Resting his head on one hand, Albus watched the radiant specks of dust skitter across the sunlight beams coming in from the clerestories. The Great Hall was bereft of any souls, apart from Kav, who was sat halfway down the Ravenclaw table from him, earnestly dictating to a self-writing quill.

A subdued sequence of footsteps on stone interrupted Kav's mutterings, succeeded by an almost bashful "What are you up to?" from an intrigued Orville, his coffee-coloured hair as untidy as ever. Kav looked up in surprise, realising his classmates were there and seized the quill, tucking it away into his robes.

"Nothing important," he muttered. "Catch you on the pitch later?" His keen blue eyes, framed by dark and yawning circles, twitched as he answered. Observing Albus' confused expressions, he rushed off.

As Ville installed himself on the wooden bench, he had to ask. "Quidditch-related?" The majority of his friendship group had moved beyond a healthy compulsion to discuss the game. Why the eagerness to leave? Had Kav gotten the wrong end of the stick yesterday and wanted to remain a safe distance from him?

Orville grinned, nervous excitement trickling into his voice as he spoke. "Arofan's looking for two new players-"

"No offence, mate, but most people'll have years of practising and you'll be competing against them- Are you sure it's the right time to try?"

His friend placed his hands on the table, circling his thumb with his forefinger. "That's not the point, you stay on your broomstick long enough to get picked for reserves, practise with the team and… When someone gets knocked out, you get called up. No real playing unless things go really tits up." Grabbing a piece of toast from the platter and waving it at himself, he stated, "Almost like a Quidditch apprenticeship."

Albus nodded, understanding a bit better now. "Do you think it's a good idea? Think about all the time you'll lose to concentrate on getting into second year with." Ville shrugged, carelessly chewing his toast. "That's when you get to play Quidditch properly. The matches are brutal-"

"When you know, you know," he said through mouthfuls of toast. "What happened with Kav? He legged it when he clocked you. Is it because of…?"

Albus scratched his temples. "Haven't the foggiest. I've got that Sleeping Draught essay and some practical work for Herbology. Imagine if I got the two mixed up… Longbottom would probably murder me in my sleep."

Wrinkling his nose at him, Orville laughed. "You're worse than Weasley. Can I join you in the greenhouses at about four? I'm behind on collecting that Puffapod stuff, eurgh." He shuddered involuntarily, faint reminders of how annoying it'd been to handle the pods with a tendency to erupt into full bloom if they made contact with any surface sifting into their minds.

"I know what you mean. But - did you know you can shoot them with jinxes, like Flipendo, or throw them at people? I read about them the other day."

Orville's face lit up and he stared into the distance, his eyes glazing over with infinite possibilities. "Wow! My trouble-making days lie ahead..."

A loud yawn came from behind Albus; Rose was finally up. "I can't get over them dropping the two penalty tries, Al...if I was Captain, I'd have stopped the match right there and then to make sure I added those to the score... Oh God, Orville, did you really tell McGonagall that you were 'looking forward' to playing Gryffindor on the pitch one day? Brave but stupid's all I can say. And the broomstick? Where did you get that from?"

As she sat down, he cheekily grinned and tapped his nose. "Oh, the less you know, the better for you, future Captain of the Slytherin team..."

"You basically stole it from Professor Dillion? Oh, she wouldn't be happy if I mentioned it in passing conversation, would she?" Rose paused for maximum effect, winking at Albus. Dillon was the Head of Slytherin House, but also chaired the Care of Magical Creatures and Magizoology subjects students could pick for their third year. Fierce but exceedingly friendly, rumour had it that she'd escaped the magical division of the Italian Mafia on the back of a drunk Hippogriff, although he wasn't sure how true that one was. "She might mention it in passing to Arofan, who you're trying to convince... I really hope the Slytherin team never finds out you stole their… What was it again? The one and only Cirrus Cairngorm they've ever managed to get hold of. You know, for the sake of your kneecaps."

Ville's eyes were bulging with fear at this point and his forehead was tinged with sweat. "Please don't say anything, like I'll give you anything, please, Rose...!"

Albus shook his head. "Where did you learn that one from?"

"Mum, dear cousin," came her answer as she stared at Ville, who desperately looked around for any means of escape. No such luck. The Hall remained desolately empty as most students had taken advantage of a lie-in the week before Halloween.

Albus nodded, "Auntie Hermione's bloody terrifying when she has to be... Rose, stop teasing him, it's just cruel now.

Orville cut in, throwing his hands up. "Okay, okay, it wasn't all me! Kav gave me a hand. An absolute whiz with using his hands for spells."

"No wand, Ville? Like w-what kind? Regular child magic or…actual spells, without a wand?" Both Albus' and Rose's mind spun with a sickly fear. Wandless magic, at eleven? Asides from the first recognisable signs of it manifesting in a child once they'd reached the age of seven, as far as he knew, not many wizards or had achieved wandless magic. His parents and second-hand Charms textbooks had done a lot to teach him about the intricacies of the wizarding world, but this was an area they'd neglected.

Bewildered by the unexpected turn in the conversation and recognising Rose's curiosity, Ville frowned before answering, as if straining his memory. "I, er, don't know... But I know he was saying stuff under his breath with his hands over the doors and stuff and it didn't really sound like English. I think he'd been practising though, it looked bloody hard."

"Could be focused child magic…" As Rose spoke, Sky gracelessly slid onto the bench, bleary-eyed and nodding his head in acknowledgement at the trio. He glowered at the food on the table like it had a personal vendetta against him.

"The spells we use don't sound like English, Rose, they're all Latin with prefixes and suffixes and all sorts, like have you heard Scorp rant on about what we've learnt in Wiz Lit? And some spells are so old, they're just forgotten… Don't forget, we don't use magic in Potions, Professor Ellis said so. I bet Kav was just showing off with his wand tucked in his sleeve," Albus pointed out, his fingers circling his chin like they so often did when he was thinking through something. "I bet it's easy to do first-year magic with your wand that close to you like that if you've been working on it-"

"That'd be alright if he hadn't left his sodding wand in the dormitory," Sky asserted, pulling a long, pale, straight-grained wand out of his robes which he guessed was Kav's. "He's always doing that lately, have you noticed? I was actually kind of hoping to catch him down here but I bet he's buggered off to watch the Ravenclaw team play, hasn't he?"

Rose's jaw dropped. "He did actual wandless magic? Albus, do you know who's done that?"

"The Dark Lord, Grindelwald, Carlotta Pinkstone, um, that's all I know of. Mostly evil wizards..." he listed the names on his fingers, before stopping. "Does that mean we're potentially sharing a room with the next Voldemort? Oh, this is just bonkers."

Rose chimed in again. "It might not have even been you that brought whatever that fire thing was here." Could it have been him? Or Kav? Albus had to wonder.

Sky pulled an envelope out of a pocket. "Which reminds me, again, that this was left for you last night. I feel like I'm carrying around everyone's bloody stuff," he grumbled, handing it over for Albus to read whilst he chatted with Orville and Rose, with Quidditch mentioned a dangerous number of times.

Mr Albus Potter,

Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in communications with you, but I am indefinitely postponing our meeting due to unrelated events elsewhere in the magical community. Whilst I intended to go over the events of yesterday morning with you and Kavyansh to create a timeline and better understand what happened, I strongly urge you to speak to your father, Head of House, Professor Mullard or Professor Longbottom. Unfortunately, I will be dealing with ministerial matters for the next week so will be out of contact until then.

Yours sincerely,

Professor M. McGonagall

"Well, at least it's been bloody cancelled," he quietly said to himself. He envisioned a serene Sunday afternoon to finish the little tasks on his mental to-do list that niggled at the back of his mind, a short march around the lake before declaring it too cold, perhaps even a quick walk to the Quidditch stadium to see what Kav was up to, followed by a snooze in one of the warmest chairs by the common room fire. The luxury of a free afternoon, whiling away the hours.

The pit in his stomach deepened as three o'clock dawned. The minutes seemed to be flying past, propelling him closer to the din of Monday morning and a night of tossing and turning. Sunday nights sometimes became the worst, the lack of sleep embittering him. With hardly anything left to do but wander around the castle whilst he waited for four to roll around, he tried to outpace his thoughts by nestling himself in a windowpane on the deserted fifth floor, McGonagall's letter in hand.

Dear Dad,

Give my love to Lily and Mum from me. We had the first Quidditch match of the season (everyone at home'll be pleased to know the good old lions won, 170 to nil, even if you heard it yelled on the radio by James). I don't know what happened at the end, though (I'm not sure if Auntie Min's said yet).

He paused at the end of that line, sucking his teeth as he debated over what to write next. Maybe something to undercut the tension building in his shoulders? Dad would most likely already know; it was just hearing it from his perspective.

Rose keeps saying we'll have to check the library when we get a chance over the next few days. The Ravenclaw Captain and one of her Beaters ended up squabbling and nobody seemed to notice so me and Kav tried to help, to separate the pair. I used this spell in one of the Charms textbooks I bought in August, Tersus, which seems to work from time to time.

But on this occasion, it created this sort of fire creature and none of us thinks it matches the description of FiendFyre. I said something or another, Kav accused me of calling myself a "genius", but it didn't seem to hurt anyone and vanished. Have you heard of anything like that? Aunt said to speak to you so I've written on the back if that helps.

Asides from all the drama, we went to the Gryffindor party last night (it was a bit boring, sorry!) and Orville flew a broomstick down the corridor, nearly into our Head of House, Mullard and Auntie Min! He's convinced that Arofan might let him on the team... Do you think he could? He's been really good in our flying lessons ever since the start. Mum said that's when you made it. And Sky bet on the lions winning - I won't say anymore, but what a traitor!?

Is there anything new happening at home? Lils and Mum, how are you both? Are the neighbours still alive?

Love,

Albs

He signed off, staring out of the window as the sun hovered high over the horizon. It was one of the sides of the castle that faced the Quidditch pitch, where several blue-clad stick figures seemed to be hurtling around on their broomsticks. Briefly speculating whether or not Ville and Kav were sat in the stadiums or amongst the figures, he swung his legs off the stone frame, his legs half-asleep, barely ready for the descent to the Owlery and the Herbology greenhouses.

Rose and Orville were already there as he panted down the winding corridors to the greenhouse extensions. Spotting the clipboard on the back of one of the doors, left by Uncle Neville to keep check of who was registering for the additional out-of-hours manual work, he wrote his name down and noticed Kav's at the very top, checking in at unusual times.

Occasionally, the free time in the greenhouses doubled up as a form of less-pressured learning or paid work during heavy or difficult harvests. And best of all? The Deputy Head of Gryffindor House had seen his students' mental wellbeing and exam results soar as a result. If anxious or otherwise struggling students could do it without their peers in the classroom, it made for a happier learning environment. At least, that's what Albus had been taught since childhood.

It had also become their solitary time to destress before the week ahead, as well as talk absolute rubbish. Collecting the large pink seeds from the Puffapods required little dexterity so they chatted as they worked, Rose burrowed into the furthest corner of the room, two or three books in one hand and a quill in the other. Albus had to marvel at her ability to concentrate in such a warm place. He knew he'd have dozed off by now.

"D'you reckon you'll get in next week?" Rose asked excitedly. "A first-year! Making the team-"

"They must be desperate," Albus said dryly, smirking at Orville who was struggling against his plant. "Stop struggling, mate. Or is that Devil's Snare? It'll let you go in a minute, just be patient..."

"Here we go again," quipped Rose, rolling her eyes. "Nothing's ever calm in the land of the cuckoo, is it?"

A huge, bruised seed slowly wormed its way up Ville's hand. "Stupid plants! What was the spell you said about?" His eyes widening in terror and clearly panicking, he withdrew his wand. "Al, grab the bloody pot for it to go in, I'm gonna try it... Flipendo! Flip-endo... Fli-pendo!"

Bright blue flares accompanied his words, but it wasn't coming from his wand, but the door. The seed sped across the divide between the overreacting Orville and Albus' outstretched hand, holding the pot he'd indicated. "The only useful spell you listen to you and it's because I told you could use it for mischief?" he joked.

"Kav, what- Was that wandless?" Rose demanded. An annoyed boy, adorned by a muddy pair of jeans and a Ravenclaw jumper stood in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest. "Sky's got your wand."

"It's a pain in the arse. You've got no idea how nice it is to not have to worry about it or having it stick in the wrong place all the time. Ever since we started talking about creating spells in Mullard's lessons, it got me thinking. Why a wand?"

"It's the safest way of channelling and focusing a wizard's power, without it, it's harder to control. Like little kids can't control their outbursts," said Rose, sighing. "There's hugely significant laws and decrees on it."

Kav nodded, his exhausted eyes scanning the room. Without warning, his face broke out into an-almost frenzied grin. "What about goblins? House-elves? Why aren't they allowed to carry wands whilst witches and wizards can?" The boy looked pallid. Worryingly so. Albus puzzled over what he'd been up to; was this his unhealthy obsession, just as Quidditch was Rose and Orville's?

He circled his chin with his forefinger, thinking through his words. "They're not allowed to because of Ministry regulations, it's the reason why we have to sign all the stuff we get at Ollivanders, isn't it? To prove it's rightfully ours and where it's come from…"

Kavyansh entered the room, the agitation in his face underlined further by the natural light streaming through the glasshouse's panels. It looked almost as if he'd barely slept or eaten recently. "As magical creatures don't need wands, it proves magic can be done without wands. All it needs is practice and redirection. Albus, I know you've read Advanced Second Year Charms: Behind The Incantations-"

"Yeah, it explains why wands are much more useful for subjects like Charms or Transfiguration, 'course, I've got a copy of that one. Bedtime reading as always," the dark-haired Potter mumbled. "Is that what you've been doing? Putting two and two together to get five? It's Dark. Evil. Anyone you ask will tell you what Voldemort did to their families- We-we've got plaques, Kav, on every step in the Entrance Hall.

Whilst making a conscious effort to register the turbulent emotions in Kav's face to see if he understood the ramifications of growing up on playgrounds built on graveyards, he made a mental note to research wandless magic. There had to be a link somewhere to the fire creature somewhere… He knew they were too young to understand it but Albus's dad had always called him a wise-head on young shoulders, but his classmate was too young to grasp why wandless magic scared him and Rose the way it did. Much too young and too naive.

As well as that, Kav's frantic smile had unsettled him a little. The obsessive thirst for knowledge was bound to hurt him and the people around him if he wasn't careful.

"I thought you were upset with me over yesterday," Albus began in a calmer voice again. "The fire - whatever it was."

"Was it you?" When he shook his head, Kav continued blithely, his eyes hardening to an icy blue. "This - is what I've been working on. Not that. None of you is getting it." He ran his long fingers through his wavy hair, a dark brown that was permanently ruffled on the one side and pointed his right thumb at the glass jar of Puffapod seeds. "We all know Lumos? Yeah?" He frowned, clearly concentrating as he drew his thumb back and flicked it towards the back of the greenhouse. A harsh white lite evaporated from the tip of his finger, expanding as he gritted his teeth.

As it continued to grow in size and hovered over the row of Puffapod plants, Albus watched Kav's face. He'd evidently practised since he was barely exhibiting any signs of exertion, but he'd clenched his teeth to avoid saying the spell out loud.

"That's a bit too Star Wars for me," grimaced Rose, her face and eyes grey with fear. The ball of pulsating light grew larger. "Kav, you're freaking me out now." When he didn't respond, her wand was in her hand before Albus had opened his mouth - the one spell she'd never quite got the hang of came bursting out, the perfect wand movements accentuating its effectiveness. "Nox!" Abruptly, thankfully, the white ball vanished. "Don't - you - dare - do - that - again. For God's sake, don't show it off... It's not - normal."

Kav looked hurt. "That's just your prejudices showing, Rose. They train students this way, the normal way, in North America and Africa. We - you - just need guidance."

There was a gentle knock at the greenhouse door, the broad-shouldered Professor Longbottom filling the doorway. "Are you all finished in here, lady and gentlemen?" Kav flinched, shuffling his feet.

"Uh - yeah, course, sir, you know us," Orville finally spoke, screwing the lid on his jar of seed. "Never ones to get in trouble. Nearly got taken out by one of these though, but it's all Gucci as the Muggles say, sir." Hurriedly, catching the nervous glint in Rose's eyes, they crammed their books and glass pots into their bags, anxious to escape Kav, but too polite to dash away from Professor Longbottom.

"Brilliant! Guess I'll see you all on Wednesday," Uncle Nev grinned. Albus knew he was trying to diffuse the tension as best as he could. The man got it.

"Right...er, thanks, sir, but we best get going, thanks for keeping the greenhouses open," they all voiced as they left, keen to leave.