Thunderbird Snow Leopard and Mr. Linde

When they arrived in Edinburgh, the weather hadn't improved even a little. The strong wind drove the raindrops against the windows, making it seem as if the train was plunging into a waterfall. Anthony walked back and forth through the train, reminding the students that they were about to arrive at the station and instructing everyone to gather in the carriage where they had boarded. He also checked the list again to ensure that no one had been left behind.

"Quickly now, you can get off the train and buy a copy of this," he urged, taking a newspaper away from a group of students who were engrossed in the crossword puzzle, left behind by a previous passenger.

"We want to take it off the train, Professor," one of the students pleaded.

"No, sirs and ladies," Anthony smiled and refused them flatly. "Leave it for the next poor soul who boards the train in this weather."

"Okay, Professor," the student said reluctantly, slowly packing away their bag and heading towards the assembly car. Anthony continued his rounds, checking the next carriage.

…

When he opened the door to the assembly car, Anthony found that the students had already discovered another unattended newspaper. This time, even more of them were gathered around, eagerly working on the crossword puzzle. A large group of heads, in various shades of hair color, were huddled together, excitedly debating the answers.

"I know! I know!" a student shouted excitedly, "It's the Welsh Green!" 

The classmate next to him counted on his fingers. "No, the Welsh Green only has ten letters."

"But there's a space in the middle."

"Spaces don't count. Look at the words that have already been filled in," another student pointed out on the newspaper. "And the last letter has to be D, because we already filled in FLOOD here."

Anthony closed the carriage door, leaned against it, and unfolded the list, once again confirming that all the students were present in the crowded carriage. During this time, a passenger seemed to want to enter, but after Anthony stepped aside and the passenger saw the large group of excited teenagers through the glass, he quickly walked back with an umbrella.

Amidst the pounding rain, the clanging sound of the train and rails gradually slowed as they pulled into the station. Finally, they could clearly see the platform through the water-stained glass, bustling with people. Compared to the small town platform with just one track where they had boarded, Waverley Station in Edinburgh was a world apart.

"Get ready to disembark. Check your bags and pockets to make sure you have all your personal belongings," Anthony reminded them. "Wallets and such, and." He patted his pants pocket and gestured to his wand, "Don't leave anything very important on the train."

A rustling of bags followed, and the students responded one after another: "Everything's fine, Professor." "No problem."

"Very good," Anthony said, noticing the same student who was about to tuck the newspaper into their bag again. This time, the student took only the crossword puzzle page and left the rest of the paper on the table. "Ahem, I'm about to get off and buy a newspaper for myself. Does anyone want one?"

The student sheepishly put the rest of the newspaper back on the table. "I'm good, Professor."

"I remember," Anthony nodded. "I'll get it as soon as we get off the train, I promise or would you like the crossword puzzle from my newspaper?"

"Can I?"

"Of course," Anthony replied with a smile. "I'm not that keen on crossword puzzles." His most recent memory of a crossword puzzle involved winning a few drinks at the bar next to his school during his university days. There weren't many people in the Leaky Cauldron obsessed with crossword puzzles—at least, Anthony hadn't encountered them again.

"That's great, Professor," the student said happily.

Anthony glanced at the headlines and made a mental note of which newspaper it was. He suspected that if he took this student along to buy a newspaper and they realized there wasn't just one type in the Muggle world, but rather that each publication had its own crossword puzzle, his three pounds of pocket money might disappear faster than expected.

While counting the number of students getting off the train, Anthony turned to tell the newfound crossword puzzle enthusiast, "If you need it, there are crossword puzzle books for sale in the bookstore."

"Will we pass by the bookstore, Professor Anthony?" the student asked eagerly.

Anthony tilted his head, thinking it over. He wasn't entirely sure, as he wasn't as familiar with Edinburgh as he was with London.

"Please, Professor," the student pleaded.

Anthony nodded slightly, with a hint of regret. "If we don't pass by the bookstore, I can give you my copy." He vaguely remembered owning a crossword book, though most of the pages were still blank—he had never been that into crossword puzzles.

The student's face lit up with a big smile. "Thank you, Professor!"

Anthony waved him off, urging him to get out of the carriage quickly. He was blocking the way of the other students behind him.

…

Taking one last look inside the carriage to ensure that no young wizard had been left behind, Anthony hopped off the train. He noticed that the students waiting on the crowded platform were still debating the crossword puzzle, this time whispering about whether the correct answer was the Welsh Green Dragon.

However, Anthony knew it was unnecessary for them to lower their voices. In such a noisy and busy train station, hardly anyone paid attention to what others were saying. As long as they didn't run off and crash into pillars with their luggage trolleys, no one would care whether they were discussing Welsh Green Dragons, Welsh corgis, or giant whales painted green.

"It's THUNDERBIRD," a third-year Hufflepuff said quietly but with firm conviction, her tone carrying a hint of fierceness. "Eleven letters, ending in D. Absolutely right."

"It does sound similar," the classmate next to her mused, "but why would that word appear here?"

The train started moving again. The students, still clustered together, looked up as they saw Anthony approaching, lost in thought. "Professor? Professor Anthony!"

"Huh? What's wrong?" Anthony said, snapping out of his reverie. "Let's head to the station square." Besides looking for a place to buy newspapers, he was also searching for a phone booth. The rain was pouring down so hard that he wanted to call his contact at the Botanical Garden to confirm their plans.

"Eleven letters, ending in D. What is it?" the students asked.

Anthony came back to his senses. "Ah, what's the clue?"

"Um..."

"An animal, quite rare," the student who thought the answer was Thunderbird replied. "What do you think it is, Professor?"

Leading them up the stairs, Anthony thought aloud. "Let me think. Are there no other hints? Any letters you're sure of?"

"No," another student answered. "We're not sure about the sixth letter, but we think it's E."

"Thunderbird," the third-year Hufflepuff repeated quietly to herself. "Thunderbird, Thunderbird, Thunderbird."

"That's a good answer, it sounds pretty perfect," Anthony acknowledged, smiling. "But maybe we could also try Snow Leopard?"

The students began counting letters on their fingers again, and then a small cheer went up. "It's Snow Leopard!"

"I'm not sure," Anthony nodded to the third-year student. "But I really like your answer. Maybe that's what the person who created the puzzle had in mind."

The student, still clutching the hem of their T-shirt with a print that read "Don't Disturb the Sleeping Badger" and featured a sleeping badger surrounded by flowers with a butterfly perched on its nose, smiled and said, "I like them both."

…

After handing the newspaper back to the students, Anthony asked the shopkeeper if there was a phone they could use. The shopkeeper pointed him to a nearby red phone booth.

Meanwhile, the crossword enthusiasts had discovered puzzle books in a corner and eagerly jingled the pounds they had exchanged from Sickles and Knuts, carefully selecting their books and receiving a few pennies in change. They marveled at the different coins, examining both sides.

Under the curious gaze of the students, Anthony demonstrated how to use a public phone booth. The sight of a group of students peering in and pointing from outside the booth discouraged others from making calls, leaving Anthony to calmly converse with the Botanical Garden's contact while a mix of confusion and admiration crossed the onlookers' faces.

"Thank you very much," Anthony said, glancing at the students outside the booth. "We'll wait here by the phone booth."

He hung up and stepped out of the booth, just in time to overhear a conversation between two students pressed against the glass.

"Does the 'Administration Department' phone work?" one of them asked.

"Definitely not," the other replied. "We can't use electricity, remember?"