Lumos

By the next morning, the entire school was buzzing over what Harry and his friends had done. Not only had Harry survived – he’d kept the Stone from being stolen by, of all people, Professor Quirrell.

“Quirrell!” Ulric had exclaimed. “I never would’ve thought-”

“But he was sort of possessed, wasn’t he?”

“Not possessed. More like…enticed.”

While there was no mention of Felicity, Ulric, or Sebastian’s involvement, they found they were rather unbothered by it. Sebastian, of course, would be ridiculed by his fellow Slytherins if word got out he’d helped a bunch of Gryffindor first years – even Felicity couldn’t demand that of him. Ulric was just relieved not to have died. And, as for Felicity, she was just glad everyone was alright and Voldemort, once again, was gone and hopefully not coming back.

Felicity and Ulric went down to breakfast the morning before the end-of-term feast, waving cheerfully to Hermione and Ron down the table, and sat across from Neville, who was sitting with his head in his hands, looking thoughtful.

“Morning, Neville,” said Felicity, catching his attention.

“Morning,” was his reply.

“Everything alright?” Ulric asked.

Neville shrugged. “Just nervous. Exam results tomorrow.”

“You did fine, I’m sure,” said Felicity encouragingly.

“We heard what happened,” Ulric added, making Felicity kick him under the table. “What?”

“Oh,” said Neville, looking down. “It’s so embarrassing.”

“It was brave,” Felicity disagreed. “You were just trying to stand up for our House.”

“It didn’t feel brave, laying there on the floor until one of the girls tripped over me.”

“Remind me never to cross Hermione.”

Apparently wanting to change the subject, Neville said, “Crazy about Quirrell, isn’t it?”

Felicity caught Ulric’s eye. “Yeah, pretty crazy.”

Ulric was about to say something else when someone dropped into the seat on Felicity’s other side, letting out a tired groan. “This school needs coffee.”

“Sebastian,” gasped Felicity, looking quickly at Ulric and Neville for their reactions. Neville gawked, but Ulric just shrugged. It seemed that he had come to accept Sebastian as a part of their lives, Slytherin or not. Tentatively, Felicity asked, “What’re you doing? What about your friends?”

“I’m sitting with them,” said Sebastian simply.

Turning in her seat, Felicity caught sight of Katrina glaring in her direction. She quickly turned back around, heart beating uncomfortably hard against her ribs. “What about Katrina?”

“We’re done,” Sebastian shrugged. “I told her we were friends and she couldn’t handle that.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.”

And that was all. Sebastian joined them for lunch, as well, a bit more awake than he had been that morning. He accompanied them down to the lake after, where they sat soaking up the sun and talking about the things they’d encountered beneath the school.

“I’m glad we didn’t have to play chess,” Sebastian was saying. “I’ve got no patience for it.”

“It’s about strategy,” said Ulric.

Felicity sighed. “It’s boring. Games are supposed to be fun.”

“Using your mind is fun.”

“How do you put up with him?” Sebastian asked Felicity.

“I tune him out, mostly.”

Ulric glared at them. “Pardon me for wanting my free time to be mentally stimulating.”

“Exams are over, kid,” groaned Sebastian. “You can stop with the smart words.”

Felicity was quickly finding that conversations with Sebastian and Ulric usually went this way, with the two bickering about stupid things. Ulric’s pushy personality didn’t quite work with Sebastian’s laid-back one and it would definitely take some work getting used to the new addition to their group.

It was especially difficult when they walked into the Great Hall the next evening and saw it decked out in Slytherin’s green and silver. Sebastian bit back a grin and nudged Felicity. “I don’t see anyone mingling, so I supposed I’d better sit with my House.”

“Yeah, I suppose so,” said Felicity half-heartedly.

She and Ulric wandered over to the Gryffindor table, squeezing into a spot between the Weasley twins and Percy.

“A bit late, are we?” asked Percy, giving them an irritated look.

“Someone fell asleep by the lake and was very hard to wake up,” said Felicity, rolling her eyes in Ulric’s direction. Around them, people began to talk loudly, some standing up to get a look at whoever had just entered the Great Hall.

Harry, Felicity correctly guessed. More than ever, she was glad to have escaped the attention that he and his friends were receiving. Fortunately for Harry, Dumbledore soon stood up, causing the chatter to die away.

For a moment, Professor Dumbledore looked out upon the sea of students with a look that plainly said there was nowhere he’d rather be. Cheerfully, he said, “Another year gone! And I must trouble you with an old man’s wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were. You have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts…

“Now, as I understand it, the House Cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two.”

The Slytherin table burst into cheers, some of them stomping their feet on the floor. Felicity stared down at her plate, trying not to be irritated at Sebastian for being one of them.

“Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin,” said Dumbledore. “However, recent events must be taken into account.”

Felicity’s head shot up. The Hall had gone silent, everyone staring at the headmaster.

“Ahem,” said Dumbledore. “I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see, yes… First, to Mr. Ronald Weasley-”

Down the table, Ron nearly choked.

“-for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor House fifty points.”

Next to her, amid the sudden cheers of the Gryffindors, Percy shouted, “My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall’s giant chess set!” Felicity had to lean away to keep from permanent hearing damage.

When the Hall quieted down, Dumbledore continued, “Second – to Miss Hermione Granger… for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor House fifty points.”

“We’re up to four hundred twelve,” said Ulric. “That passes Hufflepuff.”

“Third – to Mr. Harry Potter… for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor House sixty points.”

“We’re tied with Slytherin!” Ulric gasped.

The cheers were nearly deafening. It took a very long time for silence to fall again and, when it did, Dumbledore went on, “There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies.” He gave a small smile. “But a great deal more to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom.”

The Gryffindor table erupted. Students leapt from their seats – Neville, looking stunned, vanished under a pile of people hugging him. Felicity was one of few who didn’t stand – she was looking around for Sebastian. Across the hall, his expression was blank, his eyes staring fixedly down at his plate. Then he was obscured as students from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff table also stood, just as pleased with Slytherin’s defeat as the Gryffindors.

“Which means,” Dumbledore called over the cheers and applause, “we need a little change of decoration.”

With a clap of Dumbledore’s hands, green-and-silver became red-and-gold; the Slytherin serpent was replaced by the Gryffindor lion. He made no attempt to say anything more – he returned to his seat and tucked into the food which had just appeared on the tables.

Felicity, while pleased that her House had won the Cup, was subdued in her celebrating. She had a nasty feeling this wasn’t going to sit well with Sebastian. It was hard to worry, though, with so much excitement around her and, once she started eating, Felicity forgot to think about her Slytherin friend and just enjoyed the celebration.


The next few days were spent packing, students scrambling to find misplaced belongings, and preparing for the journey home. Exam results were passed out – Ulric had passed with some of the highest marks in class. Felicity had gotten good marks, as well, although she’d merely scraped by in a couple subjects. Even Neville had passed, a good Herbology mark making up for a horrid one in Potions.

A notice was handed out, reminding them not to use magic over the holidays, something that made Fred and George both sigh. “I always hope they’ll forget to give us these,” Fred had said. George had added, “Mischief is so much harder without magic.”

And suddenly they were gathering in the entrance hall, the first years following Hagrid down to the fleet of boats, and sailing across the lake. Then they were boarding the Hogwarts Express; Felicity and Ulric shared a compartment with the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan. Felicity had avoided Sebastian since the feast – she made no attempt to find him on the train and he made no attempt to find her.

Felicity was too excited to see her family to worry about where Sebastian was. She’d see him soon enough, when Uncle Markus unavoidably forced himself into their company, bringing his reluctant ward along with him. She enjoyed the last afternoon with her friends, chatting and laughing as the Weasley twins picked on Ulric in their usual fashion.

They arrived at King’s Cross all-too-soon and yet not soon enough. Felicity bid her friends farewell as she left the compartment with her trunk and the basket that held Baltimore. The moment she stepped onto the platform, a nearby voice screamed, “Sissy!” and she was tackled by her brother. Over his head, Felicity saw her mom watching with a smile on her face.

Although she would miss Hogwarts terribly in the coming months, Felicity couldn’t deny how happy she was to be home.