The Halloween feeling at Hogwarts was getting stronger and stronger every hour. Most of the young wizards were totally into it. Some of the girls were wearing little Halloween things, like pumpkin earrings or bat hair clips. The boys were all excited, talking about the Hogwarts Quidditch matches that were happening right after Halloween. It seemed like everyone was looking forward to the holiday.
"Sean, the owls are here," Blaise said, giving him a little nudge.
When he heard that, Sean looked up at the big group of owls flying into the Great Hall, bringing the morning mail. He quickly saw his own eagle owl, Rob, who was a bit grumpy, among the others.
Rob's big wings were flapping hard, making him fly a little faster than the other owls. He landed quietly right on the long table in front of Sean, and his claws clicked against the polished wood.
Sean pulled the package out from under Rob's tail feathers, hoping he hadn't squished it too much. He whispered an apology to the owl. Then, he reached out and gently stuffed Kulkan back inside his sleeve. The snake had, like always, popped out from under Sean's collar to hiss at Rob, and both of them seemed to enjoy it. Then, with Blaise watching, Sean carefully unwrapped the package.
Inside the package were two letters, one from each of Sean's parents, and a bunch of homemade snacks. The best things were a mini pumpkin pie and half of a roasted chicken, and those were both made by Sean's mom, Martha. She made them for him every Halloween, and after years of tweaking the recipe, she had finally made them perfect for Sean.
While Sean was unpacking, Harry, all the way across the room at the Gryffindor table, was already heading out of the Great Hall with Ron. They were carefully carrying a long, big package. Honestly, they weren't being very sneaky about it. Anyone who knew anything could tell that they were carrying a brand new broomstick, though they probably couldn't guess what kind.
Sean liked watching Quidditch, but he didn't really want to play himself. So, he didn't know much about broomsticks, including what kind Harry had just gotten. He did know that it was supposed to be the best one you could buy at that time.
Slytherin's Quidditch team is looking a bit shaky right now, Sean thought, feeling a little bit concerned.
After scratching Rob's chin to say thanks, Sean gave him a few of his favorite nuts. While he was doing that, he saw Malfoy, with Goyle and Crabbe tagging along like always, heading off to find Harry. Sean was pretty sure Malfoy was going to cause some trouble.
That guy really loves to mess with Harry, Sean thought, kind of amused. He's always looking for ways to annoy him. I wonder what Malfoy really wants? Is he just trying to get Harry's attention? Or maybe it's something more personal and complicated?
Sean shook his head a little, pushing those thoughts away. He turned back to Rob and carefully gave him a handful of special nuts.
Once Rob finished eating, Sean told him to take the reply he'd written to his parents back to their office at Hogwarts. This also gave Rob a chance to rest up before he had to fly all the way back.
After Rob ate the last nut, Sean let him go. He watched Rob fly gracefully out of the Great Hall through a window, disappearing into the chilly autumn air. Then, Sean stuffed Kulkan back into his sleeve, grabbed his books, and headed off to class with Blaise.
As they walked, Sean started hearing bits and pieces of conversations about Harry's new broom, the Nimbus 2000. He also found out that Harry had been made the Seeker on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, which was almost unheard of for a first-year. Because of this, the Slytherin students, who already didn't like Harry Potter, were even more annoyed and talked about the "Savior" with even more anger.
Seeing all the grumpy Slytherins around, Sean spotted Irina up ahead. He thought for a second, then walked faster to catch up with her. "Irina," he said, "do you have a minute? Could I talk to you about something?"
Irina looked at Sean, kind of curious. She nodded, said goodbye to her friends for a bit, and walked with Sean over to a tree that was off to the side.
"Sean, what's up?" she asked.
"Irina," Sean started, "did you hear? Someone gave Harry Potter a Nimbus 2000 broom, and now he's the Gryffindor Seeker in his first year at Hogwarts, which is crazy."
Irina nodded. "Yeah, I know all about it. It's been the only thing anyone's talked about all day. But what does that have to do with us?"
"I'm in flying class with Harry Potter," Sean explained, "so I know that he is, in fact, a natural on a broom. And now that he has the best broom you can get, I think he's going to be a big problem for our Slytherin Quidditch team in the upcoming matches."
Hearing that, Irina looked a bit more serious. She nodded, understanding the problem. "That's definitely a concern," she said. "So, I'm guessing you have a plan, or you wouldn't be telling me all this?"
"My idea is pretty simple, really," Sean said, just stating it like a fact. "Someone already broke the rules by making Harry Potter their Seeker early. So, we can break the rules too and promote someone who really, really dislikes Harry Potter to join the Slytherin team. I bet whoever gets that special promotion would be super eager for the chance. And for that chance, they should be willing to pay up a bit. Maybe by helping out the Slytherin Quidditch team with, oh, say, seven brand-new Nimbus 2000 broomsticks. I think that'd be a good way to support the team, a good investment for Slytherin. And since they're known as the richest family in the wizarding world, they should totally be able to afford it."
When Sean finished talking, Irina understood exactly what he was getting at, no problem.
In just a few seconds, Irina quickly thought about the good and bad sides of Sean's idea. If she helped make this happen, and the Slytherin Quidditch team ended up winning their matches and the championship, she'd definitely get a lot more influence and respect in Slytherin House. And that kind of thing was worth way more than any money.
Thinking about all that, Irina looked at Sean and said, "Sean, thanks for this. I owe you one for telling me about this opportunity."
"It's just us helping each other out," Sean replied with a little shrug. "No need to thank me."
Irina reached out and gave Sean a quick pat on the shoulder, showing she liked his idea. Then, she immediately took off to find someone good for the Quidditch team and start putting the plan into action. Sean, on the other hand, looked over at Harry in the distance. His eyes had a mix of amusement and a little bit of apology in them. "Harry," he mumbled, so quietly no one could really hear, "I'm sorry. But, you know, I am a Slytherin. And I still have to do my part to help Slytherin keep winning that championship seven times in a row."
With that thought settled, as long as he could get back all the points he'd lost, then even if Slytherin ended up losing to Gryffindor again and didn't win the House Cup, it wouldn't be his fault. If they did win, then his idea could even give him some secret influence in Slytherin House. It was too good a chance to pass up.
Thinking about this, Sean found Blaise, who was waiting for him not too far away. The two of them timed it perfectly and walked into their Charms class together, right on time. Today, they had class with the Ravenclaw students.
After class, Sean had already heard the news: Professor Snape himself had agreed to let Malfoy join the Slytherin Quidditch team. It was pretty obvious favoritism. Along with that news, people were saying the Malfoy family was going to donate a whole bunch of brand-new Nimbus 2000 brooms to the Slytherin team. That meant they'd have the best gear you could get. Sean couldn't help but shake his head a little, amazed at how much money the Malfoy family seemed to have.
A single Nimbus 2000 broom was already super expensive. So, buying a whole set for the Slytherin team? That was a crazy amount of money.
Of course, none of this really had anything to do with Sean anymore. He'd gotten what he wanted, and he didn't feel like he needed to worry about Quidditch stuff anymore.
That evening, students from all four houses gathered in the Great Hall. By then, the whole hall had been totally redone for Halloween, looking fancy but also a bit spooky. Tons of bats were hanging upside down from the ceiling, and every now and then they'd swoop down and flutter around the students like tiny, living dark clouds. You could see grinning pumpkin decorations everywhere, sitting in corners and hanging from the walls. The whole Great Hall smelled like pumpkins, that kind of earthy smell.
The food on the long tables, just like at the big feast at the start of the year, was all served on golden platters and was way more amazing than their usual everyday meals. Sean was carefully cutting into a really thick and juicy medium-rare steak when suddenly, the doors of the Great Hall crashed open with a loud bang. Professor Quirrell, who usually looked so calm, rushed into the hall. His face was full of panic, and his hands were shaking like crazy.
"Troll!" he yelled. His voice was like a strangled whisper, but somehow everyone in the hall heard him. "In the dungeons! There's a troll in the dungeons! Thought you ought to know." And with that, he just kind of slumped against a nearby wall and fainted.
***********
✨ 300 gems = 1 bonus chapter
✨ 500 gems = another bonus chapter
Get access to advanced chapters at my P@treon.
[email protected]/meowthtl