Carlos and Lando staggered out of the Chamber of Shadows, battered but victorious. The weight of their ordeal pressed heavily on them, but something within them had changed- an unspoken understanding, a bond forged in truth and trust. The Chamber had tested them, and together, they had made it through.

The winding passage leading back to the castle felt endless, the walls closing in with an eerie silence. The adrenaline that had carried them this far was fading, leaving behind aching limbs and exhaustion so deep it felt like it had seeped into their bones. But something else gnawed at them- a creeping unease neither had spoken aloud.

As they emerged into the open air, Hogwarts loomed ahead, bathed in the first light of dawn. And yet, it felt... wrong.

The castle was too still.

The faint glow from the windows was dimmer than usual, the torches by the entrance flickering as if struggling to stay alight. There were no distant murmurs of students waking for the day, no warmth in the air.

Carlos' chest tightened. His senses, still sharpened from the transformation he had narrowly avoided, picked up something unsettling. The air carried an acrid scent, sharp and unmistakable- burnt wood. And beneath it, something worse. Blood.

"This isn't right," he muttered.

Lando, who had been at his side the whole way, nodded grimly. "Something's happened."

They broke into a run. The castle doors groaned as they pushed through, and immediately, the scent hit them in full force. It was stronger now, no longer hidden by the open air. Smoke. Blood. The unmistakable iron tang of violence.

The corridors were unnervingly quiet, but there were signs of struggle- scorch marks on the stone, shattered glass, the faint trail of something having been dragged across the floor.

Lando's breathing was shaky. "Carlos, what- ?"

They turned a corner- and stopped dead in their tracks.

Ahead, near the entrance of the Great Hall, a group of figures huddled in tense conversation. Professors, their faces pale and drawn. Students, their voices hushed, their hands shaking.

But the worst was the Great Hall itself.

Through the cracked doors, Carlos caught glimpses of deep claw marks gouged into the stone floor. Dark stains splattered across the walls, half-heartedly scrubbed away but still there. Tables overturned, benches shattered. The banners that usually draped the hall in warmth and grandeur were torn, hanging limply like ghosts of what they once were.

It looked like a battle had taken place here.

A fresh wave of nausea rolled over C. His stomach twisted violently. A monster had been here.

Lando swallowed hard, gripping Carlos' arm in a silent plea for steadiness. But Carlos was barely holding himself together. His mind was screaming, spinning, frantically trying to piece it all together.

Then- movement.

From the shadows near the entrance, Professor Alonso stepped forward, his usual composed demeanor shattered by something raw and unreadable. His sharp eyes locked onto them immediately, taking in the state they were in- the bloodstained robes, the exhaustion in their stance, the weight they carried.

His voice, when he spoke, was hushed but laced with something unmistakable.

"You need to tell me everything."

Panic surged through Carlos like ice in his veins. His heartbeat pounded in his ears. He knew how this looked. The blood. The timing. The fact that he had been missing for Merlin knows how long..

And before he could stop himself, before he could think, the words tumbled from his mouth- desperate, frantic.

"It wasn't me."

Silence.

For a split second, Fernando's expression didn't change, but Carlos felt the weight of his gaze, measuring, calculating. Doubting.

And that was the worst part.

Carlos took a shaky step forward, fists clenching. "I didn't- " He swallowed hard, his voice cracking slightly. "I swear, I didn't do this. I wasn't- I was transformed, sí, but there had been no full moon Nando, lo juro. You have to believe me."

Fernando studied him for another agonising second before exhaling sharply. "Then tell me what happened."

Carlos' breath hitched. He knew he had to talk. Had to explain. Had to convince Fernando. But the fear clawed at his throat, suffocating him.

Lando stepped in before Carlos could crumble under the weight of it, casting a quick muffliato so no one else would hear. "Professor, we were in the Chamber of Shadows." His voice was strained but steady. "There was... another werewolf. We fought it. Carlos- he nearly- " He stopped himself, glancing at Carlos before continuing. "He was hurt. But it wasn't him."

Fernando's gaze flickered to Carlos' shoulder, where the new bite throbbed beneath his robes. His jaw tightened. "Show me."

Carlos hesitated, but there was no point in hiding it now. He reached up, undoing the top of his robes and pulling them aside just enough to reveal the fresh, raw bite. Even after being treated with silver and dittany, the wound still looked brutal, angry, cursed.

Fernando inhaled sharply.

Something in his expression shifted- not just worry, not just recognition, but guilt. Carlos didn't know why, but it made his stomach drop.

Lando glanced between them, his own hands tightening into fists. "Professor... what happened while we were gone?"

Fernando finally looked away from Carlos' wound, his shoulders tense.

"The school was attacked," he said grimly. "By more than one creature. We don't know what, but I could only assume..."

Carlos' heart lurched. He felt Lando's sharp intake of breath beside him.

More than one.

Which meant- this wasn't random. This wasn't an accident.

This was planned. Deliberate.

And Carlos had a sinking feeling that he was at the centre of it.

Lando let out a shaky breath beside him. "Why? Why attack the school?"

Fernando's silence was answer enough. This was a message.

Carlos' hands curled into fists. His whole body felt wrong, like his skin was stretched too tight over something raw and festering. His mind raced back to the Chamber, to the werewolf that had tried to kill him- to the bite now seared into his flesh. He gritted his teeth, the familiar sting of helplessness creeping in.

Had this all been connected? Had someone planned this from the start?

Lando's voice cut through the haze. "You knew this would happen."

It wasn't an accusation- not fully- but Alonso flinched all the same.

Carlos turned on him, his chest rising and falling with ragged breaths. "You knew, didn't you?" His voice was lower now, edged with something sharp. "You knew there was more to this than just the Chamber."

A's jaw tightened. He didn't deny it.

Carlos took a step closer. "Who sent them?"

"I don't know."

It was too fast. Too automatic. A lie.

Carlos clenched his fists, his body still trembling from the night's events. "Bullshit."

Fernando's eyes hardened as he rubbed a hand over his face, but the exhaustion couldn't mask the regret in his eyes. "This isn't the time, Carlos."

He let out a humorless laugh, bitter and jagged. "No, now is exactly the time." He gestured to the Great Hall, to the destruction around them, to the blood. "You think we don't deserve the truth after this? After what we just survived?"

Fernando stared at him, the weight of years of experience, of secrets, pressing between them like a wall. But Carlos needed to know.

Because the Chamber had tested them. And it wasn't over.

Fernando finally spoke, his voice quiet, almost reluctant. "I have my suspicions."

Lando frowned. "Suspicions about what?"

He hesitated- just for a fraction of a second, but Carlos caught it. Then:

"This attack... it wasn't just about the school." His eyes darkened. "It was about you, Carlos."

His breath caught.

Lando stiffened beside him. "What?"

Fernando folded his arms, his expression dark. "Whoever, or whatever, attacked the school wasn't indiscriminate. They were looking for you."

The words sent a chill down Carlos' spine. His stomach churned as he exchanged a glance with Lando, whose jaw had tightened.

"That doesn't make any sense," Lando said, shaking his head. "Why would- ?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Fernando's voice was measured, but beneath it, there was something else. Worry. Suspicion.

Carlos forced himself to breathe. Who would be looking for him? The only logical answer- the only possibility- was connected to the Chamber. Or worse, to the curse.

His fingers instinctively brushed against the fresh bite, still burning horribly despite the powdered silver and dittany.

But if he had been down there... then who had attacked the school?

Fernando must have noticed his hesitation. "Do you know something?"

Carlos snapped his gaze up. "No." His voice was sharp, immediate.

Too immediate.

Fernando studied him.

Lando stepped in, shifting the weight of the conversation. "Look, all we know is that the Chamber was cursed- he was cursed- and now you're telling us that while we were fighting to get out, something was tearing through the castle looking for him?" His frustration was evident. "That doesn't add up. If Carlos was down there with me, how could he have done anything?"

Fernando's expression remained unreadable. Carlos swallowed, forcing himself to stay still under his piercing gaze. He doesn't believe me.

"Whatever it was," Fernando said slowly, "It left when it didn't find you."

Lando's anger wavered slightly. "...Left?"

Fernando nodded. "Disappeared. No trace of it beyond the damage it caused. No scent trail. No lingering magic. Whatever it was, it knew exactly what it was doing."

Carlos exhaled shakily, gripping his arms to stop his hands from trembling.

Someone- or something- had come for him.

And the only thing more terrifying than that? He had no idea why.