Chapter 136: Two Days
When Sean walked by, he saw a scene of utter chaos.
Malfoy and Harry were rolling in the snow, a tangle of limbs and robes. Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle were locked in a clumsy three-way brawl, their punches and kicks punctuated by yelps of pain.
With a silent flick of his wand, Sean transfigured the surrounding snow into two large snowmen, which promptly waded into the fray and pulled the combatants apart.
Malfoy shivered violently. Without looking at Sean, he huffed indignantly, gathered his cronies, and stalked off.
Harry, wandless and disheveled, felt more like a baboon than ever.
Sean watched Harry and Ron for a moment. The two Gryffindors kept their heads down, radiating guilt. Seeing no serious injuries requiring the hospital wing, Sean continued on his way.
To Harry and Ron, Sean's departure felt like a judgment. They were wizards, for Merlin's sake! Before Green's Notes had even become a thing, Sean had given them his personal notebooks, filled with insights far more valuable than the public summaries. And what had they done? One spent all his time training for a sport Sean disliked, and the other was obsessed with Wizard's Chess. Neither had mastered a single decent spell.
"Harry... do you think we've blown it completely?" Ron asked, unable to muster even a fake smile. He desperately wanted to join the group in the hidden room. The other four had all faced the troll together, and they were all thriving. Justin was excelling in Herbology and Charms, and even Neville had earned eleven points for Gryffindor. Everyone saw Neville differently now.
"I think so..." Harry muttered.
"Harry! Ron! Good morning!"
Justin popped up from behind a snowy bush, beaming. "I say, if you want to know the answer, why don't you just ask him yourself?"
Sean wandered the corridors, half-hoping Fred or George would pop out from behind a statue, but they were nowhere to be found. Not wanting to wait, he headed outside. He knew from observing Harry that the Gryffindor team had an afternoon practice session.
From a third-floor window, Professor McGonagall watched the small figure leaving a trail of footprints in the snow. Behind her, several Ravenclaw students were lurking suspiciously.
"Little wizards! Foolish little wizards!"
The owl portrait suddenly screeched, making the students jump and scatter. The owl glared at the remaining student, Roger Davies, its painted eyes filled with disappointment and confusion.
Consequently, the eagle knocker on the Ravenclaw common room door seemed to malfunction that day, posing a series of fiendishly difficult riddles that left several students shivering outside in the wind for quite some time.
Quidditch Pitch.
Sean reached the changing rooms just as two tufts of red hair sprouted from a snowdrift.
"Seeing you at the pitch—" Fred burst out of the snow, holding a shiny badge.
"—we knew another Alchemy genius had arrived!" George finished, beaming.
"Fred! Blast it! Where is my Prefect badge?!"
Percy Weasley stormed out of the changing room, looking immaculate but furious. Percy was a stickler for rules, loved shouting at rule-breakers, and according to Ron, was a study-obsessed, pompous stick-in-the-mud. He clutched a copy of Prefects Who Gained Power.
Fred pulled a face. "I'm George, Percy! Didn't Prefects Who Gained Power teach you to tell us apart? A pity—" He winked at Sean.
"Fine—George! Tell me where my badge is!" Percy roared.
"Just kidding, I am Fred!"
"GIVE IT TO ME!!!"
Percy chased Fred around the changing rooms. George and Sean watched them go. George pulled a second badge from his pocket. "I don't get it. Why does a Prefect badge need polishing so many times? ...Run West, Fred!" he shouted. Fred immediately changed direction.
"Oh, right, speaking of the Levitating Quill—" George began.
Before he could finish, Sean produced his finished alchemical creation.
"I knew you had the gift! Pass! A solid pass!" George winked, tucking the quill into his bag alongside the stolen badge. "Finished in two weeks? You were born for Alchemy! Alright, got a notebook or a diary? Anything will do—though writing notes now isn't exactly the alchemist way, considering you don't even know what Alchemy is yet! But Professor Terra will be very interested in you. We just need to arrange a little 'accidental' meeting..."
Sean handed over his notebook. George patted him on the shoulder, looking at him like a kindred spirit.
"Professor Terra?" Sean asked.
"Oh! Good question! Professor Terra is a member of the International Alchemical Society council, and the most mysterious professor at Hogwarts—no one sees her except the sixth and seventh years. More importantly... Fred! Right!"
George yelled a warning as Percy cornered Fred near the stands. Then, seeing Percy turn his wrath towards them: "Not good—run for it, Green!"
George bolted, shouting over his shoulder, "Don't worry! We'll find you, oh Great Green!"
"Great Green?" Percy fumed, but the name caught his attention. He stopped, looking at Sean. "Oh. Mr. Green." He forced a pleasant smile. This Green was no ordinary first-year. He'd passed the Flight Test and written the bestselling Green's Notes. Even Percy had to admit the History of Magic section was excellent. Whether Sean became a Quidditch star or a scholar, he was worth cultivating.
"Hello, Mr. Weasley," Sean replied politely.
"Oh, please, call me Percy."
Outside the changing room, the oak door was slightly ajar, spilling warm light onto the snow. Fred, arm slung around George, panted.
"I think I'm going to lose my lunch—call me Puh-ercy..." Fred pulled a grotesque face.
Unusually, George didn't respond. Fred looked over to see his twin staring blankly at a notebook.
"The Great Green's notes?!" Fred gasped theatrically. Still no reaction. He grew serious.
"Ah... 'Spent two days barely managing to construct a functional Levitating Quill...'" George read aloud, his voice faint. "'Strange... George... is this even English?'"
(End of Chapter)
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