Chapter 70

Sunday

The sun rose above the horizon, painting the sky with streaks of crimson and gold. Its gentle rays illuminated the lush greenery that surrounded the ancient castle, casting a warm and peaceful glow over the Hogwarts grounds. The Black Lake shimmered in the light, its placid surface disturbed only by the occasional splash of a mer-person or giant squid. The Forbidden Forest loomed beyond, a dark backdrop to the tranquil scene. As the sun continued its ascent, the castle's towers and turrets caught the light, shining like jewels in the morning sun. The cool morning breeze carried the distant sounds of birdsong and the soft murmur of the lake's waters, adding to the serene atmosphere.

Albert sat alone at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, his breakfast untouched. He absentmindedly stroked his owl, Snow, who perched on his arm, preening herself. The hall was empty, and the only sounds were the occasional clinking of cutlery and the rustle of Albert's robes as he shifted in his seat.

The peaceful atmosphere couldn't stop Albert's nagging sense of unease. He had a package from his grandpa Luke to deliver, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He had this feeling of something related to his sister. The school was quieter than usual, and he couldn't help but wonder what was going on outside of the castle walls. Snow hooted softly, bringing Albert back to the present. She passed him the letter they sent her back with.

"Thanks, snow," Albert said as he played with his food.

He put his cutlery down and held the letter in his trembling hands. Reaching over the table, he picked up a clean knife and brought it to the end of the letter. Focusing on reducing the tremble, he opened the letter with a clean cut, taking out of the envelope what he presumed to be photos tightly wrapped in a silk handkerchief. He read the first letter. His mother penned it. As he read on, his expression grew grim until his heart dropped. She figured out she was a muggle.

He had tried his best to keep her hopes up and make her believe she could do accidental magic before her eleventh birthday. Albert continued on and learned she wanted magic but would be fine if she didn't. He was trying to prevent a situation like Evans. Albert put the letter down and slowly read the other letters written by each of his family members. After reading, he unwrapped the silk and found it was indeed a photograph of the day they spent together. It was pictures of Nina, Luke, and Herb playing with bubbles, painting, and the whole family helping make dinner while enjoying their time together.

"What are you looking at?" Angelina said as she tapped the Gryffindor boy on the head while walking past. She sat down next to him as she peered over his shoulder, trying to find out why he was so unaware of his surroundings.

"Letters from home," Albert said as he held up a letter. Recovering from being startled, he finished feeding Snow. After having her fill, Snow left to go rest at Hogwarts Owlery.

"We have quidditch training this morning. Do you want to come with us?" Angelina said as her food popped onto the table. "Charlie told us yesterday while we were playing chess. He asked us to ask you if you were interested.

"I have nothing planned for today, so why not?" Albert said as he shrugged his shoulders. "I presume Fred and the other two will join us, right? I will go wake them up after I finish eating."

"You don't need to. They were waking up and rushing around the common room before I left. They should arrive soon," Angelina said as she began devouring her food.

Speaking of those annoying buffoons, guess who walked through the doors? You guessed it! Fred, George, and Lee But you wouldn't have guessed Charlie would be with them, wouldn't you?

"Good morning. You've had a wonderful night's sleep, I'm guessing?" Albert said it with a hint of sarcasm.

"We did," the twins said.

"We had butterbeer last night," Fred said.

"And I took a gulp of firewhiskey," George said. "Now my throat hurts."

"And I had the worst night of my life. I had to deal with McGonagall screaming my ear off about first years and not letting them near any alcoholic beverages," Charlie said.

"I almost feel sorry for you," Albert said.

"It was your idea to drink yesterday," Angelina said.

"And it was his idea to train this early in the morning," Lee said.

When Charlie said down, a group of older Gryffindors got up and walked towards the group.

"So, are you coming with us?" Charlie asked.

"I already said yes to Angelina," Albert said.

"Come on, Charlie, it's only eight. Why do we have to wake up so early for training?" An older Gryffindor said "Why can't we do it in the afternoon or in the evening?"

"Early birds get the worm. And we want to do it before most Slytherins wake up," Charlie said. "Oh, yes. I haven't introduced you guys yet. This is Oliver Wood. Future captain and current keeper. Say 'Hello Oliver'."

"Hello, Oliver," Oliver Wood said.

"That one there is my brother Fred, and the other redhead is George. You've already met them. The smartly dressed one is Albert, and the one sitting next to him is Lee. Both are good flyers, and you'll be surprised what they can do on the broom. The cute girl over there is Angelina. She is trying to become the next seeker," Charlie said.

"Have you fixed the broom shortage?" Albert said as he interrupted Charlie.

"I already explained our problem to Madam Hooch, and she 'graciously' allowed us to borrow a couple of broomsticks," Charlie said. "Although they're not the best, they're perfect for training."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the way to the Quidditch field, Charlie made the group wait for a while. Soon, the first-year prospects and three current members made their way to the pitch. As for the other four? They didn't know where one of them was, and the other three went back to get their equipment. Charlie took the lead and introduced them once they got into the Quidditch Stadium.

"The one that just arrived is Irene," Charlie said as he introduced the only girl on the team.

Her short hair was a pale blonde that glinted in the sunlight, and her eyes were a piercing blue with sharp intelligence behind them. She had a lean and agile frame with sinewy muscles honed by years of physical activity. She wore a scarlet and gold uniform emblazoned with the Gryffindor crest, and her face showed fierce concentration as she swung her wooden bat while walking towards them. Her movements were graceful and fluid as she circled the pitch like a predator on the hunt.

But despite her cute appearance, there was a softness to her features that betrayed her competitive nature. If you looked at her nails, you could see the remains of soil. Charlie had told them of her, then of her. She always seemed at home in the forest among the creatures that inhabit it and among Mother Nature.

"Hi, sorry I'm late. I was finishing my herbology project, and I didn't see the time fly by. By now, Charlie should have introduced me, right? I'm Irene, a seventh-year Gryffindor, doing Potions, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures at N.E.W.T. Level, and I forget whatever he said. It's most likely not to be true," Irene said. "Off record. What did he say about me?"

"You're a violent and temperamental girl who loves plants and animals," Angelina said.

"CHARLIE! Violent and temperamental? Really?" Irene said in anger.

"Remember the last game of the previous academic year? You got angry and swung your bat at one of the Hufflepuff chasers. In that game, you also tried stuffing a quaffle down their beater's throat for barging into you," Charlie said.

"No, that didn't happen. That chaser got in my way when I was trying to hit the quaffle, and the other thing was, I caught the quaffle, and I... dived foreword, and a beater just so happened to have their mouth open," Irene said.

"Then what about when you almost broke that Ravenclaw chaser's arm?" Mark, her boyfriend, said

"MARK! You too?" Irene said as she punched Mark in the arm. "I almost broke her arm. I didn't break it, did I?"

"No, but you got suspended for a game and joined us against Hufflepuff when you did the two things Charlie mentioned," Oliver Wood said.

"Why are you getting yourself involved?" Mark spoke in a serious voice.

"I'm sorry, Mark," Oliver said in a shaky voice.

"I'm only joking. Don't pee your pants," Mark said.

"You know when I told you about Mark just switching his personality up whenever, yeah? That happens when someone touches or talks about his girlfriend. Don't mess about when he's like that," Charlie whispered to the first years. "He's injured quite a few players from other teams. It even got so bad once that Madam Hooch wanted to give him a permanent suspension, but Dumbledore stopped it."

"Charlie, has anyone died from playing Quidditch?" Albert asked.

"I don't think so. "Well, moving on," Charlie said when he saw the last three players enter the stadium. "You've all met the 'Dashing and Chasing Triplets': Mario, Daniel, and Jackson."

"Shut up, Charlie," Jackson said.

"We aren't triplets," Daniel said.

"And never call us that again," Mario said.

Oh, now it makes sense. Slytherin won the Quidditch Cup because they, the Gryffindor Quidditch team, were dysfunctional and took out the competition for them. Hopefully, their off-pitch chemistry doesn't affect their on-pitch team play.