A few days had passed, and I was sitting in my room. I stared down at the torn and burned pages piled haphazardly inside the book I had salvaged. I had taken it for myself, hoping to fix the pages and uncover more information about the location of the Chamber. However, no matter what I did, nothing worked. The repairing charm couldn't reverse the damage done by fire. All I was left with was a warped shadow of the image I was trying to uncover.
A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts. I took a deep breath, trying to ease my mind before getting up. Slowly, I made my way to the door and opened it to find Draco, dressed in his Quidditch uniform, holding his black broom beside him.
"I see you forgot the match was today," he scoffed. Instantly, the memory of the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor came flooding back.
"Is it today already?" I asked, shocked. The last few days had been spent scouring the school grounds for any other hidden rooms.
Draco nodded with a slightly condescending look before tossing me a uniform. "Get dressed!"
I stared at the green robes in disbelief. "Co-Captain XX Peterson?" I read aloud, confused by every word that came out of my mouth.
Draco nodded, then closed the door on me. "Put it on, and I'll explain on the way!"
I stood frozen for a few seconds, staring at the jersey and wondering if I could come up with an excuse to avoid this.
"I wanna go too! I wanna go too!" Val yelled, now awake and eager to join me. "It's been too boring just walking around the school. I wanna see people flying again!"
I sighed, unable to resist his childlike wonder. I understood he needed a reward for quietly helping me explore the castle.
I got dressed in the jersey and let Val slither up my sleeve, chirping once he was settled. Leaving my room, I glanced to my right and saw Draco leaning against the wall, still admiring his new broom with a grin. He noticed me and nodded, his grin widening.
"It definitely suits you. Green's a good color for any Slytherin," he chuckled, patting my shoulder before leading the way out of the common room.
As we left, a strange feeling crept in—one I didn't fully understand until I glanced around at the other students in the common room. All the Slytherins were smiling and laughing. The stark contrast between them and the rest of the school was unsettling. Not a single one showed fear at the message left with Filch's cat. It was as if nothing was wrong at all. I gulped, my chest tightening with unease as we stepped into the corridor.
"So!" Draco said, grabbing my attention as we walked toward the Quidditch field. "You won't be flying, but you're still part of the team. Victoria ordered a uniform just for you."
"Is that why I don't have any numbers?" I asked, trying to look over my shoulder at the back of my jersey. I noticed several students squinting in confusion as we passed.
Draco scoffed at them and nodded. "Exactly. She'll explain your duties, but it's probably just what you've been doing before."
I held back a sigh. I didn't want to do anything in the first place.
Inside the locker room, Draco and I were the last to arrive. The rest of the team was already talking and planning for the match. After a few minutes of greetings, a loud, familiar voice rang out above the noise.
"All right! Everyone, shut up!"
We all fell silent, eyes turning toward Victoria, who stood dressed and ready to lead us to victory.
She gave a single nod, then took a piece of chalk and scribbled on the blackboard. "We've done plenty of drills and tested out new techniques thanks to—Where's Peterson!?"
She glanced around, and the others parted to reveal me near the back. She motioned for me to come closer, and I nervously walked up to stand beside her.
Her permanent frown bore into me for a moment before she turned back to the rest of the team.
"We've had plenty of training thanks to Professor Snape giving us more time on the field this year! But training alone isn't enough!" she snapped before anyone could smirk.
She flipped the board around to reveal a large photo of Harry Potter, with tears and rips across his smiling face.
"Because of this little brat! No matter how well we outplay his team, he always wins the match!"
Everyone grumbled, nodding and muttering about how unfair it was that most of his games ended like that.
"Except today!" Victoria declared, freezing the room in confusion. Then, with a nasty grin, she grabbed my shoulders and thrust me forward.
"Because today, we have this as our secret weapon!"
I blinked in disbelief. "What?"
She grabbed my head and turned it to face the team again. "What have you been doing during practices?"
"I—I don't know. Just remembering the runs and plays you—"
She smacked the back of my head, making some of the others wince. "Not that, you fool! The other thing I asked you to do."
I thought back to the end of our practices. "I helped Draco find the Snitch to put back in the box?"
She smacked my back and pushed me forward. "Exactly! This kid has sharp eyes! He can spot the Snitch and guide our new Seeker to it long before Scarhead even knows where it is!"
The team erupted in cheers, and my stomach sank under the weight of their expectations.
Once the game started, I was connected only to Draco, and vice versa. As Seeker, he had one job, and it would only distract him to have too many voices in his ear. I blocked out everything else. All that mattered was the Snitch.
Scanning the sky, I spotted a small glint of light that reflected directly into my eyes. I winced but focused. The Snitch hovered almost in place. Above it, Draco's golden hair shimmered as he searched, unaware it was just beneath his broom.
"Draco! Just below you, straight down!" I called out.
He flinched, then looked down.
Instantly, he dove and swiped, but the Snitch slipped through his fingers.
"Shoot!" he yelled, chasing after it as it darted away.
Moments later, Potter descended too, clearly following Draco's lead. As the two Seekers bumped into each other midair, a bludger whipped across the field.
"Draco! Bludger! Go up!"
He obeyed just in time, the bludger slamming into Potter's arm and knocking his guard off. Potter screamed as he was flung away, but I kept watching the sky, trying to focus.
I tried to ignore him, but the bludger began chasing Potter relentlessly. He flew with one arm, weaving through players to shake it off. Still, the bludger only collided with our team as it pursued him.
That's when I saw another glint.
The Snitch.
It was flying just behind the bludger, almost latched onto its tail.
"Draco! The bludger—it's on the bludger chasing Potter!"
"Are you serious!?" he yelled, but flew over anyway.
He descended, and I saw the spark in his eyes—he had spotted it too.
With superior speed, Draco reached out as they dove into the scaffolding and disappeared from view.
I held my breath. Seconds stretched into minutes.
"Draco, what—" I started, but then a figure in green burst upward into the center of the field.
"Draco Malfoy has caught the Golden Snitch! Slytherin wins!!"
Victoria grabbed me. "YES!!" she screamed, then lifted me into the air, holding me over her shoulders as the team gathered around. The stands erupted in cheers, green-colored streamers and confetti raining down.
"Take him up!" Victoria ordered.
Flint grabbed my arm and pulled me onto his broom, then passed me off to Draco.
Unsteady but smiling, I grabbed on.
"Grab on!" Draco yelled over the crowd, holding the Snitch by one wing and offering me the other.
Grinning, I took it, and together we raised it high above the pitch. The crowd roared louder.
"Draco!" "Draco!" "Draco!"
"Lucas!" "Lucas!" "Lucas!"
They chanted our names.
'I suppose this part isn't so terrible,' I thought, my smile widening as Draco and I cheered in victory.
For now, in this small moment, everything was okay at school.