Gary told Alfrina about the problem that had been bothering him, and she mercilessly mocked him.
"If you ask me, Lovegood Senior is right. It's all in the past, why bother trying to figure it out?"
Gary frowned, "But why would Sirius Black…" He was interrupted before he could finish.
"Oh, you might as well go ask the Sorting Hat and Sirius!" She glanced behind her, and after making sure no one was there, she stealthily pulled out two bottles of beer from her bag.
"Here!" She shoved a bottle into Gary's hand.
"Where did you get this stuff?" Gary held up the beer can, and by the light of the candle behind him, he saw the "IPA" label in the center of the bottle, which was beer produced by British Muggles.
"I brought it from home when school started," Alfrina said indifferently.
"I'm not old enough, I don't drink," Gary shoved it back, "I advise you not to drink either."
Alfrina smiled like a cunning fox, "Oh come on, Gary, this is butterbeer!"
"I asked Lily to put butterbeer in it this morning."
"Huh?" Gary popped open the cap and brought his nose close to sniff, and sure enough, he smelled the butterbeer he had drunk at The Three Broomsticks that afternoon.
butterbeer has no beer, just like a wife cake has no wife. There is no alcohol in it, so Gary was relieved. He clinked bottles with Alfrina, and the crisp sound echoed in the empty tower.
With Alfrina's distraction, Gary finally put the Sorting issue aside.
"I've been meaning to ask you," Alfrina chugged a large gulp of the drink, "can you teach me the Shield Charm? I've been trying for a long time and can't learn it."
She still remembered the powerful Shield Charm Gary used to save Peter, which made her feel an unassailable sense of awe even from a distance.
"Sure, when we get back, find a classroom and I'll teach you," Gary readily agreed.
"It's a deal then." Alfrina clinked her bottle with his, her eyes darted across his face, and then she chugged a large gulp.
Behind them, they could hear the sound of Ravenclaw students' shoes clattering on the stairs as they ascended the tower. Alfrina and Gary, facing the evening breeze with their legs crossed, finished the last drop of butterbeer on the platform.
"Let's go!" Alfrina retracted her long legs, then used her waist and legs to stand up directly. She reached out her hand to pull Gary up.
"I've chatted with you for so long, you have to play two rounds of Wizard Chess with me when we get back!" Alfrina stated her demand.
"Aren't you having fun playing with Kona? Our skill difference is too big, it's no fun if you always lose," Gary demurred.
"Kona is no match for me now," Alfrina proudly wrinkled her nose, "I was bad at it because I was just starting, but now that I've thought about it more, I'm naturally better."
Gary, who believed her, went back to the common room and played two rounds with Alfrina, only to find it was a complete waste of his time.
Alfrina scratched her hair, helplessly slumped over the table, pondering the chessboard, unable to figure out how she had lost.
Gary realized that Kona must have gone easy on Alfrina on purpose to let her win.
The victim, Alfrina, also realized, threw the chessboard, and rushed back to the dormitory.
Gary helplessly picked up the resentful chess pieces scattered on the floor.
In the end, Gary didn't go to Sirius or the Sorting Hat. The reason was simple: his conflict with Sirius was still unresolved, and the Sorting Hat was in Dumbledore's office, which Gary couldn't access.
After Halloween, the "A Maverick Pig" team reassembled.
"You mean we have to find players who are well-versed in Quidditch rules to help us?" Lily bit her pen.
"Exactly," Alfrina stood on the podium in an abandoned classroom on the third floor of the Castle, "We've already found Madam Hooch, and now we also need to find some players. These people are participants in Quidditch matches, and with their support, we can proceed with the project."
"We can start by piloting it with Hogwarts Quidditch matches," Alfrina said, "Howard and Lily, you two are the most popular, we need to get the student players involved first."
"Gary, you and I will work together to refine their summarized opinions into the document." Gary nodded.
"Kona… you are mainly responsible for creating and distributing questionnaires to ask Quidditch spectators about their experience of the match's watchability." Kona took notes with her pen.
"Alright, classmates, we're going to do something big this time, something that will be famous throughout the Wizarding World!" Alfrina raised her arm and cheered, intending to deliver an inspiring speech, but unexpectedly, a basin of water poured down from above, soaking her robes completely, and the basin even landed on her head.
"Peeves!" Alfrina was furious, she threw off the basin and pulled out her wand.
Peeves appeared on the ceiling, dressed in brightly colored clothes, a black tie, a top hat, and slippers with long slits revealing his toes.
A mischievous grin spread across his face, "Hehehe, come and catch me, if you catch me I'll let you hehehe…"
With that, he flew out of the classroom.
Alfrina shrieked in anger, waving her wand as she chased after him.
The three of them, Gary, Lily, and Howard, couldn't help but laugh, shook their heads, and packed up their things before leaving the classroom.
…
"Your wand movement can be bigger," Gary held Alfrina's hand, "The last movement can be an upward flick."
"Watch my movement." Gary took out his wand and drew a counter-clockwise semicircle in the air, "Protego!"
A transparent wavy barrier stood before them.
"You try it," Gary said.
"Okay…" Alfrina mimicked Gary's movement, "Protego!"
They only felt the air compress for a moment, then return to normal.
"Still not working…" Alfrina was a bit frustrated. She had been practicing for most of the day with no effect, but Gary could cast it every time.
"Clear your mind, Al, don't let past failures weigh down your confidence," Gary said, "Just imagine yourself as a beginner."
"…I'll try again," Alfrina gritted her teeth.
"Densaugeo!" Gary suddenly ambushed Alfrina.
Alfrina dodged to the side, and before she could react, Gary fired another Obstacle Curse.
Alfrina had nowhere to run. Facing the incoming spell, she instinctively yelled "Shield Charm!" and drew a semicircle with her wand in front of her. The transparent barrier successfully blocked Gary's curse.
"Didn't that work?" Gary secretly breathed a sigh of relief, not expecting this trick to actually be effective.
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