𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝟐 & 𝐇𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭

𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙚𝙖𝙙

OCTOBER ARRIVED, SPREADING a damp chill over the grounds and into the castle. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was kept busy by a sudden spate of colds among the staff and students. Her Pepperup potion worked instantly, though it left the drinker smoking at the ears for several hours afterward. Sim Wendy, who had been looking pale, was bullied into taking some by Jake and Arlo. The steam pouring from under her vivid hair gave the impression that her whole head was on fire.

Raindrops the size of bullets thundered on the castle windows for days on end; the lake rose, the flower beds turned into muddy streams, and Hagrid's pumpkins swelled to the size of garden sheds. Ravenclaw had started training for the upcoming game next month—Hyunsuk was quite motivated highly from the win last year. Byounggon's enthusiasm for regular training sessions, however, was not dampened, which was why Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Rio were to be found, late one stormy Saturday afternoon a few days before Halloween, returning to Gryffindor Tower, drenched to the skin and splattered with mud. Rio had been lent a spare broom from the lockers, but Byounggon said that it was required to buy one; which placed Rio in a foul mood.

Even aside from the rain and wind it hadn't been a happy practice session. Chan, who had asked his group of friends to tag along, have been spying on the Slytherin team, had seen for themselves the speed of those new Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones. His friends were both amused and not, by the speed of the brooms but being drenched in some mud—though Slytherin Keeper Hwang Hyunjin (who usually doesn't have a streak on attendance) warned not to continue this. Chan reported that the Slytherin team was no more than eight greenish blurs, shooting through the air like missiles.

Beomgyu squelched along the deserted corridor, accompanying Arlo since he had seen her skipping through alone, when they came across somebody who looked just as preoccupied as they were. Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost of Gryffindor Tower, was staring morosely out of a window, muttering under his breath, ". . .don't fulfill their requirements. . .half an inch, if that—"

"Hello, Nick!" said Arlo first. Nearly Headless Nick may not be her House's ghost, but she did find him quite fun and amusing.

"Hello, hello!" said Nearly Headless Nick, starting and looking round. He wore a dashing, plumed hat on his long curly hair, and a tunic with a ruff, which concealed the fact that his neck was almost completely severed. He was pale as smoke, and Beomgyu could see right through him to the dark sky and torrential rain outside.

"You look troubled, young lad," said Nick to Beomgyu, folding a transparent letter as he spoke and tucking it inside his doublet.

"So do you—" said Arlo until someone called her name.

The three of them looked through the hallway. Sunghoon waved with a smile and sprinted towards them. He panted shallowly when he made it infront of them, still grinning at Arlo. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Huh? W-Why me?" Arlo pointed to herself.

Sunghoon turned pink, scratching the back of his head with an awkward chuckle. "Well, no one can relate to the pain on the collarbone from wiping the trophies last night. And–" He leans close to her face and whispers "–we're not suppose to be out this late!"

Beomgyu rolled his eyes at their close interaction.

"O-oh! Huh?" Arlo peered down at Sunghoon still in his blue Quidditch robes, but it was muddy and dark water was dripping to the ground; his hair damped as well. He looked worse than Beomgyu.

"Training? Wouldn't it be your first game next month?" Arlo tilted her head.

"Ah yeah. . .quite nervous. I wasn't able to play for Ravenclaw last year due to—you know, our little adventure—and Madam Pompfrey was quite strict; that Seungmin took in for me," he said.