Chapter Text
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
A STAR SEEKER WAS BORN
September 4, 1970 (Friday)
HALFBLOOD SLYTHERIN MEETS MUGGLEBORN SLYTHERIN
by Sclandora Gosp
Milestone for progress or Flashpoint for contention
Dear readers, it is to my utter surprise to report that we have a Muggleborn Slytherin in our newest class of Hogwarts students. Aigel Pierricoeur, youngest son of the renowned Arithmancer Emmanuel Pierricoeur, was confirmed to be sorted into Slytherin two days ago. Throughout the history of Hogwarts, the House of Slytherin has been the house of choice for most pureblood families. In fact, most family members from the Sacred Twenty-Eight were sorted into this house. It also has the unofficial reputation as being the most selective in the blood purity of a prospective student. While this theory has never been proven as the ancient magic vested in the Sorting Hat has never been studied, one might consider it to be highly plausible as Salazar Slytherin, the founder of this House, was known to stress the importance of magical ancestry and heritage.
However, today's story is not about the dry facts of history. Instead, I would like to bring your attention to what transpired during the Sorting. Multiple sources identified that Alexander Fawley, cousin of former Minister and current Chief Warlock Hector Fawley and second-year, coming to the aid of the nervous first-year.
"I have utmost confidence that the Sorting of Aigel Pierricoeur shows the efforts made by the Headmaster to make Hogwarts a more inclusive place has reaped its rewards. I am very proud that Alexander has become a leader and stepped up at this crucial moment," said Lord Fawley when asked about Alexander Fawley's behaviour.
However, his faith in the second-year's judgement might be sorely misplaced.
"He is already a blemish to our reputation as a whole," Johannes Grassley, a sixth-year said. "Fawley was a fool to try and invite him into our fold as though he belonged."
His peers have voiced similar concerns and discomfort about their newest addition.
Tracey Morrison, a fellow housemate, said: "He is... quite frankly... odd." Her friend, Regina Bennett added, "He constantly looks at me silently, which is quite unnerving."
If the addition of such a character proves to be so divisive, the Headmaster should remedy the situation by yielding to the request of a re-Sorting...
***
Turais and Andromeda headed back to the Entrance Hall separately. When he sat down at his usual seat beside Jonty and Alex, they shot him a questioning gaze. However, Turais decidedly ignored the stares and poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice instead. Suddenly, he noticed that Pierricoeur was staring at him from the Ravenclaw table with a mix of concern... and gratefulness.
'That's new,' Turais thought as Pierricoeur's eyes now flitted towards his brother further down the Slytherin table.
"He was agitated because he noticed Aigel's bruises on his face this morning," Alex muttered into Turais's ear. Turais nodded understandingly. He looked over to the first-year, who was sat alone like a lone island amongst the rest of the Slytherins.
'A nod from Pierricoeur? That's new as well,' Turais thought.
"I know I've said this already, but I really don't like this, Turais... and for it to be a Pierricoeur of all people." Jonty commented as Turais turned his attention back to his friend, "A Muggleborn Sorted into Slytherin is never a good sign."
The serious, dark look on his friend’s face was making him uncomfortable.
"Don't be so dramatic, Jonty," Turais said with a dampened cheeriness. "I'm sure it wouldn't be so tremendously horrifying as you are implying." Turais knew he would keep a close watch on all affairs, as usual. So nothing catastrophic was likely to occur without him detecting it well in advance,
"I think you're the one who is not grasping the full extent of this," Jonty said in a hushed tone as he eyed his surrounding. Jonty motioned Turais forward. He leaned closely to catch what the boy was saying. “My father was at Hogwarts when the last Muggleborn was in Slytherin. He never mentioned anything more than vague stories, but from what I have gathered from eavesdropping on all those conversations, those years were haunted by terrible, terrible events."
Turais leaned away from a frown. "Again, that does not necessarily correlate with a Muggleborn being sorted into Slytherin," Turais said despite knowing that last time around, Tom Riddle was a different kind of terror. "It might have been a coincidence."
"I guess I will just have to save all our hinds and keep an eye out for him," Jonty grumbled as he jabbed his fork at Aigel. Letting out a grunt of frustration, he speared his hashbrowns and stuffed it into his mouth. Turais looked over to the first-years and saw that most of them avoided him like he was contagious with dragon pox.
If it weren’t for timetable distribution, Turais would have invited Aigel over to sit with him -
"No," Jonty's voice cut through Turais’s thoughts. Turais turned his attention to his friend as the boy repeated the firm "No."
"You don't even know what I was thinking about," Turais protested.
Jonty waved his fork disapprovingly. "You're easier to read than you think, Turais. And I bet this plate of food that you were thinking of inviting that boy to our meals -" Jonty looked Turais dead in his eyes, "- and don't even think about it. Not under my watch."
Turais sighed, half in exasperation and half in irritation that Jonty guessed correctly. "Fine, we will not have Aigel Pierricoeur with us for meals."
"Better," Jonty said. "And listen, Turais. This situation you have with Alex and that boy is political suicide! Stop. Involving. Yourself. With. Him!"
"I appreciate the concern, Jonty. I really do," said Turais to the disgruntled boy, who let out a snort. "Hey Jonty, listen to me -" Turais pulled the plate of food away from Jonty, who unwillingly gave Turais his full attention while chewing his food noisily. "I understand your concerns, but let us not be prejudiced against him for something his brother committed."
"Fine! As long as you know to be wary," Jonty said warningly as he pulled the plate of food back in front of him. "They will strike when you least suspect and in the most unpredictable manner. But you will not stop me from doing some sleuthing of my own." After a second, he added for extra emphasis, "And he is not joining us for meals regularly."
Turais bit down on his lower lip at the proposition. Ultimately, he settled for the compromise. "Agreed, but I will maintain my rights to interfere with any form of bullying. And also for daily visitation -"
"What is this? A child custody court battle?" said Jonty.
Turais glared at his companion before they dug into the breakfast spread in front of them in silence.
***
Soon, weekend was upon them, which also meant that it was the Slytherin House Team Quidditch trials. As a second-year, it was only natural that Turais tried for Seeker - a position that he excelled in as Harry Potter.
"Good luck in the try-outs, Turais!" Fabian Prewett shouted out on his way towards the stands as he spotted the three Slytherins approach the Slytherin team captain with their brooms.
"Thank you, Gideon!" Turais shouted back, deliberately saying his twin's name instead.
"I take back what I said to you and sod off!" The seventh-year Gryffindor chided bemusedly as he made a rude hand gesture.
"I didn't know you were close with the Prewett twins," Jonty commented as they continued towards the Slytherin captain, who was engaged in an animated discussion with... "Huh, isn't that Potter?" Jonty pointed towards the Gryffindor who clearly contributed the most towards the conversation both in words and in hand movements. At some point, Wilkins gave Kaiden a withering look and the boy immediately dulled his movements... but only for a brief while before he started waving his arms wildly again.
"What were you saying about the twins?" Jonty returned to the previous conversation.
Turais shrugged. "I meet them occasionally. As you are probably aware, my aunt Lucretia is married to Lord Ignatius Prewett."
Jonty slapped his forehead in realization. "That completely slipped my mind."
" - have to replace that buffoon Nott. Laughalot was clearly under a Confundus when he swapped her out -" Kaiden's voice was clearly heard as the Slytherins approached the duo. "Now I know you don't like me interfering nor should I be helping you build a better team... but NOTT! Really?! -" Kaiden took Wilkins by the shoulders and shook him violently. " - You can do better than that, Michael, much better -"
Wilkins visibly rolled his eyes as he shoved Kaiden away with his hand squarely on his chest. He then took a few steps away from Kaiden for extra distance. His dry, scratchy voice sounded, "Kaiden, I know what I'm doing -"
"You clearly don't since you are keeping him on the roster!" Kaiden made an attempt to claw at the clipboard but Wilkins physically held the boy at bay. Undeterred, the Gryffindor captain whipped out his wand to levitate the clipboard out of Wilkins's hands. But the Slytherin quickly countered by casting a weak Shield charm followed by a mild Stinging Hex at the boy. "Hey Michael, you're not playing very nicely -"
“So, ahem! Black. What are you -" Wilkins shouted out as he spotted the incoming Quidditch hopefuls. He held his arm out to keep the energetic Kaiden at bay.
"Hey Rais!" Kaiden waved excitedly. "Looking mighty fine today, Steward!" It was Turais's turn to wonder about the relationship there as he looked at Jonty questioningly.
"We have a symbiotic relationship on inter-House information exchange," Jonty whispered into Turais's ear.
Turais snorted before whispering back. "Is this what we are calling your glorified gossip circle?"
Jonty bristled predictably.
Meanwhile, Kaiden had taken advantage of Wilkins's momentary distraction as he snatched the clipboard and feather quill from his grasp and started scribbling. "Turais is trying out for Seeker -" Kaiden said as the quill moved across the piece of parchment before shoving both items back to the disgruntled Wilkins. "- here, Michael. All done for you."
"Kay, here to scout out the winning team Seeker?" Turais teased.
"That's funny because you are looking at the winning team captain," Kaiden smirked and puffed his chest.
Wilkins gave Kaiden a questioning look as he jerked his thumb at Turais. "Kay?"
"Ah! Long story - I'll tell you later, Michael!" Kaiden said hurriedly as he smiled at Turais. "Good luck!"
Turais smiled. "Thank you, Kaiden. I'll try my best."
"Well, try your best now. But don't try too hard on the actual matches," Kaiden joked.
"No promises there," Turais returned.
"Ahem!" Wilkins cleared his throat aggressively as he gave Kaiden a pointed look who, for once, seemed to have taken note and decided to spare the Slytherin captain more headache.
"Good luck to the rest of you too!" Kaiden said before wisely sauntering away.
Wilkins muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Pillock Potter" as Kaiden shouted out, "I heard that, Michael!"
The three second-years shared an amused look while Wilkins cursed under his breath.
“So... ahem, Seeker, huh. That’s good. Wait over there with Blishwick and Eibon. Also, nice broom there - Mahogany-birch Nimbus 1700 - better not waste it or I’ll nick it for myself. How about you, Fawley?”
Alex shook his head and said, “I’m only here to cheer on my friends.”
Wilkins grunted in response as he turned to Jonty.
“And you, Steward?”
“Chaser.”
“Oak-hazel Cleansweep Five...” Wilkins eyed the platinum finishing approvingly. “... Plus. Worse than a Nimbus 1700 but better than the Cleansweep Six, at least the current oak-aspen one. Join the largest group over there.”
As the three walked the remaining trail down into the Quidditch pitch, Turais heard a quiet rustle nearby and reached for his wand.
"Who's there?" Jonty asked as he pulled out his wand moments later.
Turais turned to his right to see a jittery boy walking out from the shadow of the tree. It was Aigel.
"Aigel, what are you doing here?" Alex exclaimed as he walked towards him under Jonty's suspicious gaze.
"Um... I heard it's the Slytherin Quidditch trials," Aigel said as he scratched his head sheepishly.
"You're not planning on trying out for the team, are you?" Alex frowned. "First-years are not allowed to have their own brooms."
"N...no," Aigel shook his head. "I just wanted to see what was going on... if that's okay..." Jonty snorted as Turais nudged him disapprovingly.
"Why are you hiding in the shadows then?" Jonty asked sharply.
"I... I..." Aigel's eyes darted to Alex's face and flushed before looking down on the grassy path. "I... just wanted to see your performances."
"That's great!" Alex shot Jonty a warning glare and put his arms around the boy. "I'm heading to the viewing stands. Why don't you join me?"
Aigel's face split into a big, dazzling smile as he immediately tugged Alex towards the stands. Alex gave a helpless shrug and allowed himself to be dragged away.
"That boy better make up believable excuses next time. He's a Slytherin, for Merlin's sake," Jonty shook his head as he hid his wand once more. They eyed their retreating backs as Jonty spoke up again, "I seriously think that boy has imprinted on Alex like how those ducklings do. Either that or he's up to something. Why can't the Pierricoeurs act like normal human beings?"
"Don't be rude," Turais admonished. "I find it quite endearing."
In fact, he was ecstatic that Alex had made a friend on his own.
They walked over to the side of the pitch and joined their respective groups while Alex and Aigel headed off to the stands where four clusters of students wearing different house colours sat. It was a convention that team trials were open to viewing by other House teams as opposed to the closed practice sessions. Hence, historically it was also when the other House Team members were known to jinx and hex potential rivals and prevent them from making the teams.
The whistle sounded to signal the start of the trials. Wilkins sat on his Comet 220 and zoomed up to join the current members of the team. His Comet was the latest model of the series and was on par with Jonty’s Cleansweep Five Plus and Turais’s Nimbus 1700; they were all the top broom offerings alongside Shooting Star 70, which was the last good broom from the company before its collapse in 1978 from his original timeline. It was a weird feeling to see the best brooms available now would end up becoming undesirable school brooms by the 1990’s.
Turais looked up to Wilkins as he used a Sonorous to address the hopefuls.
“So everyone here should know that there are open spots for one Chaser, one Beater, one Keeper, and one Seeker. But unlike some stupid, sentimental Gryffindor -” An angry rumble sounded from the Gryffindor section and Turais could hear Kaiden’s indignant shout “ Hey, Carmickey!” which Wilkins ignored. “ - the current members will also be tested again with the short-listed hopefuls. So be prepared for a long haul. Seekers, this is your first test. Learn to sit back and watch others have all the action. Now as usual, Chasers are up! ”
The Chasers were first tasked with ball passing with several Quaffles while hovering stationarily in a large circle. Wilkins eliminated all the players who were deliberately sabotaging other players with absurd passes and players who fumbled with every catch. That shaved off half the group. Then, they did several laps around the stadium while passing the Quaffle amongst themselves and further eliminated half the group. Jonty was eliminated in this stage and headed off to the stands, although he didn’t look too dejected. Finally, they were aiming shots at the hoops from different angles and flying speeds. After that, only five players flew to his satisfaction.
The Slytherin section was now the largest group filled with rejected Chaser candidates as they muttered angrily while watching the shortlisted members taking turns grouped with the two current Chasers, Nott and Montague, on quick passes and flying combos. The current Chasers were also put on rotation and placed in various groups of three with two new hopefuls at a time. Nott’s ineptitude, which did not come as a surprise to any given his dismal performance as Chaser last year, was completely exposed as he fumbled with passes and missed perfect throws. Natalia Arkenstone, on the other hand, played spectacularly and melded with any partner Wilkins assigned her with. Finally, after two full hours, Wilkins had decided on the new Chasers.
“The Chasers for this year are Pyrites, Montague, and Arkenstone -“
“WILKINS! What did you just -” Nott roared as he flew up to the captain.
“ - Backups are Harper, Riley, and Vance, in that order. Beaters are up! ”
“WILKINS! My father will hear about this!” Nott yelled as Wilkins zoomed off to the Beaters group, ignoring Nott completely.
"Natalia!" Turais shouted as he ran over to the jubilant Chaser. "Congratulations!"
Natalia gave him a radiant smile. "Thank you, Turais! I'm glad that Wilkins had the backbone to kick that bumbling fool off the team."
"Well, Wilkins is quite serious about Quidditch. But most importantly, you deserve this position," Turais smiled.
"Thank you for the encouragement last year," she said. "I'm just really glad Wilkins has been made captain so I have a chance to fight for a Chaser position. I hope you make the team as well."
"Don't worry. I will," Turais grinned.
Natalia gave him an approving nod before waving goodbye to join the rest of the Chasers. Turais also turned his attention back to the Beaters trial.
Wilkins was one-half of the Beaters pair, so he personally engaged in the trials. First, he had them aim the Bludgers at levitated targets. Then, the successful few did drills on batting passes and were tested for reflex by defending the three Chasers from four Bludgers at a time. Wilkins was a fierce player all-around but particularly excelled in defence. His incredible talent was on full display as he almost single-handedly defended the Chasers from all four Bludgers for two minutes when he was paired with a particularly terrified Beater-hopeful. His foul temper was also on full display afterwards when he dressed down that player so loudly the entire pitch could hear him without the Sonorous .
“MAX, DON’T BECOME A BEATER IF YOU ARE GOING TO FLY AWAY FROM THE BLUDGERS!”
He ultimately announced that Cornfoot would be his partner and Gibbon would be the back-up. Turais was suddenly extremely glad he would not end up on an opposing team as Cornfoot and Wilkins made a scary pair of Beaters. They were able to fend off four Bludgers for ten minutes and also took out all the designated targets in a record time. Wilkins even gave Cornfoot a rare grimace that, Turais guessed, was supposed to be a smile.
“Keepers are up! ”
Only four Slytherins were vying for the position and it quickly whittled down to one when it became painfully obvious that three of them couldn’t catch a Quaffle, let alone guard three hoops. Gibbon, who tried out for two positions, was mediocre at best so Wilkins gritted his teeth as he was forced to announce the position.
“Gibbon, you are Keeper,” he said with great reluctance.”And you and I are going to spend a lot of quality time together . And don’t you dare land yourself in detention. I don’t care if you have to French-kiss McGonagall out of one, you will do it!”
Gibbon, along with all the students present on the stands, made various noises of disgust, horrified with the mental image. Wilkins ignored them all and continued.
“Seekers are up! ”
Turais mounted his broom and kicked off the ground with a fourth-year girl and family friend, Emma Blishwick, and fifth-year boy Eibon. The sun had almost completely disappeared beneath the horizon now as the Quidditch viewing towers cast long shadows across the orange-lit fields. Wilkins joined them shortly after.
“Now, a-hheem, I have nine Snitches released on half the pitch with four Bludgers set. Whoever catches the most Snitches in the next fifteen minutes will become Seeker. On my whistle.”
Wilkins’s whistle sounded as Turais zoomed ahead towards the designated area and immediately saw specks of gold glistening in the setting sun. He veered right at the closest moving light and immediately dived as a Bludger whistled past his right ear and grazed his flapping robes. Sighting the first Snitch, he reached his right arm for it as he saw another Bludger swing into his view. He performed a barrel roll as it shot harmlessly over his body while keeping his sight on the Snitch. He reached for a second time and closed his hand around the cool metal.
‘One.’
He stuffed it in his pocket as he propelled towards another Snitch that was racing towards a Quidditch viewing tower. He leaned into the broom and pushed for the highest speed as he heard the air whistle a warning of an incoming Bludger. He knew he could out fly the Bludger at this pace and focused on the Snitch and the fast-approaching tower. The Snitch darted upwards at the last moment and Turais pulled up sharply after it, inches from the flapping fabrics. He heard a loud crash below him as he closed his hand of another Snitch; the Bludger must have smashed into the tower.
‘Two.’
He did a backflip-twist to return to the pitch as he saw a Bludger roaring directly towards him. Turais quickly banked right as the Bludger missed the handle by a fraction of an inch. That was a bit too close for comfort as Turais’s heart raced, but he would have to think about it after.
He saw another glint directly beneath him hovering very close to the pitch floor and Turais tipped his broom down for a straight, vertical dive before twisting into a horizontal path straight for the Snitch, which he pocketed with ease.
‘Three.’
Turais thought he was on track to getting the most Snitches when he heard the whistle. He turned to look at Wilkins who was on the ground.
“Trials are over!” He yelled. The crowd at the stands were murmuring excitedly and pointing at their direction.
‘There’s no way fifteen minutes has passed. Did the others catch the rest of the Snitches already? Oh no... that means I tied with three at best or lost otherwise.”’
Turais raced down towards Wilkins and dismounted from the broom as the other two joined him moments later.
“What? It was three minutes tops, cap. Why did we stop?” Emma Blishwick asked.
“Yeah, I didn’t even catch one yet! Four Bludgers are too much, cap!” The boy shouted in discontentment. Turais’s heart dropped to his stomach. He couldn’t believe someone caught double the amount of Snitches than he did in the same amount of time.
“You didn’t catch any? I didn’t catch any either,” Emma exclaimed. Both of them turned to stare at Turais. "Turais... did you..."
“Wait… what? I thought you caught six Snitches, Emma,” Turais fished his pockets and held out the three stilled Snitches in his right hand. “I only caught three, I don’t know why Wilkins stopped.”
They turned to Wilkins who was shaking with an intense grimace on his extremely flushed face. The veins by his temples were bulging dangerous. He looked like he was about to explode.
“Uh… are you alright, Wilkins?” Emma asked hesitantly, pulling her broom closely to her body. Turais suddenly realized that he and Eibon did the same thing instinctively as well. Wilkins pulled out his wand and they flinched. But he pointed it at his tensed-up throat and turned to the stands. He bellowed in his magically magnified voice, and Turais was surprised by the thick emotions, “BLACK IS SEEKER! BLACK IS SEEKER! THANK MERLIN AND ALL MY ANCESTORS! BLACK IS SEEKER!”
The moment Turais touched down on the pitch ground, he was trapped in a bone-crushing, bear hug from the team captain for several minutes listening to his play-by-play analysis of the three catches as though Turais did not witness them personally. Then, Wilkins suddenly realized they were in the middle of the Quidditch pitch in front of dozens of students, including Gryffindors. But ultimately, he decided that Turais was the reincarnation of Merlin and that he really didn’t care about the other students because Turais was smooch! and proceeded to hug him even tighter for several more minutes.
When he finally released Turais, Wilkins looked as though he had fallen in love with Turais and kept sending obvious love-sick glances at him as they walked towards the Slytherin changing rooms. He even walked himself into the wooden door frame as he tried to enter the narrow doorway beside Turais and fell onto the ground while still maintaining a dreamy grin, much to the amusement of everyone else who witnessed it.
In the changing room, Wilkins formally introduced the team to each other. The three Chasers were Noalan Pyrites (fifth-year), Cyrus Montague (seventh-year), and Natalia Arkenstone (seventh-year). The two Beaters were Carmichael Wilkins and Brookes Cornfoot (fifth-year). The Keeper was Strafford Gibbon (sixth-year) and the Seeker was Turais Black, himself. Wilkins said his name with a slight tremor of barely contained excitement.
When they re-emerged from the changing room, Turais saw Jonty and the Gryffindor team standing calmly while Kaiden was jumping up and down with a child-like joy. Wilkins immediately stepped in front of Turais protectively and placed himself between the Gryffindor and his new favourite person in the entire universe.
“What do you want, Kaiden?” Wilkins growled at the sight of the opposing team captain.
“Calm down. I just wanted to say congratulations,” Kaiden continued to bounce, which was starting to make Turais nauseous. “Oi, that was awesome ! Your third catch was the textbook Wronski Feint but with the added catch, oh Merlin! Why were you sorted into Slytherin? Why can’t you be our Seeker ? Can I ask Dumbledore for a re-sort? I should ask -”
“Hey, Kaiden! Snap out of it! He’s mine!” Wilkins snarled possessively at Kaiden and stabbed a finger at his chest. “If I see you within ten feet of him, I will whack you with Bludgers until you wished you were never born.”
Honestly, Turais was a bit thrown off by the seemingly genuine animosity rolling off of Wilkins against the Gryffindor captain. If this was an act, they deserved awards for their performances. However, Kaiden totally shrugged off the ominous threat and continued to bounce cheerily.
“Cheer up, Carmickey!" Kaiden said cheerily despite Wilkins's darkening scowl.
'Carmickey?' Turais thought as he raised an eyebrow.'And Wilkins lets him get away with that?!'
"Stop looking like a dying flobberworm," Kaiden continued. "I can’t wait for the Ravenclaw-Slytherin match now. I will need to film it using a cine-cam! Wait, I don’t have one. I will have to ask my dad to buy me one then!”
“Stop bouncing, Kay! You are making me sick,” Turais finally burst out. Wilkins lashed out upon hearing his words and grabbed Kaiden’s shoulders to still his movements. Turais heard Jonty muttered something about “know how we feel” and “Christmas train ride”.
“You heard him, Kaiden. If he misses even a single hair or feels the slightest discomfort from your actions. You will have a talk from my bat, face-to-face ,” said Wilkins while waving his battle-hardened companion in his hand menacingly.
Kaiden frowned for a moment before turning to Turais and fake-whispered, “Loosen him a little, would you?”
At Wilkins’s second growl, an actual growl, Kaiden leapt away quickly and ran for the rest of the Gryffindor team standing nearby. “Bye, Rais. See you around.”
Wilkins turned around to Turais and his deep scowl turned into an awkwardly stilted smile that contorted on his face unnaturally.
‘Um, please stick with frowning and glaring… please?’
“Black, please catch the snitch in the first five minutes of our first match so I don’t need to get a heart-attack over Gibbon’s Keeping skills,” Wilkins said as he placed his rough hand on Turais’s shoulder.
“I’ll try…?” Turais squeaked out and Wilkins did the hideous smile again.
“Good.”
The official Slytherin Quidditch team managed to enter the Great Hall ten minutes before dinner was finished. Once they reached the table, everyone was stuffing their faces and plates messily with food before they disappeared. As they were finishing up, they were interrupted by another group of Slytherins.
Lucius Malfoy strolled into the Great Hall with his allies around him.
“Wilkins, how were the trials today? Nott pulled quite the ruckus in the common room and some of our members were eager to hear the news. Hence, here we are.”
“It went well, Malfoy," Wilkins replied stiffly. "Except for Gibbon, who will need a lot of training to bring his Keeping skills up to par, we are well-put together.”
“I see that Black is sitting with the rest of the team. Has he been selected for a position?” Malfoy asked with curiosity.
“Yes, he is the newest Seeker for the team. I am confident that we will win the Quidditch Cup this year with him on the team,” Wilkins slapped him on the back hard and Turais felt winded.
“Really?” Malfoy arched his brow, “Well, I would prefer that the Slytherins win the Quidditch Cup this year, and I sincerely hope you can deliver what you just promised... for your family's sake.”
Wilkins tensed noticeably beside Turais as Malfoy smirked and left the Hall with his allies in tow.
Afterwards, Wilkins led them back to the Slytherin common room where he gathered all the housemates to make the official announcement of the new Slytherin Quidditch Team. The reactions to the announcement were relatively normal until he reached the reveal of their new Seeker.
“And finally, the new Seeker on our Team is... Turais Black.”
Turais could feel the stillness in the room as the students all stared at him intensely. Turais could imagine that half of the students were absolutely awed that the second-year was the top student in his class, a magically-powerful wizard, and also a great Quidditch player; the other half of the students were seething with jealousy and hatred for the exact same reasons.
Reading the room and sensing the tension-filled silence, Wilkins continued on. “I don’t care what you feel about Black, but what I do care is that Black stays safe, healthy, and able-bodied to participate in all upcoming training sessions and matches. If I catch even a single person breathing weirdly around him, your parents and Dumbledore will be the least of your concerns. Good evening.”
Turais turned his gaze just to see Nott staring at him with a murderous loathing that sent an involuntary shiver down his spine.
***
In hindsight, Turais was terribly naïve for thinking he could enjoy his second-year and all its offerings. Perhaps that would have still been the case if he did not make the fateful decision of joining a Quidditch Team headed by Wilkins.
Despite catching a glimpse of Wilkins's near-maniacal competitiveness for Quidditch during the trials, nothing could have ever prepared him for the intensity of their Quidditch training that left little time for anything else other than homework and sleep. The regular weekday trainings that begun before daybreak also quickly became the least of Turais's concern when Wilkins deliberately dragged him to an impromptu training session because there was a torrential storm brewing on the horizon.
“I'm not doing it!” Turais said once he discovered Wilkins's insane plan. Getting struck by lightning or whipped around in chaotic wind was not Turais’s idea of well-spent Friday afternoon.
“We need to be prepared for any weather condition during the match, Black!” Wilkin roared just as a menacing clap of thunder rocked the darkening skies.
Turais dodging Wilkins's grasp and retreated to the other end of the hallway, far away from the captain.
“I will hex you if you come near me, Wilkins!” Turais shouted, feeling a bit ridiculous that he had to resort to a threat to get his point across. “I swear.”
Wilkins's nostrils flared, which caused Turais to shrink involuntarily. However, the older boy had seen, first-hand, what Turais could do and knew he would follow through with the threat. Therefore, Wilkins gritted out a harsh and reluctant, “Fine!”
When Turais mentioned the incident to Natalia, she merely chuckled, “I'm more surprised that he didn't tie you to your broom and drag you up into the air anyways.”
“I would like to see him try,” Turais huffed. “Honestly, it's just school Quidditch.”
“If only we can get this tiny piece of information into his brain,” Natalia returned blandly.
Wilkins's hyper-competitiveness also manifested in the form of overbearing protection as the day of the Slytherin-Gryffindor match arrived.
“What are you doing?” Turais asked as he eyed the captain warily. They were standing in front of the second-year dormitory and in the captain’s arms were a blanket and a pillow.
“I'm planning to stay here overnight and make sure -”
“Make sure what exactly?” Turais interrupted. “That I won’t be attacked in the middle of night?”
Wilkins frowned and said matter-of-factly, “Well, of course!”
“If someone is going to sneak in here and attack me, I doubt your presence will be the deterrent,” Turais snapped.
Wilkins did not end up sleeping in Turais’s room, thankfully, but it was a very near miss. Turais was somehow able to convince him that he was a light sleeper. Hence, the presence of a foreign person would affect his sleep and his subsequent performance against the Gryffindors.
Wilkins agreed reluctantly.
The next morning, Turais changed into his green and silver Quidditch robes before he headed down to the Great Hall with his best friends. Most of the second-year students were wishing him good luck, and that included a pinched-face Pierricoeur that was dragged along by his brother, Aigel. In general, many people were very excited that a second-year would be playing as part of the starting line-up in a Quidditch match.
This match was considered the match of the decade as the Slytherins finally had a serious chance in winning against the Gryffindors. Furthermore, the Gryffindors had beaten the Slytherins resoundingly in their last seven match-ups. Therefore, none of the current students in Hogwarts had ever witnessed a victorious Slytherin team over its Gryffindor rivals, which only served to further excite the school.
However, Turais was calm and unstressed for his pre-match breakfast compared to when he was Harry Potter in his original timeline. After all, he had seen things that were more important in life than winning a scholastic Quidditch match, so he was determined to enjoy it instead of worrying about it. He was still excited though, but the sense of dread and nervousness that generally accompanied Quidditch was no longer present.
“Hey, Turais. We’re supposed to root for Gryffindor but we just wanted to wish you luck,” Jane and Alice said quietly.
“Hey! You two Gryffindors, scram! ” Wilkins shouted from down the table. Turais rolled his eyes and the two girls smothered their laughter with their hands. However, they ran away quickly afterwards as Wilkins started to pelt pieces of cereal at them.
“Calm down, Carmickey -”
“Shut up, Kaiden! Black, time to head down."
“Can’t wait to lose, Carmickey? We do have the best team because I’m on it.”
Turais flashed Jonty and Alex a confident grin as he left the table. Kaiden also walked over to the entrance to shake his hand.
“My parents sent you their well-wishes on your first Quidditch match. But I’ll just wish that you wouldn’t lose too badly ,” he said as Turais snorted.
“In your dreams, Kay, I -”
But that was all he managed to say before Wilkins proceeded to pounce on them and then forcefully drag Turais out of the Hall to head down to the Quidditch pitch alongside the rest of the team.
“Okay, team,” Wilkins addressed the team, who were all stone-faced and grim, in the changing room for the pre-match talks moments before the match was about to start. “We trained incredibly hard for the past two months and I have a really good feeling about this one. We will flatten the Gryffindor team and make Kaiden crawl away sobbing like a baby. We will win today! Good luck to you all,” Wilkins spoke sombrely.
Turais headed out behind the team but suddenly felt a familiar rough hand hold him by the shoulder. He turned around and Wilkins whispered to him, “Black, just -”
“ - just catch the Snitch in the first five minutes. Yes, cap,” Turais rolled his eyes at Wilkins. He scowled but said nothing as he trudged towards the bright sun-lit pitch and the distant cheering and chattering. Turais was pretty sure he was the only one on the team who could get away with this amount of cheek.
“The Gryffindor Team!” A loud male voice boomed in the distance as a thunderous applause followed.
Breathing in deeply, he shook his body loose of tension and stepped out onto the pitch as well. Loud cheers erupted from the Slytherin stand for their newest and youngest player on the team.
“And... the Slytherin Team!” Turais looked up at the podium to see a Hufflepuff boy, maybe fourth-year, shout. The audience was less enthusiastic but it was still a respectable reception. As Turais walked to the middle of the field, he also heard a few scattering of applause from the Gryffindor side, to his surprise.
Mister William, the flying coach, was refereeing as he stood in the middle of the field with his broom by his side. Once Wilkins and Kaiden shook each others' hands, Mister William said while glancing at both sides, “I want a nice, clean game from both teams. Now, mount your brooms, please.”
“On my whistle.” Turais adjusted his grip on his broom as he stared at his counterpart, a seventh-year girl called Yolanda Fields.
A loud blast sounded across the field as the fourteen players rose up into the air alongside the referee.
As planned, Turais veered out to the edge of the pitch to survey the perimeter.
“Kaiden Potter of Gryffindor has first possession of the Quaffle - first match as captain - and a quick pass to Rachel Findley - her first match as main Chaser - and back to Potter - no, he took a Bludger and the Slytherins have taken Quaffle, Pyrites - arrrrrr - has possession - good hit aimed by Cornfoot - Wilkins’s new find - passes to Arkenstone, nice move there dodging Prewett’s shot - don’t ask me who, can’t tell - goalposts ahead - Findley intercepts but Arkenstone passes back to Pyrites - Walters climbs but it’s out of reach - SLYTHERIN SCORES!”
A loud cheer filled the Slytherin stands as groans sounded from the Gryffindors.
Turais was almost at the opposite end of the pitch when he saw Fields dive towards the Gryffindor stands. The crowd nearby seemed to have realized their Seeker in pursuit of the Snitch and fell silent while watching intensely.
“Fields seems to have spotted the Snitch - the newest Slytherin Seeker, prodigy and future Minister for Magic - sorry, yes Professor - Turais Black chases after her - a Bludger from Wilkins - she dodges and continues - no, she lost the Snitch -”
“Keep your eyes open, Black!” Wilkins shouted. As Turais was about to nod at him, he saw a flash of gold appear beside the Beater’s head and he leaned forward immediately.
“Montague barrel rolls past MacGregor’s grab - ducks the incoming Bludger from Prewett but drops the Quaffle - Potter gains posses - and… has Black spotted the Snitch? Yes! Black is the youngest in the field and my younger sister’s first crush - sorry, Professor - and Hilary to you, too! - sorry, flies past Wilkins and suddenly made a dive - almost vertically - no, he’s going to crash - NO! - he pulls up in time, that was terrifying - wait, he’s raising his hand up, he’s waving at the referee - what’s that, is that the - BLACK CAUGHT THE SNITCH! - SLYTHERIN WINS! - The quickest catch in recent memory - what’s that, yes, really - two minutes and twenty-four seconds - Hilary, your crush has done it! It’s the shortest match in Hogwarts history.”
The Slytherin stands roared in celebration and their victory. The Gryffindor teams hovered disappointedly around their goalposts as the Slytherin team landed by their exit to celebrate.
“SLYTHERIN: ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY - GRYFFINDOR: ZERO! First win for Slytherin over Gryffindor in seven years!”
“YES!” Wilkins touched down and threw himself at Turais, who tumbled onto the grass on his back. The rest of the team piled around him to pat his head and shoulders in delight. “I knew you could catch the Snitch in under five minutes!”
Turais noticed that Wilkins was about to give him another tight hug, so he quickly retreated to the changing room. When the celebratory Slytherin team emerged from the other side and onto the school grounds, Turais suddenly spotted three familiar figures lingering by the trees nearby.
“Turais!” Sirius shouted as he ran towards his older brother excitedly.
“Siri!” Turais laughed as the other boy leapt into his arms. Looking over the boy's head, Turais smiled at Regulus, who was hiding behind Orion. Turning to his teammates, Turais said, “Sorry, would you excuse me for just a few minutes?”
Turais walked over and crouched down in front of Regulus, who was biting on his lower lip as he glanced at the milling students around him nervously. Ruffling his hair gently, he said, “Hey Reggie, I'm so glad to see you here!”
“Me too,” Regulus whispered quickly.
Turais stood up and finally greeted his father happily, “Father, why are you here?!”
“Well, I can’t miss my son’s first Quidditch match and I want to see how my broom works,” Orion smiled as he patted Turais's head, which was slightly damp from the November mist and perspiration. “Amazing catch.”
“You saw my catch?” Turais gasped as Sirius nodded ecstatically.
“Of course!” gushed Sirius animatedly. “You just swooped down and caught it like it was nothing! Right, Reggie?!”
Sirius nudged his younger brother, who nodded wordlessly.
Orion clasped a hand on Turais's shoulder and said, “It was your first match and you made the quickest catch in Hogwarts history.”
Turais dipped his head shyly before nodding, “I was just lucky...”
“You are a great Seeker, Turais!” Sirius shouted.
“Yeah...” Regulus echoed softly.
“Thank you, the both of you,” Turais said as Regulus offered a small but proud smile.
“I would have preferred that you stayed on the safer side of things,” Orion said dryly and Turais scratched his head sheepishly.
“School Governor,” a smooth, cheery voice sounded from behind and Turais saw Orion's expression immediately tense up.
“Headmaster,” Orion greeted in a clipped tone.
Dumbledore's gaze landed on Turais through his half-moon spectacles as he said, “I merely wished to personally congratulate you on your excellent display of athleticism today, Mr Black. A very well-deserved victory.”
“Thank you, Headmaster,” said Turais politely.
“Quite a daring catch, might I add. And unexpected.”
“I hope it was a pleasant surprise then.”
Dumbledore chuckled good-naturedly before continuing, “Yes, yes... And I shall very much look forward to your future performances.”
With that, Dumbledore rejoined his other guests and walked back to the castle.
“I don't like how he deliberately went out of his way to congratulate you,” Orion commented as he watched Dumbledore pass by the rest of the Slytherin team without stopping.
“I haven't a clue as to what prompted this behaviour,” replied Turais with a worried frown forming on his face.
“Me neither,” Orion breathed. “You need to be mindful of him, regardless of his intentions.”