Sorimus was exceptionally interested in magic.
He had been exposed to Potions, Charms, and Transfiguration from an early age, steadily building up knowledge in all three. But there were certain subjects he cared far less about, and one of them was flying.
In Sorimus's view, whether or not a broom had a Cushioning Charm on it, sitting astride the thing was still deeply awkward. It had nothing to do with gender. It was simply because Sorimus himself had no interest in flying.
Probably.
That afternoon was the first flying lesson shared by Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Sorimus had no intention of attending. Which meant he needed an excuse for not going.
At present, he simply did not have enough time.
He still had Silna's matter to deal with, still had to figure out how to persuade Snape to help him. Just yesterday, an owl had brought bad news. His own magical studies could not be neglected either. Tonight he still had to give Neville and Hermione extra tutoring, and on top of all that, he needed large amounts of time to keep reading through those magical books.
Sorimus almost wished he had a Time-Turner.
At lunch, after quickly filling his stomach, he headed for the Gryffindor table. Since he would not be attending flying class that afternoon, there were a few things he needed to tell Neville and the others.
The moment he arrived, he saw Neville holding a small glass ball.
"This is a Remembrall," Neville was explaining to the surrounding students, his back turned to Sorimus. "Gran knows I'm always forgetting things. A Remembrall tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. You hold it like this, and if it turns red, then... oh..."
The Remembrall in Neville's hand turned red.
"That means you've forgotten something."
"In other words, Neville," Sorimus said softly from behind him, "you forgot what I told you to do, didn't you?"
The moment Neville heard Sorimus's voice, he whipped around so quickly that Sorimus would have sworn he heard his neck crack.
"S-Sorimus, oh, heavens, I remember now."
The Remembrall in Neville's hand turned white again.
"What's a Slytherin snake doing at the Gryffindor table?"
Sorimus did not even need to look to know who had said that.
"Since you remember now, then prepare properly. I'll be checking tonight. Don't disappoint your grandmother, Neville."
Sorimus completely ignored Ron. Before leaving, he patted Neville on the shoulder, then gave Hermione a nod. He trusted that this clever little witch would use the remaining time well and make sure Neville studied properly.
Hermione frowned as she watched Ron continuing to mutter under his breath while she led Neville away.
Lately, Hermione and Neville had rarely been returning to the Gryffindor common room. Through Sorimus, Hermione had learned that Hogwarts contained a great many empty classrooms and hidden rooms. Whenever she wanted to read or do homework, she now preferred to find one of those rather than go back to Gryffindor Tower. To Hermione, the Gryffindor common room was simply far too noisy.
And with Sorimus standing before her as both a goal and a standard to chase, the passion for study Hermione had unleashed was honestly terrifying. Every time Sorimus tutored them, he could clearly feel how much she had improved.
For first-year witches and wizards, flying class was not much different from a primary school child walking into a computer lab for the first time. Everyone boasted loudly about their flying experience. Anyone ignorant of the truth would have thought they were listening to a gathering of world-class Quidditch players.
Neville, however, said nothing at all, because he had never touched a broom in his life. He only had one flying experience, and that was the time Great-Uncle Algie had thrown him out of a window.
Hermione's approach, on the other hand, was very Hermione indeed.
She clutched a book about flying and read it over and over, hoping to master the skill through reading.
"Hermione, Sorimus said flying depends a lot on natural talent. The things in that book probably won't help you much."
Neville had changed quite a lot. At the very least, he no longer stammered from nerves every time he spoke, except when facing Sorimus.
"But what am I supposed to do? I'm Muggle-born. I've never flown before."
Hermione had been nervous ever since learning that they had flying that afternoon.
"I don't think it matters. Sorimus told me he's never flown either, and he hates brooms. That's why he isn't coming to flying class."
Neville lowered his voice as he and Hermione followed the rest of the first-years toward the grass where the lesson would be held.
That was the part Hermione disliked about Sorimus.
In Sorimus's opinion, only Charms, Potions, and Transfiguration really mattered. Everything else was more or less optional. Hermione, meanwhile, believed that every Hogwarts subject deserved to be taken seriously.
As it turned out, Slytherin and Gryffindor encountered a bit of trouble during flying class.
Neville fell off his broom just as he had in the original story and was taken to the Hospital Wing by Madam Hooch. Harry and Draco also seemed ready to have a fight over ownership of the Remembrall.
But then Hermione said one sentence:
"If you dare touch Neville's things, I'll tell Sorimus."
In the split second Draco froze, Harry immediately darted in and snatched the Remembrall back.
Draco could not quite keep his face straight after that. He was the a son of the Malfoy family, and yet he had just been threatened by a Mudblood in front of Slytherin students.
"You filthy Mudblood, how dare you threaten me!"
Humiliated in front of Slytherin, Draco blurted out the words without thinking at all.
And what happened when Gryffindor and Slytherin were placed together, with no professor standing nearby, and the conditions for conflict were already in place?
The result hardly needed asking.
By the time Professor McGonagall came hurrying over, quite a few students were already on the ground. In the end, both Gryffindor and Slytherin lost a hundred points each. Draco was hauled off by the ear and dragged straight to Snape's office by Professor McGonagall.
Sorimus stared at McGonagall and Draco in surprise as they appeared at the door.
In his memory, flying class was supposed to end with Professor McGonagall taking Harry to see Wood, not with her dragging Draco to Snape. His conversation with Snape had only just reached the important part before being interrupted, and Sorimus was not pleased.
"Professor Snape, Mr Malfoy insulted a Gryffindor girl during flying class, which led to the first-years of Slytherin and Gryffindor getting into a group fight. In all my years of teaching, I have never seen first-years brawl like this. I hope you can make Mr Malfoy understand the seriousness of what he's done."
Only after saying all that did Professor McGonagall notice that there was someone else in the office.
"Mr Selwyn, why are you here? Shouldn't you have been at flying class? Skipping lessons is not the conduct of an excellent student."
Professor McGonagall had a fairly good impression of Sorimus. Whether it was classwork or homework, he always completed it well.
"I'm sorry, Professor McGonagall. I had something to discuss with Professor Snape. It won't happen again."
Sorimus admitted fault promptly and obediently.
When an elder pointed out your mistake, whether they were right or wrong, if you did not want matters to grow complicated, the best course was usually to admit your fault cleanly and quickly. Sorimus had no desire to drag the fire onto himself by forcing an explanation or arguing back.
Watching Professor McGonagall leave, Snape slowly shifted his gaze onto Draco.
"Do not let there be a next time."
Draco spun on his heel and left, shutting the door behind him in one smooth motion.
Inside the office, Sorimus looked at Snape as he returned to his desk, then spoke.
"As I was saying just now, Professor, I need your help."