Heron

Lockhart came down the stairs in a slow and dramatic way, taking his gloves off and leaving them on the desk next to a pile of paper sheets. 

“Me,” he began, picking up Neville Longbottom’s copy of one of his own books, “Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League and five times winner of Witch Weekly’s Most-Charming-Smile Award – but I don’t talk about that. I didn’t get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her.” he then smiled at a self-portrait that was painting another self-portrait. “I see you’ve all bought a complete set of my books – well done. I thought we’d start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about – just to check how well you’ve read them, how much you’ve taken in. You have thirty minutes. Start – now!” 

1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart’s favorite color?
2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart’s secret ambition?
3. What, in your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart’s greatest achievement to date?

For the first time in his life Orion didn’t know the answer to a single one of the fifty-four questions on the test. None of them were related to Defense Against the Dark Arts. While his parents had bought him the books, they were also unaware that they didn’t hold any material that would be outside the curriculum they had prepared Orion for. The girl who was sitting next to Orion, however, was writing down the answers to some questions, scratching her head at others, as though this was a serious exam. 

“Tut, tut,” the man who Caspian now wanted to hex more than anything in the world said, rifling through the papers he’d collected, “hardly any of you remembered that my favorite color is lilac.” he proceeded to look through the quizzes, until he reached Hermione’s and was extremely pleased she had gotten every question right. So much so, he awarded Gryffindor ten points. 

“And so, to business.” he bent down and from beneath the desk lifted a large, covered cage. Not even a minute later, he was the one under said desk, as a dozen small blue pixies swarmed the entire room. 

“Seems he’s as competent as he is disgusting.” Caspian said to Silas and Terry during lunch. “It’s a good thing Granger knew that spell or we might all have been stuck on the ceiling like Longbottom.”  

“He’s not here again.” Terry looked around worriedly. 

Caspian only now realized Orion was gone for a second meal in a row. The fact he was more concerned with Lockhart than him made him feel both angry at himself and guilty. “He seemed to be getting better this morning.” 

“Didn’t you notice? By the end of Charms, his eyes were slowly getting to the same way they were yesterday.” Terry had been more observant. “Where are you going?” he asked Caspian who had stood up. 

“I want to see whether Madam Pomfrey can help. I’ll be right back.” he said, running out of the Great Hall. 

---  

“On the first day?!” Madam Pomfrey didn’t wait for Caspian to explain why he was sweating and panting. “Go on, what’s wrong with you?” 

“Now with me, Mrs. Pomfrey. One of my friends –” 

“Hawthorne?” she cut him off. 

“Yes...” Caspian raised an eyebrow. 

“Here.” the lady handed him an envelope. “Professor Dumbledore left this earlier today. Give it to Mr. Hawthorne. He said one of you Ravenclaw boys might come instead of him. I saw that boy yesterday and....” she sighed instead of finishing the sentence, “unless he comes himself, I’m afraid I can’t help much.” 

“Thank you.” Caspian bowed, still perplexed that the headmaster had bothered. 

“What did she say?” Silas asked the boy who was still staring at the letter he had received. 

“She said she can’t do anything, if he doesn’t go to her.” Caspian answered, hiding the envelope. He knew if he mentioned Dumbledore and his involvement in this, Silas would not only want to read what he had left for Orion, but also might spread rumors. 

“You can lead the horse to the water, but you, er, can’t make it drink.” Terry tried to use the saying, but halfway through realized it probably didn’t fit the situation. 

“How do we even get the horse to the water, mate?” Silas teased. 

---  

“Here. Apparently Dumbledore left this for you.” Caspian said before class started, trying his best not to show Terry and Silas he was handing something to Orion. 

He wasn’t happy to see that Terry was right; Orion looked at the envelope the same way he had with the cake the day before.  

“Dumbledore?” Orion uttered quietly as he took the envelope. 

Come see me in my office. “Sherbet Lemon” (A/N: the password is “Lemon Drop” in the US version, I believe)  

“ Something more important than my class, Mr. Hawthorne?” Snape asked condescendingly. 

Orion looked at the Potions professor and blinked slowly. He couldn’t care less about the fact that bursting mushrooms explode when disturbed nor that they were a key ingredient in the fire protection potion.  

“Five points from Ravenclaw.” Snape wrinkled his nose. He was extremely annoyed, but at the same time felt unsure on how he should deal with the boy, since yesterday he looked like a walking hatstand. 

Once classes ended, and most students went out in groups, everyone talking about their summer adventures, Orion headed for the headmaster’s office. A large bronze gargoyle with its wing spread menacingly stood before the Ravenclaw student. He looked at the letter. He could feel his energy slowly leaving his body. 

“Sherbet lemon.” he said, and the statue began to move, steps slowly appearing, leading above. 

“Ah, Orion, there you a-” Dumbledore began softly. 

“ORION HAWTHORNE, HOW DARE YOU NOT LISTEN TO WHAT I SAID?! I SPECIFICALLY-” 

“Phineas....” 

“- TOLD YOU NOT TO EVEN THINK ABOUT DOING THOSE TRIALS. HOW DARE YOU RIDICULE -” 

“Silence, Phineas!” Dumbledore said now in a serious tone. 

The portrait looked at the current headmaster, then back at Orion. “But headmaster, I was-” 

“Sh-sh.” Dumbledore simply raised his finger and slowly brought it up to his lips.  

“Hmph.” the portrait exhaled and left. 

“I apologize on his behalf. He often forgets he is no longer the one in charge of this school.” Dumbledore said jokingly, but Orion was fixated on the bird to the right of the headmaster’s desk. The phoenix was half asleep, the feathers that should have been bright orange looked dull, a lot of them having fallen already. “Ah, I see Fawkes has grabbed your attention. Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. I should tell you this isn’t the same one you saw at the Aurendale manor. Deek looks after that one, your grandfather left it for him.” 

Orion continued to remain silent. 

“Here.” Dumbledore handed him a piece of candy. “Sherbet lemon, my favorite. It should help.” 

“Does it contain Laetoria like the cake?” (A/N: I'm bad at naming things and I don't know whether I'll include it later so: this is a magical plant with antidepressant properties)

“I learned about the plant in my sixth year. How times have changed.” Dumbledore stroked his beard and sat on the rather large chair. “You didn’t look good yesterday. Did something happen?” 

Orion quickly glanced at him, half expecting the old wizard to have already known about what happened at the start of summer, since he always seemed to be aware of everything that was going on. 

“I’m not omniscient.” the headmaster said, as though he’d read Orion’s mind, thus contradicting himself. “Do you want to talk ab-” 

“No.” 

“Unfortunate.” he took a small pause before continuing, “I always say this, but please remember – help will always be found here at Hogwarts. You know where to find me.” 

---- 

“Which do you think is creepier: having a girl follow you around or having a boy keep taking your pictures every five seconds?” 

“Si, you’re saying that as though you yourself weren’t fanboying over him when we started studying here.” Terry argued, pouring himself a glass of orange juice. 

“You’re saying that as though you-” Silas began. 

“Don’t.” Terry stopped him, “We all were excited to see him.” 

“It wears off.” Caspian finally joined in. 

Throughout the past year the curly-haired boy had progressively grown less interested in Harry Potter, he was extremely happy with the friends he’d made in Ravenclaw, plus The Boy Wonder always seemed to be getting into trouble, so he thought it would be best to keep his distance. 

“I think that Colin taking pictures is actually quite nice.” Padma Patil said. “When we graduate, we’ll have those photos to remember our time here.” 

“Maybe we should even ask him to take a group photo of every house?” Lisa Turpin suggested. 

“Maybe except Slytherin.” said Michael, glaring at the mentioned house’s table. 

“They’re not all bad. Just Malfoy’s folk.” said Padma, though she was looking at Pansy Parkinson instead. 

“Oh, by the way, Caspian, you guys said you were going to try out for the Quidditch team, right? I hope you saw the note Ingrid left in the common room.” Sue Li said. 

“No, I must have missed it, what did it say?” Caspian felt his heart start beating faster. 

“It said that the order of houses changed and Ravenclaw will be first. Silas, you said you were going too, right?” 

“Oh...yeah, yeah, of course.” Silas was also nervous. 

While both of them dreamed of being on the team, they had also become extremely anxious of the tryouts. They were both looking forward to it and hoping the day never arrived at the same time. 

“Will you be going too, Terry?” Padma asked. 

“No?” Terry looked confused. 

“C’mon, c’mon, you have to come with us.” Silas said in a strange voice. “Moral support.” 

“Moral support? He’s the best flier among us ( A/N: I am not mature enough)” said Lisa. 

“Isn’t Orion?” Cho Chang interrupted with a raised eyebrow. 

“Orion? I mean, he seemed pretty smooth with a broom but....” Lisa looked around. 

“He was the one Ingrid wanted as a seeker.” Cho muttered, then stood up and promptly left. 

“...moral support?” Silas repeated cautiously. 

“Fine, fine, I’ll come.” Terry pushed Silas’s face with his left hand and continued eating with his right. 

“Why did they change it though?” Caspian finally thought about what Sue had said. 

“Apparently,” a voice came quicker than Sue’s, “Flint said they’re happy with their new ‘ addition’ and Wood said they want to go last this time, so they could practice immediately after.” Dorian explained from behind Caspian. “I wish you guys luck, if you’re going to try out. Our team isn’t half bad as it is, might be hard to get in.” he finished and continued towards the older students. 

Terry wasn’t concerned about the news one bit, but Silas and Caspian suddenly felt ill.  

It didn’t help that Snape was in a terrible mood that day either, just like Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout had a few days prior, he seemed positively annoyed, and Caspian knew it had something to do with Lockhart. 

“Telling me how to brew Feli –” Snape whispered under his hooked nose, “open to page sixty-seven." he ordered the class and with a flick of his wand made several cauldrons appear in the room. 

Caspian found it weird that Snape would allow Lockhart to get to his head, but then he remembered that the mere existence of Harry Potter made his blood boil for some reason. 

“Why do you think Dumbledore hired him?” he raised the question during lunch. 

“Lockhart? No idea. The man is a total sham, I wouldn’t trust him to cast a levitating charm, let alone teach Defense Against the Dark Arts.” said Silas. 

The two ate in silence for a few seconds. 

“Tomorrow...” Caspian tried to start a sentence, but the mere thought that he would have to prove himself in front of everyone on the pitch the next day made him incapable of continuing. 

“Yeah...” Silas fully understood what Caspian meant and likewise did not utter a word more. 

---  

“Alright, everyone, listen up.” the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team began, “We have the privilege of going first today-” 

“What privilege is it if everyone gets to see who we pick, plus the new lads will probably be nerv-” began a fifth-year but was quickly grabbed by the ear by Ingrid. 

“My name is Ingrid Adler, I’m this team’s captain and beater. This here” she let go of the girl’s ear, “is Emer Carroll, she is also a beater. These are our chasers: Roger Davies and Liam Mist- Mistgl- this is Liam. Our keeper Eamon Silva, and our youngest player, our seeker Cho Chang.”  

Everyone who was introduced gave a timid wave, except for Emer who was still preoccupied with her ear. 

“We are missing a chaser, Mia said she wanted to focus on studying for her last year, so the position is open, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take a position of your choosing, just like you, we’ll be testing our current team as well to make sure we have the best chances at winning the Cup. I’ll come around now to note what position each of you wants to try for.” 

Silas and Caspian were looking around, the sheer size of the pitch daunted them. Though this wasn’t a match, and the seats were mostly empty, the two felt like the whole world was watching them with expectation in their eyes. 

“And you?” Ingird’s voice was nearing them. 

“My name is Terry Boot, second-year. I will try for... keeper, I guess.” 

“Second-year, huh? And you boys?” she turned to the two people who were stiff as boards. 

“Y-yeah, we’re second-years too.” Silas blurted out quickly. 

“I’m guessing Or- no, forget it. Name and position?” she brought up the piece of parchment. 

“Silas Nightingale, beater.” 

“Caspian Stormcloak, chaser.” 

“Good. We’re ready to start. FIRSTLY,” she said in a loud voice to grab everyone’s attention, “WE’LL START WITH CHASERS. RANDOLPH BURROW, JEREMY STRETTON, SCARLETT MOONFIRE AND CASPIAN STORMCLOAK, PLEASE GATHER HERE.” 

“Good luck, Cas.” Terry and Silas both said. 

“Orbis Appare.” Ingrid said and several three-foot-diameter circles appeared all throughout the pitch. “Right, your guys’ job will be to pass the quaffle through those circles and at the end try to score against Eamon. We’re trying the circle thing for the first time, so don’t be too worried, if you don’t manage to pass through every single hoop. Oh, and of course Emer and I will try to hit you with the bludger. You have nothing to worry about, though, just... be prepared.” she said and ascended with her broom and bat. “EMER, DO I HAVE TO RIP THAT EAR OFF FOR YOU TO STOP RUBBING IT?” 

“ I’m on my way, sure, take it easy.” she said and also swiftly ascended. 

“ Ok, Roger, Liam, you guys go first to show what you have to do.” 

Roger Davies was an above average looking boy, with slightly longer brown hair and brown eyes. From what Caspian knew, he was a fourth-year and a top student among his class. Liam was a tall blonde boy with green eyes and a narrow chin. Caspian wasn’t so sure about his age, but his guess was he was a sixth-year. The two of them both got on their brooms and didn’t even wait to get in position before starting to pass the ball between one another; they had good chemistry. 

“Ok.... begin.” said Ingrid and smashed the bludger over to Emer, who in turn smashed it towards the tip of Roger’s broom. 

Roger, however, was swift enough to both dodge the bludger and catch the pass that Liam had sent him. They exchanged a few more throws, each passing perfectly through the center of the conjured rings and just as it seemed that the quaffle was about to pass through the leftmost post, Eamon swiftly caught it with his right hand. 

“Buzzkill.” said Liam and ducked just as the bludger was about to hit him in the back of his head. 

“You’ll have to do better than that, if you want to stay on the team.” the keeper teased and threw the quaffle to Roger who was standing in the middle of the pitch. 

“LET’S SAY YOU GET FIVE ATTEMPTS EACH.” Ingrid shouted so the people who were still on the ground could hear her. “AND DON’T WORRY ABOUT SCORING, WE’RE TESTING ALL YOUR SKILLS... PLUS EAMON IS PRETTY GOOD.” 

The pair of starters managed to score six goals, with each player scoring three. 

“Ok, for the rest of you, you will be in pairs with one of those two.” Ingrid pointed to the two people who were still in the air slowly passing the odd ball. “They’ll alternate so they can get some rest. Remember, don’t just focus on scoring, passing accurately and being aware of your surroundings is much more important. Often times, possession will- we'll talk about this after. First is Randolph Burrow.” 

“Yep.” called the boy calmly.  

He got onto one of the school’s brooms and got to the same level as Roger who was first to help with the exercise. Randolph’s first go was nothing like what Liam had managed to accomplish with Roger. He almost couldn’t catch the quaffle from the first pass, he didn’t throw it nearly as hard enough, though he still managed to barely pass it through the hoop and before they got to the next one, his broom was hit in the back by a bludger, flipping him upside down. 

“That’s my bad.” Roger instantly took the blame for the miserable first attempt. “Let’s first exchange a couple of passes, so you get accustomed with the speed, yeah? Ingrid, we’re not counting that one.” 

“Sure, just make it quick, we only have two hours to finish our try-outs before Hufflepuff’s.” 

“Ok, let’s go then. Ready?” Roger invited after they threw the ball a few times. 

Their second attempt was much better, they managed to get to the last hoop and just as Randolph raised his hand which held the quaffle, the bludger hit it, knocking the ball out. 

“EMER! I told you not to hit the player’s hands. Broom, body and legs.” Ingird was shouting at the other beater once again. 

“Sorry.” Emer apologized. 

Randolph shook his hand; thankful it wasn’t broken. “Let’s go again.” 

“That’s the way!” Emer encouraged him. 

Out of his five attempts, Randolph didn’t score a single time, though he came close once. He managed to avoid Emer’s hits for his last few attempts, however, which Ingrid was very happy with. 

“Good luck, Jez.” Randolph said to Jeremy Stretton who was up next. 

He also performed in a similar fashion, though he didn’t have to suffer the embarrassment of his friend’s first try, since Liam started with the warm-up. Scarlett Moonfire, however, succeeded in scoring one goal, but she got hit by the bludger three times. 

Lastly, it came to Caspian’s turn. 

“Here we go.” Liam threw the quaffle. 

Caspian was so nervous he almost forgot to stretch his arm to even try to catch the pass, but once he did, he surprised himself by how light the ball felt in his hands. On his second throw, Caspian already felt much better and was ready to begin. 

“Begin.” Ingrid announced. 

“Catch. Pass. Nearly missed it. BLUDGER. CATCH. UHHHH, THROW. BLUDGER AGAIN? CATCH CATCH CATCH!!! PASS. CATCH. GO FOR IT.” Caspian was fully focused on doing those three things. 

“ Ooop.” Eamon caught the attempt with ease. “Make sure to lean forwards to make yourself a smaller target. And grip the broom with two hands when possible.” 

“Right.” Caspian thanked and returned to the starting position. 

“OK. Catch. Pass. Better this time. Catch. Bludger. Pass. Two hands. Lean forward. Catch. BLUDGER. THROW.” his thoughts were becoming more composed and so were his passes, but he still failed to score. 

“Three time lucky. Catch. Pass. Dodge. Two hands. Lean. Speed. Catch. Pass. Two hands. Lean. Catch. Dodge. Pass. Lean. Speed. Where’s the bludger?” just as he asked himself that he got hit in the head by a ball, though it was sent his way by Liam instead of Emer. This did not mean Emer didn’t aim a bludger at him; she had, and it too hit him nicely in the leg which made his broom spin. “Ow, ow, ow.” 

“Are you alright?” Liam flew closer. 

“Yeah, yeah.... ow, I might get a bruise, but that’s not that bad.” 

“No, I meant your nose.” 

“Oh.” only now Caspian realized his nose was bleeding. 

“Let me see. Yep, that’s what happens when you’re trying to pay attention to everything.” Ingrid took her wand out. “Episkey.” Caspian’s nose made a strange click sound, but it felt better rather than worse. “Don’t worry, you’ll develop instincts as you play more. How about you take a break, I fixed the bone, but you’ll still bleed.” 

“Sure.” 

“Are you alright?” Silas asked worriedly. 

“Yeah...fine.” Caspian lay down on the grass. 

“NEXT UP, BEATERS, GATHER HERE.” 

“That’s you, Si. Good luck. Break a leg.... I guess literally.” 

“Ye.” Silas who was too busy worrying about his friend now got nervous, he wouldn’t be in as much danger as Caspian was during his tryout, but he still felt his palms start to sweat. 

“Beaters, you will have a simpler drill, but it’s much more physically demanding. Each of you-” Ingrid started handing out bats similar to hers, “will have to fly with this, on top of which you’ll have to take some pretty wide swings with much force. This bludger here is charmed so it’s much calmer than the ones in actual games. Those you’ll have to swat as though you’re trying to crush a rock with those bats.” She then made a circular motion with her wand and the rings that were on the field narrowed down. “This will be all about accuracy and force. You’ll each get one go at the fifteen rings. Zoe Mitchell, you’re up first. I didn’t expect yet another lady to try for beater.” 

“Well, I’m such a big fan.” said the girl excited. 

“Why aren’t you going first?” the boy who was next in line asked Emer. 

“Even with all the shouting, Ingrid's quite fond of me. She knows I'd do grand.” Emer had an odd smile on her face. Her eyes were glued to the team’s captain. “ Grand .” she whispered to herself, but Silas heard it. 

“Eight out of fifteen, not half bad.” Ingrid took the opportunity for the pun. “Next, it’s Archer Hodgson.” 

Everyone performed similarly, with only one person managing to go into double digits, until finally it was Silas’s turn. His broom was shaky, until they finally reached the correct altitude to start. Ingrid tossed the bludger into the air and with a large thud sent it slightly in front of Silas. He quickly moved up, spread his arm, but didn’t have enough time to put much energy into the hit, as the angry ball came quicker than he initially thought. His hit was slow, though had it not been for the bludger suddenly moving a few inches, he might have gotten it through the first ring. It took him until the fourth ring to realize he needs to always have his bat “charged up” so that when the bludger approached, he could smash it. His plan worked and on the fifth circle he managed to send it straight down the middle. By the end he’d gotten fairly comfortable, though he nearly missed the last hoop which left him with only nine targets hit. Once he finished, he also lay down on the grass. He knew that the next day he’d have muscle pain in his arm. He didn’t even have to wait that much though, it already started to hurt. 

“How’d it go?” asked Caspian who by now was convinced that one of the clouds looked like Dumbledore doing a backflip. 

“I managed to score nine.” Silas sighed. 

“That’s good though, no? I overheard one person celebrating that they got ten.” 

“Yes, but I’m worried they might pick him instead of me.” 

“What should I say then? I didn’t even get to go five times.” 

“True... is it just me or does that cloud look like Dumbledore doing a backflip.” Silas said after a minute of silence. 

“RIGHT?” Caspian rose up, and touched his nose to check whether it was still bleeding. “Woah, when did it get to Terry’s turn?” 

“Oh, crap, did I miss it?” Silas also stood up. 

Terry was standing in front of the three rings while Roger, Liam and Ingrid were passing the quaffle between each other. Just as it seemed that Liam’s throw was about to go through the middle, Terry kicked it away. 

“Woah, he’s doing great.” Silas smiled, a strange weight appearing in his chest. 

“Terry, you were great! Are you sure you don’t want to be on the team.” Ingrid asked once they got down. 

“No, I just came here to support my friends.” 

“Sure.” Ingrid turned to face the last group, which was the seekers, but in her mind she was thinking of how Orion had also declined a position on the team the year prior. 

“So, what were you guys up to, lying here on the grass?” Terry sat down and stretched. 

“How we might not get picked.” Caspian said in a sad voice. 

“Oh, don’t be like that, you guys did very good, plus we’re only second-years, those people have much more experience and have probably tried before.” Terry relaxed and also lay on his back. “Heh, that cloud-”. 

--- 

“Ok. So, I want to thank you all for coming today. You were ALL great, however, there’s only so many spots. Having only three reserves per team is quite limiting and I hope you will understand my choices. For the open chaser position, Randolph Burrow, congratulations you get it.” a few people around Randolph started celebrating. “For reserves, Jeremy Stretton, Caspian Stormcloak and Silas Nightingale, congratulations to you as well. I want everyone who is now on the team to come to the changing room, I have some things to discuss with you.” 

Silas and Caspian remained stationary as they struggled to understand what had just happened. 

“Well done, you two.” Terry placed a hand on both their backs. “Guys? HELLOOO. Ingrid’s waiting for you.” 

“Oh. My. Good. Merlin. SILASSSSS!” Caspian began to jump frantically. 

“WE SOMEHOW MADE IT.” Silas also started bouncing up and down. 

Both of them skipped over to the changing room where everyone had already gathered. 

“Once again, I’d like to congratulate everyone who made the team this year, I hope we can achieve what we’re all here for.” 

“Beating Slytherin.” 

“Emer! It’s true, though.” Ingrid said. 

They spent half an hour discussing how and when they were going to practice throughout the week, how to prepare outside of training and Ingrid also spent a good amount explaining how things were done on the pitch. By the time they got out, Hufflepuff had already began their own unique drills for chasers. 

“I want you all to remain here. We will, of course, see who Hufflepuff and Gryffindor decide to pick for this year.” 

Hufflepuff had only one new addition in Cedric Diggory who became their new seeker, while Gryffindor didn’t get anyone new. 

Just as everyone was about to head back to the castle to take a shower and relax for the day, a fight began in the middle of the field. 

“No way, Flint. I’ve had the pitch booked since last week.” said Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor team. 

“Plenty of room for all of us, Wood.” Marcus Flint said slyly. 

“ I booked it!” Oliver insisted. 

“Ah, but I’ve got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape. I, Professor S. Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch pitch, owing to the need to train their new Seeker.” 

“You’ve got a new Seeker?” said Wood, distracted. “Where?” 

Silas instantly became ready to fight as Draco Malfoy emerged from the all-male Slytherin team. 

“Aren’t you Lucius Malfoy’s son?” said one of the Weasley twins, but no one had any idea which it was. 

“Funny you should mention Draco’s father. Let me show you the generous gift he’s made to the Slytherin team.” said Flint. 

Seven pristine, newly polished, black brooms, each with a gold strip reading ‘Nimbus Two Thousand and One’.  

“Oh look,” said Flint who was demonstratively flicking a speck of dust in front of the Gryffindor team who had nothing to say. “A pitch invasion.” 

Hermione and Ron were coming closer, confusion on their faces. 

“What’s happening?” Ron asked Harry. “Why aren’t you playing? And what’s he doing here?” he glared at Draco. 

"I’m the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley," said Malfoy, smugly. “Everyone’s just been admiring the brooms my father’s bought our team. Good, aren’t they?” he continued smoothly. “But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives, I expect a museum would bid for them.” 

“At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in.” said Hermione sharply. “They got in on pure talent.” 

“No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood.” Draco spat. 

Something inside Silas dropped. Caspian who usually was the one to stop him from doing anything stupid, however, also was fuming from what he had just heard. They weren’t the only ones outraged, basically the entire Gryffindor team had to stop Fred and George from hitting the blonde boy, though they wanted to do it no less themselves. Ron took out his wand and muttered something Caspian didn’t hear, and in the next moment he was lying on the ground. 

“Ron! Ron! Are you all right?” Hermione came closer to check on her friend. 

Likewise, Silas approached, asking the same question. Instead of getting an answer, two large slugs came out of Ron’s mouth. Then two more, then three. 

“We’d better get him to Hagrid’s, it’s nearest.” Harry suggested, helping his red-haired friend up and the three along with Hermione left the pitch. 

“Depulso.” just as Silas’s eyes were following the trio, he overheard Caspian cast the spell. As he turned, he could still see Malfoy’s body flying backwards. 

“Let’s get out of here.” Caspian said to Silas, putting his wand away. 

The Slytherin team didn’t know what to do, since they were shocked, but as soon as they heard Draco shout “MY FATHER WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS.”, they got riled up and started going at Gryffindor. 

“Why’d you do that?” Silas asked as they entered the castle. “You might - no, you will get into trouble.” 

“We don’t want anyone insulting Orion’s potential girlfriend, do we?” Caspian knew just what to say to Silas who immediately started grinning.