After exchanging several letters with Mr. Wilson, Scarlet had finally begun drafting her latest novel: How a Clumsy Mage Solves Mysterious Cases. The story was inspired by historical accounts of witches who concealed their identities following the witch hunt that raged between 1450 and 1750. Set during Queen Victoria’s reign, it was essentially a witch’s rendition of Sherlock Holmes – a quirky, clumsy mage solving enigmatic cases while serving as a maid in a Duke’s mansion in London.


    Unlike her previous works, this book required significant research into witches from Muggle history records, rather than relying on the traditions of wizardkind at Hogwarts. That said, some of the magical lore overlapped between the two worlds. Owls began arriving with large parcels, bringing Scarlet the historical reference books she had ordered, covering topics as varied as diet, culture, fashion, and even politics of the Victorian era. To her surprise, some of Hogwarts’s ghosts also served as excellent references – several had lived through the Victorian period, and she figured she might as well make take advantage of the unique resources available to her at Hogwarts.


    Before long, Scarlet became a familiar sight, scribbling furiously in the library or tucked into quiet corners, interviewing ghosts or poring over books that were clearly not part of the Hogwarts collection. Students began to notice her intense focus and deduced she was working on a new novel. Eager to assist, many even brought her old reference materials from their own family collections.


    “A story set in the Victorian era!” Maya exclaimed, her eyes alight with excitement. “Have you decided how many books there’ll be in the series?”


    “Ten,” Scarlet replied firmly, catching her roommates off guard. Sensing their surprise, she quickly added, “But each book will be much shorted than Akahime’s Diary. The series will feature ten cases – one per book.”


    “That’s fantastic!” Maya pressed on enthusiastically. “When can we read the first one?”


    Scarlet counted on her fingers. “Well, I’ve outlined the structure pretty comprehensively, but I still need to fill in the details, which means a lot of referencing. If everything goes smoothly, I should have the first draft finished by March or April. After that it’ll need reviews, revisions, more reviews... Ideally, it would be ready by October, but realistically, I’m aiming for December next year.”


    “Aww, that’s such a long wait,” Maya sighed, deflating briefly before clenching her fists with renewed determination. “But don’t worry! Just tell me what you need, and I’ll help you get it. Let’s finish the story quickly so we can read it sooner!”


    The news of Scarlet’s new book, paired with Alexis’s victory over Lockhart at the Duelling club the previous Saturday and the growing Christmas cheer, sent a wave of excitement through Hogwarts. Students were abuzz with anticipation - looking forward to Christmas, Scarlet’s novel, and the lively atmosphere that filled the castle. Even Lockhart, his fame steadily declining, was tolerable amidst the festive mood, so long as he didn’t stir up trouble – a condition Scarlet vigilantly ensured during their lessons.


    However, Alexis couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that Lockhart was up to something. On several occasions, she and the Weasley twins noticed him absent from the castle entirely.


    “He probably went for a walk in Hogsmeade,” Scarlet remarked in Japanese, her tone nonchalant as she reviewed Alexis’s essay in the language. The essay was riddled with errors in nouns and verbs, which Scarlet diligently highlighted in red ink. It reminded Scarlet of the love letter Alexis had written to Cedric Diggory when she first arrived at Hogwarts – back when she was clumsily trying to intervene the original storyline.


    “No way he’d do that,” Alexis said firmly - in Japanese as well - shaking her head. “Sensei’s been getting news summaries from Neville and your other assistants, but I’m sure they missed out on the tea that’s been spilling among housewives - and maybe even in those trashy tabloid magazines.”


    Scarlet momentarily looked up from Alexis’s heavily marked essay, her quill hovering mid-air as she gave Alexis a curious glance.


    “Lockhart’s, like, totally on the verge of a meltdown,” Alexis continued, puffing out her chest a bit. “All thanks to you, Sensei, and, you know, us fourth-years.” Her tone carried a mixture of pride and amusement. “So, I’m guessing you’ve noticed by now that a lot of Hogwarts student’s moms are housewives, right? They’ve got their little tea parties, swapping stories and gossiping over cookies or whatever. And I guarantee those moms have been bombarded with letters from their kids, ranting about Lockhart. At first, they probably didn’t believe it – like, ‘Oh no, my precious Gilderoy could never!’ - but girl, those complaints just kept piling up. And the moms started connecting dots, sharing stories, you know how it goes. Eventually, they saw the receipts – hard facts proving he’s fraud!”


    Alexis leaned forward, her voice growing more animated. “And get this, some of their husbands are Ministry employee. I bet they got dragged into it when their wives started wailing about being scammed by ‘that despicable author’. So now the Ministry’s gotta be, like, at least lowkey watching him, right? Now we just lack of solid evidence to totally expose him.”


    Scarlet gave an approving nod, silently encourage Alexis to continue. While Alexis wasn’t required to take any Japanese exams – since studying in Japan wasn’t on her agenda – Scarlet insisted she practice speaking the language regularly. Her reasoning was simple: Alexis needed to at least be conversational to work with her Japanese assistant, who excelled in writing English but struggled with speaking it. To Scarlet’s surprise, Alexis had a knack for speaking Japanese, far beyond what could be expected of a beginner. Whether it was sheer talent or a product of binge-watching anime in her previous life, Alexis had somehow picked up remarkably fluent Japanese, albeit a weak vocabulary.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Alexis continued with raised eyebrows, “So, some of the folks in the Hogsmeade were totally his fans, right? But after all this news spread – like wildfire, mind you – they’re so over him now. He’s already gone there twice that I know of, but he hasn’t shown his face since. My guess? He got a taste of mob justice, probably roughed up by a bunch of ticked-off fans. I swear I saw him sporting some bruises a while back.”


    “Fair enough,” Scarlet replied, nodding as a faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She was pleased to see Alexis finally analysing a situation with some depth. “And what are you suggesting?”


    “Well, he’s obviously scheming something,” Alexis said with a thoughtful frown. “I don’t know what yet, but something’s brewing. In the original storyline, there wasn’t anything major about him in December – other than that epic fail of a Duelling Club. December’s kind of a blank slate. But, ugh, I can totally recall how he ruined Valantine’s Day – like, full-on trauma with those horrifying cupids. Total cringe!” She grimaced, clearly reliving the nightmare. “He’s on thin ice now, so he’s gotta be plotting something desperate to claw back his face. And it’s probably gonna be soon!”


    “And how do you plan on handling it?” Scarlet asked, tilting her head as her eyes stayed fixed on Alexis, awaiting her answer.


    Alexis sighed after a moment of thought. “I’ve done, like, literally everything I could think of as a precaution. There’s no point tracking him anymore. If he wants to be sneaky, he’ll be the sneakiest snake ever, and we’ll just waste our time trying to catch him. He’d totally frame us or something if he caught wind that we were tailing him.”


    Scarlet nodded approvingly. “Kept your pace. Well done.”


    Alexis’s eyes widened, sparkling with disbelief. “Wait - well done? Me?”


    Scarlet waved her hand dismissively. “I can keep the compliment if you don’t want it.”


    “Uh, no, no! Of course, I want it!” Alexis pulled out a palm-sized notebook and began scribbling furiously, murmuring under her breath, “10th December 1992: Sensei praised me for planning ahead to expose that despicable Lockhart. She said, and I quote, ‘well done’.”


    Scarlet blinked. “... Didn’t know you kept a notebook for this purpose.”


    Alexis sighed dramatically. “Well, someone has to keep track of all the groundbreaking moments of my life, right? I mean, if Twitter existed, I’d totally be posting about it already!”


    “You could always get Fred and George to invent a wizarding version of the internet,” Scarlet suggested with a shrug. “By the way, how’s the ‘Tweet-it-Owl’ messenger coming along? Did they figure out how to make it keep a message history?”


    “Nope,” Alexis replied with a slight pout. “Their idea for the messenger partly came from the Marauder''s Map, and, like, duh, that map doesn’t store history either. Distance-wise, as we tested with Meiko-san and William, it’s solid for messages within the UK, but it can’t reach Africa or anywhere farther. Sooo, it’s still not ready for global use. I suggested Fred and George just start selling it as a Gen 1 version and upgrade later, like how iPhone do it - selling different generations, make bank for, like, ten years, you know? But nope! The refuse to release it until it’s, like, absolute perfect.”


    Scarlet tapped her fingers lightly on the desk, calculating. “Well, they’ve already saved enough startup funds to open a shop. Now they’re just waiting for graduation so they can launch their business. There’s no rush for galleons now, so I suppose that’s why they’re taking their time perfecting it instead of pushing it out to gather funds.”


    Alexis shrugged. “Their choice, I’m not mad about it or anything, not my problem.” She accepted the essay Scarlet handed her – a paper full of red ink – and stared at it as though it were her mortal enemy. With a resigned sigh, she decided to retreat to her private room.


    Just as Scarlet’s private room served as a multipurpose space for spear training, rune experiments, writing novels, and the occasional Weasley twin’s brainstorming session, Alexis’ room also had its own mix of uses. Part dance studio, part karaoke space, part art room strewn with storyboard drafts she needed to impress Kyle’s office... and most importantly, her sanctuary for practicing her Japanese in solitude without anyone hearing her butchered attempts.


    But as she approached the door, Alexis was surprise to find Jessica wandering in the hallway near Scarlet’s room, looking a bit lost.


    “Jessica,” Alexis called softly, careful not to startle the girl, who seemed deep in thought and nervous. Jessica turned around, her face lighting up when she spotted Alexis.


    Alexis waved her over. “What are you looking for here? There’s nothing here but empty classrooms and two private rooms.”


    Jessica nodded eagerly. “Exactly! I was looking for the private rooms! Yours and Scarlet’s, right?”


    “Yeah,” Alexis replied, frowning slight before realisation dawned. “Ohhh, you’re looking for Scarlet? She’s inside.” Alexis opened the door wide, poked her head in. “Sensei, Jessica’s here for you.”


    Scarlet glanced up in surprise. “Jessica? Come in. You’re looking for me?”


    “Yes!” Jessica exclaimed, rushed forward so quickly that Alexis barely had time to blink before the younger girl threw her arms around Scarlet in a tight hug. “I know you’re busy, but I had the weirdest dream, and I really need to tell you about it!”


    Alexis was intrigued by Jessica’s word but decided to give the sisters some space. “Sensei, I’ll see you around!” she called out cheerfully before closing the door behind her.


    Scarlet gave Alexis a brief nod before the door clicked shut. Turning her attention to Jessica, she gently patted the girl’s back. “It’s alright, I’m here.”


    She allowed Jessica a moment to calm down before guiding her to sit by the window. Her tone was soft as she said, “I’ll make you a new dreamcatcher. This time, I’ll weave it stronger – no nightmare will get through it again.”


    Jessica clung to the sense of security Scarlet provided and hesitated before replying. “I’m not sure if it was a nightmare,” she admitted. Her voice shaky but clear. “It was so strange and... scary. Not like the horror films I’ve seen. This felt... different.”


    Scarlet continued soothing Jessica with gentle pats on her back, “Can you remember the dream? Would you like to tell me what it was about?”


    Jessica hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath. “I dreamed about this place - Hogwarts castle - and a beast.”