In the final month of his first year, Hoffa stopped worrying about the future. After being discharged from the hospital wing, he no longer felt the urge to accomplish anything significant.
Most of his time was spent in the library, preparing for exams and reading Hogwarts: A History. In his free moments, he strolled by the Black Lake with his two friends, flying kites or playing with frisbees. Sometimes they sat on the grass, sipping chilled fruit juice.
Miranda showed no further signs of her dark tendencies, and Aglaia seemed to have dropped her obsession with becoming the leader.
They behaved like any ordinary group of students—playing, studying, and chatting together.
Occasionally, Hoffa visited Joey to spend time with Maya, often bringing Aglaia and Miranda along.
Maya now fully regarded him as one of her own. She frequently brought raw fish from the Black Lake and tried to force-feed him, an act of kindness Hoffa found hard to accept. More than once, the trio found themselves being chased off by the persistent Thunderbird.
As Maya grew, Joey often worried aloud about taking her back to America before the British Ministry of Magic took notice.
Hoffa didn't try to stop him and calmly accepted the reality that he might soon have to part ways with Maya and Joey.
Before long, the end-of-year exams arrived.
Hoffa achieved impressive scores in Charms and Transfiguration but was average in his other subjects.
Miranda, as always, just barely passed every subject, including Charms.
Aglaia, unsurprisingly, was at the top of every class, including Transfiguration—outperforming Hoffa in both theoretical and historical aspects of the subject.
Once their grades were announced, all three successfully passed their first year without any major surprises.
June arrived, bringing warm weather as the term neared its conclusion.
Before the end-of-year feast, Gorshak and Dippet returned to Hogwarts from Romania.
They made no special mention of the Quidditch final or the events surrounding it, even though the school was abuzz with rumors about an unidentified flying object seen in the storm.
At the feast, Dippet gave a dry speech, encouraging the graduating seventh years to work hard in their futures.
Since both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had failed to finish the Quidditch final, the House Cup was awarded to Hufflepuff.
Hoffa, however, didn't care much about this outcome.
On the day before leaving school, Hoffa received a letter delivered by an older student while he was playing wizard chess with Miranda by the Ravenclaw window.
(Neither he nor Miranda wanted to play against Aglaia since games with her were utterly predictable.)
The older student handed Hoffa the letter and left.
Curious, his two friends leaned in.
Aglaia: "Someone wrote you a letter? Is it for promoting wizard insurance?"
Miranda: "Maybe it's a love letter from some little girl?"
(Chess piece: "It must be a royal summons, you idiot!")
All three guesses were wrong.
Opening the letter, Hoffa saw a line of elegant, looping cursive:
Your actions during the final were incredibly brave.
Headmaster Dippet wishes to reward you privately.
Please come to the Headmaster's Office on the tenth floor of the main building.
The password is Provence.
The letter, as usual, was unsigned—but unmistakably from Dumbledore.
After reading it, Aglaia remarked sourly, "A reward, and a private one at that? Dippet is so stingy. Such a great achievement should've been announced at the feast! I should be rewarded too since I brewed the potion."
Hoffa rolled his eyes. You were born in the wrong era, he thought.
Miranda added, "That would expose Hoffa as an Animagus, and that wouldn't be good for him. Hoffa, you should go quickly."
Without further discussion, Hoffa pocketed the letter and rushed to the tenth floor of the main building.
He'd been there before on Christmas night while chasing Miller, so he knew the way.
Stopping in front of the stone gargoyle, he gave the password: "Provence."
The gargoyle spun open.
Climbing the spiral staircase, Hoffa reached the legendary Headmaster's Office for the first time.
To his surprise, it didn't look much different from how it would later appear during Dumbledore's tenure.
The office was filled with shelves of scrolls and books. Staircases on either side led to a second level, and six ornate Roman columns stood impressively behind the headmaster's desk.
A massive silver pendulum swung gently at the back of the room, emitting a faint ticking sound.
Portraits of past headmasters and headmistresses adorned the walls, and Hoffa even spotted Sirius Black's great-great-grandfather among them.
As he entered, he heard faint voices, prompting him to pause at the doorway.
The conversation was between Headmaster Dippet, Deputy Headmaster Gorshak, and Dumbledore.
Gorshak: "Is everything arranged?"
Dippet: "Yes, it's been taken care of. I'll need your help in the Far East first."
Gorshak: "No problem."
Dippet: "Have you two finalized the handover?"
Gorshak: "It's done," he replied curtly.
Dippet: "Albus, do you have any objections?"
Dumbledore: "Not if it's just for two years."
"Good. You may go," Dippet said, his voice weary.
Footsteps echoed in the office as two figures approached the doorway: Gorshak and Albus Dumbledore.
Hoffa stood up from the waiting bench. This was his first close encounter with the Ravenclaw head since Gorshak had killed his own son. Unlike before, Hoffa's feelings toward him had drastically changed. Quietly, he stepped aside to let the older man pass.
Gorshak walked by without so much as a glance, his demeanor as detached as ever.
Dumbledore, in contrast, gave Hoffa a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Go on in."
Entering the office, Hoffa faced the ever-stern Headmaster Armando Dippet. However, his gaze involuntarily shifted to the left side of Dippet's torso, where Nimon's blade must have left its mark.
Dippet scrutinized Hoffa for a long time, his eyes lingering particularly on his ears, before his expression softened slightly.
"Hoffa Bach, correct?"
Hoffa nodded. As an unremarkable student, having the headmaster remember his name was quite something.
"Last July, Albus mentioned seeing an unregistered French descendant in London. I dismissed it at the time. It seems that was my oversight."
Hoffa scratched his head, opting to stay silent.
Dippet stood up, coughed twice, and said, "As headmaster, I always ensure fairness in rewards and punishments. You showed exceptional courage in assisting Hogwarts, an act that is far from ordinary. I will record this in the school's history and award you a Special Contribution Medal."
Hoffa raised an eyebrow but didn't have time to respond before Dippet continued.
"However, I believe that for a Ravenclaw, such honors might not be particularly appealing. So I've prepared something else for you."
He picked up a silver watch from his desk and tossed it to Hoffa.
Catching it, Hoffa felt its weight and examined it. The watch was elegantly designed but old.
It had a simple round face, a silver casing, and a brown dragon-hide strap.
The watch's face was marked with ticking, star-like dials. While some indicated time, others displayed mysterious measurements labeled as 1X, 2X, 3X, 4X, and 5X.
"François' Magical Watch," Dippet explained.
"Try it on."
Hoffa followed the instruction.
The moment the cold metal touched his skin, a red pointer on the watch's face began to move, settling at the 0.1X mark.
"See that red pointer?" Dippet asked. "It represents your magical capacity. 1X is the standard magical level of an adult wizard."
"1X?" Hoffa echoed.
"Yes. X is an important unit in wizarding measurements, representing danger levels and magical power indices," Dippet clarified.
Hoffa stared at the watch again, his attention fixated on the reading.
0.1X
So, does this mean my magical capacity is only one-tenth of a typical adult wizard's?
"This is a magical artifact with quite some history," Dippet explained. "Its previous owner was an old friend of mine from Beauxbatons. François Le Brun gifted it to me for my 100th birthday. However, I no longer have any use for it.
"In addition to measuring magical capacity, it has the ability to store magic. From what I can tell, you seem to be struggling with this issue."
Hearing this, Hoffa's expression shifted slightly.
He looked down at the watch on his wrist, thinking that if it truly had this functionality, it would be the perfect reward for someone like him who struggled with a lack of magical power.
"But," Dippet coughed lightly, "at the moment, it doesn't have the ability to store magic. It's an old watch, after all. The crystal inside that was used for storing magic has long been depleted."
Hoffa hesitated. "This—"
"There's no need to worry," Dippet reassured him. "If you don't have any plans for the summer, I'd suggest you visit France. François Le Brun can replace the magic storage crystal for you."
France.
Hoffa nodded quietly. Traveling to France while in Europe didn't seem much different from crossing provinces in his previous life—it wasn't a big deal.
"Good," Armando Dippet nodded. "However, I didn't have time to arrange an extra ticket for you. Instead, I've arranged for a Hogwarts graduate who is traveling in the same direction to accompany you. It will be both for your protection and a chance for you to gain some experience."
With that, Dippet retrieved a letter from under his desk and handed it to Hoffa.
"Take this. Follow the time and location written in the letter to meet the graduate at the dock. She will take you there, and you can also give her this letter."
Hoffa accepted the letter and tucked it into his chest pocket.
At that moment, there was a soft knock on the door.
"Off you go, Bach," Dippet said, his voice tinged with weariness. "Have a pleasant summer!"
Exiting the headmaster's office, Hoffa encountered the person who had just knocked on the door.
Tom Marvolo Riddle.
The old acquaintance from the orphanage was standing outside, holding a slip of paper.
Seeing Hoffa, Tom's expression showed a hint of surprise before he smiled. "So, you're not going back to the orphanage either?"
Hoffa nodded.
Tom raised the paper in his hand. "I'm staying at the school. What about you?"
"I'm not," Hoffa replied coolly.
Without another word, he stepped past Riddle and headed toward the spiral staircase at the corner.
"Bach."
Behind him, Riddle called out again.
Hoffa turned, only to see an unnervingly cold expression on Riddle's face—an expression that reminded him of a snake hissing in Parseltongue.
From his elevated position, Riddle looked at Hoffa as if assessing prey.
"Did you see an eagle that day?"
Hoffa paused for a second before smiling faintly and shaking his head. "I didn't. Have a pleasant summer, Tom."
With that, he turned and left the headmaster's office.
(End of Chapter)
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