First Weekend of the Week
The weekend arrived in a blur of laughter, footsteps, and discovery.
With no classes to rush to, the six of them finally had time to explore Hogwarts properly. They wandered through endless corridors, spoke to portraits that argued back, and learned quickly which paintings enjoyed conversation and which preferred silence. More than once, they snuck down to the kitchens, grinning as plates of food slid into their hands straight from the house-elves.
They spent a long afternoon near the Black Lake, sitting on the grass with their shoes kicked off. At one point, the surface of the water rippled and a massive tentacle rose briefly, waving lazily before sinking back down.
Rowan yelped.
"Did it just wave at us?"
Mirabel stared. "I think it did."
"That's terrifying," Tobias muttered. "And polite."
Not all of their time was spent together. Cedric drifted easily between groups of Hufflepuff first-years, playing Gobstones and laughing with other first year like Felix, Lucas and Anya. Mirabel joined a group of girls practicing charm motions, Elowen spent hours admiring the other students pet in the common room, Tobias lost track of time arguing strategy over Wizard Chess, and Rowan somehow ended up watching a group of second-years attempt a spell that kept exploding into smoke.
Leo, meanwhile, found himself near the pumpkin patch by Hagrid's hut, painting beside Iris.
They sat with their backs against a rock, easels angled toward the castle. From this spot, Hogwarts looked different—softer, almost gentle, framed by trees and the distant lake.
"You've got a good eye," Iris said, peering at Leo's canvas.
Before Leo could reply, heavy footsteps crunched nearby.
"Hullo there!" Hagrid boomed, emerging from behind the hut. "Yeh two paintin'?"
"Yes, sir," Leo said politely.
Hagrid beamed. "Yeh want some rock cakes? Fresh baked."
Both of them smiled tightly.
"That's very kind," Iris said quickly, "but we're quite full."
Hagrid chuckled. "More fer me, then. Carry on."
That evening, Leo sat at his desk and wrote letters home careful handwriting filled with stories of flying lessons, magic, and the funny things that happen this week.
Sunday — The Siblings' Hideout
By Sunday evening, the Great Hall had settled into a warm, lazy hum.
Leo had just finished his lunch when a familiar voice called his name.
"Leo."
He turned to see Orion, standing near the end of the Hufflepuff table. Across the hall, Leo noticed Orion gesturing subtly toward Lyra and Vela who were sitting together, they stood up and leave the great hall.
Leo sighed softly and stood.
"I'm guessing this is… a regular thing?"
Lyra grinned. "Has been for years."
Vela shrugged. "You get used to it."
They followed Orion through a quieter corridor and into an empty classroom, tucked far from the main staircases. The moment Leo stepped inside, he recognize some item lying there .
(Author note: empty classroom might also be called, abandon classroom or Less hangout)
Orion's wizard chess set sat mid-game on a desk, frozen in dramatic battle. A thick book—goblin Lineage & Magical Physiology—lay open near the window clearly it was probably Vela's. A neatly arranged broom maintenance kit, clearly Lyra's, rested against the wall.
Leo laughed softly.
"So this is where you disappear to."
Orion leaned against a desk. "Been ours since my first year. Sometimes you just need space from… Slytherin."
Leo studied him. Orion carried himself differently here more serious, sharper replaced by someone polished, almost intimidating.
"Why not just ignore it?" Leo asked. "Not all Slytherins are like that."
"No, you right Slytherin isn't always about pure blood supremacy some in there just because they possess the Slytherin traits not the pure blood mentality ," Orion agreed calmly. "But Slytherin has a hierarchy. If you end up at the bottom, things get ugly. I didn't want that… spilling over onto you three."
Leo's stomach tightened.
"…Are you okay?"
Orion smiled easily. "I've learned how to play the game."
Lyra crossed her arms. "Enough of that. Tell us about your first week."
Vela nodded eagerly. "Everything."
Both of them change the subject to avoid making Leo worry.
So they did.
Lyra complained dramatically about nearly touching a Flobberworm, insisting she could still feel it. Vela gagged at the memory and added her own story about an exploding charm that left glitter in her hair for two hours.
Leo talked about Snape's blatant favoritism, how he and Cedric brewed the potion perfectly and still got nothing. He bragged a how he had impressed Madam Hooch's. with his flying.
Orion laughed when Leo described Professor Crowe's panicked attendance moment.
Orion retelling the story how his owl was seducing one of the owl in owelry and was rejected, the owl now depressed, so Orion put him at the twins dorm room just to make it avoid meeting the other owl that rejected it.
They stayed there for hours, updating each other on their lives, filling the empty classroom with warmth and familiarity.
Eventually, they parted ways.
Leo returned to the Hufflepuff dormitory, book in hand, settling into the common room . He glanced around the room, half-hoping someone nearby owned a musical instrument—he didn't want his ability to fade from neglect.
As he read, the common room murmured softly around him.