"Do you know a lot of older students who're eager to give you spying tools?"

"No but I bet the Ravenclaws would like the challenge. And a walkie talkie isn't really a spying tool, anyway, so at least that one I should be able to convince someone to give me."

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

Professor McGonagall returns Victor's broom a few days later, looking very serious and worried. She informs him they have in fact found evidence that the broom was cursed, and they're very thoroughly investigating the matter. It would help a lot if they knew who saw Professor Quirrell for a firsthand account.

"I can ask, but I really don't think they'll want to talk to you. It's scary to be at a school where one of the teachers will curse a student like that."

"Yes, I understand, but we need as much evidence as we can of this before we move."

He nods. "I'll ask."

And a few minutes later, alone with Muninn: "Well?"

"I'd trust McGonagall if I'd trust anybody, but... I'm not sure I trust anybody," says Muninn.

"All right."

"I see," she says when he tells her this. "We will nonetheless investigate matters and find the truth of this at once." Then she peers at him intently for a bit, and finally says, "Do you believe whoever did this was targetting you in particular, Mr. Evans?"

"I think so, yes."

She purses her lips. "I see. Why do you think so?"

"Because school Quidditch matches aren't the sort of thing people try to kill people over but Voldemort is."

She breathes in sharply when she hears his name. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is dead, Mr. Evans. He gave you that scar on that occasion."

He considers several possible responses, but in the end settles on:

"Yes."

"Have you told anyone else of these suspicions of yours?"

"Yes."

"Good. I will trust you will not unduly alarm anyone but it's good that you have friends looking out for you. We do our best, but we cannot be everywhere."

"Thank you, Professor."

"You can take your broomstick with you, it should be free of any tampering."

"Thank you."

He goes off with his broomstick.

Christmas comes, without the intervening time containing any attacks. One morning in mid-December Hogwarts wakes to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake freezes solid and the Weasley twins are punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they follow Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban. Dayo is worried about this, but no retaliation seems to come—for now. The few owls that manage to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail have to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they can fly off again.

While the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall have roaring fires, the drafty corridors have become icy and a bitter wind rattles the windows in the classrooms. Worst of all are Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rises in a mist before them and they keep as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.

Malfoy makes several remarks out loud about people who have to spend the holidays in Hogwarts, especially around Victor, but Dayo points out that Hogwarts is, comparatively, pretty darn awesome and having a huge castle with secret passages and who knows what powerful ancient secrets almost all to yourself is not in fact bad at all, so he changes tactics to just mocking and taunting Dayo instead. So one day Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle all wake up to find their underwear has been replaced with girls' underwear, and even though they jinx Dayo for it Dayo still thinks it was worth it.

...Victor is not sure he agrees.

Muninn thinks it's hilarious.