As the days approached the end of October, the whole school was buzzing with excitement. The contenders from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were arriving on the 30th, and much was expected.

First: word of the Interhouse Irregulars had spread, and other houses were asking the team to play to help their practices for the year. It helped that they didn't have to be any good. They made a point of turning down the Slytherin team for one simple reason – they played on their own terms, to have fun. Being used for bludger target practice simply wasn't fun.

Second: Professor Frugilagus was demanding extra effort in his Dark Arts studies. Eric had protested more than once that he had to work on his term papers if he expected them to get done, only to be told without question that his tutored studies came first. "I do not speak lightly when I say that you will soon need the abilities I'm trying to develop in you."

Third: Professor Dumbledore specifically asked Eric to help the house-elves craft quarters for their visiting guests. The magic that came with the staff was more than capable of fashioning the rooms appropriately; but there were nuances in the crafting that Dumbledore wanted done perfectly, and that required someone adept at both magic and carpentry. Eric was the only qualified person for miles.

Although the exercise was draining, it did give him the inspiration for his Transfiguration paper: "Basic Metamorphic Alteration of Organic Matter Within Current State – a practical study of the issues and applications for transfiguration from natural state to a simulation of crafted ". He was rather proud of the paper, for it dealt with the finer points of turning things not so much into completely different items for no good purpose, but turning raw materials into finished products. By the time the big day arrived, the rooms were ready and a hundred and twenty-two pages were written.

When the envoys from the other schools arrived, it was quite the occasion. The whole school was assembled in front of the main entrance to welcome their visitors, who arrived in classic wizard style. He couldn't help but envy the other schools, who got to demonstrate the abilities of their staff by creating such elaborate means of transportation. He wondered what Hogwarts would have done if given the chance.

The students were called indoors to a joint feast, but Eric heard a voice behind him. "Hey, lad – I need yer help!" Turning back, he saw Hagrid discretely call him over. "How've yeh been boy? I haven' had a decent chance to talk with yeh since yeh came back."

Eric was thrilled to know that his guardian hadn't forgotten about him. He knew that Hagrid had more responsibilities, and he had his own classes. These things pulled them apart, but he missed his adoptive uncle. "Well enough. I've been rather busy with term papers."

"Of course yeh have. Haven' been gettin' into trouble, now, have yeh?" Eric was careful to answer with an exasperated no. "Well, that's fer the best. We don' want any more problems, now do we? Now, we got teh stable these horses – ain't they beautiful?"

Eric was dubious. "How are we going to keep them?"

"I've got stables all prepared. Only thing is, the team has teh be kept here while I take 'em in one at a time. Yeh feel up teh it?"

Eric felt far more up to dinner, but he couldn't disappoint Hagrid. Excusing himself for a second, he searched out a gnarled tree branch. Setting it into the ground and balancing his crystal on top of it, he drew out his wand. "Ceangailin!" The celtic growth spell drew the sphere up and over until it dangled in front of the team. "Hagrid cover your eyes... Fixatiux Illuminem!" The crystal began to glow an iridescent blue-white. All the creatures began to stare at it, appearing to lose all interest in anything.

Eric crossed over to Hagrid. "They should be docile enough now. Just be sure not to look at the light, or I'll have to snap you out of it. Oh, and expect trouble, for they won't want to leave the light."

"I knew I was right in callin' yeh – yer a clever one!" Hagrid unhitched the first. Sure enough, it did struggle as it was drawn away, but Hagrid was more than a match for it. Eric sighed, for he was going to miss the feast. The spell might need maintenance, and he had to snap Hagrid away from the light more than once. Besides that, he had to retrieve his crystal. Willy made up for it by bringing out a plate for him. He'd still miss the company, but at least the food was available.

Hagrid finished his work, then sat down on the school's front steps. "Yeh, there's nuthin' as satisfyin' as workin' wi' some beautiful beasties. Eh, boy?" He patted a heavy hand on Eric's shoulder.

"Uh, Hagrid? There's something I should tell you." He proceeded to relate the tale of the snidgets, making a point of taking responsibility himself. "You see, if the Ministry finds them, I'll be rather in a deep mess. I didn't mean to catch them or anything, but now they're kind of in my care."

"Don' you worry none, boy. Yeh did the right thin'. Tell yeh what; make a project o' carin' for them, an' we'll call that yer term work. If anybody finds 'em, Ah'll say I gave yeh the job."

Eric did his best to remain calm, settling for giving Hagrid as big a hug as he could. Solving two problems at once was as much as he could hope for.

It was nearly Eight in the evening when Eric made the climb to Madame Trelawney's. He had completed his Divination term paper; one discussing particular mechanisms of divination as they relate to fatalism versus self determination. He made a point of working on his papers in series, rather than simultaneously. This, unfortunately, meant that he was behind schedule, but Divination was the hardest paper to research. The others would pass far more quickly.

Examining the classroom, it took him a minute to find the professor, who was laughing with merriment over two recent homework assignments. "Those boys – they have to think that I'm a blithering idiot!"

Eric was only slightly embarrassed to be listening in. "Excuse me – who?"

She turned to him and smiled. "Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Their predictions for the coming months are the most disaster-ridden tales of woe I've ever read. No one could suffer this much distress and possibly live."

"So are you going to mark them for it?"

She set the papers down and took off her glasses. "No, dear boy. While I admit that neither of them take my classes seriously, the fact is that while they don't have divinating gifts, the curriculum requires that they take my class, at least to fill a slot until they find something more suited to them. The least I can do is humor the system until they find their way to better things. To help them pass the time, I let them turn the class from 'Divination' to 'Creative Writing', and grade them on their ability to mix imagination with proper scale."

Eric sat back onto one of the cushions. Admittedly, the professor's actions seemed a bit convoluted, but she couldn't let anyone know that she really wasn't gifted. Her ability to maintain control of her classes depended on their belief in her abilities.

She cleared off her desk. "Ok, set up your crystal." Eric drew out a small sphere and stand, setting them between himself and the professor. "I want you to focus; see the crystal – just the crystal on the desk." Eric did his best to comply. "Now, draw yourself away from the image, slowly." As he concentrated, the crystal began to hold an image of itself, like an infinite reflection. "Excellent. Now draw further away, see yourself, then the room, then the school."

At each step, Eric could see more and more about the space around him. Simple, general things. As he watched, Madame Trelawney continued. "You see, this is how a wizard can see a place which he knows nothing about. He starts at a known focus and works his way out. Seek a room where you've never been before..." She suddenly noted a smirk grow on Eric's face. "Behave yourself, Dear!"

Accepting his teacher's discipline, he instead shifted the image to Filch's room. True, he knew where in the castle it was, but it was a place he wasn't familiar with. There he saw the caretaker mumbling to himself, searching through a collection of items while muttering angrily. In the depths of his mind he could hear a muttering voice – "Where is it? Where did that cursed map get to?"

Backing away, he saw the whole of the school again. He then shut his eyes to close the vision. The professor nodded with satisfaction. "That's how divination wizards see places they've never been to. They start with a known item or place, and work their way outward. Much the same as you did to get to the Quidditch World Cup." Eric did all he could to keep from reacting to that, but Trelawney didn't bother to hide what she knew. "There, there, dear. Most of the teachers know of your shenanigans. Your mischief has a certain quality to it. However, since you covered your tracks well, there's nothing that can be proved. We're willing to overlook it, but we'd appreciate it if you would consider not being quite so adventurous."

The rest of the session was an exercise, finding where precisely Hogwarts was in the world by working his way back to Hogsmeade, grabbing the train track to London, then working back to Diagon Alley. It took well over an hour, but Eric proved that he could do it. Using what he learned, he mapped not only where Hogwarts was, but how the train line passed to London and where in the Kings Crossing station it entered.

Madame Trelawney was more than pleased. "You've made so much progress! What might you do with your gift?"

Eric shrugged. "To be honest, I haven't put any thought into it."

"Well, the Ministry of Magic is always looking for Seekers to ferret out some of the nastier things Dark Wizards keep in their cupboards." She virtually beamed with pride.

Eric didn't want to tell her that he had no intentions of entering the Ministry. Far too much had already happened for that to ever be a possibility.