I looked around for Mannik — gone. Vanished. Evaporated like male responsibility. Brilliant. Left me alone to be emotionally dissected by the dean. Handling his attitude solo was not exactly how I planned my evening. Still, at least he was gone.

  Then I spotted Elvira marching toward me with Finn, who was heroically balancing a tray stacked with meat rolls like a man on a sacred culinary mission. Excellent. Confronting a growling under-the-bed horror with top fourth-year necromancers sounded significantly less suicidal than doing it alone.

  “Elvira!” I waved enthusiastically, and she sped up at once.

  “Malinka, hey!” she called, then squinted at the bundle in my hands. “What’s with the serious supplies?”

  “Walk with me and I’ll explain,” I whispered mysteriously. “There’s something under my bed. It growls. I would prefer witnesses.”

  “A monster under your bed?” she asked, her eyes lit up with dangerous enthusiasm. “Oh, I definitely want to see that! Finn, are you coming?”

  Finn, still chewing, nodded quickly after swallowing.

  “Yeah. Sounds like the perfect continuation of my lunch — rescuing a distressed damsel from a vicious beast. By the way, what did the dean want from you? He stormed past us like a vampire after a century of hibernation…”

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  I sighed and rolled my eyes.

  “The usual. Threats, insults, and apparently smuggling food out of the dining hall is a criminal offence.”

  Elvira snorted.

  “Oh, please. The rules say nothing about food — only dishes. Take a pie, take ten pies, nobody cares.”

  Finn mumbled through a mouthful,

  “Wait. You brought all that for the monster?”

  I smiled sheepishly.

  “Well… I hope it’s just a magical animal, not an actual monster. Growling, angry, and possibly hungry. Either way, I’d rather it eats pies than me.”

  Elvira shook her head, but her eyes sparkled with interest.

  “Fine. Let’s investigate.”

  Climbing the spiral staircase with upper-year students was fine, ignoring Elvira’s running commentary about the architectural crimes of the building. Finn puffed behind us like a tired dragon. Eventually we reached my door, and I unlocked it, quietly hoping the creature had politely relocated.

  It had not.

  Elvira froze on the threshold and unleashed a masterpiece of profanity that would have shocked even veteran ghosts.

  “This is barbaric! What is this — a storage closet? Bare walls, ancient bed… Did you personally offend Dominic to be exiled here? I know for a fact the other rooms are better!”

  Finn finally breathed again and smirked.

  “I feel sorry for the monster already. It had to live here longer than you.”

  I glanced at the mug of water — half empty. Good. At least the thing hadn’t died of thirst. I unwrapped the bundle and carefully arranged pies on the floor: meat, mushroom, and sweet berry ones.

  You never know. Even monsters might have a sweet tooth.