Over the next few days, aside from Avada finally stepping up on the second day of term to play the role of an upperclassman—giving the new students a proper introduction to Hogwarts and the everyday customs of Hufflepuff, backed by his credentials as last year's Hufflepuff top student and third overall—he spent almost all his remaining time either recording Voldemort's mental power or slowly wearing away at Professor Baker's seal.
For the moment, he had no intention of contacting Voldemort again. He planned to wait until he had finished studying Psychodynamics and fully mastered the method of recording mental power through writing before seeking Voldemort out. Only then would he observe Voldemort's mental activity up close and collect more dynamic samples.
As a result, he had no choice but to sacrifice his time in Defense Against the Dark Arts class—spacing out during lessons while secretly jotting down observations of Voldemort's mental power. Fortunately, Quirrell almost never called on students to answer questions, and Avada had a solid grasp of second-year material, so his quiz scores didn't drop. Otherwise, someone might have noticed something was off.
What surprised him even more was that his research into mental power brought unexpected gains. As his knowledge deepened, his Magical Perception allowed him to discern far more information than before. Then, during one attempt to crack the seal, he made a startling discovery: within that powerful seal, there was actually a hidden backdoor designed specifically for his mental power.
At first, he was terrified, thinking Professor Baker had secretly analyzed his mental power in full. But after further investigation, he realized the truth—it was the effect of that drop of blood he had used earlier. When he smeared his blood onto the book's cover and invoked the condition that "only I can see the contents," what it truly did was align the book's magical structure with his own mental power.
Back then, his understanding of mental power had been too shallow for him to notice this detail.
Now, however, with that backdoor at his disposal, the progress of breaking the seal would accelerate dramatically. Conservatively speaking, in about two weeks, he would be able to completely remove the seal and see exactly what Professor Baker had recorded inside.
Sixth years only? Not a chance.
And so, time flowed on, reaching the second weekend after the start of term…
"Ken! Wake up—now!"
At around six in the morning, when even the sun was still reluctant to rise, Avada lost the freedom to sleep in. His roommate, Xavier Nott, was shaking him like his life depended on it.
"Mmm… what is it… oh, right. Almost forgot…"
Avada rubbed his eyes, absentmindedly wiping away the gunk at the corners, before recalling what day it was. Today was the day of the inter-house Quidditch team tryouts.
Xavier, with his exceptional flying talent, had been noticed by Madam Hooch since last term and received special training. During flying lessons, he and a few other gifted students were often pulled aside for separate practice. By now, he had more than enough skill to compete in official school matches. Combined with his genuine love for the sport, it was only natural that he had signed up for today's tryouts.
Once Avada threw back the covers and got out of bed, the rest of their roommates met the same fate—each was shaken awake by Xavier in turn. There was no helping it; they had agreed on this yesterday.
"Oh Merlin, at this hour I don't even know if breakfast is ready yet. I can't function in the morning without something hot…"
"A glass of milk is enough for me… By the way, Xavier, what position are you trying out for again?"
"Chaser. And breakfast is always ready by five—it's just that you lot usually get up too late."
"Fine… but why does Hufflepuff have to go first? I could've used more sleep…"
Thus, an energetic Xavier dragged Avada, along with the still-dazed Summers and Stebbins, into the Great Hall. Sure enough, plenty of people were already eating—mostly fifth-years facing their O.W.L.s, along with a handful of other students who simply had the stamina for early mornings. The rest were the Hufflepuff Quidditch hopefuls at their house table, eating like their lives depended on it.
"Oi—Cedric? You're entering the tryouts too?" Avada exclaimed when he spotted a familiar face. "Aren't you already a regular? Or is someone finally challenging your Seeker position?"
"That's not it," Cedric replied with an embarrassed smile. "I'm here as a referee."
"At this point, there's no one better suited to be Seeker than Cedric," said a tall student beside him, clapping Cedric on the shoulder. "Once I graduate, he'll be taking over as captain and leading the entire team."
"Alright, everyone trying out—eat up," the tall captain called out. "We've got forty minutes before we head in. Don't overdo it; just enough to keep you going. Eat properly after the matches."
He ushered Xavier and the others to sit down, keeping a close eye on their portions and reminding them not to eat too much. Avada and the rest, there purely as spectators, took seats on the other side of the table and enjoyed a normal breakfast.
It had to be said—British breakfasts were incredibly hearty, completely unlike those of other European countries. Fried eggs, sausages and bacon of every kind, all manner of breads, fried potatoes and sliced tomatoes, Yorkshire pudding, and invigorating black tea often left Avada spoiled for choice.
"Alright."
The captain stood first, clapping his hands. "Everyone trying out, follow me. Head to the changing rooms, put on your protective gear, and collect your brooms. Those with personal brooms, make sure you don't mix them up with the school ones."
Xavier stood as well, waving to Avada and the others. "I'm off—see you later!"
"Yeah. Good luck," Avada replied with a nod.
Soon after, Avada and his roommates headed to the Quidditch pitch, found seats in the stands with a clear but not overly close view of the field, and passed the time doing homework or chatting quietly.
Before long, Hufflepuff's preliminary players entered the pitch with their brooms. The spectators put aside whatever they were doing and focused their attention on the tryouts.
The first round was the Chaser selection. The candidates were split into two teams and, with the assistance of veteran Beaters, simulated real match conditions. The captain, Cedric, and several other senior players hovered nearby on their brooms as referees, observing each player closely and occasionally gathering to discuss in hushed tones.
After an hour of intense scrimmage, Xavier successfully advanced, earning a spot as an official Chaser on the Hufflepuff team. He rushed up to the stands to celebrate with his roommates before sitting back down to watch the Beater tryouts…
Finally, sometime after eight—nearing nine in the morning—Hufflepuff's tryouts came to an end. Successful and unsuccessful players alike returned to the Great Hall in small groups, either to celebrate or drown their sorrows in food. The spectators began to file out as well.
Avada, however, merely went to the loo before returning to the stands, where Cedric had somehow appeared beside him.
"Ced! Ken!"
About ten minutes later, a crisp female voice sounded near his ear. Cho Chang approached, dressed in Ravenclaw protective gear. "You've been waiting here for me all this time?"
"…Thanks for the vote of confidence. I'll definitely make it!"
…
More than two hours later, Ravenclaw's tryouts concluded. Cho successfully secured the Seeker position and left excitedly with Cedric.
Avada still didn't move.
"Ken, you just finished watching Ravenclaw's tryouts?"
Baron descended directly beside him on his broom, smiling in greeting. "I heard Cho made it? Then I can't fall behind—watch me do my thing!"
"Mm. Good luck, Baron."
…
After Baron claimed the Seeker position for Slytherin through sheer skill and lightning-fast reflexes, Avada finally stood up and stretched hard. His joints cracked like popping beans all over his body.
"Finally time to leave. Three matches back-to-back—half the day's already gone…"
"Ken?"
A familiar voice reached his ear, freezing the expression he had just relaxed into.
He turned stiffly and saw Harry Potter, hoisting a brand-new Nimbus 2000 over his shoulder, looking at him with eager excitement.
"You're here too? That's perfect! I'm about to start Gryffindor's Seeker training. Want to come and watch?"
Avada: …
(End of Chapter)