked up at him, her sharp gaze piercing. For a moment, Luke felt as though she could see straight through him. Yet this time, he didn't use Occlumency to guard himself.
"Last time?" Taylor asked.
"Last time," Luke confirmed.
After a brief pause, Taylor took a deep breath and said, "If you truly believe that telling me would do me no good, you can choose not to."
She looked at him seriously, her tone leaving no room for doubt. "I mean it."
Luke met her gaze and, after a moment, released her with a smile. "Alright. But I'll be sure to think it over carefully."
With an unspoken agreement, the two of them decided not to dwell on the topic further. Instead, they chatted casually as they walked toward their classroom.
---
That afternoon, Luke headed toward Professor McGonagall's office with a hint of curiosity.
Along the way, he was puzzled over what he could have done to make the professor suspect something about his mental abilities.
Thinking back, it must have been during the previous class when he had demonstrated a segmented Transfiguration technique. That process had indeed drained a significant amount of his mental energy, though he wasn't entirely sure why.
Subsequent attempts at the same technique yielded similar results but never quite as impressive as the one in class. This only deepened his confusion.
This time, Luke was not only being summoned by Professor McGonagall to answer a few questions but also taking the opportunity to discuss the possible reasons behind the phenomenon he'd encountered.
Of course, he wasn't sure if Professor McGonagall could provide an explanation. After all... did she even know how to utilize mental energy?
With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Luke knocked on the professor's office door.
"Come in!"
As Luke pushed the door open, he was greeted by a surprising scene.
Scattered papers covered the floor, the blackboard was filled with strange phrases and diagrams, and the room was in utter chaos. At the center of it all was Professor McGonagall, hunched over her desk, scribbling furiously.
Her hair was disheveled, her expression exhausted—but her eyes gleamed with an almost manic light.
Luke stared at the scene, a strange sense of familiarity washing over him.
"Luke, you're here! Perfect timing. Come over and take a look at this!"
Professor McGonagall called out excitedly when she saw him.
Luke cautiously made his way forward, carefully watching where he stepped to avoid the irregularly scattered sheets of paper on the floor.
When he finally sat down, McGonagall swiftly pulled a specific sheet from the chaotic pile on her desk and handed it to him.
Luke took the paper, and suddenly, he realized why the scene felt so familiar.
It reminded him of the researchers he'd encountered in his previous life—those brilliant but eccentric minds who, when consumed by critical experiments, often lived in a state of utter chaos, sometimes even more extreme than this.
At least Professor McGonagall still remembered to attend her classes. And the way her office looked? It was exactly how he imagined the laboratories of wizards and mages in novels, movies, and games.
"Your unique approach to Transfiguration during class gave me a lot of inspiration"
McGonagall said, pulling Luke out of his thoughts.
"When we typically perform Transfiguration, we rely on magical energy, visualization, and strong intent to complete the transformation," she explained.
Luke couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. The professor made it sound so simple, but her explanation was akin to saying, putting an elephant in a refrigerator is easy—it's just three steps.
If it were truly that simple, Transfiguration wouldn't be one of the most challenging subjects with such a high failure rate.
"But your approach during that class made me realize something: conducting Transfiguration in steps might be a superior teaching method. So, I've been experimenting with this idea"
McGonagall said, her excitement evident.
Luke wasn't at all surprised that no one had thought of this approach earlier. Despite it being the 1990s in the outside world—where the authority of science had nearly overshadowed all else—the wizarding community still lived largely as if it were the Middle Ages.
The only advancements he could think of were changes in daily attire, ongoing improvements to Quidditch rules, and gradual adjustments to the Ministry of Magic's organizational structure.
Everything else? Well…
But Luke refrained from voicing his criticisms. After all, not everyone could understand that isolation leads to stagnation.
Especially among those who considered themselves superior, progress by those they looked down upon was often met with disdain—until it was too late, and they faced the consequences.
Change was necessary.
"But, Luke," McGonagall continued, "I found that this method isn't practical. It's significantly more difficult than traditional Transfiguration, at least twice as challenging."
Luke frowned. He didn't think so. In fact, he found it somewhat easier.
Still, the gleam in McGonagall's eyes told him she hadn't reached the end of her discoveries.
"But then I realized something incredible: if mental energy is involved, this method of Transfiguration becomes more successful and controllable! Although I haven't pinpointed the exact requirements or standards yet, Luke, do you know what this means?"
Of course, Luke knew.
"It means that Transfiguration would no longer be entirely reliant on innate talent. Even advanced Transfiguration techniques could be mastered through practice. While there would still be limitations, they wouldn't be as extreme as they are now—where only those with extraordinary talent can go beyond the basics."
*****
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