Harry Potter : Bloodraven-Chapter 65: Sneaky Teachers, Sneaky Students (CH - 85)

Two days passed, and the trials to select the twenty-eight players for next week's mock games had ended smoothly.

Apart from a small incident involving Harry Potter, nothing alarming occurred, and by the end, both students and teachers seemed pleased with the results.

But there were a few notable names selected by Coach Steven that drew mixed reactions from both students and teachers. Among them were second-years Fred and George Weasley, as well as Cedric Diggory—the pretty boy who was to become Hufflepuff's Quidditch team captain next year.

However, the biggest surprise of all was a first-year student and the standout star of the trials—Harry Potter himself. Nobody, not even the rival teams, protested his selection, as he had proven his skill by matching Flint's record, successfully passing twenty-nine out of thirty hoops with green, and did so in nearly the same timeframe.

All four of them still had a gap between themselves and the top senior players, but Coach Steven remained optimistic. He believed they had great potential and was confident that with effort and dedication, he could shape them into fine players before the tournament—as long as they passed next week's assessment.

Finally, the person most delighted was, of course, Professor McGonagall. Seeing so many talented Quidditch players from Gryffindor, she was absolutely thrilled. She couldn't stop smiling as she gathered the team together and praised them non-stop for their impressive skills.

....

On Monday, the busy routine of learning for the students and teaching for the professors resumed. Only Maverick had the most free time, with only two classes, each an hour and a half long, spread over three days a week. The other two days were even lighter, with just one class in the morning.

However, he was plenty occupied with other things. During his free time, he would head home to visit his family or stop by his company to check on the business and oversee things, especially now with the upcoming release of his new product at the end of the month.

After teaching his two classes, he left the school and didn't return until after sunset. That evening, he had a meeting with the headmaster, giving him a brief summary of the trials held over the weekend.

When he mentioned what had happened with Harry, Dumbledore didn't seem too concerned. He simply advised against pushing the students too hard but was otherwise very pleased with how things were going.

By the time Maverick left the headmaster's office, it was already past curfew.

As he walked toward his office, he suddenly sensed two fluctuations of magic at the level of mage apprentices—clearly two students moving suspiciously through one of the corridors. With midnight approaching, it was almost certain they were out past curfew, sneaking around where they shouldn't be.

Feeling a little bored, he decided to see who they were and began moving in their direction. To his surprise, the closer he got, the more they seemed to move away, as if they could somehow sense his approach—almost like a form of Magical-Sense.

But that would be impossible for mere mage apprentices. There was only one explanation—they were using an alchemical tool to track his movements.

A smirk tugged at his lips as a sudden playful urge to catch the two little mice took over. He quickened his pace, already having a good idea of who they might be. After all, as an upright and responsible professor of the school, it was only right for him to discipline students who were misbehaving, wasn't it?

So, in the next second, he snapped his fingers, letting the Disillusionment Charm wash over him. With a smooth flick of his wrist, he followed it up with a Silencing Spell, ensuring his movements and sounds disappeared without a trace.

There was nothing he could do about being detected by an alchemy tool, at least not unless he got his hands on it and made a few tweaks. That was part of the reason he was about to play this game of cat and mouse. By studying the tool, he could also create a countermeasure to prevent anything like this from detecting his name again in the future.

Once everything was in place, he observed the two little troublemakers' movements. He saw that they had stopped somewhere on the third floor—likely hiding, he thought with a smirk.

Then, with a decisive push of his body, he shot forward like a silent arrow, zigzagging through the corridors and up the stairs. In just a couple of seconds, he was already standing in front of the two, who, to his surprise, were also under Disillusionment.

"Huh... did you feel anything just now?"

He heard a faint whisper coming from behind the statue in front of him.

"What? No... but I think there's something wrong with the map, Fred."

Although Maverick couldn't see them with his eyes, he could follow their actions just as clearly from this close using his Magical-Sense.

"Look... the professor's name disappeared suddenly."

"Disappeared?"

"No, George. He's not disappeared... his position has changed. He... he seems to be..."

Maverick heard their whispers falter, followed by an audible gulp, and a sudden urge to laugh stirred within him. But he held it back and continued to watch their next move with amused curiosity.

"But I can't see anything, Fred."

"Idiot... if we're under Disillusionment, then so can the professor..."

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before the drama continued.

"What if... this is just our imagination, Fred? Maybe the map's damaged."

"You're right, George. Professor Caesar can't possibly be here and not say anything by now."

They whispered to one another, their thoughts in perfect sync, like two sides of the same coin.

"Okay, let's go back."

Hearing this, Maverick quickly dodged to the side, sensing them move like two cartoon characters—bent over and walking on tiptoe.

Every few steps, they would stop to glance at the map, look nervously over their shoulders, gulp, and then move again—hoping the name they were seeing on the map following behind them was just a glitch.

Maverick did his best to hold back the laughter bubbling in his stomach, deciding it was finally time to reveal himself.

Just as the two redheads turned forward and started moving again, Maverick canceled his Disillusionment and cleared his throat, calling out to them.

"Good evening..."

Fred and George froze on the spot, and slowly turned their heads while their faces broke into ridiculous smiles.

"Prof... professor. We were just..."

They were met with their professor looking amusedly at them with an eyebrow raised, clearly not by accident.

They tried to come up with an excuse, but seeing the smirk on Maverick's lips grow wider, they struggled to rack their brains to think of anything to say.

"Well, shall we take a walk? I'm sure you can explain on the way," Maverick said, chuckling. He decided to spare them from the embarrassing torture.

A couple of minutes later, the Weasley twins were seen walking on either side of Maverick. Their previous anxiety had disappeared, as they realized Maverick wasn't pressing the issue and simply seemed to be escorting them to the common room. Instead of worrying, they were now talking leisurely as they walked.

"Well, I heard you like to make joke props. You know, that's also alchemy, and it can't be done without knowledge of rune circuits. Who did you learn from?" Maverick asked casually.

"It's Dad, Professor," Fred said with a grin. "He loves to tinker with Muggle stuff and always tries to mix it with magic. We learned basic runes from him when we were little..."

"Oh..." Interesting. Maverick thought. "So, you both like alchemy?"

He saw them hesitate before Fred, on his right, added, "We love creating joke gadgets, professor."

"That's right. But... we don't want to lie and say alchemy is our favorite subject. But we do love creating things."

Maverick appreciated their honesty and thought that both of them could be useful in the future. At their age, being able to understand basic rune circuits and create simple gadgets without formal education in the subject was nothing short of genius.

He then finally asked them what he had actually wanted to know.

"By the way, how did you both know I was coming?" Maverick asked, keeping his tone casual. "I could sense through magic that you were aware of my movements."

At his question, the twins exchanged a glance before nodding, silently coming to an agreement. For them, things weren't complicated. If they felt they could trust someone, they tended to be open. Maybe they thought they couldn't fool him with an excuse, or perhaps it was just that they felt a sense of trust from him. Whatever the reason, they decided to come clean.

"We saw you on a map," Fred said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a rolled-up parchment, and handed it to Maverick. "We got this from Filch's office. It's called the Marauder's Map, and it shows everyone in Hogwarts and their movements."

Maverick raised an eyebrow, looking like he was surprised. Of course, he knew all about the Marauder's Map, but the twins had no idea about that.

"May I take a look?"

The twins nodded in unison, handing him the rolled-up parchment. Maverick unfurled the map as they walked, without any halt in their pace.

"It seems blank," he said, glancing at the empty rugged paper.

"Well, that's because—" Fred started.

"You need a secret phrase," George finished.

They then stopped walking, and Maverick let them demonstrate. George raised his wand, waved it, and spoke the familiar words, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The parchment immediately came to life as black ink materialized, forming a detailed map with names and footsteps moving all around.

"Fascinating..." Maverick couldn't help but say. It was true— even for him, a master alchemist, the map was a real masterpiece. It was hard to imagine that it had been created by a bunch of students during their leasure time.

The twins noticed the genuinely interested look in their professor's eyes and exchanged a satisfied smile.

After a while, Maverick rolled the parchment back up. Instead of handing it back immediately, he gave them a mistivious smile, holding it for just a moment longer.

It was only then that the twins realized, despite Maverick being just a few years older than them and seeming easygoing, he was still a professor.

A reluctant smile formed on their lips, regret clear in their expressions, and they finally nodded to Maverick for the inevitable confiscation they thought was about to happen.

After a while, Maverick burst into a chuckle, letting the tension ease, and spoke, "Let me borrow this for a few days. You know I'm a man of alchemy, so when I see something this interesting, I just have to see how it works. But I promise to return it in a few days, and... I'll keep it a secret and pretend i know nothing about this." Maverick said, smiling and giving a wink at the end.

The brothers' eyes immediately lit up, and they started bobbing their heads like chickens in agreement. Finally, a professor who understood their feelings, they thought excitedly, and even their eyes turned a little moist.

Maverick's eyes twitched at their exaggerated reaction, and he quickly resumed walking, picking up the pace to send these two troublemakers back. After a few minutes of walking, they reached their destination.

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"I'll let you know when I finish studying this," Maverick said, and his tone turning serious before adding. "But... I don't want you spying on professors, even after you get it back."

The brothers nodded quickly, their faces serious for a moment before their usual mischievous grins returned.

Maverick sighed. "Alright, off you go..." he said, waving his hand dismissively. Just as the Fat Lady in the frame opened her mouth, they heard him call out one last time.

"Oh, and... that will be 10 points from Gryffindor for each of you."

Fred and George immediately turned to plead, but to their astonishment, there was no one there.

"Wait... where did he go?" Fred asked, his voice confused.

"I don't know, Fred. Let's just go in," George replied, equally bewildered.

The twins stood there, confused for a while, until they finally shrugged it off and entered the common room.

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Author's Note:

Just a quick update — up to Chapter 119 is already available on P AT r30n!

PAT r30n [.] com / RyanFic