Wayne put on a stern expression. "Heard you've been getting cocky, Miss Chang. I'm here to put you in your place."
"Ugh, you're the worst." Cho playfully swatted his arm. "You joined the Quidditch team and didn't even tell me? Saving it as a surprise to scare me today, huh?"
"This is a surprise for you," Wayne corrected, then added, "I'm Hufflepuff's secret weapon. Even Hermione doesn't know."
The girl laughed even more brightly.
The real concern wasn't scarcity but inequality—if she were the only one left in the dark while Hermione knew, Cho would probably be upset by now.
The two of them hardly looked like opponents, chatting and laughing as they walked out of the players' tunnel. The other Quidditch players exchanged bewildered glances, while Wotley and Ravenclaw's captain, Isaiah, shared a wry smile.
Young master and miss, we're here for a match, not a date. Could you at least pretend to be rivals, even if just for show?
With Wayne and Cho's antics, the pre-match tension dissipated entirely.
Wotley extended his hand. "Let's give it our best."
Isaiah shook it firmly. "Good luck!"
...
Commentary box.
Lee Jordan launched into his usual enthusiastic commentary.
"We see the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff teams taking to the field now. Oh! What's this?! Merlin's beard!"
Lee rubbed his eyes and roared even louder, "That's Wayne Lawrence—another first-year joining the Quidditch team, just like Harry Potter!"
Apart from a few informed badgers, most of the crowd was utterly stunned. But after the initial shock, they erupted into applause, with even the Slytherins cheering for Wayne.
Toby and Norman unfurled a massive banner, cheering for their dormmate.
In the Gryffindor stands, Hermione's eyes widened when she spotted Wayne. After a muttered curse, she broke into a grin and clapped furiously.
She shot a disapproving glare at the two useless boys beside her. "Did you skip breakfast? Louder!"
Harry and Ron shuddered in unison. Was Hermione trying to make their hands fall off?
But thinking of future homework, they obediently clapped harder, their palms turning red without daring to stop.
Once all players had taken to the air, circling Madam Hooch, Lee's voice rang out again.
"We see Lawrence taking up the position of Seeker—just like Potter!
"Will he prove to be another flying prodigy? Let's hope the 'Hufflepuff Fist King' delivers an exciting match!"
The Slytherins' smiles froze, their glares shifting toward the commentary box.
You just had to bring that up, didn't you?
Wayne's lip twitched.
Hufflepuff Fist King? What kind of ridiculous title is that?
'Hufflepuff's Ferocious Tiger' would've been way cooler.
Cho stifled a laugh, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
The whistle blew, and all the match balls shot into the air.
"AND THEY'RE OFF!"
Lee bellowed, "Wotley of Hufflepuff snatches the Bludger and takes off at high speed!
"He's Hufflepuff's captain—and look at that broom! A Nimbus 2000!
"Seems the rumours are true! Lawrence didn't just buy himself a Nimbus 2000—he gifted one to his house too!
"Roger Davies moves to intercept—dodged! Ilene covers—can she stop him? Oh well, what a lovely girl! Hufflepuff scores!"
Wayne flew higher than the others, in no rush to hunt the Golden Snitch. For now, he was content to be a spectator. He realised that Cedric's usual complaints weren't entirely unfounded.
For Ravenclaw, simply managing to gather seven players for a match was already their greatest victory. Apart from Captain Isaiah Jerrell and Roger Davies, who at least looked the part, the tactical awareness of the other female players was... well, let's just say it left much to be desired.
The Beater named Caradoc had failed to hit the Bludger three times in a row and had nearly been knocked off her broom instead.
"Which girl are you staring at?"
Cho suddenly flew over, her expression slightly displeased.
Wayne replied without batting an eye, "All of them. I must say, Ravenclaw girls are quite lovely."
The little witch's cheeks immediately puffed up in irritation.
Despite her usual calm demeanour, even Cho couldn't help feeling a twinge of jealousy upon hearing Wayne praise others.
But the next moment, her face brightened. "Though the prettiest one is right beside me."
"Don't think sweet talk will make me go easy on you," Cho said, suppressing her delight and putting on a haughty front.
Wayne chuckled teasingly, "I should be the one saying that. Your charms won't work on me."
"I'm off to catch the Golden Snitch. Try and catch me if you can—if you do, I'll let you—" Before she could finish, Wayne's broom shot forward like an arrow, prompting Cho to cry out in mock indignation before urging her own broom to give chase.
Their sudden burst of speed caught Lee Jordan's attention.
"Both Seekers have accelerated simultaneously—have they spotted the Golden Snitch?
"No, wait—
"They're just... chasing each other and fooling around."
"What's with this awful feeling of fullness? I didn't even eat much this morning!"
Several spectators rubbed their stomachs. Strangely enough, they felt the same way. And there was also a faint whiff of something sour in the air.
Over in the Gryffindor stands, Ron and Harry were practically clinging to each other, trembling. They stared in horror at Hermione, who had been radiating dark energy ever since Cho approached Wayne.
After Lee Jordan's commentary, the two looked close to tears.
"We can see that Lawrence's flying skills are every bit as impressive as Harry's, and Ravenclaw's Cho Chang is no less remarkable. They make quite the pair—"
Lee Jordan suddenly shivered mid-sentence, as if something terrifying had locked onto him.
He instinctively glanced down at the lower stands, where nearly half the female spectators were glaring at him as if he were already a dead man—or worse, someone they'd happily sell off to a plantation.
His scalp prickling, Lee immediately straightened up, deliberately ignoring Wayne and Cho's little chase and focusing solely on the match. The score gap widened steadily, soon reaching 80–20.
Cho had long since abandoned her pursuit of Wayne, turning her attention back to searching for the Golden Snitch, though with little success.
"It's about time to wrap this up," Wayne murmured.
No need to embarrass Ravenclaw too badly. After all, Ravenclaw had more girls, while Hufflepuff had more boys. If the score became too humiliating, the Hufflepuff players might lose all hope of finding partners for years to come.
Without activating Dynamic Perception, Wayne relied purely on his natural observational skills to locate the Golden Snitch.
Using magic to cheat in a school match? Wayne Lawrence wasn't that underhanded.
Buzz~
The hum was fleeting, but Wayne caught it.
Adjusting his position continuously, the sound grew clearer. He saw it—the Golden Snitch hovering just above the three hoops of Hufflepuff.
Pretending not to have noticed, he circled the pitch casually before abruptly accelerating as he neared the target.
At the same time, Cho, who had also been keeping an eye on Wayne's movements, spotted it too and began her sprint.
"Both Seekers are charging again! This isn't a feint—they've seen the Golden Snitch!
"Quick! Too quick!
"Lawrence has caught the Golden Snitch! The match is over!
"Final score: 230 to 30. Hufflepuff wins the match!"
As Wayne raised his arm, basking in the cheers of the crowd, Cho finally flew up to him.
"You won."
"Keep trying next time," Wayne comforted, patting her head.
Unlike Hermione's fluffy hair, Cho's sleek black locks were exceptionally smooth. Her single ponytail made the girl seem less delicate than usual, adding a touch of heroic vigour.
"Next time, I'll do my best to beat you."
Having witnessed Wayne's flying skills, Cho no longer dared to guarantee her victory.
"Next time, your opponent won't be me," Wayne shook his head. "Cedric's suspension was only for one match. I was just filling in."
"Oh…"
Cho looked disappointed but knew Wayne was busy every day. Quidditch wasn't really important to him.
Landing on the ground, the rest of the Hufflepuff team gathered around Wayne.
"Wayne, you were brilliant!" Wotley exclaimed excitedly. They had scored plenty in this match, boosting their confidence against Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Wayne grinned. "How do I compare to Cedric?"
"Er… hard to say," Wotley stammered awkwardly.
Cedric, who had just arrived to join the celebration, overheard and shouted: "You little brat, are you trying to steal my Seeker position?!"
Everyone burst into laughter—it was clear Cedric was genuinely a bit flustered.
"Depends on your performance from now on," Wayne teased, raising an eyebrow. "If the scrap rate of the maps you make exceeds 10%, I'll have Wotley replace you."
With that, ignoring Cedric's indignant protests, Wayne approached Madam Hooch.
"Madam, may I keep this Golden Snitch?"
"Of course," Madam Hooch agreed readily, even praising Wayne a little. Catching the Golden Snitch in his first match was certainly worth commemorating.
Unlike other Quidditch balls, the Golden Snitch was enchanted—before release, it had never been touched by human skin.
Once someone made skin contact with it, the Golden Snitch would grow attached to that person and could never be used in a match again.
After thanking her, Wayne returned to the Hufflepuff team. Despite losing, there was no animosity between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff—both houses were fairly laid-back.
Moreover, anyone could see that Hufflepuff had gone easy on them. Being outmatched was no one's fault but their own.
Meanwhile, Hermione had given Wayne the cold shoulder for two days before reconciling on the third.
Not because Wayne had coaxed her back.
But because Hermione realised that whenever she wasn't by Wayne's side, more little witches would flock to him. For example, that Slytherin girl, Daphne Greengrass.
Hermione suddenly realised that her actions had inadvertently benefited the enemy. Feeling rather foolish, Miss Granger gave Wayne a couple of symbolic pinches, and the two made up as if nothing had happened.
...
With the two Quidditch matches of the term concluded, time seemed to speed up considerably.
Before they knew it, December had arrived.
On the first weekend of December, Wayne woke up to find the world outside transformed.
A blanket of white snow covered the ground, and the lake was frozen solid. The view from the dungeons was unclear, so Wayne simply stepped outside. Hogwarts Castle had donned its winter attire, turning into an ice palace.
Despite the cold, a steady stream of students poured out of the castle—this was the first snowfall of the year, and it had arrived in full force.
Wayne's mood lightened considerably.
After a moment's thought, he returned to the Common Room and borrowed a fishing rod from Hannah, who was engrossed in a cookbook. He then headed to the kitchens to ask the house-elves for some food to use as bait. Despite living by the Black Lake, he had never actually fished there before.
On weekdays and even weekends, it wasn't uncommon to see young wizards setting up makeshift camps along the lake's edge.
Most of them were Hufflepuff students.
As the saying goes, an expert needs only a rod, while a novice sets up a camp. Wayne had fished a few times before, so a single rod would suffice.
Before setting off, he went to find Hermione and Cho to ask if they wanted to join him. Receiving affirmative answers, he waited as the two bundled themselves up like dumplings, wrapped from head to toe in thick coats, scarves around their necks, and gloves on their hands—they looked like a pair of stuffed dolls.
Arriving at the Black Lake, Wayne chose a spot and sat down, proudly sharing his fishing knowledge with the girls.
"...Warm weather, fish by the pond; cold weather, fish by the river bend. In winter, when the sun's out, don't fish in deep waters.
"This spot is the best place to fish."
With that, he tested the thickness of the ice—about twelve centimetres—before settling down confidently.
The girls weren't idle either. Hermione had brought along a thick book, while Cho carried wool and knitting tools.
She planned to knit a scarf for Wayne as a Christmas gift.
Hermione had been tempted to try as well, but after a few attempts, she realised she had no talent for it and promptly gave up.
"Still not giving up on Nicolas Flamel, huh?" Wayne glanced at the book's title—'Twenty Notable Wizards of the Twentieth Century.'
"O-of course not!" Hermione's face flushed slightly as she turned away defensively. "It's just casual reading, that's all."
Wayne chuckled but didn't call her out.
Truth be told, he had long since told her he knew who Nicolas Flamel was, but Hermione stubbornly refused to let him reveal it, insisting on uncovering the truth through her efforts.
Wayne had no choice but to humour her.
Worried the girls might get cold, he cast a Warming Charm to dispel the chill around them.
The spell was carefully calibrated to avoid affecting the ice nearby, thereby minimising the risk of melting. Compared to the start of the school year, Wayne's mastery of magic had grown increasingly effortless.
Half an hour later, his bucket already held four fish, each weighing around three or four pounds.
He planned to take these fish into the Forbidden Forest to feed Hestia and the others. Unicorns, after all, weren't strictly herbivores.
Whew!
Two snowballs came hurtling towards Wayne, but without so much as a flicker of movement, they seemed to hit an invisible wall and rebounded straight back, followed by two identical cries of pain.
"Ouch!"
Hermione and Cho only then noticed what had happened and turned around.
The Weasley twins walked over, clutching their foreheads and complaining, "Wayne, do you have eyes in the back of your head?"
"Shh!" Wayne signalled for them to be quiet as the fishing float bobbed.
After pulling in another fish and tossing it into the bucket, he finally looked at the two of them.
"I don't have eyes in the back of my head, but I can sense your mischief all the way from the castle."
"Rubbish!" the twins chorused before bursting into laughter.
"Fred, what do we do? Our pranks never work on him!"
"No matter, George. We've still got time. We'll outwit Wayne at least once before graduation."
Hermione rolled her eyes. She couldn't fathom how the twins always found so much to laugh about, their joy seemingly endless.
George then got to the point. "Wayne, we came to ask if you're staying at school over Christmas?
"Mum and Dad are off to Romania to visit Charlie, so we're all staying."
"Fancy us taking you somewhere interesting?" George added with a wink.
"Maybe another time," Wayne shook his head. "I'm going to America this Christmas and won't be back until term starts."
"Ah, well." Though disappointed, the twins didn't press further.
Before leaving, Fred whispered to Wayne that they'd memorised the entire Marauder's Map and could give it to him anytime he wanted.
"What are you going to America for? A holiday?" Hermione tilted her head up to look at the boy.
Wayne nodded. "Sort of. Also visiting old Newt."