Chapter 29: The Adventurers' Club
Harry learned two crucial pieces of information from Hagrid. First, he saw in the Daily Prophet that Gringotts had been broken into. The vault that had been robbed was the very same one from which Hagrid had retrieved the grubby little package. Second, on the night of the intrusion, Ryan, Professor Flitwick, and Dumbledore had all gone into the Forbidden Forest. The very next day, news of Professor Quirrell's sudden illness had spread through the school.
"I told you it was him!" Ron said excitedly. He couldn't wait to bring this juicy gossip back to the Gryffindor common room and tell all his "fans." Ever since he'd started embellishing stories and creating his own "unofficial histories," Ron had discovered he had a real talent for storytelling. He often held court with the Muggle-born first-years, regaling them with tales of the wizarding world. The news of Ryan's foray into the Forbidden Forest was sure to be a hit. He loved the feeling of being the center of attention.
"Ron, Hagrid just explained it," Harry said, exasperated. "Someone was trying to hunt a unicorn. Ryan foresaw it and went with the Headmaster and Professor Flitwick to stop the Dark Wizard!"
Harry sighed. For the first time, he found himself thinking that Hermione might have a point.
Ron just grumbled, kicking a loose stone on the path. Harry, walking beside him, could just make out the muttered words: "Why?" "How come?" "Me again!" Harry had heard it all before. As the youngest wizarding son in a large family of high-achievers, Ron often felt overlooked and unimportant. Harry could sympathize, but he couldn't approve of the way Ron was acting.
He remembered what Ryan had said in Ollivander's: "To give all regrets and injustices the ending they deserve is the very reason I study magic." Harry thought it was the coolest thing he had ever heard, something only a true wizard would say. But now, his best friend's behavior was something he just couldn't accept.
What should I do? Harry asked himself. Ron is wrong...
4:40 PM.
Harry made his way to the second floor, to the first meeting of the Adventurers' Club. At the end of the corridor, he found a door marked with a large, black-and-gold version of the club's pin. Stepping inside, he was met with a dazzling array of strange and wonderful objects, each with a unique, fantastical beauty that was different from the mainstream wizarding aesthetic.
He was just about to greet the other students when a robotic voice spoke from beside him: "Welcome to the Adventurers' Club."
He looked around for the source of the voice but saw nothing. Then something bumped against his ankle. He looked down and saw a tiny, doll-like figure gently prodding him.
"What is this?" Harry asked, picking up the palm-sized, adorable figure, which looked like a Muggle astronaut.
"Penelope, the fourth-year, said that's one of Ryan's creations," Hermione answered. She was already there, in the thick of things. "She said these little models have their own internal power sources and can absorb ambient magic to recharge."
"These are completely different from any other magical items in the wizarding world, which all need to have runes carved on them or be permanently enchanted!" Hermione's eyes were shining with excitement. "Do you realize what this means, Harry? We're witnessing history!"
Harry saw that the room was already full of students from all years and houses, chatting in small groups. And then he saw him. Malfoy. He was actually here. He was talking to an older Slytherin boy who was tall, slender, and strikingly handsome.
If Ryan had been there, he would have told Harry that Vaisey Selwyn was a classic "serpentine beauty." It didn't matter if he was male or female; the only relevant question was, Is he beautiful?
"You don't have to call me Mr. Selwyn. Vaisey is fine, Draco," the older boy was saying, examining a tiny, clockwork Niffler model with a fascinated expression.
"Vaisey… I still don't understand why Ryan invited me," Malfoy said.
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Vaisey said with a smile. "I'm in his year. I know him quite well. I've always liked something he once told me." Vaisey paused, then said, in a slightly awkward, archaic phrase, "'Nothing is done that cannot be told.' It means that one's actions should be so transparent that they can be explained to anyone. He'll tell you anything you want to know about himself, as long as you have the courage to hear the answer."
"That's incredible," Malfoy said, unable to imagine such a mindset.
Hermione was deeply engrossed in a conversation with a group of Ravenclaws, throwing around terms that made Harry's head spin. He finally spotted three familiar red heads. "Percy, George, Fred! You're all here."
At 4:55, Ryan walked in. "Sorry, I was a bit delayed. Glad to see I'm not late." With a wave of his wand, he rearranged the twenty-plus students, chairs and all, into a large circle. He then took a seat among the Ravenclaws, finding himself next to a certain bushy-haired Gryffindor. Hermione, are you our spy in Gryffindor? he thought with an inward smile. He gave her a nod.
"Alright, since this is our first meeting, where should we begin?" he asked the group. "Since we are all from different years and different houses, why don't we start with a round of introductions?"
"I'll go first," he said, stepping into the center of the circle. "Ryan Welles. Fifth-year, from Ravenclaw. I've gathered you all here today in the hope of inspiring more talented wizards to push the boundaries of magic, to explore new magical frontiers."
After Ryan sat down, Penelope was next. "Penelope Clearwater. Fourth-year, from Ravenclaw. I believe in Ryan's vision, and so I have chosen to follow him. I hope that, together, we can create a history that is our own."
After several other Ravenclaws, Percy Weasley, representing Gryffindor, stepped forward. "Percy Weasley…"
On the border between the Gryffindor and Slytherin sections of the circle, Harry and Malfoy were glaring daggers at each other. Harry had thought he could never dislike a boy as much as he disliked Dudley, but Malfoy was proving him wrong.
Malfoy had grown up under the shadow of the name "Harry Potter," indoctrinated daily by his father's rants about how Harry had thwarted the pure-bloods' rightful rule over the British magical world. Hating a boy he had never even met had become second nature to him.
As Percy was finishing his introduction, Malfoy sneered, "Listen to him, Potter. A Weasley hoping for power at the Ministry. A pity my father will never approve, and the Weasley family has no influence to help him."
Harry was about to retort when the handsome Slytherin, Vaisey, spoke up. "Draco, now that Percy has joined the Adventurers' Club, the declining Weasley family is no longer the only thing standing behind him." He turned and looked pointedly at both Malfoy and Harry.
"Standing behind him," Vaisey said, his voice ringing with conviction, "is us."
Both Harry and Malfoy were stunned into silence. Harry had never considered that he could be the support for an older, accomplished student. Malfoy, on the other hand, had always thought in terms of family versus family. Vaisey's words had just shattered that worldview. Whether it was the declining Weasleys or the ascendant Malfoys, the families didn't matter. What mattered was "us."
"Us…" the two first-years from rival houses whispered in unison.
The room was not so large that their exchange went unheard. Fred and George had been about to team up with Harry against Malfoy, but Vaisey's words had given them pause.
"Oh, George, we must be tolerant of the young, mustn't we?"
"Of course, Fred. It is a quality we should all strive for."
"Even if," they said in perfect unison, "it is a Malfoy."
From across the circle, Vaisey smiled. Ryan raised a goblet in a silent toast. Vaisey raised his own—a glass of pomegranate juice—in return. Ryan had declared that alcohol was detrimental to magical research and would therefore not be served at club meetings.
Then, Vaisey stood and walked to the center of the circle. "Vaisey Selwyn. Fifth-year, Slytherin, and a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, though there are a few of us here today. But the Selwyn family is... different. In Ryan's words, we are a 'dyed-in-the-wool' Death Eater family."