Chapter 128: An Evening With The Potter Family (2/2)
”Are you excited about the world cup game?” asked Quinn, pointing to the magazine.
”Yeah, it will be a fun game,” nodded Harry, and his eyes shined, thinking about the upcoming game.
”Who are you supporting?”
”Ireland, of course. They are the ones who be winning the game,” declared Harry with utter confidence.
”Not Bulgaria with Viktor Krum. His season record has been way better than any of the active seekers,” asked Quinn. He had little idea what was going in the quidditch world, but Quinn read enough of everything that he could hold a conversation if he wanted.
”... He isn't that good,” humphed Harry, feeling competitive with a pro player while being a student-athlete.
”You like quidditch, any plans to go pro in the future,” asked Quinn, genuinely curious what this version of Harry Potter wanted to be in the future.
”Hell yeah, I'm going to be a pro in the future,” responded Harry as if there was no other thing he wanted to do. ”I'm going to apply for the teams when I turn sixteen.”
”Yeah, right,” Ivy snorted and held back a laugh, but a lot of it escaped out.
”What?” questioned Harry, looking at his twin.
”Like mum is going to let you go professional before graduation. Dad might agree, but mum will close the door on that before you could even suggest it.”
”You don't know that.”
”I know it. You know it. And even he knows it,” said Ivy to Harry and pointed at Quinn.
Quinn raised his hands to separate him from the conversation, even though he was the one who started.
The twins started to argue, and as they did, Quinn's mind wandered to the Tri-wizard tournament, but with the quidditch talk going on, his mind connected those two things.
”Oh, shit...”
Harry and Ivy looked at Quinn, who was suddenly holding his face in his hands.
”Aah, this isn't good. This isn't good at all. How didn't I connect those two?” groaned Quinn.
”What happened?” asked Ivy.
Quinn raised one hand and waved the question off while his other hand was still hiding his face.
'Eddie is going to kill me when he hears they will cancel quidditch this year,' thought Quinn. 'He is going to try to kill me.'
Quinn had run Eddie hard all year long in the preparation of the next year. But if Eddie hears that there won't be quidditch because of the Tri-wizard tournament, he would come after Quinn to release the frustration. Eddie could be exceedingly single-minded when he put his mind to it.
'I need to fix that somehow. I really need to fix that somehow,' thought Quinn before he looked at Harry, who was looking at with confusion. 'Alright, I would've to pull the biggest pitch of my life.'
Harry and Ivy seemed confused to see Quinn hide his face, groan, and then pat his thigh as if deciding something. They exchanged looks of confusion, wondering why Quinn was suddenly acting weird.
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- (Scene Break) -
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”So Quinn,” spoke James Potter, finally home from work after the sudden call to the office. ”This year is going to be your O.W.L year, isn't it? Are you nervous about the end-of-year examinations?”
”Yes, it's my O.W.L year the coming year,” answered Quinn as he sat down at the dinner table for dinner. ”But no, I'm not worried. Exams are easy if you study regularly.”
”As expected of a Ravenclaw,” smiled James as he too sat down.
”Oh, no, no, no,” chuckled Quinn, wagging his finger in refusal. ”Ravenclaws aren't good at handling examinations. For Ravenclaw, the examination period is really stressful. Most of them turn into backward savaged when the time for exams come.”
”... Backward savages?” All four Gryffindors: former and current, turned to Quinn for an answer.
Quinn laid a napkin down on his lap before he answered, ”An average Ravenclaw wants nothing more than to score well on an exam and want to score more than anybody, and that includes other Ravenclaws. During exam times, it's every man for himself as the house unity is thrown into the trash. Then there are betrayals, backstabbings, fake notes, fake leaked papers, bogus potions, and herbs that are supposed to sharpen the mind, and so on...”
He looked up at everyone on the table and continued, ”One thing that every Ravenclaw has in common is that they study regularly. Meaning that when exam times come, they are already on revisions. So to get that competitive edge, they try to mess up with their competition. Employ any means that would reduce even a single mark of others would mean that their rank would increase by some number.”
”My notes eliminated the fake note problem because mine is the best, and no other notes are needed,” spoke Quinn as if stating a fact. ”But other than that, Ravenclaws are known used to employ laxatives to make each other miserable. When exam time comes, Ravenclaw gains the ambitiousness of a Slytherin, the courage of Gryffindor, and the hard work of Hufflepuff. Of course, every one of those traits is used in not-so-positive ways.”
Quinn looked at the food in front of him as the four Gryffindors looked at him because he spoke of tales of betrayals, backstabbings, and sabotage as if he was already used to it.
”Do you also do it?” asked Harry.
”Hmm? Oh no, I don't do any of that. I don't need any of that. My grades are the result of simple and pure intellectual superiority,” said Quinn before turning to Lily and complimented her. ”Professor, all of this food looks absolutely appetizing and stunning. I can't wait to get started.”
”Ah, please start,” gestured Lily, and the meal started.
As everyone ate, Ivy continued the previous conversation. ”Has anyone tried to sabotage you... during exams?”
”Plenty of times,” answered Quinn between bites. ”They have tried to give me foods laced with laxatives, vomit-inducers, bloating potions, and a lot more things that would cause trouble if it got out of Ravenclaw walls, so I'm not at liberty of disclosing any of that. Have to keep the darkness inside the walls.”
”Did they succeed?”
”Not once. I know to check my food around that time.” Then Quinn chuckled at a thought, ”If we ever show all those sabotage potions to Professor Snape, he would be stunned to see the quality of potions that we Ravenclaw can produce when we are motivated. They are fantastic.”
Quinn looked up at Lily and once again threw a compliment at her. ”Professor, I didn't know you could cook this good. Have you ever thought of changing professions? If you have, please contact me so we can set something up because this... this will be an overnight success.”
Lily brightly smiled and seemed happily embarrassed because of the repeated compliments. The twins looked at their food and then at Quinn's plate, wondering if he was eating something else because what they ate was the usual cooking of Lily, who was an average cook, and that was with magic.
James, though, understood what Quinn was doing. He could see the deliberate charm talk that Quinn was laying on. He had done this a lot back in the day when he was pursuing Lily.
”Lily flower, this is really good.” James complimented his wife's cooking.
”Huh? thank you, dear,” replied Lily shortly before turning back to their guest. ”Quinn, would you like something else? You aren't eating enough.” Lily was getting excited because Quinn's charm was working, and she reciprocated by being more friendly and hospitable.
”Yes, Professor. I would like some mashed peas. I never liked mashed peas, but these are delectable. I can't get enough.”
Lily happily passed Quinn some mashed peas, and he ate them as if they were the most delicious thing he had ever eaten.
'Oh, come on, enough with that. Reel some of it in,' thought James as he couldn't believe how thick Quinn was laying it and how well it was working.
Then he saw Quinn look at him and winked before going to talk to Lily.
'This kid!' thought James, flabbergasted.
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- (Scene Break) -
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After spending some time with the Potters after dinner, it was time for Quinn to leave.
”Thank you for the wonderful evening, Professor,” smiled Quinn towards Lily and kissed the knuckles of her offered hand. ”I had an excellent time in your company.”
”Oh Quinn, stop it. You are embarrassing me,” replied Lily. If before today she was the fan of Quinn West, the student, today Lily had become a fan of the person known as Quinn West.
James Potter rolled his eyes at that. Even Ivy had caught up with what Quinn was doing and sighed with an eye roll just like her father. Harry knew that something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
”Harry, meet you at school,” spoke Quinn to Harry. ”Tell me about the world cup game. I won't be able to attend because of some previous commitment.”
”Yeah, sure. Let's do that.” Harry nodded and was okay with that, even looked forward to it. As long as it was quidditch, he could talk about it for days. Quinn had given him an impression that he liked quidditch, and it helped that Quinn commentated on most Hogwarts games.
Next in line was Ivy, who Quinn spoke to briefly. ”Ivy, it's always fun talking to you. Let's talk some more when we meet again... and if you need any help, you know where to find me.”
Ivy nodded but didn't reply in words. She had a fun evening with Quinn West, and that thought seemed unreal to her some time back. She never thought she could even speak to Quinn politely, forget about having fun.
”Mr. Potter, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to host me. I'm sure that the current time is hectic for you,” spoke Quinn to James, who was the final member.
James gazed at Quinn and wondered if the West child knew about the reason behind his business. And after thinking about it, he concluded that Quinn knew about the upcoming Tri-wizard tournament.
”Are you excited about it?” asked James, making Harry and Ivy confused while Lily understood what her husband was talking about.
”Oh, yes. It will be mighty fun,” nodded Quinn with a small grin.
After saying goodbyes, Quinn left. He exited the boundary of Godric's Hollow, and after looking around for a second, there was a pop, and Quinn disappeared.
Back at the Potter cottage, the Potter family entered their homes after seeing Quinn off.
”What were you two talking about?” asked Ivy about the small talk that her father had with Quinn.
”It's a surprise,” grinned James but didn't reply.
Ivy didn't seem satisfied with the answer and tried to pester her father for an actual answer, but the Auror refused to answer.
The Tri-wizard tournament was on its way.
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Quinn West - MC - Perfect guest. His charms work well on older ladies.
Lily Potter - Lady of the house - Fan of Quinn. Thinks he is an excellent child.
Ivy Potter - Girl Twin - For the first time, she noticed Quinn and...
Harry Potter - Boy Twin - Wants to be a pro-quidditch player before Hogwarts ends.
James Potter - Auror - ”Oh, come on. Now that's too much, right?! How is that working?!”
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