Time had passed with autumn moving toward winter, and November had fallen over the Scottish Highlands. The trees surrounding Hogwarts had shed most of their autumn colors, leaving behind empty branches.
A crisp chill was in the air that promised the first snows were not far behind, and students had begun wrapping themselves in heavier cloaks and warming charms as they moved between classes.
In a clearing at the very edge of the Forbidden Forest, a special Care of Magical Creatures lesson was taking place. Unlike usual, many students wearing light blue uniforms from Beauxbatons were scattered among the Hogwarts students.
That's right—this joint lesson was the first formal academic collaboration between Beauxbatons and Hogwarts since the arrival of the visiting schools for the Triwizard Tournament.
Professor Ruskin Hill was naturally mixed in among the Beauxbatons group.
Adrian had spent considerable time and effort preparing for this lesson, deliberately arranging to bring out the unicorn herd from their usual shelter deep within the Forbidden Forest.
This was no simple task as unicorns were notoriously particular about their interactions with humans, and convincing an entire herd to venture into relatively open ground where they could be observed by dozens of excited students required delicate negotiation.
After some time apart since Adrian's last visit to their place, several adorably fluffy young foals had appeared among the unicorn herd.
Unicorns were by nature creatures of shyness and natural wariness, keeping well away from human settlements under normal circumstances. Their sensitivity to human emotions and intentions meant they could detect any trace of malice, greed, or impurity from considerable distances, causing them to vanish into the forest depths long before most humans ever realized they had been in the area.
Under typical conditions, these beings were extraordinarily difficult to encounter, let alone observe at close range for longer periods. The opportunity to see an entire herd with multiple generations was quite literally once-in-a-lifetime event for most wizards.
When dozens of unicorns stepped into the prepared clearing, the Beauxbatons students all showed expressions of amazement and wonder.
Just as Adrian had expected, because most of the Beauxbatons students were female, the unicorns got along very harmoniously with them.
Especially Fleur's younger sister, Gabrielle Delacour.
Gabrielle Delacour looked very much like her sister, possessing the same beautiful silvery hair and bright eyes that sparkled with silver light.
Perhaps it was her quarter-Veela bloodline that called to the unicorns' magical senses, or perhaps it was simply her youth and the unguarded wonder that radiated from her body. Whatever the reason, almost all the unicorns were willing to approach her.
Watching Gabrielle play with a unicorn foal in her arms, a question couldn't help but surface in Adrian's mind:
"Has Gabrielle actually entered Beauxbatons to begin her formal magical education this early?" He asked Ruskin quietly, careful to keep his voice low enough that the students wouldn't overhear.
"I thought Beauxbatons had the same enrollment age requirements as Hogwarts at eleven years of age."
Gabrielle appeared to be perhaps eight or nine years old at most, clearly several years younger than the traditional age for beginning magical education at any of the major European wizarding schools.
"Gabrielle indeed hasn't reached the standard school age yet," Ruskin explained casually. "Fleur insisted on bringing her younger sister along when she was selected for the Tournament, and after some discussion, Madame Maxime agreed to allow the exception."
She paused to watch as Gabrielle attempted to braid flowers into a unicorn's mane.
"After all, everyone who knows the Delacour family understands that when Gabrielle reaches the appropriate age, she will almost certainly attend Beauxbatons regardless of any other considerations, and besides..." Ruskin continued with a slight shrug that suggested the logic was obvious.
She gestured toward the scene of Gabrielle surrounded by unicorns who seemed genuinely delighted by her presence.
"Exceptional students have always received special treatment and accommodations, haven't they?"
Adrian nodded thoughtfully, his gaze returning to the laughing Gabrielle as she tried to convince a large unicorn to let her ride on its back.
Perhaps due to his own Plant Mutation ability in his blood, Adrian felt very fond of this adorable little girl with a sense of heartfelt and almost parental affection.
"But this arrangement is also somewhat troublesome," Ruskin said with a helpless sigh. "Fleur is completely spent with her preparations for the Tournament tasks—training sessions, strategy meetings, physical conditioning, studying magical theory relevant to competitive situations. She simply doesn't have the time or mental energy to properly supervise and care for an eight-year-old sister."
Her expression took on the long-suffering look of someone who had unexpectedly found themselves responsible for an energetic child with a talent for finding interesting trouble.
"Which means that responsibility falls to me instead," She continued resignedly. "Don't misunderstand—I adore Gabrielle, and she's quite well-behaved…um… for her age. But caring for a child while also managing my regular teaching duties and research needed a level of multitasking that I hadn't entirely expected."
Just as she finished speaking, a dazzling bolt of lightning suddenly split the distant sky, appearing with such unexpected fierceness that several students jumped and looked around nervously for signs of approaching storm clouds.
Immediately following the lightning came a deep, resounding call.
Ruskin couldn't help but look up sharply, her expression shifting from mild concern about weather to growing recognition. She was vaguely feeling that this call sounded familiar.
"Is it going to rain?" wondered one of the Hogwarts students aloud, stretching out his neck to scan the sky for signs of the storm clouds that should accompany such lightning.
Several other students followed his example, shading their eyes with their hands as they searched the sky for explanations of the unexpected atmospheric showpieces.
However, although the sky had overcast conditions of late autumn in Scotland, with layers of gray clouds that promised eventual rain, it was completely free of the dark thunderclouds that would be necessary to produce such spectacular lightning bolts.
Adrian naturally understood what was happening and smiled slightly at Ruskin, "An old friend is coming, Ruskin."
A gray dot appeared on the horizon, approaching at an astonishing speed. When the flying figure drew close enough for details to become visible, Ruskin suddenly realized exactly what was approaching.
'Wasn't this a Thunderbird?'
Ray spread its enormous wings, with small electric arcs dancing between its cloud-gray feathers. Each beat of its wings stirred up a whirlwind.
When it noticed Adrian waving at it, it folded its wings and gracefully landed in front of Adrian, then let out a joyful call.
"It's Ray!" several Hogwarts students shouted.
For the Hogwarts students, they were already accustomed to Ray's presence, and the Beauxbatons students had probably seen the Thunderbird at Ruskin's place as well.
Therefore, after the initial excitement of Ray's arrival had subsided, everyone returned their primary attention to the unicorns—Adrian had mentioned earlier in the lesson that if the magical creatures were willing to share, students would be permitted to collect a few unicorn tail hairs.
Students from both schools were now busy moving carefully among the herd, observing the unicorns' body language and trying to identify who might be willing to share a few strands of their tail hair.
Adrian stepped forward to arrange the feathers on top of Ray's head, then turned to look at Ruskin, "I think you should still remember it, Ruskin."
"Of course, I remember," Ruskin replied, though her voice had tones of genuine surprise. "I thought you would have released him back to his natural habitat long ago. Adult Thunderbirds very rarely choose to follow a single wizard for long periods."
"Really?" Adrian asked with obvious surprise. "Then the Thunderbirds you raised..."
"All of them flew away after reaching full maturity," Ruskin spread her hands in a gesture that combined acceptance with mild disappointment. "They probably went searching for habitats and territories more suitable for their long-term survival and breeding needs. That departure was completely their own choice, and I respected their decision."
"I suppose it's simply their nature," she continued thoughtfully. "Thunderbirds are creatures of vast skies and unlimited horizons. Even the most comfortable domestic arrangement eventually feels confining to them, and they need to follow their instincts toward freedom and wildness."
"You never mentioned any of this to me before," Adrian said with a strange expression.
"This only happened recently," Ruskin replied with a helpless shrug. "I had initially thought those Thunderbirds were genuinely attached to me and would remain permanently. It turns out they simply treated me as a temporary caregiver—a magical babysitter, if you will."
She paused, then added with good humor, "Well, I'm partly joking about feeling used. I don't object to their decisions at all. I have always believed in respecting all animals' choices about their own lives."
Adrian thoughtfully stroked Ray's powerful neck, feeling the warmth of the creature's body and the subtle electric tingling that always accompanied physical contact with Thunderbirds.
"Did you hear that, Ray?" Adrian asked seriously, looking directly into the Thunderbird's intelligent golden eyes. "If you ever want to leave and find your own territory, you can do so at any time."
Ray tilted its head, gently pecked at Adrian's shoulder with its beak, then shook its head in a very human-like manner.
It seemed it wasn't ready to lose Adrian a free babysitter and reliable food source and the comfortable nest it had built on the lightning-struck wood.
When the class bell rang, all the unicorns returned to the Forbidden Forest, and Ray also disappeared into the distant sky.
Most students from both schools had gained quite a lot from this extraordinary lesson, and small groups could be seen comparing the unicorn tail hairs they had successfully collected.
Before the departure toward the castle began, Gabrielle detached herself from a group of chattering Beauxbatons students and ran up to Adrian and Ruskin.
"The unicorns were absolutely wonderful, Professor Westeros," She said in accented but perfectly clear English, her face glowing with joy as she smiled sweetly up at Adrian. "Thank you so much for arranging such a magical lesson for us."
Then, standing on her tiptoes to reach the proper height, she carefully handed Adrian a single unicorn tail hair that seemed to glow with light far brighter than the others students had collected.
"This is the most beautiful one I could find," She explained.
Adrian was momentarily stunned, then accepted the tail hair.
"Oh, thank you so much, Gabrielle,"
Gabrielle nodded and turned her gaze to Ruskin, "Shall we go, Professor? Sister should have been waiting for a while."
"Don't be in such a hurry, Gabrielle."
Ruskin took Gabrielle's hand and said quietly to Adrian. "You should have noticed that Fleur didn't attend this class. That's because Madame Maxime is giving her special training."
"What's the matter?" Adrian raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding why Ruskin was mentioning this.
"What I mean is, you'd better give your own champion some special training too," Ruskin said seriously, "or you'll lose the competition."
"It seems you care quite a bit about the ultimate outcome of this competition," Adrian said with a slight chuckle.
"Oh, I am still somewhat of a Beauxbatons professor, after all," Ruskin said with earnest conviction. "Having a sense of healthy urgency about preparation is always beneficial, Adrian. I'm certain you want to see Hogwarts achieve victory just as much as I want Beauxbatons to succeed."
After Ruskin finished speaking, she began walking toward the castle with Gabrielle skipping happily beside her, the young girl was chattering excitedly in French about the unicorns and asking questions about when she might see them again.
Adrian remained standing thoughtfully in the now-empty clearing, surrounded by the lingering traces of magic that marked where unicorns and Thunderbirds had recently walked and flown.
'Special training, hmm...' he pondered over Ruskin's words in his mind.
In fact, if the events and challenges in the Triwizard Tournament continued exactly as they had in the original story he remembered, then with Harry's current magical abilities, the tasks would be completely manageable.
Cedric could certainly handle the challenges as well. Adrian felt no particular worry about either young wizard's chances of survival and success.
However, conducting additional training would always be beneficial regardless of the specific nature of the challenges ahead. Extra preparation never hurt anyone, and it would provide valuable insurance against unexpected complications or variations in the tasks that might arise.
As these thoughts crystallized in his mind, Adrian suddenly had an interesting idea.
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