The next morning, Lucas packed up quickly and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.
Over the past few days, he'd gradually gotten used to life at Hogwarts. He could ask the house-elves for whatever he wanted to eat, and even his clothes could be cleaned up with a quick Scourgify.
At the Gryffindor table, a crowd had gathered. As he got closer, he realized everyone was surrounding Harry Potter and the broomstick he'd just received.
It wasn't until Hermione explained it to him that Lucas found out Harry had been chosen as the Gryffindor Seeker thanks to his incredible performance in flying class.
And apparently, there was a Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match coming up soon — Harry's first real game.
But Harry didn't look all that thrilled. In fact, he looked kind of drained, and Ron — sitting beside him — was even paler than usual. Honestly, it was kind of funny.
"What I didn't expect," Hermione said thoughtfully, "is that Professor McGonagall used to be a Quidditch player — and even got a Badge of Honor."
Lucas raised an eyebrow. The image of the strict and serious Professor McGonagall as a sports nut was hard to picture, but hey, anything's possible.
Still, he had no real interest in Quidditch. The rules just didn't make sense to him — a single Seeker could win the whole game and make the rest of the team's efforts meaningless. Might as well just play a glorified game of "Find the Snitch."
The first class of the day was Potions with Professor Snape — and nobody dared be late.
As Snape entered, the previously bright classroom windows slammed shut one by one, casting the room into gloom.
"Right. Time to brew your potions," Snape barked. "Close your books — we won't be needing that outdated nonsense."
"What you will need are your hands!"
He then explained the potion and ingredients they'd be working with in detail.
Hermione, ever the eager student, perked up immediately and started taking notes like her life depended on it.
Lucas didn't mind that at all — it meant he could zone out a bit and still borrow her notes later.
All the cauldrons were set up on the tables, and the ingredients were prepped in advance.
Everyone got to work — well, almost everyone.
"Potter! This is a classroom, not your bedroom. If you're planning on napping, get out!" Snape's voice cut through the room like a blade.
Even Ron, sitting next to Harry, didn't escape the heat.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to fall asleep while brewing potions?" Snape snapped. "Clearly, your troll-like brains don't!"
"No, Professor, it's just that last night—" Harry began, but quickly trailed off, suddenly realizing what he was about to say.
Yeah, he couldn't exactly mention sneaking out last night for a duel with Malfoy that never happened, getting chased around by Filch all night, and nearly having a heart attack thanks to a giant three-headed dog.
Honestly, if Lucas hadn't taught him Alohomora the day before, he and his roommates probably would've gotten caught and thrown into detention.
"What did you do last night?" Snape narrowed his eyes, clearly not buying the excuse.
"Uh—"
"He had a bad stomach, Professor," Ron blurted out quickly. "Didn't sleep a wink!"
Nice save. If Harry kept talking, they'd have been totally busted for sneaking around the castle.
"How touching," Snape sneered. "Ten points from Gryffindor!"
In the back row, Hermione — who had been focused entirely on her potion — flinched at those words, her hands slipping and nearly dropping a handful of ingredients into her cauldron all at once.
She jolted upright in a panic.
If all those ingredients fell in, her whole potion would be ruined.
Luckily, Lucas reached out and caught the aconite just in time.
"You're only supposed to add one-seventh of the root, not the whole thing," he joked, placing it gently on the table in front of her.
"Whew—thank you!" Hermione let out a sigh of relief, clutching her chest.
She'd seriously thought it was game over.
But just as she calmed down, she remembered the ten points they'd just lost.
"I think Professor Snape's got it out for Harry," she muttered.
Nope. Not even a theory — it was just a fact. Snape had it out for him, and he didn't even try to hide it.
"Careful what you say — you want me to report you to the Head of House?" Lucas teased.
"I don't believe you," Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes.
The potion Snape assigned was pretty simple. Both Lucas and Hermione managed to brew it without too much trouble.
Lucas even finished before Hermione.
"Well done, Lucas. Ten points to Slytherin," Snape said, inspecting the potion with a rare nod of approval.
In contrast to how he treated Harry earlier, it was like night and day.
Frustrated, Harry crushed the herb he was holding.
"Professor, what about me?" Hermione asked, hand raised and hopeful.
Snape gave her potion a long look.
"You added a bit too much aconite, but it's still effective. Ten points to Gryffindor."
Ah yes, Gryffindor and Slytherin — the classic tug-of-war.
Just then — BOOM!
A loud explosion rocked the classroom.
Snape stormed over.
The familiar Gryffindor red robes confirmed his suspicion, and his face twisted with rage.
"Have you replaced your brain with a troll's!?"
"Clean this mess up immediately!"
"And — ten more points from Gryffindor!"
Hermione's happy expression from a moment ago froze on her face. Her smile twitched, then vanished completely.
"You okay?" Lucas asked, barely holding back a grin.
"Can I, like… get re-sorted?" Hermione sighed. "I want to be in Ravenclaw. Or Slytherin."