"Strange… Did Peeves cause trouble in the library again?"
"Did someone from Gryffindor blow the place up?"
"Did Madam Pince finally decide to take a vacation?"
When Andrew returned to the dormitory, his three roommates all stared at him with wide eyes.
"Is it that big of a deal?"
Andrew rolled his eyes at them as he rummaged through the dwindling snack stash and found a packet of candied fruit.
"Of course it is—we always figured that if Madam Pince allowed it, you'd just build a bed in the library and never come back here."
Kevin grinned as he captured one of Bell's knights in their chess game.
"Upper years even call the library our third dorm. Don't act like going there is weird."
Andrew grumbled while checking the lingering effects of some Transfiguration spells on the objects in his chest and noted them down in his notebook. "Where's Hal?"
"Heard there's some big news. He went to check it out."
"News?"
"Yeah, apparently Harry Potter got recruited under special circumstances. Professor McGonagall even used house funds to buy him a Nimbus 2000."
"What?!"
Andrew stopped what he was doing, stunned. "A Nimbus 2000?"
"Yep. Brand-new broom, straight into the house Quidditch team as Seeker," Bell said as he surrendered, realizing he had no winning move left, "And not a single Gryffindor questioned it."
"Well… makes sense. You really can't compare yourself to someone who ends up in textbooks," Andrew said as he tossed snacks around—not that the others ever waited for permission to take them anyway. "Just train hard. If you can't catch the Snitch and carry someone else at the same time like him, then wait for the second-year recruitment."
"Guess we've got no choice… But you really don't want to train with us?"
"Nope. You know me—I'm more into Transfiguration." Andrew shook his head. "Hey Hughes, want to play cards?"
"In a sec. Let me finish copying this part of the Goblin Rebellion history. Two minutes."
Hughes answered from his desk, eyes fixed on his notes.
"You should really get a Quick-Quotes Quill, mate. I heard from the upper years that it's a lifesaver!"
Kevin replied while digging through the Exploding Snap cards, grumbling at Andrew, "Unbelievable—you come back from the library and immediately rope us into a card game. Absolutely devious."
"Then how about a trip to the library this afternoon?"
Andrew smiled.
"No thanks, I'm out. How does Ravenclaw even have someone like you?" Kevin shook his head rapidly. "Twice a week is my absolute limit. I prefer actually casting weird spells rather than reading about their long-winded theories."
"You'll end up with a cow stomping on your chest one day," Bell muttered while putting away his chess pieces. "Especially those spells that circulate among students. Who knows what'll happen if they backfire?"
"If they're still in use, that means they're relatively safe. I just finished learning the Leg-Locker Curse. Interested? One homework assignment for the spell—a special deal just for you."
It was a good deal, and Kevin's assignments were quickly snatched up.
The boys laid out mats and began a chaotic card game.
About six or seven minutes later, a very grumpy Hughes became the target of a spell experiment.
"You three definitely cheated again, didn't you?"
"Absolutely not."
They answered in unison.
"Relax, I already figured out the counter-curse."
Kevin grinned. "I even risked doing my own homework to test it. Totally fair!"
++++
The spell lesson was a huge success. Once again, no one had to go to the hospital wing today.
By the time Hal got back from gathering information, the boys had already played several rounds—Hughes was on a winning streak, while Andrew and Bell's faces were plastered with sticky notes.
"Nice one, Hughes—but Andrew, you're back already?"
…?
What's that supposed to mean?
Andrew rolled his eyes. "Obviously. The library doesn't serve food."
"Fair enough. I'll be sure to write that in the suggestion box." Hal grinned. "You'll never guess what happened in the castle."
Unable to contain his excitement, Hal didn't even wait for guesses.
"That Hermione Granger girl—you all know her—beat up several Ravenclaw students!"
…?
Andrew's eyes widened. Hey, which house are you in again? Why are you looking so proud? Are you a Gryffindor spy?
"She hit the scammers… You know, those guys…"
Hal quickly clarified after noticing everyone's weird expressions, and they all relaxed—oh, those people. Yeah, they had it coming.
Faking herbs, charms, potions… changing up the scam format to keep it fresh. These guys treated the school like an experimental farm. Even if they lost money, they'd keep practicing.
When they got caught, they'd get their items confiscated and serve detention. But it never stopped them—nothing serious enough to get expelled. They were a constant headache, especially since they were fast runners, knew the secret passages, and had disguise magic or even the occasional Polyjuice Potion.
"No one's sure who ticked her off, but apparently after a scolding from the prefects, she started going after them. And since it's chaos season for first-years, she actually managed to catch a whole group of them and called in the prefects."
"The upper years can't really get physical, but lower years fighting among themselves? Totally fine. So—"
Hal spread his hands, "The first-year scammers got wrecked with a bunch of nasty jinxes."
"Well deserved. Every one of those guys is disgusting."
"Yeah. I mean, who in their right mind tries to mess with the top student in Defense Against the Dark Arts—wand in hand—even if she's a first-year?"
"She's top in everything. You can't compete, just don't."
"Andrew?"
"What?"
"Don't you have anything to say?"
"What am I supposed to say?"
Andrew leaned back in his chair. "Our house admits students from too many backgrounds. If I'd been there, I probably would've ended up helping someone from another house fight off my own housemates… Ridiculous."
"Look on the bright side—we're not being forced to change dorms over some nonsense. We've all got different interests, but no conflicts. That's pretty great."
"True. Can't ask for too much."
Andrew shook his head. "Alright, let's go eat."
The spell testing had been a great success—no casualties, just one sulking Hal.
"Wait up! I've got firsthand notes from Harry Potter's Quidditch tryout!"
"Tell us at the table!"
Everyone laughed and headed off noisily to the Great Hall.
T/N: For twenty chapters ahead on all my fics become a P@tron at [email protected]/LordHipposApostle