Now that Hogwarts was free of the monster that had been petrifying—and potentially killing—students, and with final exams canceled, even the professors' homework assignments had become noticeably lighter.
For the students of Hogwarts, there was only one thing left to look forward to:
Summer vacation.
If there was anyone in the castle who was not happy, it was undoubtedly Draco Malfoy.
To his astonishment, after recovering from petrification, he discovered that everything had changed.
The Malfoy family had lost their house-elf.
More importantly, his father, Lucius Malfoy, had been removed from the Hogwarts Board of Governors.
Draco no longer swaggered around the school as though he owned the place.
Instead, he spent his days wearing a dark, bitter expression.
Part of it was due to the setbacks his family had suffered.
But another reason was even harder for him to accept.
As a pure-blood Slytherin, he had been attacked by Slytherin's own Heir.
To Draco, this was an unbearable humiliation.
Among pure-blood students, the incident became the subject of no small amount of gossip.
On the other side, Ron Weasley gradually overcame his guilt, and his friendship with Harry Potter became stronger than ever.
He had learned from Hermione Granger that Harry had willingly used ancient protective magic out of love to save him.
That magical bond still remained.
The two boys were more certain than ever of their friendship.
But they also felt vaguely awkward.
After all, the phrase "one boy protected another with the power of love" sounded a little strange.
Another person who returned to normal was Ron's younger sister, Ginny Weasley.
Once the truth came out, Ginny realized with horror that she had become Voldemort's unwitting accomplice.
And now, there was one more person she idolized.
Lewis.
At the chicken coop, it had been Lewis who stopped her and drove away the Dark Lord before things could get worse.
Then Lewis, together with Ciri and Hermione, had entered the Chamber of Secrets, killed the basilisk, destroyed the diary's Tom Riddle, and rescued both Harry and Ron.
In Ginny's heart, Lewis's status skyrocketed until it stood shoulder to shoulder with Harry's.
Of course, if she had to choose one of them right now, she would probably still choose Harry.
There was simply less competition.
Some students were delighted by how easy the rest of the school year would be.
Others were troubled.
The disappearance of Gilderoy Lockhart was unquestionably wonderful news for Hogwarts.
But it created a new problem.
No one was teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Lockhart had been removed at the end of February.
There were still four months left until the end of term.
Even with exams canceled, that meant the remainder of the year's Defense Against the Dark Arts classes would be nothing but study periods.
One or two study periods were tolerable.
Four months of them were not.
Even students who were only moderately ambitious found that unacceptable.
Professor Quirrell, for all his shortcomings, had at least taught them something.
Lockhart, by contrast, had been pure fluff.
After half a year, they had learned little more than how to watch theatrical reenactments.
By any reasonable measure, the entire year's Defense Against the Dark Arts education had been wasted.
That simply would not do.
Finally, after one Defense Against the Dark Arts study period during the third week, Lewis was stopped by his dormmate, Steve.
"Do you need something, Steve?"
Lewis noticed that his usually cheerful roommate looked unusually serious.
"Lewis," Steve said solemnly, "I'm here to ask a favor. It's a bit presumptuous, and it'll take up your valuable time, but I hope you'll consider it."
Lewis raised an eyebrow.
"Go ahead."
Steve took a breath.
"I feel like we haven't learned much in Defense Against the Dark Arts for two straight years."
"In the magical world, we're always going to face dangers. Just look at the basilisk attacks this year—most of us had no idea what to do."
"I'm not saying everyone needs to be able to kill a basilisk like you."
"But at the very least, shouldn't we know how to handle small threats? Cornish pixies, doxy infestations, things like that?"
"I still remember the chaos during the first lesson this year. We were pathetic."
Steve's expression turned earnest.
"So… would you consider using our Defense Against the Dark Arts study periods to teach us?"
Lewis thought for a long moment.
Instead of answering directly, he asked:
"These aren't just your thoughts, are they?"
His gaze sharpened.
"Who else feels the same way?"
As he spoke, his eyes drifted toward the classroom door.
The lesson had technically ended, and most students had already left.
But at Lewis's words, seven more students emerged from the room.
Anthony Goldstein.
Michael Corner.
Terry Boot.
Padma Patil.
Parvati Patil.
And several other familiar faces.
"So," Lewis said, glancing over them, "you all feel the same way?"
"Steve's right," Anthony said immediately.
"Absolutely," Michael added.
"Lewis, you're the leader of Ravenclaw. If anyone should do this, it's you!" Terry declared excitedly.
"Please teach us," Padma and Parvati said together.
The others chimed in as well.
Lewis looked at the eager faces surrounding him.
Then he nodded.
And shook his head.
"I agree with your reasoning," he said.
"Learning how to protect yourselves is always worthwhile."
"But using class time to teach isn't as simple as it sounds."
"If we were meeting after hours, we could simply borrow an empty classroom and form a study club."
"We could teach and practice privately."
"But if you want to use official class periods, we need to consider the opinions of everyone involved."
He thought for a moment.
"Here's what we'll do."
"Before the weekend, gather opinions from all second-year Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students."
"Separate them into three groups: those who support the idea, those who don't care but have no objection, and those who oppose it."
"If the overwhelming majority believe this is worthwhile…"
Lewis smiled faintly.
"…then I'll devote some time to sharing what I know."
"Brilliant!"
Even though Lewis had not given a direct yes, the group was ecstatic.
In truth, everyone standing before him was a significant figure within the second year—well-connected students whose opinions carried considerable weight.
Ravenclaw support was practically guaranteed.
The real question was Gryffindor, since the two houses shared Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons this year.
As the excited students hurried off, Lewis remained where he was, deep in thought.
As Ravenclaw's acknowledged prodigy, he was simply too exceptional.
So exceptional that most students could only look up at him from afar.
Admiration brought prestige.
But it also created distance.
Tom Riddle had remarked that by this age, he had already begun building his own circle of followers.
Lewis already had a potential inner circle.
Hermione.
Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon.
Perhaps, in time, Cho Chang and Penelope Clearwater.
But beyond that close-knit core, it would be useful to have a wider group of students who respected him and looked to him for guidance.
And perhaps this Defense Club—
this was how it would begin.
If you want to read 60 chapters ahead of the public release, head over to: Patreon.com/RedString