The Other Castellan

The Norwegian Ridgeback

Chapter 11: The Norwegian Ridgeback 

Things seemed to be going well since Hogwarts obviously hadn't fallen apart. Which Lucas assumed it would once the Stone was stolen. It wasn't that he was such a killjoy, he was just preparing for the worst. How else would he have survived all these years?

  By now Lucas was willing to look past his fear of Divination, even hoping to get something to tell him what was to come. He was that desperate. What if Snape or Quirrell waited until the Summer to steal the Stone? No student was allowed to stay at Hogwarts during the Summer, and Lucas had no excuse to stay. To everyone else, he was Draco Malfoy, the pampered Pure-Blood. What would he say to Dumbledore? "Sorry to bother you, but I think either Quirrell or Snape is trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone. Can I stay for the Summer?" That sounded ridiculous. He wasn't even supposed to know about the Philosopher's Stone.

  Meanwhile, Hermione had taken to taking notes in class to study for the upcoming exams. Lately, their meeting place had become the Library, where they discussed Snape and Quirrell's movements and studied for the exams.

  "You take studying very seriously," he noted.

  "Of course I do!" she snapped. "You do realize that we have to pass to get into our second year, don't you? I don't suppose you fancy being the only first-year that's twelve? Honestly, I don't know what's gotten into me, I should've started studying ages ago..."

  "Calm down!" Lucas replied. "Of course I know, I'm just trying to lighten things up a bit."

  The professors seemed to be in the same mindset as Hermione. As they say, "Great minds think alike." They piled so much homework that the Easter holidays weren't as fun or relaxing as the Christmas ones. Not that Lucas minded. Years of hanging out with Annabeth made studying something he would do without question. It was also a good way to keep his mind off things, such as the fate of the Wizarding World. Lucas spent so much time in the Library that he barely slept, and he had to convince Snape to teach him how to make a Wideye Potion.

  One sunny afternoon, Lucas was sitting at a table near Harry, Ron and Hermione in the Library. Maybe he was being selfish, but he liked studying with Hermione. Unlike the Slytherins, she was actually smart, and he didn't feel like he was explaining things to a bunch of babies. Okay, so, not all Slytherins were like that. Daphne Greengrass was fine, as well as Pansy Parkinson. Theodore Nott was fine too. But, like the rest of the Slytherins, they were incredibly biased against Muggle-Borns. And thick-headed.

  "I don't get why you follow Harry Potter around so much," Theo complained. "I mean, I get you're very popular among Gryffindors, but Potter and Weasley don't even like you. Why bother?"

  "Because Hermione's their friend," Lucas told him irritatedly, not looking up from his Transfiguration essay. "You-Know-Who tried to kill Potter when he was one. Who knows what trouble he might attract this year? I'm simply looking out for a friend."

  "You sure?" Theo teased.

  Catching on, Lucas slapped his arm lightly, finally looking up. "Eleven's a bit too young to start fancying someone, don't you think?" He paused. "Of course, you wouldn't think so, would you? Maybe if you stopped staring at Pansy and actually went up and talked to her, you might find yourself going out with her a few years into the future."

  Theo turned red. "I don't fancy her!" he whisper-shouted.

  "Whatever," Lucas replied, returning to his essay. "I'm introducing you two soon. Maybe we can have a ball a few years later and you can ask her out," he joked.