A streak of red light tore through the darkness where my head had been a heartbeat earlier. I twisted sideways as another spell missed me by mere inches and exploded against stone somewhere behind me.
The flash however had illuminated the room for only a fraction of a second. yet enough for me to get the idea of the space. Broken furniture all over, hooded figures slowly moving on the edges of the room and wands raised.
Then darkness reclaimed everything once more.
My heart hammered against my ribs too fast and what felt like too loudly. I thought my heartbeat could be heard by everyone in a dozen rooms over.
Sweat trickled from my temple and down the side of my face despite the chill in the room.
Another spell came at me suddenly lighting up the dark with a sickly yellow
glow, I managed to dodge it only because the caster moved hastily and his cloak rustle warned me just before the spell erupted from his wand.
The purple bolt shot toward me.
I ducked and the spell passed overhead close enough that I felt the disturbance of air against my hair.
ah that one would have demolished my hat!
I got up fast and with the same movement pulled my wand out and pointed my it against the next spell
"Reflecta!" I gasped and the bubble formed over the tip of my wand,smaller and much more dense than when I started to practice the spell at first.
Just in time as a third spell just erupted towards me from the side and I slammed it back as hard as I could.
The impact rattled through my arm and the shield shattered just after the spell swished back to where it came from.
I stumbled backward as well cursing inside.
Damn it what on earth was that!
my breathing was already becoming uneven. That was the problem.
Magic was easy while calm! Incantations were easy to speak and remember while calm, but this..I can see why silent casting is such an advantage now!
The moment fear entered the equation everything became harder. Not to even mention about all the jumping around and twisting to not get hit.
My lungs burning and heart pounding even speaking suddenly felt like a workout.
A flash erupted from my left,blue this time and I reacted again more instinctively than planned.
"Reflecta!"
The shield appeared and instead of trying to push it back I just guided it to the nearest wall behind me.
Another came at me and I kept minimally redirecting the spells around me, finally getting more in to the rhythm of the battle
Then another and another.
Somewhere in the darkness laughter echoed.
High-pitched and Delighted. Somewhat menacing.
It bounced from wall to wall until I couldn't determine its source.
A Sickly yellow spell slipped past my shield.
I tried to dodge and physically threw myself sideways.
The curse grazed my shoulder anyway.
Pain flared like a burning punch to my shoulder.
Not enough to matter, but certainly enough to remind me I had been slow. Almost too slow.
My shoes scraped across stones. I barely caught myself from falling.
The room felt like it spun around me, my lungs burned.
Too many spells and too many angles!
The attacker wasn't fighting fairly at all.
A realization that would have been irritating under normal circumstances.
Yet another flash. I swatted it aside with my wand and the spell ricocheting into a bookshelf.
A second came immediately afterward and a third.
There's no end to this!
My heart hammered harder still, breathing grew ragged and words became increasingly difficult to get out.
"Petrifi-"I began but swallowed.
Tried again.
"Petrificus Totalus!" I grunted out at the direction of the last incoming spell, hoping to catch the caster.
Then I had to quickly cast " Reflecta" as two spells were coming at me from opposite sides. I sidestepped the one and swatted the other in the directions of the first caster hoping to get some breathing room.
The shield had barely formed in time and the impact cracked across it like a hammer but I held it steady.
Sweat stung my eyes.
my robe sleeves stuck unpleasantly to my skin and my legs felt like lead.
Every dodge came slower than the last and every spell demanded more concentration than before.
That was the real danger in wizards combat, not exhaustion of the body.
Exhaustion of the mind.
Eventually everyone made a mistake.
A curse streaked past my face as I spun to dodge it.
Another came from behind me and I could only sense it there, and see how it lights the room in front of me showing one hooded figure lying on the floor.
I twisted around faster than I thought possible and managed to slap it away.
The redirected spell smashed into something wooden and a loud crash echoed through the darkness.
The laughter intensified a sound halfway between delight and madness.
I gritted my teeth, my wand tracking shadows.
My pulse thundered in my ears making it hard to hear properly. The darkness seemed alive.
Then a flash of red. I stepped away from it. Followed by a purple curse that exploded against stone.
Then—
Green spell. I saw it immediately, bright and unmistakable.
my stomach dropped.
No.
The spell shot through the darkness.
Straight at me. Far too fast and too close to dodge.
I tried anyway,my body moved,trying to get away but it wasn't enough.
The green light struck me square in the stomach.
Everything stopped as I folded instantly.
The air vanished from my lungs as dull pain exploded through my abdomen with a paralyzing burning sensation.
My knees hit the stone floor, then my hands and the last my face.
My wand slipped from the nerveless fingers.
For several long seconds I could do nothing except lie there desperately trying to drag air back into my lungs.
My chest spasms and my vision all blurred in the dark room. My heart kept hammering wildly.
Somewhere far away footsteps approached my prone form then stopped.
Silence settled over the room.
A solemn voice broke it.
"You're dead."
I groaned on the floor as the voice continued mercilessly.
"Master Alexander survived three minutes and forty-two seconds."
Tweak paused for a second to admire my state on the floor as the torches flared to life.
I squeezed my eyes shut against the sudden brightness.
When I finally looked up I found myself surrounded by half a dozen animated dueling puppets.
Wooden figures stood frozen in place around the room with tiny practice wands pointed toward me.
"Puppets achieved successful termination." She said nodding to herself and pulling her fedora lower on her eyes and smiling crookedly.
Several had scorch marks from the ricocheted spells; one was even missing an arm.
one appeared to be on fire, that slowly went out as I watched it and started to repair itself as all the puppets eerily floated back on the edges of the room.
Tweak stood proudly atop a table in the center of the chaos,hands on hips and the ever present notebook tucked beneath one arm.
An expression of enormous satisfaction on her face.
I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling.
"I'm still breathing." I breathed out
Tweak opened the notebook.
"Correction."
She licked a finger and turned a page.
"Master Alexander survived three minutes and forty-two seconds before being struck by the green spell and dying."She glanced at me over the half moon spectacles that she had pulled out of her pocket. " We did designate that green color as a killing curse, yes?" she asked
I closed my eyes.
"Tweak."
"Yes Master?"
" I am wondering if this is an madness or brilliant way to practice" I muttered
"aah master, you would be surprised how often those two coincide" She said wisely
I smiled and remained flat on my back on the floor waiting for my breathing to even and heartbeat to calm down.
Partly because I was tired but mostly because standing sounded unreasonable.
Above me, Tweak hopped from one puppet to another inspecting the already disappearing damage with all the seriousness of a battlefield commander.
I finally slowly sat up and retrieved my wand from the floor and smoothly slid it to its holster.
The room of requirements fixed anything we broke, and changed itself to look whatever we needed.
It has been several weeks already since Halloween,troll and the serpent court.
Not to mention the revelation that my own fame has soared to the heights of Harry Potter (according to Tweak at least.) without me noticing. So naturally I had spent considerable time to figure out a way to step back into the background so to speak.
Well as it turned out it wasn't just Tweaks imagination.
As soon as I became aware of the issue I started to notice how many people came to ask me questions,or with their little problems that are absolutely "impossible" to solve without my help, and I soon noticed how much time I wasted on them.
After the late evenings of homework in the library.
I came here to get my mind off the problem, and use the new training method that we figured out or like I personally thought about it
"to get repeatedly assaulted by over complicated furniture"
Progress had been mixed.
The puppets themselves had been an accidental discovery.
Apparently most of Hogwarts' old teaching equipment had eventually found its way into forgotten storage rooms beneath the castle and as such were in my use through the Room of Requirement.
Most of it was useless,some of it was dangerous. Surprisingly large amounts of it turned out to be both.
The dueling puppets belonged firmly in the second category.
They possessed no magic of their own.That had been the first thing me and Tweak discovered.
The second discovery had been considerably more interesting. Feed them magic and they woke up.
Feed them enough and they become enthusiastic against a designated target by the one providing the power.
Tweak had become their power source and General at the same moment.
Well Sergeant at first but she gave herself a couple of promotions for exemplary service and for never losing a battle.
Which is kinda valid.
I had to admit to myself
The puppets handled the rest.
A collection of ancient mechanisms hidden inside wooden bodies pushed magic through runic channels and spat it back out as simple combat spells.
It was a marvel to see them work through my mage sight, seeing the mana flowing through paths and several spinners that would randomise the "spell" usage.
Nothing sophisticated or particularly elegant.
Just fast and efficient. Painfully fast as I found out on the first night as we tried them out.
Puppets could use three spells or more like three magical effects,that was all they knew.
The first one launched targets backward like a magical kick from a mule.
The second struck like lightning and moved noticeably faster than the others.
The third was a weak fire spell.
Entirely random.
Red.
Blue.
Yellow.
Purple.
Green.
Inside every puppet was spinners made of somewhat magically inert material that would guide the mana not absorb it or influence it. So the power went through several such things to randomise what spell and what color it would come out.
We found an easy way to lock certain combinations though, and in this instance we made it so that the lightning spell would come out only when the color hit green not otherwise, so we had our fast moving "killing curse"
" Boy do that lightning one have bad kick"
I muttered and rubbed my stomach.
The colour itself wasn't dangerous,the effects certainly weren't.
But one day, somewhere, eventually, somebody was going to point a wand at me and produce a very specific shade of green.
When that happened I intended for every instinct I possessed to be screaming at me to move long before the spell reached me.
No hesitation or analysis, just reflexive move. Especially since the other option was to die, I had taken the practice very seriously.
"Master is thinking about the green spell again."
I glanced up at her with a rueful smile.
"Yes."
"I still think Master is a strange young wizard, who spends far too much time on an old man's hobby," She looked at me sternly "I'm talking about thinking" She said accusingly
"I've noticed perhaps I have an old soul" I yawned.
"Tweak also thinks the Master should stop dying so much" she said and swung her legs cheerily as she sat on the edge of the only still intact table.
I pushed myself upright with a groan.
"An excellent long-term objective." I said, trying to sound as cheery as she did, and utterly failed.
"Tweak approves."
She flipped open her notebook.
"Current statistics indicate Master is improving."
That surprised me
"You keep statistics?"
She nodded without looking up from her book
"I keep many statistics." came the distracted answer
That somehow sounded more threatening than reassuring as the elf consulted several pages.
"Master survived thirty-two seconds on the first day."She said then lifted her index finger and rubbed the notebook" No! it says Three point two seconds. sorry master" She chuckled to herself
I winced, that had been an embarrassing ordeal.
"Tonight Master survived three minutes and forty-two seconds."
I nodded slowly.
That was… actually significant change in a short few weeks.
The puppets certainly hadn't become slower If anything, Tweak had become increasingly enthusiastic about murdering me..
The realization made me narrow my eyes.
"Tweak." I asked, voice neutral eyes sharp looking at her.
"Yes Master?" came her still distracted voice.
"Have you been increasing the difficulty every day so I won't win even a single time and you get to promote yourself ?"
The elf looked away immediately.
" Hehe master is so silly! Generals won't lower themselves to such petty tricks" she giggled awkwardly looking away.
I sighed
There it is. Well I'm in better shape both in physically and magically now so no harm no fault,
The first Quidditch match of the season was three days away. Which naturally meant Hogwarts had collectively lost its mind.
Students argued about their houses' chances to win the Quidditch cup in corridors.
Several Ravenclaws had apparently begun tracking historical performance statistics and were in the process of predicting how the season would end. Which made sense since not a single game had been played as of yet.
The Hufflepuffs had an apparent monopoly of game snacks.
The Gryffindors had become unbearably suspicious of everyone as of late and my fellow Slytherins had immediately begun betting on everything possible from the most goals made to first to fall off their broom and die.
Including some things that should not have been physically possible to bet on in the first place such as who will sneeze and fart simultaneously mid game.
I discovered all this while sitting in the library going through the solution we came up with to my issue for being the information guy.
"Master."
I didn't look up, since firstly I could feel her just fine without looking behind the shelf on my left, and second she wouldn't be visible anyway so what would be the point.
"Yes, Tweak?"
I heard her clicking something and smelled the burning cinnamon and vanilla.
"The twins have a gambling operation." came the reply and a happy sigh.
I sat slowly a bit straighter and covered my mouth with my entwined hands and stared at the window pensively.
"A what?" I asked, barely moving my lips and sending the sound magically to her. I had really become quite good at this in a short time, of course it will take time to eliminate all the mouth movements all together hence the masking of my mouth, who knows who's looking at me nowadays.
"A gambling operation, they are giving odds to several different outcomes of the next Slytherin vs Gryffindor game."
I stared at the window pondering the mechanics of such endeavor
"Those are Third years."
"No,not just third years," Tweak corrected inhaling her cinnamon vanilla stick again
"Those are Weasleys, two of the biggest troublemakers since Marauders left the school decades before." She said happily
Apparently that explained everything, I was a bit tempted to ask about the Marauders but decided I didn't need to know.
"Where can I find them?"
I could hear the grin as she answered.
"I know where."
But of course she did, lowered my hands and closed my book with a sigh.
"Why do you know where the twins spend their time? Also about the idea, do you believe they will help me?" I asked as I went to put my hat back on to my head from the table where it was resting.
It took me exactly zero seconds at the first time to notice that Madam Pince did not approve hats in her library. So I usually put it on the table as I worked.
"Well because I am an excellent spy, and yes I think they will, your prototype is rudimentary sure but the idea is solid."
I packed my books and nodded.
"Fine then let us leave"
I quickly packed my things in my bag and swung it on my shoulder as I headed out.
"So where are they?" I asked out loud this time as she was walking only a few steps ahead and there was nobody besides me in the hallway.
Tweak pointed upwards
"Third floor,not the right hand side that is forbidden but the left hallway sixth door from the left."
"Abandoned classroom I presume?"
"Precisely master, although the twins have done some modifications to it so it's a bit safer than what you used to do." Her voice came to my ears a bit reproachfully.
I blinked.
"Tweak I'm a first year and a muggleborn I don't know half the magic they know" I sent back a part amused and a part exasperated. Even if there was seemingly nobody present I should take unnecessary risks.
"So how did you find their hideout anyway, or were they advertising it?" I asked this time only keeping my mouth slightly open and not even mouthing the words.
"I bribed a portrait, and yes as it turns out they were advertising the place too."
"…"
"…"
"What did you bribe a portrait with?" I asked confused as we got up stairs in one of the more handy secret passage, that would take you from first floor, to third directly.
Tweak looked offended.
"Information of course. They're massive gossips, you know."
Of course she had. I sighed silently this time
"Fine." was all I managed as we landed on the third floor.
The elf immediately perked up and came to full visibility in a dark alcove we found ourselves standing
"We're doing crime?"
"No." I shot back immediately
"A little crime?" she insisted
"No." I repeated
"Business then?"
I considered that.
"Possibly."
Tweak nodded approvingly.
"White crime then."
The abandoned classroom looked alarmingly similar to Gringotts, well not really but it gave off a similar vibe.
Comfortable armchairs were around in clusters near the door for people to talk and wait their turn.
There were approximately twenty students here, most were just talking with themselves and glancing at the blackboard at times to see what were the odds of a particular bet they were considering.
The twins had a large mahogany table where they took bets and wrote them down on a piece of parchment and gave receipts to the students. Then they gave the parchments pieces to a fourth-year student who appeared to be maintaining a ledger.
Fred and George Weasley occupied the center of the operation like generals commanding an army.
Or perhaps pirates commanding a ship.
"—telling you, Potter catches it inside ten minutes." Insisted one of the Hufflepuffs present
"Impossible." Denied a Ravenclaw next to him as he placed a bet with the twins.
"You're just scared of losing money." He disparaged as he bet on Slytherin to win
"Reasonable is to bet on a Slytherin team, who has an experienced team."
I waited until the pair got their receipts and kept on bickering as they walked towards the armchairs.
Then it was my turn and I stepped forward.
Both twins looked up at me immediately.
Their expressions brightened comically which was kind of alarming.
"Hat Boy." said one
"Hawthorn." Smiled the other.
I nodded for each
"Weasley."
"Weasley."
They exchanged looks.
"Which one?"
I pointed randomly.
"the spare."
George looked impressed and Fred looked delighted.
"Excellent answer." he said happily
"Terrible answer," said George, shaking his head.
I wasn't entirely certain which twin was speaking anymore and that seemed intentional.
"So." I hedged
George leaned forward.
"Are you here to bet on the match?"
"A little." I admitted.
Fred clutched his chest dramatically.
"A Slytherin risking money."
"Historic."nodded the one I thought was George.
I ignored them and slapped two galleons to the desk.
"Harry Potter catches the Snitch." I said calmly.
Several nearby students immediately turned toward me.
The twins blinked.
"Really?" George assumed asked.
"You've seen him fly?" Fred assumed squinted at me
"No." I said calmly.
That earned several confused looks from all around me, not just from the twins.
Fred frowned.
"Then why?"
I considered the question and how to explain because honestly the answer seemed obvious to me.
"First-years aren't allowed brooms." I started
The twins nodded.
"Correct."
" Which means they aren't technically allowed to play Quidditch."
Another pair of nods.
"Correct." they said simultaneously
"Which implies that they aren't allowed in the team period."
"Still correct." both nodded smiling
I folded my arms and looked from one twin to another seriously.
"Therefore either the Deputy headmistress McGonagall went completely mad."
The twins snorted.
"Or." they chorused as I paused.
"She saw a talent she couldn't miss, and damned the rules. So in plain english I think he must be an absolute demon on a broom."
The room went silent, and I could feel everyone considering what I said.
So I continued.
"Think about it."
"McGonagall personally recruits him. She breaks over a century of precedent and overrides every rule there is,"
I said with a reasonable voice,
"Then she immediately places him in the most important position in the game."
I shrugged and finished
"Either she's lost her mind or,"
I continued.
"He's genuinely just that good."
Twins slowly nodded.
"When you say it like that…" Fred began
"It sounds obvious." George finished
"Exactly." I nodded and slid the galleons closer.
"So Potter catches the Snitch and with the odds you have placed before I said what I said,please and thank you." I said politely but firmly.
The twins exchanged another glance.
One of those rapid silent conversations siblings somehow managed.
Then George scooped up the coins.
"Accepted." Then he snapped his fingers and the book keeping fourth year hastily changed the odds of Potter catching the snitch to more even one from what they were.
Meanwhile Fred leaned forward.
"So."
His grin widened.
"What are you really here for?"
I smiled and nodded toward the corner where we could talk more privately. I moved there and sat on the free armchair to wait as the brothers gave little advice to their replacements and came fast to sit opposite me. One of them flicked his wand in a circular motion around us, some kind of privacy charm if I were to guess.
They seemed excited perhaps because people did not usually seek out Fred and George Weasley.
Not unless they wanted something and that something was more often than not, trouble, and they really liked trouble.
I reached into my bag as both twins watched carefully my every move.
I produced a small pack of Tarot cards and a notebook.
"Oh what's this now?"
George whispered.
"Oh no."
Fred whispered with a joyful expression.
I immediately disliked how excited they sounded but handed the items to them to inspect.
"I feel it's clear but I will explain anyway. I seem to have made a reputation for myself as a person to ask things and questions" I started
Twins nodded in unison as they took the Tarot cards and the notebook to study closer.
"I can admit I was a bit surprised how many people need help in various ways, so many actually that my own studies are a bit hampered by it," I said, although that was a bit of a lie, and continued," So I though about the problem since halloween and these are a prototype I came up with. my hope is to, in a way, go into business with you two." I said
George flipped through the notebook and Fred was examining one of the cards against the light and neither of them spoke for several seconds.
Which worried me considerably, but I let them be and just patiently waited.
The twins tended to become silent only when planning something, prank or a business venture legal or illegal, or so Tweak had coached me before I entered the room. With them silence was good.
Finally George looked up.
"So what's the end goal?"
I blinked.
"The what?" I asked puzzled
"The grand vision." Fred clarified.
"The empire." George continued
"The business." they said in unison " Is it the start of the new criminal organization and the inevitable takeover of magical Britain."
I stared at them for what felt like a long time, then slowly shook my head.
"I would actually just prefer fewer people talking to me."
Silence. Twins stared at me like I was a very odd looking creature that for some reason just talked when it wasn't supposed to.
George lowered the notebook.
Fred lowered the card.
"You what?" They asked in unison
I resisted the urge to fold my arms over my chest in frustration.
"Look, every day dozens of people ask me questions." I began
"That sounds terrible." George agreed immediately.
"It is." I confirmed
"Tragic." Fred added.
"Exactly." I nodded
The twins exchanged a glance.
I continued before either could interrupt.
"The Exchange already exists."
"Congratulations." George interrupted immediately.
"I didn't build it!." I let out in frustration.
"You absolutely built it." Fred said nodding sympathetically
"I really didn't." I insisted
"You absolutely did." They said in unison.
I ignored them and plowed on with my explanation.
"The point is that people keep asking me things."
I gestured vaguely.
"Who has notes, or who sells ingredients, or who's best at repairing things,or my personal favorite, who knows somebody? We all know somebody!!If you need a specific person how about you just name them." I crumble frustratedly.
"I answer the best I can and they leave and with luck I can read a few words before the next person arrives."
Fred nodded slowly.
"Reasonable."
"It is not reasonable." I cry out annoyed.
George looked puzzled.
"Why not?"
"Because I would rather be in the library learning more magic that would help me survive this world"
That appeared to genuinely confuse them.
I sighed.
"Look, I think the cards solve my problem, and they can do a lot more than that."
"How?"
"For starters, people stop asking me directly." I said
The twins stared.
Then realization dawned.
"Oh." They said in unison once more
I nodded and started to explain my idea. I took one of the cards.
"They write the request or a question in one of the cards here" I showed and wrote "peace of mind" on a fool card's face.
"I have made a runic based sympathetic link on the cards so when something is written in the card it appears in that notebook" I showed an opened the notebook and the words were written there.
I threw the fool card in the air and it burned away.
"It will burn immediately after its not contact with the person who wrote it, I think that part needs more safety runes still but I don't know enough and this is just a prototype anyways" I ramble on
"The point is they have no more need to find me personally. No conversation or interruptions and definitely no more standing awkwardly in corridors while few people stand in line waiting their turn." I growled at them
Fred looked impressed.
George looked horrified.
"You invented a communication network." Fred began
"To avoid communicating."George finished amused
"Yes."
The twins looked at one another.
Fred pointed at me as George nodded solemnly next to him while clapping slowly.
"That is the most Slytherin thing I've ever heard."
Fred picked up one of the cards.
George picked up the notebook.
A slow grin spread across both faces.
Unfortunately I recognized that expression. It was the same look Tweak got whenever she discovered a new way to make my life complicated.
George tapped the notebook.
"This solves your problem indeed."
Fred waved the card.
"while creating ours."
I immediately became suspicious.
"What problem?"
The twins grinned wider.
"The delightful kind." They smirked at each other and did honest to god,evil villain cackle
I sighed again " fine, please go through the concept and lets talk after the game alright"
The twins stopped their cackling and nodded happily both offering their hands to me.
I suppressed a sight and took both hands simultaneously " it's a deal then" we said all together.
I fled immediately since their twin speech seemed to be catching, like some terrible disease.
The Quidditch pitch was packed,not just with students and teachers but people from all over England who had all come to watch the legendary match between Slytherin vs Gryffindor.
Or so the enthusiastic announcer named Lee Jordan was telling us all.
Green and silver banners covered one half of the stadium and red and gold covered the other.
The noise was indescribable.
Thousands of voices merged into one continuous roar that echoed across the grounds and bounced from the castle walls looming in the distance.
I sat between Greengrass and Davies. All three of us were bundled up in scarves, mittens and winter cloaks.
Strangely, I wasn't cold at all.
I frowned and tried to remember whether some of my clothing had been enchanted against the weather. It seemed plausible, though summer felt like it had happened several years ago rather than a few months.
Below us fourteen students mounted flying broomsticks and as Madam Hooch blew a whistle, the players shot upward.
Immediately one of the iron balls attempted to commit what I can only describe as a felony.
I followed it with my eyes as it screamed across the field straight to a Gryffindor chaser head. Alicia Spinnet if I remember correctly.
Then one of the twins was there, a bat swung at the iron ball sending it violently towards the Slytherin keeper.
A player narrowly avoided having their skull introduced to Scottish air.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
I stared,then slowly looked toward Greengrass.
"Are the large iron balls intentionally part of the game?"
"Yes."
"And their purpose?"
"To knock players off their brooms."
I waited to hear the other purposes of the deadly flying objects.
Greengrass waited too, god knows what.
"…That's the official purpose?" I confirmed
"More or less."
while trying to determine whether I was attending a sporting event or witnessing a socially accepted form of attempted murder.
I looked back toward the pitch, shaking my head.
"You people are insane."
Davies snorted.
"It's not that dangerous."
A Bludger immediately struck someone hard enough to spin them completely around.
The crowd applauded.
I pointed.
"There you see that"
"Character building." Greengrass replied without hesitation.
I stared at her.
She started back.
Davies looked away, her shoulders shaking suspiciously.
Below us the match moved on.
Goals were scored.
People screamed.
Brooms performed maneuvers that appeared to violate several laws of nature and at least one law of common sense.
Then I spotted Potter.
The first-year was flying circles around players several years older than him. Not just figuratively but literally, he flew above everyone else circling the pitch looking apparently something like a tiny golden ball that had wings to fly away from him even if spotted.
I cannot believe how nuts this game is.
I felt a small measure of vindication.
The twins had accepted my bet and unless Professor McGonagall had suddenly become incompetent overnight, nobody put a first-year on a House team unless they were terrifyingly talented.
Sure enough, just as I had the thought, everything went wrong.
Potter's broom jerked back,violently.
The movement was so abrupt I initially assumed I had imagined it.
Then it happened again, and again then the broom bucked sideways.
Potter nearly slipped.
The cheering around the stadium stayed the same, not many noticed the seeker above everyone else.
The first-year grabbed the handle with both hands.
The broom jerked again and suddenly Harry Potter was hanging several dozen feet in the air by little more than stubbornness and one hand.
I slowly sat forward.
"…Is that normal?" I asked and pointed at potter to the girls
"No."
Greengrass sounded alarmed now even Davies leaned forward.
"Something's wrong." Davies said, sounding worried.
That much was obvious,Potter's broom was trying very hard to remove Potter,not just from the game but from existence all together.
Potter was somehow still hanging on and I watched him slide off then recover and slip again.
The broom twisted around violently.
For one horrifying second he hung beneath it entirely holding on to it with just a one hand.
My stomach dropped.
"Why is nobody stopping the match?"
I glanced toward the staff section.
Several professors appeared to be doing something and standing up.
Is that smoke?
Just like that something changed and the broom stabilized.
Potter pulled himself back upright and shot like a bullet after Slytherins seeker, who apparently had been chasing the golden snitch the whole time Potter was trying desperately not to die.
yeah thats a Slytherin alright. eyes on the price.
I though, more at ease now that the possibility of Harry Potter's sudden demise considerably lessened,
Potter accelerated even more, and started to look more and more like a red and gold missile.
"He's gaining on our seeker" muttered Davies concerned, even more so than before when Potter was hanging on his dear life.
Well she got her priorities straight
I mused and glanced at her from the corner of my eye.
The boy shot across the field as the crowd roared.
Potter followed the tiny golden ball like a missile pursuing a target. Now neck to neck with Slytherin seeker.
Then suddenly he leaned too far forward.
His broom dipped.
And Potter and the Slytherin seeker dived into a crowd of players zig zagging in the middle of the game. Soon they ended up low on the turf of the pitch nearly touching the grass.
Potter landed heavily on the grass, almost jumping from his broom.
Then he doubled over to either to kiss the ground or vomit and I would not blame the boy for either of those reactions.
Potter kept coughing violently.
Once.
Twice.
Then something golden fell from his mouth and landed in his hand.
The Snitch, Potter had swallowed the Snitch.
I stared.
The boy had actually swallowed the Snitch.
The stadium erupted.
I stared dumbfounded
"…Did he just eat it? Is that even legal?"
Davies blinked and we both looked at Greengrass.
"Technically?"
Greengrass considered the question for several seconds.
"Apparently." she finally said as the referee blew the whistle and Lee Jordan screamed.
" Harry potter has done it! The boy who lived shall henceforth be known as the 'boy who caught the snitch without hands'!! Take that you stinking, cheating Sna.."
"JORDAN!!" came the voice of the professor McGonagall who tried to take the magical microphone off, as he kept jumping away and celebrating at Slytherin's expense.
I shook my head amused and looked back toward the celebrating Gryffindors.
Toward the first-year who had nearly fallen to his death, survived a homicidal broomstick and then accidentally swallowed the game-winning objective.
Then I looked toward the Weasley twins who had landed near Potter and were hoisting him onto their shoulders.
As I saw them it reminded me that my bet was won, and if memory serves I was owed ten galleons, quite a sum.
"lucky for the twins I didn't bet more than two galleons."
I muttered to Greengrass as we started to leave the stadium.
She glanced at me and raised a brow " why did you make a bet with players participating in the game? Did you even consider that they might rig the game?" She asked curiously.
I waved the hand " the bet wasn't the point, I had business with them and the bet felt like small investment"
She narrowed her eyes and looked at me as if waiting for my explanation.
I stayed quiet and just kept walking, I could practically feel her annoyance radiating from her.
Greengrass has a genuinely alarming need to understand everything around her.
Which, now that I thought about it, is probably the most Slytherin trait imaginable.
Finding the twins a few days after the match proved remarkably easy.
Mostly because they were in the same room I found them before and currently standing on top of a table collecting money from disappointed students.
"Pay up." one said
"You lost." other continued
"Terribly." they said in unison
"You should be ashamed." Fred assumed tutted with a headshake.
The red-haired pair kept the ongoing commentary to the sour losers and congratulated the few winners.
I waited until most of the defeated bettors left the room, before approaching.
George spotted me first,as the last two Ravenclaws were leaving, and elbowed his twin.
"Look who it is."
"The prophet."Fred said cheerily with a wave
"The visionary." George nodded approvingly
"The suspiciously successful first-year." They said in unison with a hand waving to introduce me to an invisible audience.
or possibly nonexistent one, cause I did flash some mana to my eyes and saw absolutely nobody behind me as I turned to look, visible or otherwise.
I turned to look at them and held out my hand.
"My winnings."
The twins looked offended.
"Straight to business." George sniffed theatrically
"No greeting." Fred shook his head sorrowfully
"No appreciation." they whispered in unison and leaned on each other with deep melancholy air.
I continued holding out my hand, they peeked at me both with one eye in eerie synchronicity then they were all smiles again and moments later several coins dropped into my palm.
"You're no fun." George grumbled
"I enjoy fun." I protested calmly.
"No." Fred said as George pointed at me.
"You enjoy efficiency, and cleaning out poor entrepreneurs such as ourselves" he said, holding hand to his chest.
I pocketed the coins and smiled openly at their theatrics. I had figured out last week that always being serious and stonefaces would only alienate me from most people.
So I have been trying to loosen up when I feel necessary, although it is not as natural for me as it perhaps should be.
"I've been thinking." I said and rubbed my hands together and sat down on a nearest armchair,
The twins simultaneously grinned.
"Oh no." Fred said
"He's been thinking." George added
Then Fred leaned forward in his chair.
"So let's talk about the cards."
The joking ease remained, but something sharpened behind their eyes.
For the first time since entering the room they looked less like students and more like merchants,dangerous goblin merchants.
The deck of tarot cards sat between us on the table with the notebook.
"I was thinking of selling the deck."
The twins blinked.
"The deck?" George asked puzzled
"All of it,at once" Fred asked.
I nodded.
"Perhaps a sickle pack."
The twins stared.
"Or a galleon." I mended since they looked at me like I was mad.
The silence that followed felt deeply offended.
"A deck,a whole deck of twenty-one cards for a sickle."
George looked physically pained.
"Alexander, that's not a business,that's a charity." Fred said seriously
I frowned.
"The point isn't the money." I defended myself.
The twins immediately looked suspicious, apparently that was entirely the wrong thing to say.
"No one says that." Fred started with a frown on his face.
"No successful person anyway." George muttered while giving me the stink eye.
I sighed.
"The point is that people stop bothering me all the time."
The twins stared.
"So I made the concept that you two have made some improvements I see"
I said as Fred opened the different looking packing that I gave to them.
"yeah your idea was and is good but you were also right to bring us in, it was way too simple" George began but then he shook his head in disbelief.
Fred smiled at his twin and then a bit embarrassed as he admitted
"Do you have any idea how long it took us to figure it out?"
I immediately felt vindicated.
"Long enough I hope?"
"Sixteen cards." they cried in unison.
"Sixteen perfectly good cards," Fred added mournfully.
George pointed accusingly at me.
"We burned sixteen before we finally figured out what you'd done."
I sat up slightly.
"What did you find out?"
"The runes aren't on the card."
I blinked.
Fred groaned dramatically.
"See? That's the face. That's the face of somebody who thinks this is obvious."
George ignored him and grabbed one of the prototype cards, from his pocket I immediately recognised it as mine, since there was no art work just a word "Fool" in my own neat handwriting
"It's two sheets of parchment." He started and slightly bent the card between his fingers.
"Very thin sheets." Fred added
"Glued together and treated afterwards so they stiffen into a proper card."
George finished and mimed pushing his hands together as the card lay in his hand.
Fred leaned forward.
"Which means anyone looking for the enchantment checks the surface."
George nodded eagerly.
"Exactly."
He tapped the center of the card.
"But the sympathetic link isn't on the surface."
"It's hidden inside."
"Between the layers."
Fred threw his hands up.
"Which means the only way to actually see the runic work is to ruin the card first."
George looked genuinely impressed.
"That part was clever."
Fred nodded reluctantly.
"Annoyingly clever."
"Especially for a first-year." George pointed out.
I nodded at their acknowledgment " thanks, I though it only way to protect my idea"
Twins nodded at that" and for most it would be enough but we are planning on selling them just a bit sure isn't enough. So here's our cards built on the idea of your cards."
George said and opened the packet on the table, these cards had full color illustrations too. I took one and it felt more heavy than mine had, more straight and sleek also.
"It's heavier than mine is, also quite a bit glossier? all together more finished product." I gave my estimation, holding the Magician card that seemed to be depicting me.
That or there was some other kid in Hogwarts besides me wearing a wizards hat and doing things with cards.
The kid in the picture was looking down at his hand where a magician card was towards the spectator. The hat blocked his face almost entirely but a thin clever smile was still visible under the brim. Moreover the magician card inside the card child's hand had an even smaller magician holding a card.
"You made me a Magician?" I asked amused
"Felt appropriate, oh look at the other side" Fred said excitedly.
I turned the card around to see a stylish H wearing a wizards hat.
"See? I thought it was a nice way to remind people who made this possible, but it can also easily mean Hogwarts so it's subtle right? even a bit Slytherin?" George asked a bit hopefully
I chuckled" yeah I can claim plausible deniability whenever needed, also yes very Slytherin boys well done"
I did not spare the praise. Twins managed something like this in three days all the while doing insane Quidditch drills with their teams.
I need to lock down this deal,even if I take a loss. These twins are clearly going to go far and I have no intention of letting this opportunity slip.
I thought furiously as I looked through the rest of the cards but one.
Fred was spinning between his thumb and index finger by giving it snaps with his fingers.
Fred turned the Fool card over in his fingers so I could watch the art work of that too, which funny enough was one of them in a jesters outfit.
Then George looked up.
"Why Tarot cards?"
I shrugged.
"I needed symbols, and I thought the regular playing cards would be too mundane"
The twins froze then very slowly they looked at one another.
"Oh,Oh that's good."
Fred showed the Fool. "This one is ours."
I blinked.
"What?" I asked, confused by the jumping of the topic.
"The Fool," George nodded enthusiastically, "is a question for us! Pranks mischief and Creative Stupidity! Well that's mostly Fred."
Fred ignored him entirely.
"The problem," he declared, pointing a finger at me, "is that one person can only answer so many questions."
"Even if he's hiding in bed while doing it," George added.
"Which he absolutely would." Fred nodded with a confidence
"Without hesitation." George added
"Immediately." Fred finished
I chose not to defend myself.
Fred spread the tarot cards across the table.
"So we stopped thinking about them as cards." he explained as George nodded enthusiastically next to him.
"And started thinking about them as doors."
He picked up the Fool.
"Want a prank?" George asked like a salesman
Fred snatched it from him.
"Need mischief?Questionable life advice?Or a terrible idea improved by a massive amount of experience?"
They grinned.
"The Fool."
George picked another card.
"Need help with Charms?The Magician." he said excitedly
"Need a study note? pick a different card. Perhaps essay writing advice?Pick a different card."
Fred gathered the spread into a neat pile.
"Every card becomes a category."
"Students only buy the card they actually need."
"One card,One question and One answer."
George tapped the notebook in front of him.
"Meanwhile the poor soul answering questions only receives the questions they're supposed to receive, the one they actually know about"
He looked at me and shook his head.
"Honestly, Hawthorn, the fact you've been trying to answer everyone yourself explains a lot." George said half impressed and half horrified
"Mostly why you always look tired." Fred nodded.
I nodded, getting the concept and yes it's way smarter than the simple one I came up with, but then again this is why I contacted them to begin with.
"So it seems you have this all quite well figured out" I hedged and thought now would be a good time to talk about the money..Sadly no.
The twins burst out to explain their plans for the near future.
Fred picked a card depicting me as The Magician.
"This one goes to Flitwick." He said excitedly
I stared."Professor Flitwick?"
"Questions about Charms and magic in general"
"A student buys a card, and soon a question appears in his notebook."
"Answers come back as soon as he gets to it and it's still faster than going to the library to look for the information."
The idea hung in the air.
I looked from one twin to the other and neither appeared to be joking.
"You're assigning people to the cards." I said finally getting the full picture
"Correct." George nodded happily
"Twenty-one people." I confirmed
"Eventually." Fred said
I stared.
"Finding twenty-one people to do something like this sounds impossible." I said, thinking about the amount of work I have to do daily. Not even mentioning Tweak who collects all the information.
The twins looked confused." You do know there are seven hundred students here right?" Fred asked
"Finding twenty-one useful people is easy," he said with a chuckle.
Fred paused.
"Finding twenty-one useful people willing to work for free."
George nodded solemnly.
"Now that's the issue."
My gaze drifted to the Magician card.
"Professor Flitwick would never agree."
The twins laughed immediately. Not nervous laughter but a confident laughter.
The sort that suggested they already had a plan.
"He absolutely would,one hundred percent." Fred confirmed
"Why?" I asked puzzled.
They stared at me.
"Well, it's educational." Fred said like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"Slightly ridiculous too and those two just happen to be his two favorite things." George finished.
I opened my mouth, then closed it again.
Because honestly they might be right.
George pointed toward another card.
The Emperor.
"McGonagall."
I barked a laugh. "No! Absolutely not."
The twins grinned.
"We're not asking."
"We're sending her a notebook and an explanation on how it's being used. We are Thousand percent sure she will love the idea of extra study" Fred added
I stared.
"What?"
Fred spread his hands.
"Think about it."
George nodded.
"She receives one anonymous question."
"Answers it."
"Then another arrives."
"Then another."
Fred smiled.
"Eventually she'll either stop."
"Or continue."
George leaned back.
"Our money is on her continuing."
That was somehow the most terrifying thing they'd said all afternoon.
The cards remained scattered across the table,and the more I looked at them, the less they resembled a deck.
They looked like a blueprint of a system. Something much larger than what I had brought into the room a few days ago.
Eventually I cleared my throat.
The twins stopped their babble about the rest of the people they plan to con into this network.
"Let's talk about some money then,and I agree with you we won't sell packs unless there's someone worth selling it to. And it should be a galleon or two short of how much the twenty one cards would come to cost if bought separately, agreed?" I said
Twins nodded" good idea. Sound from the marketing standpoint too, and there should be many people who would want all that, well few Slytherins and Ravenclaws might, but they probably would have the money." Fred said
"I also suggest that we test it slowly and not try to sell these to anyone but Hogwarts students and staff, oh and I think 50/50 is more than fair deal don't you?" I said rapidly
George got a very shark-like smile on his face" oh? we make the cards, arrange the people to answer the questions, sell the cards and advertise the process and you wish to gobble up 50%? Why don't you go and rob Gringotts and be done with it? 2 percent is fine and enough for you!"
I didn't even blink" Well you're going to imply this is all part of my oh so famous Exchange aren't you? That's why the H with the hat on top on the cards behind. So I feel,since I gave you the idea and the fertile ground to lift this project up 60/40 is more than fair to me 60 and you two 40." I shot back
George Sputtered " 60% FOR YOU!! Are you mad? We are grateful no doubt about that, but me and my twin are pouring our sweat and tears, doing all the heavy lifting on this!" He pulled a parchment out of his robes and wrote an 80/20 split contract and signed it with a flourish " Now this is my last offer.."
was all he got out before I signed it and smiled at him beatifically just as I learned from Greengrass" just to be clear boys, I would have settled for 5%"
George sputter and gaped at me as Fred laughed uproariously " oh you got played little brother, you went and forgot he is still a snake no matter how cool guy he is"
I chuckled as Fred copied the contract and gave it to me to sing and I did after I looked it was exactly the same as the one before.
"ah don't say it like that, it was a very good try George assumed" I consoled
Fred and George froze and looked at me" did you say George assumed? because people won't usually admit they can't tell us apart" Fred asked with a disbelieving smile.
I waved my hand " oh it was just a slip up, but yes I have no real desire to figure out which of you is which, so I just label you in my head 'Fred assumed and George assumed' and correct the assumption,if I need to" I explained honestly.
Somehow that got the Twins laughing.