Hogwarts and the New Headmaster

9. The Banquet

Had it been up to Viridis, he would just as soon have taken the final test right then and there, but that simply wasn't going to happen. The selection of headmaster was a momentous event for the school and certain protocols had to be followed. There would be a formal dinner (dress robes required), followed by speeches, before the final competition could begin.      

The banquet was to be held in the Great Hall that evening, so the students were served dinner early and then chased out in preparation for the festivities. Every house-elf in the castle descended upon the hall, determined to have it in perfect condition for the night's festivities. They scrubbed the floors until the stone gleamed and polished the suits of armor stationed along the walls until one could count the number of floating candles upon their breast plates. Even the spiders living on the ceiling were asked to pack up their webs and sleep somewhere else for the night.

After agreeing with Dawn and Cory to meet at the marble staircase fifteen minutes before the feast was to begin, Viridis headed back up to Ravenclaw tower to rest and change into his black robe.

He lay back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, his mind racing. Two days ago, he hadn't even considered the possibility he might win the competition. His goal had been to do well enough to stay at the castle for a night or two. Now only one last obstacle stood between him and the headmaster's job. He still considered it incredibly unlikely he'd win—Feathergill had also advanced to the final round—but it was fun dreaming about the possibility. Of course, there was still the question of how he'd run the school when he couldn't step outside the castle doors, but he'd worry about that later if he won.

Viridis's musings were cut short when the lantern illuminating the room began flickering and sputtering, the flame threatening to go out. After several seconds of this erratic behavior, the lantern suddenly flared up with the intensity of ten lanterns, bathing the room in a bright orange glare. Viridis watched as what appeared to be drops of molten metal fell onto the shelf holding the exhibits. Without hesitation, Viridis leapt off the bed and pulled the exhibits out of harm's way.

With one last burst of brilliance, the lantern settled back down to its original brightness and stabilized. Viridis examined the lantern carefully, lifting it up and studying it from all sides, but everything seemed normal, with no clue to explain its unusual behavior. Had this been a prank of some sort, perpetrated by one of the students? Or perhaps a stunt by Cory, in a useless attempt to take Viridis's mind off the test?

He returned the lantern to its place and turned his attention to the exhibits, checking them over for damage. The glass box containing the lightning bolt seemed unharmed, although the shelf upon which it sat was burned and pitted. The hourglass next to it hadn't fared as well, however, its wooden frame was charred in several places. The glass seemed unscathed, however, and the device appeared to be still working, although it was hard to know for sure. All the sand lay in the bottom half of the hourglass, while the top half was filled with small metal balls. Every ten seconds or so, one of the balls would slip past the neck and plop onto the sand, where it would slowly sink until it disappeared beneath the surface. Viridis shook his head. He'd never been a fan of modern art.

A description had been provided on a small placard attached to the hourglass. It was written in runes, which further lowered Viridis's opinion of the exhibit, but a translation had been handwritten below the runes. It read, "Time, like sand, swallows all things." Vir frowned. He wasn't sure what it was supposed to mean, but it sounded depressing.

He was about to put the exhibit back on the shelf, then stopped. Figuring out how magic items worked had always been an obsession of his, and though he wasn't impressed with exhibit's artistic value, the magic used to hold the metal balls in place intrigued him. It had been days since he'd tinkered with anything interesting and he could use a good distraction before the final test.