Complain

The pain was almost unbearable. Despite it, Aldric clung to his Lumos, focusing all his attention on the faint, steady trickle of magic flowing through his wand.

He had to hold on to that feeling precisely. If he lost it, everything he'd worked for would have been wasted. Time slipped by, he had no idea how long he stayed like that.

Finally, Aldric opened his eyes. He hadn't fallen asleep.

Instead, he had been completely absorbed in sensing the magic sustaining the light. It felt as though his whole awareness had been wrapped around that fragile current. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him, but when he finally came back to himself, the once-weak flow of magic seemed clearer, more solid.

He exhaled shakily and pushed himself up. The pain had dulled a little, but his body and mind were wrung out, as if he'd been holding his magic on the brink of collapse for hours.

All he wanted now was to crawl into bed. When he stepped back into the corridor, he realized night had already fallen. The hallway was pitch-black, with only the glow of his wand lighting the way.

Bracing himself, he started toward Ravenclaw Tower. His footsteps, usually soft, sounded loud and sharp in the silence, echoing off the stone walls. Just as he passed a classroom door, two large hands shot out of the darkness, clamped over his mouth, and yanked him inside.

Aldric's heart thudded painfully in his chest. In his current state, he couldn't manage an offensive spell, but that didn't mean he was helpless. His left hand slid to his waist, fingers closing around the hidden knife.

He was just about to draw it across his injured arm when a voice spoke up, low and urgent. "Hey, it's me, Aldric. Calm down." 

He recognized the voice instantly, one of the Weasley twins. "Filch is prowling around. Try not to make a scene," the twin whispered.

Aldric let out a shaky breath and slipped the knife back into his sleeve.

"Well," George said, loosening his grip, "I never thought our White Knight would be sneaking around after hours."

"You look terrible," Fred added, eyeing Aldric's scorched robes and pale face. "Did you just wrestle a troll or something?"

"I ran into some…problems," Aldric admitted quietly. "Can you help me get back to Ravenclaw? I feel awful."

"Of course," George said with a grin. "We're the infamous Weasley twins, after all."

Fred nodded. "Follow us. There's a secret passage nearby that'll take you straight to your tower."

George and Fred helped support Aldric as they slipped out of the classroom. Like true masters of stealth, their footsteps were almost silent. Aldric felt as though he was half-floating, his feet barely brushing the floor, making his own steps nearly soundless.

They moved quickly through the dark corridors, taking a shortcut hidden behind a tapestry. The secret passage wasn't long, but it wound its way up through narrow stone stairs and finally emerged on a landing near the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower.

Aldric glanced around in curiosity. He hadn't known there was any shortcut that led this close to the tower, or so near the Owlery.

"Are you sure you don't want to see Madam Pomfrey first?" Fred asked quietly as they approached the tall door with the bronze eagle knocker.

"I'm fine," Aldric declined their offer, and headed back to the Ravenclaw common room. His injuries weren't serious; what he needed most now was rest.

"Looks like our White Knight isn't exactly normal," one of the twins whispered.

"Yeah, Ravenclaw folks are all a bit quirky, just like that tag along, Franklin."

"You know I'm not talking about him."

"I know. But Aldric's our friend; no need to dig into his business. Come on, Filch has been tricked up to the eighth floor. Let's hurry to his office and grab our treasure back."

George and Fred chatted as they slipped into another secret passage...

***

By noon the next day, Aldric finally woke up feeling refreshed. After a good night's sleep, the exhaustion from last night was completely gone. "Being young sure is great!" he sighed, feeling energy surge through his youthful body. 

Back in his old life, over forty years old, his body had already started to slow down. Since it was the weekend, Aldric didn't worry about missing class. He took his time tidying up and stepped out of the dorm. 

As he opened the door, he saw Franklin outside, boredly playing with a water jug. Franklin's eyes lit up when he spotted Aldric, and he eagerly handed over the jug. Aldric instinctively took it, but the jug was so heavy he almost dropped it. It was about the size of a regular thermos, but Aldric was sure the liquid inside weighed well over ten pounds.

"I went to see that Hufflepuff yesterday," Franklin said proudly. "He told me the drink was made by his mom and couldn't be found anywhere else. So I convinced him to give me the rest. Here, it's all yours."

Aldric was stunned. "How much did it cost?"

Hearing the question, Franklin's grin grew even wider. "Nothing! That Hufflepuff's got a big heart. He heard I liked it and just gave it to me."

Aldric felt quietly sorry for that Hufflepuff. Judging by Franklin's presence outside his dorm early this morning, probably avoiding knocking so as not to disturb him, Aldric was touched. 

He passed the jug back to Franklin. It was just too heavy for him to carry. "Thanks so much, Franklin. You've been waiting out here a while, haven't you?"

"No, just got here."

After a brief chat, Aldric and Franklin headed to the Great Hall. Aldric's stomach was growling with hunger. 

Today's lunch was rich and unexpectedly delicious, far better than what Aldric had come to expect from British cuisine. He calmly sliced into his steak, occasionally raising his cup to clink glasses with Franklin. 

This time, he was seated at the Ravenclaw table, where he truly belonged. But trouble has a way of finding you, even when you're not looking for it.

"Aldric, do you remember that time we went to Gringotts together?" Harry began, then hesitated as he noticed Franklin listening nearby.

Catching the glance, Aldric casually stuffed a piece of beef into his mouth and mumbled between chews, "Franklin's my brother. It's fine, Harry. Go on, what about Gringotts?"

Harry leaned in, lowering his voice. "That day... Gringotts was robbed. And Hagrid was there, taking out this strange cloth bag from one of the vaults." He paused. "I think whoever broke in was after that bag."

Aldric frowned, then quickly tried to steer the conversation elsewhere. "That's way above our pay grade, Harry. You should focus on your own problems, I heard you've been having a rough time in Potions. What's going on?"

Despite his age, Harry needed no prompting. He launched into a full tirade about Snape, completely unaware of the complicated history between the Potions Master and his parents. If he knew, maybe he'd see things differently.

By the time Harry finally ran out of complaints, Aldric had finished his drink and watched him walk off, clearly still frustrated. But Aldric's thoughts lingered elsewhere.