Trivia: Miss Travers

On the pitch, several students interested in trying out for the team began taking turns flying under the direction of team captain Benjamin Bruce.

In the stands, Eddie had been chattering away, critiquing the performance of these students.

"Ha! That kid Andrew got worse marks than me in first-year flying class, yet he actually has the guts to show up for tryouts? Look at that—his flying speed is slower than a woodcock!"

"Is that Chambers? That kid's technique is actually pretty good. Maybe he can fill the vacancy for Chaser and form an unpopular duo with that annoying git Roger."

"Beautiful! Look, Cho Chang is flying beautifully, isn't she? If you ask me, Bruce should just make her the Seeker. Our current Seeker hasn't exactly been performing well in past matches anyway..."

"Thanks for the commentary, Eddie," Scott said testily. "Although the only useful part was a single sentence, which reminded me of a piece of trivia I read in the Encyclopaedia Britannica when I was a kid."

At this, Milton asked in a light tone, "Scott, which sentence are you referring to?"

"Oh, it's definitely the 'Andrew flies slower than a woodcock' part. The woodcock is the slowest flying bird in the world," Eddie answered triumphantly.

Milton blinked, then turned to Scott and said, "I think I should supplement my reading with some Muggle books, like the Encyclopaedia Britannica you mentioned. It might enhance my understanding of the Muggle world."

Hearing this, Eddie was shocked. "You've never read the Encyclopaedia Britannica? Hmm... if I recall correctly, you're a half-blood?"

Milton said, "Yes, my mother is a Muggle, but she never offered opinions on my education."

"Fair enough," Eddie said, having the sense not to pry further. "But I should warn you, that set has many volumes; it was even expanded to 32 volumes back in 1985. And every single one is quite thick."

Milton, however, appeared enthusiastic. "Well, I've found one thing I should do over the Christmas holidays: go buy 32 books."

"I recommend you read through the whole set, Milton," Scott said. "After you finish, you'll have a much better understanding of the world we live in."

"I will..."

"Hey, look over there!" Eddie suddenly interrupted Milton. "The Slytherin team is here too."

Scott looked up and, sure enough, saw a group of Slytherin students in green robes carrying their brooms as they crossed the lawn outside the pitch.

At that moment, Benjamin Bruce also spotted the Slytherin students, and he led several Ravenclaw players to meet them.

"Are they going to fight?" Eddie asked expectantly. He had already stood up from his seat.

"They won't," Scott said calmly. "We are Ravenclaw, not Gryffindor."

Sure enough, after Benjamin Bruce and the Slytherin team captain Marcus Flint exchanged words, both sides took up half of the pitch each.

After a while, Eddie began to complain, "Boring. Ever since Slytherin arrived, they've started flying conservatively. I think we should head back to Ravenclaw Tower."

Scott agreed with his suggestion. "It's neither training nor a match, so there's really no need to sit here watching Bruce and Flint guard against each other."

Milton, of course, had no objections.

The three of them left the stands without notifying Roger at all and headed out of the pitch.

Just then, another group of Slytherin girls walked over from the other side of the lawn.

"Hey, did you see that blonde girl walking next to Parkinson?" Eddie suddenly grew excited, lowering his voice. "Jasmine Travers. She's the prettiest girl among this year's first-years."

Scott glanced over upon hearing this and happened to lock eyes with Jasmine Travers.

The girl truly possessed breathtaking beauty: a head of brilliant blonde hair, deep silver-gray eyes, pale skin, and rosy lips.

When Scott inadvertently met her gaze, the girl did not look away; instead, she gave a slight smile.

She was like a little princess who had stepped out of a fairy tale, her expression carrying a hint of pride mixed with fragility.

The three Ravenclaw boys and the Slytherin girls passed each other in silence, with no one saying a word.

After the three of them had crossed the lawn in silence, Eddie immediately began chattering happily again, "Did Miss Travers just smile at you, Scott? You've really got it, easily capturing the heart of Miss Travers like that."

Scott, however, frowned at this. He stopped in his tracks and said to Eddie in a serious tone, "You'd better shut up, Eddie. That girl isn't as simple as she appears."

"I know what you want to say, Scott," Eddie said, unbothered. "The head of the Travers family is a Death Eater who followed the Dark Lord and is currently locked up in Azkaban?"

Scott continued walking forward. "As long as you know. In any case, you'd better not let those jokes of yours reach Miss Travers's ears, or you'll bring trouble upon yourself and me."

"Hey! You're being way too serious," Eddie said, chasing after him. "You should really take a good look at Miss Travers. That girl looks so beautiful and fragile, how could she..."

"Eddie."

Scott stopped again, turned around, and looked Eddie in the eyes.

"I am solemnly warning you!"

"Eddie," Milton patted Eddie on the shoulder, "you should trust what Scott says. Don't forget the gift he gave Professor Flitwick."

"The gift? That painting?"

Thinking of the significance of that painting, Eddie's expression changed instantly.

The painting Scott had given Professor Flitwick was another hot topic in Hogwarts castle during these first few days of school, aside from "Potter's flying car."

"You... are you serious?" He seemed unable to believe it. "You sensed her magic?"

"At the very least, I don't think there is a student at Hogwarts who can disguise themselves in front of me." Scott glared at him once more and turned to walk toward the castle.

Milton patted Eddie on the shoulder again and followed in Scott's footsteps.

"I get it, wait for me."

Eddie snapped out of his shock and hurried to catch up.

"I didn't expect..." he said in an astonished tone, "that young lady clearly looks like something as fragile as porcelain, yet Scott says she's not to be trifled with."

"This isn't the Muggle world, Eddie."

Scott said a few extra words, considering that Eddie usually knew his limits.

"Regarding those little hobbies of yours, while they are mostly harmless, you should keep in mind when you ought to shut your mouth."

"Besides, that young lady isn't just someone you shouldn't mess with; she..."

Scott lowered his voice to add one more thing, which caused both Eddie and Milton's expressions to change instantly.

This book has been signed.