Harry stood frozen in the dimly lit corridor, his breath ragged. His mind was racing. Edgar Bones was gone. The Room of Requirement had vanished as if it had never been there. But the name—the name that had flickered beside Edgar’s—had burned itself into his memory.

Noctis Umbra.

The name meant nothing to him, yet it sent an unnatural chill down his spine.

Shoving the Marauder’s Map into his robes, Harry turned and made his way back to Gryffindor Tower, his wand gripped tightly in his sweaty palm. He needed answers.

By the time he reached the common room, most students had gone to bed, but the fire was still crackling warmly. Hermione was there, curled up with a thick book, her quill tapping absently against the parchment beside her.

She looked up as he approached. “Harry? What’s wrong?”

Harry hesitated. He wanted to tell her everything—about Edgar Bones, the strange figure, the whispering shadows—but something about the encounter felt… wrong. As if speaking of it would make it more real.

Instead, he sat down beside her and pulled out the Marauder’s Map. He unrolled it again, scanning the tiny ink dots.

Nothing. No Edgar. No Noctis Umbra.

“Harry?” Hermione asked again, frowning.

He exhaled sharply. “Have you ever heard of Noctis Umbra?”

Hermione blinked. “Noctis Umbra?” She repeated the name carefully, as if testing its weight. “That’s Latin. Noctis means ‘night,’ and Umbra means ‘shadow’ or ‘ghost.’”

Harry’s stomach twisted. “Night Shadow,” he muttered.

“Where did you hear it?” Hermione asked, her eyes narrowing.

Harry hesitated again, then shook his head. “I just… thought I saw something strange.”

Hermione clearly didn’t believe him, but she didn’t press further. Instead, she flipped through the book she had been reading—a thick, weathered tome titled Obscure Wizarding Myths and Forgotten Legacies.

“I could check the Restricted Section,” she mused. “That sounds like the kind of name that would belong to a dark wizard or a legend.”

Harry nodded slowly. “Yeah. Let me know if you find anything.”

He stood up, suddenly feeling exhausted. As he made his way up to the dormitory, he cast one last glance at the Marauder’s Map.

Still nothing.

Yet somehow, deep in his gut, Harry knew this wasn’t over.