"Rhys, can I borrow that pen of yours that can write homework automatically?"
"I mean for research!"
"..."
"I swear on the honor of the Greengrass family that I will personally write the assignments for all key subjects!"
After much coaxing and pleading, Daphne finally managed to borrow Rhys' enchanted quill that could write essays on its own—just before the end of the Christmas holiday. Now, it was time for one night and one miracle.
Daphne brewed a pot of coffee, adjusted her chair to a comfortable position, and then sat down at her desk, spreading out all the assignments assigned by her professors.
"Now… it's time for a battle to the death," she declared with a serious expression.
The goal was to finish everything before 3 AM. If she couldn't manage that, she'd continue on the train ride back to school.
She quickly prioritized which assignments needed to be done first and which could be delayed—depending on which subjects had their first class on which day after term started.
Suddenly, there was a knock on her bedroom door.
When she opened it, Daphne saw Astoria standing at the doorway, holding a silver tray in her hands.
"Sis, are you hungry? I brought you some delicious snacks~" Astoria smiled as she squeezed into her sister's bedroom.
"The coffee smells amazing! This must be the beans Dad brought back from Ethiopia, right? Your taste is getting better and better~"
Listening to Astoria's endless flattery, Daphne frowned. What is this little brat up to?
She knew her sister far too well—when someone acted overly nice for no reason, they were definitely up to something.
Sure enough, when Daphne chose to ignore her, Astoria couldn't sit still any longer.
"I heard you got a quill that can write homework automatically?"
"Who told you that?"
"Doudou." Astoria immediately revealed her source.
Daphne nodded. That made sense.
But borrowing the quill wouldn't be that easy. It was time to set some conditions!
After making a series of compromises, Astoria successfully secured the right to use the quill.
With its help, their History of Magic essays were completed at lightning speed. Before they even had time to react, their Astronomy star charts were also finished.
"Amazing!!!" Astoria's eyes were filled with awe as she watched the quill dance across the parchment.
"Once the star charts are done, you can leave. I still have to write my Potions essay," Daphne said, taking a sip of coffee, effectively issuing an eviction notice.
Astoria: "??"
"Why are you only doing two subjects… Can't this quill write Potions essays too?"
"I swore on the honor of the Greengrass family to Rhys that I would personally write the assignments for important subjects…" Daphne looked troubled.
"Repeat exactly what you said when you swore?" Astoria tilted her head thoughtfully.
After listening to her sister's exact words, Astoria blinked. "You swore on the honor of the Greengrass family, not me. So what's stopping me from using this quill to write my Transfiguration and Potions assignments?"
Daphne: "?!"
She thought about it for a moment and realized Astoria was right. But just imagining herself struggling under the dim light to finish her assignments while Astoria, having used the quill, was already lying in bed sound asleep made her grind her teeth in frustration.
"No, I'm not lending it to you! That's final!" She made up her mind and spoke earnestly to Astoria. "You're still young, you need to build a strong foundation. Don't slack off on something this important. If Rhys finds out you used the quill for those subjects, he won't be happy."
Surprisingly, that actually convinced Astoria—especially when she heard that her sister was also going to write those assignments by hand.
And so, it was destined to be a sleepless night for the Greengrass sisters.
...
The next morning, as everyone prepared to board the train back to Hogwarts, both Daphne and Astoria looked utterly exhausted, barely able to keep their eyes open.
"You finished your assignments?" Daphne couldn't help but ask as she looked at Rhys, who appeared full of energy.
Rhys smiled and nodded.
Of course, he had finished them. And how did he do it? Naturally, with the enchanted quill!
Before inventing the automatic writing quill, he had to find ways to do his assignments. After inventing it, if he still had to do them himself, then what was the point?
A wizard of his caliber had no need to waste time on homework.
"This is so unfair!" It took Daphne just one second to realize—Rhys had absolutely used the quill to "cheat."
Damn it! He wouldn't let her use the quill for major assignments, yet he was using it more than anyone!
"Well, how about I just leave all my homework to you from now on?" Rhys glanced at Daphne.
Daphne shut her mouth.
With the whistle of the train, the young wizards returned to Hogwarts, marking the official start of the second half of the school year.
...
As Christmas passed, the weather gradually warmed, and spring returned to the campus. Everything seemed to fall back into place, and Hogwarts entered a rare period of peace.
During this time, Rhys received quite a few packages—mostly potion ingredients. Using the materials he got from Lupet, along with the "donation" from Snape last year, he brewed a large supply of potions for Astoria as part of the preliminary phase of her treatment.
At the same time, Rhys kept a close eye on the condition of the "main ingredient"—the fragment of Riddle's soul inside the diary.
From his perspective, it was in great condition.
But in reality, it was so weak it could barely function. After the trauma it suffered in Ginny's subconscious world, the diary could hardly respond to external stimuli.
At this point, even if Rhys threw the diary out into the world, it wouldn't be able to cause any trouble for decades.
"How have you been feeling lately?" Rhys asked, watching as Astoria downed a cup of green potion in one gulp.
"I'm not very energetic, I feel like sleeping all the time," Astoria answered truthfully under Daphne's worried gaze.
Rhys, however, chuckled. "That's a very good sign. Your soul has stabilized and is no longer overly active—that's exactly what I wanted to see."
His goal was to put Astoria's soul into a dormant state. This would also reduce the activity of the curse parasitizing her soul, making it much easier for Voldemort to "extract" the curse later.
Hearing that it was a good sign, both Daphne and Astoria smiled with relief.
"It will get better."
"Mm!"
The two sisters encouraged each other, cheering each other on.
Meanwhile, Rhys stood to the side, calculating the date for Astoria's "procedure."
_______
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