A Certain Magical Hogwarts

"Fractured skull! That damn McLaggen!" George roared in fury from the stands at the Quidditch training field.

It was now afternoon, and the pitch was once again filled, this time with Hufflepuff students gearing up for their own tryouts.

Fred, looking rather distraught, asked, "What are we going to do? How are we supposed to explain this to Mum?"

"Maybe we just... don't tell her?" George suggested, patting his face nervously, as if trying to erase the whole incident from memory.

William turned to George and asked, "What did Madam Pomfrey say?"

"She said Charlie's skull should heal rather quickly, but he'll need to stay in the hospital wing for a few nights," George replied.

Madam Pomfrey was well-known for her incredible healing abilities—no matter how serious an injury, she could have you patched up in no time.

Cedric sat nearby, looking tense. He was about to participate in Hufflepuff's Quidditch tryouts and seemed anxious, undoubtedly thinking about the earlier accident with the Gryffindor team. 

The fact that their captain, Charlie Weasley, had suffered a skull fracture was enough to make anyone question the dangers of the sport.

Fred tried to comfort Cedric. "Don't worry, mate. You only need to show a quarter of your talent to make the team."

George nodded in agreement. "Yeah, look at us. We got into the team easily, and you're even better than me."

William patted Cedric's shoulder, smiling. "Just make sure you don't pull a McLaggen, and you'll be fine."

But Cedric still seemed shaky.

Cho closed the book she had been reading and flashed Cedric a warm smile. "We all believe in you, Cedric."

Suddenly, Cedric stood up, looking as though he had just downed a vial of Felix Felicis. "Thanks, Cho! I feel much better now. With your encouragement, I'm sure I'll make the team!"

William: "…"

The Weasley twins: "…"

Well, there was a saying for moments like this: "Simping gets you nowhere."

Just then, an owl swooped into the Quidditch field. 

Moments later, a second owl appeared—it was William's owl, Drogon.

Drogon landed beside William, its large yellow eyes blinking as it hooted affectionately, nuzzling him for treats.

Without Boba Tea around to hog all the attention, Drogon was always in a good mood, eagerly pestering William for food.

Not far off, another owl, Milia, landed. She looked somewhat disappointed at the absence of Boba Tea, whom she seemed to have taken a liking to.

George reached over and scratched Drogon's head. "Hey, wasn't Drogon supposed to be at home?" he asked, surprised.

William pulled some fish snacks from his pocket and fed Drogon, nodding. "Yeah, it's been at home, so it must have flown here to deliver a letter."

Fred, puzzled, asked, "But where's the letter? I don't see any envelope."

There was no sign of any letter on Drogon. Fred even checked to see if it had been stashed away in a hidden pocket.

Milia, seeing Drogon get treats, let out an indignant hoot. She flapped her wings a few times and then plopped onto the ground, pretending to have a limp.

She glanced around, her act of desperation clearly aimed at Cho, who, with watery eyes, quickly rummaged through her pockets for any snacks she had on hand. She emptied all of her treats in front of the pitiful owl.

Encouraged by Cho's compassion, Cedric and the twins reluctantly handed over their own snacks as well.

Drogon stared, dumbfounded, at the small pile of fish treats in front of him, then glanced over at Milia's growing mountain of snacks. 

Clearly impressed by Milia's superior begging technique, Drogon decided to lie down next to her in solidarity.

Cho: "…"

Realizing she had been tricked by Milia, Cho felt as though her intelligence had been thoroughly stomped on and mocked.

William chuckled, pulling Drogon close. Out of nowhere, he produced a letter.

—It was from Annie.

The letter was filled with updates about her recent activities and questions about life at Hogwarts. 

At the back of the letter, there was a small stack of photos—some of Annie, some family portraits of the Starks. She had written to William to ask him to use developing potions to turn the still photos into moving ones.

Before William could finish reading the letter, George snatched the stack of photos from his hand and quickly passed them around to the others. William didn't stop him.

With a dramatic raise of his eyebrows, George exclaimed, "William! You've got a sister!"

William blinked in confusion. "What, I never mentioned that before?"

Everyone shook their heads.

Cho, looking at the photos, smiled. "Your sister's very pretty."

William grinned. "Of course she is. She looks just like me—of course, she's beautiful!"

George slung an arm around William's shoulder and sighed theatrically. "The moment I laid eyes on your sister's picture, I knew we were going to be best friends for life!"

William squinted at him, dragging out his words. "George… Do you want to end up in the hospital? Or should I go tell Snape who sent him that love letter?"

"No, no! Please don't!" George raised his hands in mock surrender. "But seriously, you should send your sister to Gryffindor. I'd be happy to look after her."

Fred, overhearing, nodded in agreement.

George grinned. "In fact, I'll introduce you to my sister Ginny—fair's fair, right? She's nothing special now, but mark my words, she'll be gorgeous one day."

Fred burst out laughing. "Good luck with that. Ginny's been obsessed with Harry Potter for years. It's all 'Harry this, Harry that,' day in and day out."

William raised an eyebrow, surprised to find out that even the wizarding world had its version of fangirls.

"Hey, William, what's with that look?" George asked, feigning offense.

"Oh, Merlin's beard!" Fred said, dramatically clutching his heart. "Since the start of term, so many girls have confessed to you, and you showed no interest in any of them. And now, you're making that same face when we mention Ginn-… Wait a second!"

Fred put on an expression of sudden realization, while George, hiding behind Cedric in mock fear, said, "Could it be… that you're not interested in girls at all?"

"…"

"Hey, William, we don't judge here, really! If you really swing that way, I could introduce you to my little brother Ron—just keep your eyes off me, alright?"

William pulled out his wand, and George quickly waved his hands in surrender, changing the topic. "By the way, where did that letter come from?"

Fred, too, was curious. They had seen Drogon deliver treats, but where had William been hiding the letter?

William stood up, and Drogon took off from his arm, flying toward the castle.

Cedric tilted his head, puzzled. "Isn't Drogon flying back home?"

William smiled. "Do you think I was hiding the letter somewhere? Didn't you see the golden ring on Drogon's talon?"

The others blinked in surprise.

William continued, "The ring has been enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm and a bunch of other protective spells. It's also got a secrecy charm to prevent any letters from being intercepted by wizards."

"Wait, you didn't set that up yourself, did you?" George asked.

William shook his head. "Of course not. I'm not that skilled yet. It was Dumbledore who enchanted it."

"Dumbledore… So that means…" Fred's eyes widened in realization.

"That's right," William said cheerfully. "Next, Drogon is delivering a letter to Dumbledore."

"Annie and Professor Dumbledore write to each other regularly," William added with a grin. 

"In her letters, she even calls him 'Dear Grandpa Albus'… So, George, if you really want to pursue my sister, go ahead—I won't stop you. But I can't promise Dumbledore won't break off your legs."

"..."

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