Tom Marvolo Riddle

A dawn mist faintly covered the Black Lake.

As the morning sunlight slowly seeped through the high spires of Hogwarts Castle, the centuries-old gray stone walls began to glow with gold. Outside the windows, a few owls flew toward the forest after delivering the last of the mail, and in the distance, a giant squid broke the surface of the lake once before disappearing again.

The wind brushing against the dormitory windows carried the characteristic chill of late summer. Footsteps were already echoing in the hallways.

"Hurry up, or breakfast will be over!"

"Wait a second, my wizard chess piece ran away again!"

The sound of someone running down the stairs was followed by a burst of laughter, and a witch in a portrait tapped the frame with her finger, complaining about the noise.

"How unstudent-like."

"Stop nagging so early in the morning."

The portrait opposite grumbled back, and the hallway fell silent again.

Students leaving their dormitories stepped onto the moving staircases one by one. As usual, the stairs changed direction at will, drawing complaints from the students, while suits of armor made clanking metal sounds as if arguing over something.

As they descended to the lower floors, the smell of warm bread filled the air.

Soon, the massive oak doors swung wide, revealing the Great Hall.

Hundreds of candles floated in mid-air, and the ceiling reflected the cloudless morning sky. The four long house tables were endlessly set with freshly toasted bread, bacon, eggs, sausages, jam, fruit, and pumpkin juice, while the sounds of laughter and clattering plates echoed up to the high ceiling.

In an ordinary school, it would have been just a busy commute, but not at Hogwarts.

One student argued with a friend while looking at the moving knight photos in the Daily Prophet, while another spilled their juice trying to catch a soap bubble popping from the end of their wand. An owl perched on the windowsill landed on the head of a student who had received a letter, tapping its beak as if asking for a reply.

And at the staff table.

The professors were already seated, talking quietly. Some read the newspaper, some tilted their teacups, and others organized the parchment they would use in today's lessons.

The whole scene was so natural.

Magic here was not a special miracle, but a daily routine as natural as breathing.

A new day was beginning.