Year Three - Chapter Twenty-Three

The end of the year exams saw me achieve the Oustandings I knew I deserved, though it had been a pretty close thing with Alastor Moody's training regime of the end of times. What doesn't kill you make you stronger, though, and as the Os filled my end of the year parchment, I realized I had no one to show them to. Well, it was fine; I had a fun summer at the muggle orphanage throwing stones to think about.

As the last dinner of Hogwarts came to be, I watched as Slytherin seemed excitedly ready to get their win, while Ravenclaw sourly grumbled about the mysterious points-loser that had brought them to a pittance of fifty points total. I remained silent. The deals between Snape and I were mostly secret, after all. Still, the Slytherin themselves looked downcast as the Headmaster stood up from his seat.

"This year, once more..." Groans made Slytherins' head dip low. "The House Cup will be equally won by all houses, for the great services rendered by the mysterious student who does not wish to reveal its name."

Some students grumbled my name under their breath. I whistled, looking at my nails. If they had something to say, they could say it to my face. Even then, I didn't definitely do anything, unless they had proof. And even if they had proof, I would deny it.

"You know that deliberately lowering Ravenclaws' points just to ensure we won't be mad for tying with everyone else isn't going to fly next year, right?" a Prefect grumbled, glaring at me. "If you're so great, why won't you make us win?"

"Nobody deserves a victory where they stand above the others," I retorted hotly. "If I were the kind of guy to do that, then, what's stopping you from being the kind of guy that can do what you speak of?"

"He promised not to touch the Quidditch cup," Amanda said, trying to be helpful.

"If he did, we'd send him flying in the lake," a few other Ravenclaws grumbled airily. I sighed. Gryffindor, with their bullshit seeker of a Harry Potter, had caught the snitch near immediately at the start of the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match. That boy was practically a living snitch-finder. He should have gone in the forest hunting for truffles. So while Gryffindor had won the Quidditch cup, Ravenclaw had come close second. Still, the beaming pride on their Captain's face told me that it was Oliver Wood's last Quidditch game, and he would leave triumphantly, having brought Gryffindor to victory.

I'd leave the Quidditch cup alone, at least until I got older enough, or unless things took a turn for the worse and people became maniacal about it.

"No, no," Amanda said, "We'd break his legs and then send him flying in the lake." She cheerfully beamed me a smile. "Because he promised he wouldn't do it, so if he breaks his promise, it's the beaters' bat for him."

I shuddered. "You would never catch me alive," I vowed that, even as I knew what would happen the next year. There were a few threatening gestures sent my way, but nothing peculiarly dangerous happened.

The next morning, the Hogwarts' Train had me and the rest of the extended gang inside a wagon, when the second bomb blew up. "So, Shade," Megan said, "my parents will be coming by on Sunday morning, the third of August," I nodded, letting her continue, "They'll deal with the paperwork, since the tournament proper begins on Monday."

Wayne's mouth hung slightly open. "You got tickets for the entire tournament, not just the final?"

Megan grinned, proudly lifting her chin up. "My aunt got them for the whole family, but one of my cousins couldn't come, so..."

"We'll see each others at the finals then," Amanda piped in. "My Aunt's bringing me to watch the match."

Wayne nodded in turn. "Guess we'll meet up there."

I glanced at Luna, who instead gave a simple smile. "I'll be hunting Nargles with my father in the South American forest."

Then, my brows furrowed together, "The Quidditch Cup lasts longer than a day?"

The others glanced at one another, and then Amanda's bright smile threatened to split her face in half, "He doesn't know," she chirped amiably.

Wayne put a sympathetic hand on my shoulder, and gave me a gentle squeeze. "Usually it starts at the beginning of the month, and if everything goes well it ends near the end of it. If things go wrong, though, a match can easily last for days."

I looked at Megan, as if seeking confirmation. "We already have a guest room prepared," Megan said with a genuine, kind smile. "You don't need to worry about a thing-"

"But...that's too much, isn't it?" I mumbled.

Megan shook her head. "You paid professor Snape two hundred Ravenclaw points to get him to keep the Potions' Practice during the hours I had free," she beamed me a smile, "There's no way I wouldn't pay that b-"

But that had been after. Yet the offer had been made at the very start of the year, or at least, that was what I dimly recalled as Amanda's fingers dug into my neck, throttling me like a rag doll. "You can't go about selling Ravenclaw's points to the enemy, Shade!" she all but yelled. "This is treason! High treason!"

I sighed as I rolled my eyes, gently grabbing hold of Amanda's fingers and prying them off my neck. "It's not like those points mattered," I said, glancing at Amanda, "Seriously, I had already fixed the Cup by then-"

"You admit it!" Amanda gasped, "You admit it so easily!" she narrowed her eyes, huffing angrily.

"It's an open secret," Wayne quipped. "It made the rounds by the middle of the year, we all resigned ourselves that this year there wouldn't be a winner either, but mark our words, we Hufflepuffs are going to win next year," he glanced at me, without any heat in his words. It felt as if someone had made him memorize those words, and there was nothing else he could do but accept it as the natural state of things.

"Still," I stressed on, "I doubt a transfigured dragon's gonna cut it for nearly a whole month as a guest."

Megan shrugged. "My parents said it was fine, just say you're thankful and that's that."

I gave her an awkward nod.

I supposed that truly, as the Headmaster had said, there was no calculating the kindness of the Hufflepuffs.

Thus I let it be, closing my eyes to enjoy the pleasant murmurs of my comrades on the trip back to the train station.

For I was Shade Umbrus...

...the incredibly at-peace Ravenclaw.