Cursed (Hogwarts Legacy fanfiction - original in German)

Chapter 10 - Count on your friends

"Let me down! Phina, help me!" Phina laughed as she watched Sebastian grab the completely unsuspecting and helpless Ominis and now whirl him through the air with all his strength, spinning in circles with his arms wrapped around his best friend.
"You're a genius, Ominis Gaunt. I love you!" Sebastian exclaimed with such joy in his voice that Phina couldn't help but watch the two of them dreamily. Her heart swelled because Sebastian was finally smiling again and seemed like the lively and charismatic boy she had met when she first arrived at Hogwarts. Therefore, her sympathy for Ominis was limited.
"If you love me, then let me down!" Ominis pleaded, but he was also laughing and holding onto Sebastian's cloak with both hands while he continued to spin for a few more rounds until he himself felt a bit dizzy.
"Alright," Sebastian finally conceded, setting Ominis back on the ground but keeping both hands on his shoulders for a while, just to make sure he would stand upright. Ominis swayed slightly, but it didn't take long for him to regain his balance.
"Do me a favor and don't do that to Anne as soon as you arrive in Feldcroft, or she'll probably send you away right away," he joked, smoothing his cloak. 

The glow that had formed in Sebastian's eyes the moment Phina and Ominis had told him that Anne had agreed to his visit over the Christmas holidays didn't fade throughout the evening, and even the next morning, he almost danced through the corridors as they walked to the Transfiguration classroom together. It was nice to finally see him in such a good, carefree mood again, even though Phina could see a hint of uncertainty beneath all the excitement about how to approach the meeting with Anne. But Phina was sure they would figure it out somehow.

"Phina!" Poppy's voice suddenly snapped her out of her thoughts. The little Hufflepuff was waving frantically with a copy of the Daily Prophet in her hand and beckoning her best friend over. Phina quickly went over to her and looked at her questioningly.
"Good morning, Pop. What's up?" Pure excitement was written all over Poppy's face as she spread the newspaper on one of the tables and pointed to an article that was relatively inconspicuous and small, tucked away in a corner of the double page. Among the other big headlines and pictures on the page, it was easy to overlook, and as Phina read what the article was about, she had the feeling that this layout had been deliberately chosen.
"A decree on the admission restriction of Muggle-born witches and wizards at all schools in the Wizarding World? Are they serious?" she asked incredulously and read the few lines again just to make sure she hadn't misunderstood the content.
"There's something going on in the Ministry, if you ask me," Poppy said with a promising tone in her voice. "It's just a draft so far, but if the relevant ministers vote on it, it could really happen. There's something fishy going on, that's for sure!"

Phina pondered Poppy's words for a while. First, there was that strange warning from M, about which she still hadn't learned more. Then, the attack on the Muggle-born Auror couple and the appearance of a new professor who turned out to be a member of the Gaunt family. And now, it seemed there was a planned restructuring of the school system that would make it harder for Muggle-born witches and wizards to get a place at a wizarding school. All of this couldn't be happening by chance; there had to be a connection somewhere, or as Poppy aptly put it, something was definitely something fishy going on.

"Anything interesting?" Sebastian suddenly asked, approaching the two with Ominis in tow. Poppy looked up from her newspaper and quickly summarized the content of the article for them. Sebastian furrowed his brow and grabbed the Daily Prophet.
"Let me see," he muttered, as if he needed to convince himself that Poppy wasn't telling him nonsense. When he finished reading, his face suddenly looked shocked, and he just stood there with his mouth wide open.
"I told you so. You could have just believed me," Poppy complained, to which Sebastian only shook his head vigorously.
"It's not about that, Poppy," he said, turning the newspaper toward Phina and pointing his index finger at a specific spot, apparently wanting her to take a closer look. Phina was taken aback when she read the name of the person who had written the article.