We'll always be lucky

A few days earlier, Gavin had written to Dumbledore, requesting permission to use the Floo Network every Saturday to visit Cordelia at St. Mungo's.

Even before Dumbledore replied, Gavin had known it would be approved.

Ariana's death had always weighed on Dumbledore's heart. Seeing Cordelia in a similar situation, he would surely want to make amends however he could.

For instance—by giving Cordelia that precious bracelet.

But from Cordelia's account, Gavin knew Dumbledore could not visit her often either. After all, the White Wizard had plenty of important matters to attend to.

"Busy, everyone's busy. Good to keep busy."

Gavin could actually understand Dumbledore, but he still felt bad for Cordelia. That was why he wanted permission to spend more time with her. Who knew how much time she had left?

When Dumbledore's reply arrived, Gavin's feelings were complicated.

Just as Gavin had predicted, Dumbledore not only approved his request but also gave him an amulet to carry in case anything happened. St. Mungo's was not absolutely safe, after all. But that might also mean Cordelia's condition was not looking good.

Under normal circumstances, the headmaster would never allow a first-year student to leave the school grounds on weekends.

So Professor McGonagall's first reaction was to refuse.

"Your reason, Mr. Gu?" Professor McGonagall set the written approval back on her desk, laced her fingers together, and looked at him.

Gavin stood before her desk, his expression calm. "I want to visit my friend."

Professor McGonagall stared at him, her brow slowly furrowing. "From the school's perspective, you are still a first-year student."

"I know."

"First-year students are not allowed to leave the school. And from St. Mungo's perspective, she is a patient who could lose control at any moment."

"She isn't dangerous." Gavin disagreed with that. "And I have this. Professor Dumbledore gave it to me."

Gavin showed Professor McGonagall his amulet.

At the sight of it, Professor McGonagall raised her thin eyebrows. Clearly, her resolve had softened a little.

Dumbledore's judgment carried considerable weight with Professor McGonagall.

"She might not have much time left, Professor McGonagall," Gavin pressed while he had the chance.

Hearing that, Professor McGonagall finally looked less stern.

"Very well, Mr. Gu. Starting this Saturday, you may use my fireplace at three in the afternoon."

"However—" Professor McGonagall suddenly turned stern again, as though underlining the important part for him. "If you engage in any risky behavior, or encounter any danger, I reserve the right as deputy headmistress to reject all your subsequent requests to visit. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Professor." Gavin finally breathed a sigh of relief. Only Professor McGonagall made him feel as though he were facing his homeroom teacher from his previous life. "Thank you, Professor."

"You may go." Professor McGonagall was very satisfied with his response.

"One more thing—" Professor McGonagall added just as Gavin was about to leave. "I look forward to your performance in Saturday morning's Quidditch match."

Clearly, acquiring a Seeker like Harry had put Professor McGonagall in a very good mood.

"Yes, Professor. We certainly won't disappoint you."

Gavin was looking forward to it too. He could not wait to see everyone's faces.

Saturday's weather was unkind.

To be precise, the weather on Quidditch match days at Hogwarts rarely seemed to give much thought to spectator comfort. Wind swept down at an angle from above the pitch, snapping the flags along the edges of the stands. Low clouds pressed overhead, and the light was a dingy gray, as though someone had wiped the entire sky with an old rag.

Very British.

Very Quidditch, too.

Because Quidditch itself embodied that traditional wizarding-world attitude of "if the conditions are too civilized, it doesn't feel authentic."

Gavin sat near the front of the Hufflepuff stands, bundled tightly in his robes, holding a cup of hot pumpkin juice.

He had not originally intended to put himself through this ordeal.

But Cedric had specifically cornered him the previous evening, his tone solemn.

"You have to come," Cedric said.

"Why?"

"Because you're my coach."

"Temporary coach," Gavin corrected.

"Fine, temporary coach." Cedric readily accepted the correction. "All the more reason to come."

"Whether I'm there or not won't magically make your flight paths more sensible."

"But if you're in the stands, I'll feel like at least one person knows what I'm doing."

Cedric had been so earnest that Gavin ended up coming after all.

Of course, he also genuinely wanted to see how much of their recent training would translate into an actual match.

Hufflepuff's opponent today was Ravenclaw.

On paper, it would not be an easy match.

Ravenclaw executed their plays well and worked together smoothly. In particular, the interplay between their Chasers and Beaters showed considerable tactical depth. It was a more polished approach than Hufflepuff's traditional style of "everyone works hard, but coordination tends to happen by chance."

And their Seeker—

Was Cho Chang.

That meant today's match was not merely a contest between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. In a sense, it was also a showdown between two acquaintances: Cedric and Cho.

The match had yet to begin, and both teams had assembled at the edge of the pitch.

The captains shook hands in the middle while Madam Hooch made her final checks nearby. High up in the commentary box, Lee Jordan's enthusiastic voice was already carrying across the grounds.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone who brought windproof scarves to save their ears and their dignity—welcome to the second Quidditch match of the term! Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw!"

Cheers immediately erupted from the stands.

Hufflepuff's cheers were loud and wholehearted. Ravenclaw's were a little more restrained, but they lacked neither numbers nor spirit. Naturally, the Gryffindor stands were packed too. The Weasley twins stood at the edge, hollering loudly, evidently happy to turn someone else's match into a carnival.

In the final minutes before the match, Cho glided over from the Ravenclaw team on her broomstick.

She stopped beside Cedric with a deft movement, her long hair lifting slightly in the wind, her expression quite calm.

"Cedric." She tipped her chin up slightly.

"Cho." Cedric nodded.

"I heard you've adopted a new approach this year."

Cedric's expression did not change.

"News really does travel fast at Hogwarts."

"That's because your flight paths during training lately have been as odd as a troll charging around," Cho said. "And—" Her gaze passed him and swept over Gavin in the Hufflepuff stands. "Your 'personal coach' has become quite famous around school lately too."

Cedric followed her gaze without denying it.

Cho looked back at him, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.

"But that's all right," she said. "Whatever secret weapon you've prepared, you're going to lose today."

A little trash talk before a match was perfectly normal. Cho was playing mind games too.

Cedric smiled as well.

"That confident?"

"Of course," Cho said. "Because we're going to win."

With that, she gave her broomstick a light kick and glided back, swift and clean as a gust of wind.

Cedric watched her leave, the ease on his face quickly fading a little.

Then he looked up at Gavin in the Hufflepuff stands.

Through the wind and the crowd, Gavin could not quite make out his expression, but the meaning of that look was clear—

You saw that, right? She started it.

Gavin took an expressionless sip of pumpkin juice.

His meaning was equally clear—

Less talk. Stick to the plan.

The whistle blew.

Fourteen broomsticks shot into the sky at once.

Lee Jordan's commentary immediately followed, his words racing as though someone had just fed him an entire pot of Invigoration Draught.

"And they're off! Ravenclaw takes the Quaffle first—oh, a beautiful opening! Cho Chang is already climbing to search for the Snitch, while Hufflepuff... well, Hufflepuff looks very spirited too!"

"That commentary sounds a little biased," Justin observed objectively from beside Gavin.

"Lee Jordan is already showing considerable restraint when he commentates on other teams' matches," Ernie said.

"What's he like when Gryffindor plays, then?"

"A religious service."

"..."

Gavin said nothing. He simply watched the pitch.

Three minutes into the match, the situation was already clear.

Ravenclaw's Chasers worked together seamlessly, their passes crisp and clean, their pressure relentless. Before Hufflepuff could fully find their footing, they had already weathered a battering. Their Keeper made two saves in a row, but the third shot finally got past, sending the Quaffle cleanly through a hoop.

"First ten points to Ravenclaw!" Lee Jordan announced loudly. "A beautiful goal! Hufflepuff looks... er, like they might need a little more time to adjust to the wind speed, the pace, and reality!"

An indignant chorus of boos rose from the Hufflepuff stands.

"He's sounding more and more like Gu," Justin whispered.

"That's not a good thing," Ernie said.

Things did not improve over the next few minutes.

Ravenclaw found their rhythm, while Hufflepuff looked visibly flustered. Their Beaters were busy dealing with Bludgers, and when their Chasers finally managed to secure the Quaffle, it was intercepted before they even reached midfield. The scoreboard soon began to change.

10:20

10:30

10:40

"Hufflepuff isn't playing much like Hufflepuff today," Lee Jordan said. "More like a group of hardworking little badgers dragged straight from bed onto their broomsticks—oh, another goal! Fifty points to Ravenclaw!"

The Hufflepuff students in the stands had begun collectively sucking in breaths.

Cedric was not flying badly.

In fact, he was in excellent form today.

It was just that the Seeker's position naturally made him look rather like a spectator in the sky while the Quaffle kept sailing through the hoops.

And Cho was in equally good form. She circled steadily overhead, diving now and then before pulling up again, her movements as crisp as a real swallow's. To the eye, she looked even more graceful than Cedric.

Just past the ten-minute mark, the score stood at 10:60.

A heavy silence hung over the Hufflepuff stands.

Even Ernie was frowning, his expression as grave as though the house foundation had suddenly run up a massive deficit.

Justin, meanwhile, had fully resigned himself to the situation, switched to spectator mode, and given up trying.

"Honestly," he said, "if I were commentating, I'd already be drafting my consolation speech."

"Don't talk nonsense," Ernie said at once.

"I don't want to." Justin pointed at the scoreboard. "But there it is."

High above them, Lee Jordan had evidently reached much the same conclusion.

"Ten minutes into the match, and Ravenclaw has a commanding lead over Hufflepuff, sixty to ten!" His voice echoed over the pitch. "Judging by the current situation, I'm afraid Hufflepuff—oh, Merlin, what's that?!"

His voice abruptly changed pitch.

Almost every spectator looked up at once.

At that same instant, Gavin set down his pumpkin juice.

High in the sky, Cedric, who had been cruising over a wide area, suddenly changed course without warning.

His speed surged.

It was almost as though he had known a second in advance what would happen at a particular spot. His seemingly steady patrol abruptly tightened. He pushed his broomstick down and cut diagonally into a decisive dive, completely ignoring the area Cho was still searching in another direction.

Cho clearly realized something was wrong and immediately wheeled around to pursue him.

But she was already too late.

Cedric dived low, skimming almost level with the stands ringing the edge of the pitch, the wind stretching his robes into a straight black streak. The next second, he thrust out his hand—

The entire stadium went quiet for an instant.

Then, beneath countless watching eyes, Cedric raised his hand from the rushing wind.

A tiny glint of gold struggled wildly between his fingers.

The Golden Snitch.

"...He's caught it!!!" Lee Jordan's voice nearly split the stadium apart. "Cedric Diggory has caught the Golden Snitch! The match is over! Hufflepuff comes from behind to win, 160 to 60!!"

At first, the entire stadium was deathly silent.

Then the stands exploded.

The Hufflepuff stands rose almost as one, cheering loudly enough to drown out the wind. Someone flung a hat straight into the air. Justin nearly knocked Ernie out of his seat, while Ernie tried to preserve his dignity despite visibly losing control of his excitement.

"He caught it!"

"Cedric caught it!"

"We won!"

"160 to 60! Merlin, 160 to 60!"

The atmosphere in the Ravenclaw stands was entirely different.

Confusion.

Shock.

Disbelief.

As though they were saying, Please give me a sufficiently reasonable explanation, or I cannot accept this result right now.

Cho landed slowly, her expression sour, clearly unwilling to accept the outcome. She stared at the Golden Snitch in Cedric's hand, her eyes full of suspicion.

As though questioning everything she knew.

Because that last maneuver had looked far too unlike a spur-of-the-moment reaction.

After the match, the pitch instantly became as bustling as a marketplace.

The Hufflepuff players had already rushed over and surrounded Cedric. Heidi McAvoy clapped him on the shoulder, Malcolm Pritchard nearly shook him off his broom, and Herbert Fleet, their Keeper and captain, was as excited as if he had just scored fifteen goals single-handedly.

Yet even at the center of all that chaos, Cedric immediately looked up toward the Hufflepuff stands.

More precisely, he looked at Gavin.

The meaning in his eyes was clear:

You saw all that, right?

Gavin applauded and tipped his chin up ever so slightly.

His meaning was equally clear:

Not bad. All that practice wasn't wasted.

After the match, the atmosphere at the edge of the pitch was even livelier than the game itself had been.

Hufflepuff students crowded around in layers. The older students had already started discussing whether this was finally the year they could stop consoling themselves with "moral victories," while the Ravenclaws were clearly still dissecting the match.

Cho Chang came over from the other end, still carrying her broom. She kept her expression under control, but her words were rather less polite.

"Lucky you," she said.

Cedric had just escaped a crowd of classmates clapping him on the back, his hair tousled by the wind. He immediately turned to her.

"You think it was just luck?"

"What else?" Cho said. "You were getting crushed for the first ten minutes. You could barely keep track of the Quaffle, then you suddenly dived and caught the Snitch. If that wasn't luck, what was it?"

She had a very reasonable point.

At least from an ordinary spectator's perspective, it was very reasonable.

Cedric immediately bristled.

"That was because—"

He had barely begun when Gavin glanced at him.

It was a perfectly calm glance.

But Cedric stopped dead.

The rest of his sentence, If Gavin hadn't been holding me back, stuck firmly in his throat. His whole body froze along with it, as though he had remembered something.

Cedric took a deep breath and swallowed the words he had almost blurted out.

Then, with considerable difficulty, he found a more socially acceptable way to put it.

"...Our luck is going to stay good from now on," he said.

Cho stared at him suspiciously.

Then she looked at Gavin standing nearby. She had a persistent feeling that he had something to do with this.

"Is that so?" she asked slowly.

"That's right." Cedric tried hard to look confident.

Beside him, Gavin wore a calm expression, as though he had no intention of joining the conversation and was simply standing there as an impartial observer, incidentally enjoying Hufflepuff's collective delight at their victory.

But the more he acted that way, the more suspicious it seemed.

Cho narrowed her eyes.

"You're hiding something from me."

Standing nearby, Justin almost failed to keep a straight face and hastily lowered his head, pretending to examine the mud on the toes of his shoes. Ernie, meanwhile, worked very hard to maintain proper Hufflepuff composure.

"You're overthinking it," Cedric replied guiltily, not daring to look at Cho.

Unfortunately, Cho was clearly not so easy to fool.

She looked at Cedric, then at Gavin, and finally gave a small nod.

"All right," she said. "I'll remember that."

Cedric opened his mouth as though hoping to salvage something, but in the end, he said nothing.

Cho did not press him any further.

She turned to leave, then stopped after two steps and looked back at Cedric.

"Next time," she said firmly, "I'll be watching you closely."

This time, Cedric answered quickly.

"Then you'd better start getting used to it."

Cho gave a quiet huff and walked away with her broom.

A breeze swept across from the other side of the pitch, lifting the hem of her robes slightly. Someone from Ravenclaw was already calling her back to review the match, and she did not look back again.

"I think," Cedric finally said, "she'll find out sooner or later."

"That's a problem for later," Gavin said.

"Aren't you worried at all?"

"Worried about what?" Gavin watched the Hufflepuff students still celebrating on the pitch. "Even if she finds out, she won't be able to do it."

"..."

Remembering how he had felt when he first saw that thick stack of papers, Cedric shuddered involuntarily. He thought Gavin had a very good point.

"What exactly are you two talking about?" Justin and Ernie had been lost since the conversation began. "Was catching that Golden Snitch really not luck?"

"Of course it wasn't, but we can't tell you yet."

"Then when can you tell us?"

"Not until we've won this year's Quidditch Cup, at least."

"Huh?" Ernie and Justin stared. "We can win the championship this year?"

"You'll have to ask Cedric about that." Gavin made it clear that it had nothing to do with him.

Faced with the fervent gazes of the two younger boys, Cedric suddenly felt the pressure. "I'll... do my best."

Justin looked at Cedric, then at the unruffled Gavin beside him, and suddenly said, "Sometimes I honestly think you're at least two dimensions removed from a normal first-year."

"Thank you," Gavin said.

"That still wasn't a compliment."

"Thank you anyway."