Chp 12: Quidditch Match

Brian was sitting on a sofa near the fireplace, reading a book of Magical Theory. Daphne sat next to him, finishing her assignments.

It was quiet in the Slytherin common room. Most people had left for the Quidditch pitch. Draco had brought in a large bundle of fireworks to boost the Slytherins morale for the upcoming match and many people followed him out.

Daphne didn't go out with them since she didn't want to brave the cold weather so close to the end of the year.

"By the way, have you thought of a solution to what you said before?" She took the initiative to bring up a conversation with Brian.

"Not yet," Brian replied, not looking up from his book.

"You've been a little strange lately..." Daphne cast a curious glance at him.. "It seems like you're wearing a mask."

Brian was taken aback. It seemed he had unconsciously masked his expression due to practising Occlumency.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something else before. Thank you for reminding me." Brian didn't expect her to be so perceptive.

At the same time, he lowered his mental shield as his cold face eased slightly. It seemed he needed to put more work on his Occlumency. Even Dumbledore would know that he was using Occlumency let alone Voldemort.

"Well, it's much better this way," Daphne said bluntly.

Brian looked at his watch and noticed that it was time for the Quidditch match. He closed his book and turned to Daphne. "Let's go to the pitch. The match is starting soon."

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at the pitch. Brian quickly found a seat next to Professor Snape while Daphne went to seat her with her friends.

Keeping his face fixed on the pitch, Brian gave Professor Snape a sidelong glance. Professor Snape wore the same expression he always wore: a look of disinterest, as if nothing could possibly interest him.

After that, Brian returned his attention to the ongoing match. Despite excelling in his flying lessons, he couldn't force himself to enjoy Quidditch. He absolutely saw no point in it.

Brian sat quietly in the noisy stands, flipping through the copy of Magical Theory in his hands, out of tune with the lively atmosphere around him.

There was a noticeable lack of excitement around Brian and Snape. While reading the book, Brian would occasionally look up to catch a glimpse of Harry Potter flying by. He wondered if Quirrell would try to knock Harry off the broom like he did in the movie.

For a while, the match continued, and then all of a sudden, Brian heard shouts from the crowd. Sure enough, when he looked up, Harry was flailing in the air, barely holding onto his out of control broom.

Brian secretly glanced in Quirrell's direction. The man that was harbouring the Dark Lord's soul was staring intently at Harry, murmuring something under his breath. But because of the way he looked, it didn't arouse suspicion from other people.

That was a different case for Professor Snape. The bat as some referred him to, was also staring at Harry but with a cold face. At the same time, he was also chanting something in a whisper.

Brian would have thought that Snape was jinxing Harry's broom if he didn't know better.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Hermione rushing over to them. She knocked over Professor Quirrell along the way and cast the Bluebell Flames spell on Snape's robes. After that, she hurriedly left without anyone else knowing, except for Brian.

Hermione didn't realise it, but the broom jinx had already stopped working when she knocked Professor Quirrell.

It seems that even though Brian interfered with the plot a little, Hermione still went to help Harry.

Afterward, Harry regained control of his broom and went on to catch the Golden Snitch with his mouth.

[Point +0.5!]

After the match ended with the Gryffindor team winning, Brian closed his book and left the pitch with the disappointed Slytherins.

In the following month, there were no major events happening, and life at Hogwarts was relatively quiet. Christmas was coming up soon.

The Tawny owl, Becca, had just brought Brian a letter from Hermione. In her letter, she talked about how her studies were going as usual. She also mentioned that she will be spending Christmas with her family. At the end of the letter, she asked him if he knew a man named Nicholas Flamel.

Brian looked at the letter and wondered if he should tell her about Nicholas Flamel now. But then he thought, letting them know in advance should not change anything anyway. He still hadn't told Quirrell how to get past the three-headed dog.

After responding to Hermione's letter, he handed the letter to Becca with instructions to deliver it. Becca lightly pecked his fingers and flew away.

XXX

"Harry, I know who Nicholas Flamel is!" Hermione said, shaking the letter in her hand as he ran down into the common room.

"Who is it?" Harry asked hastily.

"He's a famed alchemist and the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone! It is said the stone can turn any metal into gold as well as produce the Elixir of Life, which can make someone immortal."

"Did you ask someone about it?" Ron tried to peek at the letter in Hermione's hand, but she quickly hid it.

"That must be it!" Harry cut in. "Snape must be trying to get past Fluffy to steal the Philosopher's Stone!"

"That's impossible, Harry," Hermione retorted. "And it's Professor Snape."

"Wait! Let's stop for a second," Ron interrupted them before turning to Hermione. "Who did you ask about Nicholas Flamel, Hermione? You can't just let others know about this."

"Uhh… It's Brian," Hermione said hesitantly.

"Brian Fawley? Oh my God, Hermione, you must be crazy!" Harry slapped his head. "I told he cannot be trusted at all! Maybe he's also trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone."

"You should stay away from him. Their family is a supporter of the Dark Lord." Ron nodded in agreement.

"Well, I think he's been a little bit suspicious recently," Hermione murmured. "But I only discuss our class lessons with him sometimes, nothing else!"

"Why do you find him suspicious?" Harry asked, staring at Hermione.

"You remember the Quidditch match between us and Slytherin that day?" Hermione asked, to which Harry and Ron nodded.

"When I went to set Professor Snape's robes on fire, I found him a little too calm. Almost as if…" Hermione trailed off.

"As if what?" Harry and Ron pricked up their ears.

"As if he knew you were going to fall," she finished.

"I knew it!" Ron shouted. "He must have already known that Snape is trying to jinx Harry's broom. He's Snape's accomplice. I'm pretty sure he's trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone for Snape too!"

"That does make sense," Harry agreed.

Hermione just pursed her lips and pouted angrily.