The heavy oak door of the Headmaster’s office closed silently behind Stelle, cutting off the atmosphere of silent shock inside.
Stelle walked down the spiral staircase, her steps as steady as they had been on the way up.
However, as she reached the last few steps, as if discovering a new toy, she deliberately rode the rotating stairs for an extra half-turn before jumping off, still wanting more.
It was as if she had just had a completely ordinary conversation about a night walk.
She reached into her pocket, her fingertips first brushing against the two cool Elation Tokens.
She pulled them out and lightly clinked them together, listening to the crisp metallic sound they made.
Then she placed them side by side in her palm.
Looking at the identical twisted smiles on them, the corners of Stelle’s mouth turned up in an almost imperceptible curve.
“So the Headmaster got one too,” she muttered softly, gaining a new appreciation for Aha’s omnipresent delivery capabilities.
It seemed even the most powerful wizard was not completely immune to the tentacles of Elation.
She carefully tucked the tokens away.
Five out of seven—promising progress.
Only then did her thoughts drift to that red stone she had just handed over, which was supposedly very, very important.
“Shiny and warm, but you can’t eat it or play with it.” That was her entire summary of the Philosopher’s Stone.
She shrugged, expressing her regret over the “useless” stone.
Handing it over cost her nothing; it even lightened the load in her pocket.
She had absolutely no idea what kind of world-shaking artifact she had just casually handed over, much like how she didn’t care about Hufflepuff losing fifty points only to gain fifty right back.
Fluctuation in numbers was far less appealing than a candy she hadn’t tasted yet.
At this moment, her mind was on the dish of colorful candies on Dumbledore’s desk.
“Lemon drops,” she recalled the bright yellow treats, planning in her head.
“I didn’t get to eat any, but they smelled really good.
Next time I get the chance, I definitely have to eat a bunch of them.” This focus on trivial details quickly overwrote everything that had just occurred in the Headmaster’s office.
Her Trailblaze instinct kept her looking forward, focusing on her next goal, her next interesting discovery.
By the time she returned to the Hufflepuff common room, the bizarre news of their House points taking a sudden nosedive only to skyrocket right back up had already spread.
Hannah, Susan, and Megan immediately crowded around her.
“Stelle!
What on earth happened?” Hannah asked urgently.
“We heard you were called to the Headmaster’s office?
And then the House points?” Stelle looked at her roommates’ worried and curious faces, thought for a moment, and summarized it in the simplest way she could think of: “Well, I went for a walk and picked up a stone.
Professor Dumbledore said the stone was very important, so he took it back.” She omitted all details about the three-headed dog, Devil’s Snare, the troll, and the rest, as if it truly had been nothing but an ordinary night stroll.
She even blinked innocently as she spoke.
“That’s it?” Susan asked in disbelief.
“That’s it.” Stelle nodded with certainty, then remembered something and added, “Oh, and he offered me some candy.
It looked really fragrant, sweet, and delicious, but I didn’t eat any.” She really was still hung up on not getting to eat those lemon drops!
Her roommates exchanged glances, completely unable to piece together the truth from this overly concise information.
But seeing Stelle looking somewhat distracted, they knew they wouldn’t get anything more out of her.
“By the way,” Stelle suddenly turned to Hannah, a sliver of genuine anticipation in her golden eyes.
“Are there any new apple pies in the kitchen this afternoon?” Hannah was taken aback by this leap in conversation, answering subconsciously, “Uh, I think I heard there are.” “Great, I’m going to check it out.” Stelle turned around immediately and headed toward the barrel door that led to the kitchens, her steps light, leaving all questions and turmoil behind.
For her, a night walk full of Elation had concluded.
A shiny stone had been returned to its owner, she had an extra token in her pocket, and right now, exploring the kitchen’s new pies was her most important Trailblazing mission.
The kitchen was warm and bright as always, filled with the tempting aroma of food and the busy noises of house-elves.
Stelle strolled in with practiced familiarity and took a deep breath.
The air, thick with the scent of baked bread and desserts, brought her a strange sense of comfort.
Like a small animal returning home, she squinted her eyes comfortably.
“Miss Stelle!” the house-elf, Pokey, squeaked, bouncing over with wide, enthusiastic eyes.
“Pokey heard you were coming!
Today we have fresh-out-of-the-oven apple pies with cinnamon!
The pastry is as light as a unicorn’s feather!” Stelle’s pupils lit up slightly.
“One.
No, two,” she corrected herself, feeling that the exploration and the earlier conversation had drained her energy and required replenishment.
She held the warm pies and found a quiet corner to sit down.
She didn’t start eating right away.
Instead, she carefully observed the golden pastry, which had a latticed pattern and wafted a rich aroma of cinnamon and baked apples.
She gently poked it with a finger, and the pastry let out a satisfyingly subtle crackle.
Only then did she take a small bite.
The warm, tart-sweet apple filling merged with the crispy crust in her mouth, and she squinted in sheer satisfaction like a cat basking in the sun.
“Mmh, way more useful than the red stone,” she compared the two in her mind, reaching a completely unsurprising conclusion.
While slowly enjoying her pie, she watched the house-elves working as efficiently as clockwork—moving ingredients, washing pots, and tending the ovens.
This bustling, lively orderliness brought her a singular peace of mind.
After finishing one pie, she carefully wrapped the second in greaseproof paper, planning to take it back to the dormitory for a midnight snack.
Before leaving, she also spotted a small basket of slightly bruised but still juicy plums in the prep corner.
After getting Pokey’s permission, she happily slipped a few into her pocket.
With plums, tokens, and her reserved pie in her pockets, Stelle left the kitchen.
Outside the castle, dusk was falling, and torches were being lit along the corridors.
She walked toward the Hufflepuff common room, her mind already wondering if there would be a new flavor of jam at breakfast tomorrow.
The daily life of Hogwarts, with its powerful capacity for absorption and its warm, mundane comforts, once again quietly absorbed what could have been an earth-shattering event, returning everything to a state of peace.