The corridor was dead quiet.
Sir Cadogan was prowling around looking for someone to duel, while the Fat Friar expertly dodged him.
The click of boots echoed down the hall, and a tall witch stopped in front of the portrait, looking seriously annoyed.
"Maybe that whole 'noble and honest' reputation of yours isn't always accurate?"
"No need to get upset, my lady," Sir Cadogan said with a sweeping hat-bow, glancing out the window as a huge owl vanished into the night. "A knight never lies."
…
The next morning was crisp and sunny. The Great Hall smelled like heaven: fried sausages everywhere. Everyone was buzzing about the Quidditch match, chattering a mile a minute.
"Hufflepuff's no big deal," Michael Corner said excitedly.
Then he spotted Justin Finch-Fletchley sitting a few seats down, looking puzzled.
"Uh… forget I said anything," Michael muttered, burying his face in his pudding.
"You coming to the game, Sean?" Justin asked, seizing the moment.
Every head at the Hope Cottage table turned toward Sean. They'd all been doing everything together for ages; Sean was the only one who kept disappearing.
He was always bouncing between professors. Rumor had it he'd sat in on a sixth-year Alchemy lesson last week.
Merlin's beard, sixth-year!
So everyone always felt like something was missing.
"Yeah," Sean said, nodding.
"Sweet!" Justin whisper-cheered.
Right then another owl swooped in with the morning post, wings flapping like crazy and drowning out the match hype for a second.
Watching everyone lose their minds over Quidditch, Sean finally got it. For young witches and wizards, this game was a bond; something that tied them together with shared awesome memories.
The Great Hall emptied in minutes. Pretty much every student bolted for the Quidditch pitch.
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The staff table was packed too: Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, even Hagrid.
Sean's group huddled together. Harry and Ron were deep in tactics, saying they wanted to scout the weaknesses of the other two teams today.
Hermione let out an exasperated huff. Harry and Ron suddenly remembered they were sitting with Ravenclaws and a Hufflepuff.
Ron smacked his forehead and hung his head. "We're sorry…"
"Sorry for what? Talking strategy in front of the enemy?" Justin teased; rare for him.
"Yeah, uh… no! Wait—" Ron floundered. No matter what he said, it sounded bad.
"Idiots," Hermione muttered, scooting farther away from the two muscle-headed simpletons.
"Sean, what do you—" Justin started, then realized Sean had vanished. "Oh. Right. Got it."
Ravenclaw changing room, right now.
Sean figured watching from the pitch counted as watching, right?
"I knew you'd show!" Roger Davies grabbed Sean's hand and shook it like crazy. "Penelope's not gonna skin me alive now!"
"Senior Lott, you can officially retire as Seeker," someone yelled. "Time for our strongest rookie!"
"Happy to step aside. Come on, Mr. Green."
Lott was Ravenclaw's Quidditch captain, a seventh-year. This was his last season flying for the House, and he'd been dreaming of leaving behind a Seeker prodigy. He'd recruited Cho Zhang and Roger Davies in the past, but now? He might have hit the jackpot.
"Gryffindor loves bragging they've got the best team," Lott told the room, "but guys, you know the truth? In my heart, you're the best team out there! Let's show them eagles belong way up in the sky!"
The Ravenclaws erupted in cheers.
There wasn't a breath of wind on the pitch. The sky was a perfect pearly white; great visibility, no blinding sun.
Lee Jordan was commentating with his usual fire, McGonagall right beside him.
"Here's the final Ravenclaw lineup they just locked in," he said, peering at a parchment. "Last year's Beaters graduated, but Lott apparently found two solid replacements; word is they flew great as reserves.
"But Lott himself is stepping down from Seeker in his final year to give the spot to a rookie; that's rare; Merlin's pants!"
He suddenly yelled.
"Jordan!"
"Sorry, Professor. I just; I can't believe this name.
"Okay, here we go; Ravenclaw's new Seeker, the only student in years to get a flying permit, the kid who aced the flight test with perfect marks, the guy who writes the legendary Green Notes; and honestly I think that's the coolest part; anyway, Ravenclaw's new Seeker is… Sean Green!"
"You don't mean—" McGonagall shot to her feet.
"Professor," Lee said, grinning; this felt familiar, like it had just happened five minutes ago.
Back in the changing room.
The team stood up, brooms on shoulders, and marched out into the dazzling sky.
The roar from the stands was deafening. Sean could even hear singing buried under the cheers and whistles.
"Oh my God, Sean!"
Up in the stands, Hermione and Justin were frantically working on a banner.
"Ron, hurry!"
"I'm trying!"
Ron was pushing his Transfiguration skills to the absolute limit, turning a scarf into a giant flag.
Three minutes later, a massive banner shot up; enchanted to flip between a huge picture of Sean's face and giant glowing letters that read "VICTORY!"
Sean wasn't exactly a Quidditch nut, but seeing Hermione, Justin, and the others beaming and waving that banner like lunatics; seeing McGonagall nod at him with this proud, over-the-moon smile and sneakily pump her fist; it hit him hard how much Hogwarts really felt like home.
The only downside? Over on the other side of the stands, Professor Snape looked like he was plotting murder.
"Mindless sport for brainless brutes… If I find out who lured a; a destined Potions Master into this nonsense—"
His bad mood radiated outward. The Slytherins very wisely backed up a few meters.
Only Dumbledore leaned over, twinkling blue eyes sparkling. "You have to admit, he's quite a bit like Minerva, isn't he…?"
Snape shot him a death glare. The bearded, white-haired headmaster just chuckled and shut up.