The morning came with pale light spilling through the tall windows of the east wing. The world outside was alive with the hum of graduates preparing to leave, their laughter echoing through the corridors.

I didn’t sleep much, not because of guilt, but because I knew something inside me had changed, shifted, realigned.

When dawn came, I dressed in silence and found Joem already waiting in the courtyard. He looked composed, as if last night had been erased from his memory. Kennedy stood beside him, his long hair tied in a bun, and he had his usual grin on his face

“Morning, Draco,” Kennedy said, tossing me a roll of...