A Rainy Realization
Yukimura Seiichi
On Friday, March fifth, Yukimura awoke to an empty room. He got out of bed, checked the bathroom only to find it was empty as well, and frowned deeply. They did not have class yet and he had not overslept; breakfast was still being served in the Great Hall. He had a feeling that he knew what was going on, but did not let his thoughts wander and develop in case he was wrong.
He quickly dressed and left the common room, ascending the stairs to the main floor of the castle. At the top of the stairs, there was a series of pops and shouts, and he was suddenly covered in colorful confetti. Yukimura shook the confetti out of his hair, thankful none had gotten into his eyes, and looked up.
"Happy birthday!" Marui and Jackal shouted.
"Yes, what they said," Yanagi said, smiling.
They three were holding empty plastic containers, some type of muggle toy, which Yukimura concluded were the source of the confetti.
Sanada stood behind next to them, frowning. "I told you not to pop them."
"You're no fun," Marui said. "And after Jackal went through all the trouble of getting them."
"I just asked my parents to mail them," Jackal said. He looked at Yukimura. "It really was no big deal."
Yagyuu and Niou were standing behind Marui and Jackal. Niou did not look particularly happy about being included, but he was there nonetheless.
"Was this your idea, Yanagi?" Yukimura asked.
"Sanada's, actually," Yanagi said, smiling at Sanada.
"Happy birthday, Seiichi," Sanada said.
"We were going to celebrate tomorrow, when we didn't have class," Marui said, "but we figured we'd do it today since the Quidditch match is tomorrow."
Yukimura nodded. What would probably be Slytherin's final match of the season, barring some miracle or magic, was being held tomorrow—Slytherin versus Gryffindor. If they won by over three hundred and ten points, they could play Ravenclaw for the Quidditch House Cup. It was unlikely, and for the first time in his life, Yukimura was not excited for a Quidditch match.
"And now we get to celebrate your birthday on your actual birthday," Jackal said.
"We planned the whole day," Yanagi said.
Marui nodded. "Breakfast together, and someone in each of your classes is taking notes for you today so you don't have to write"—that was quite nice, considering they had double Potions today—"and then we're having lunch in the room behind the tapestry."
"Sanada said you like fish and chips so we asked the house elves to make some," Jackal said.
"Sanada and Yanagi mentioned that you have Quidditch practice after class, but afterwards, Niou and I will help you get into the greenhouses," Yagyuu said. "I left a book in there one day and we figured out which unlocking charm works on the doors."
"Dinner in the Great Hall," Yanagi said, "then we have presents for you. Afterwards, we thought we could all roam the grounds in search of where the twins stand tall."
"They filled us in on the riddle," Marui said, giving Niou a sideways glance, like he couldn't believe Niou knew about the partial solution to second riddle before he did. "Jackal's totally going to find it for you as a birthday present."
Yukimura smiled. "Thank you all. It sounds like I'll be quite busy today. We should probably get started, then. You mentioned breakfast?"
They entered and crossed the Great Hall, sitting at the unoccupied end of the Slytherin table. There were a few nasty looks sent their way, but no one said anything. Ravenclaws, and even Hufflepuffs, sometimes sat at the Slytherin table with their friends, as rare that was, but Gryffindors were another matter altogether, especially with the Quidditch match tomorrow.
They filled their plates with French toast, eggs, potatoes, and cut fruit. Marui swore the Slytherin table had better biscuits than the Gryffindor table.
Halfway through their meal, the mail came. A school owl swooped down, dropping the Daily Prophet in front of Yanagi, and Yukimura's family owl came shortly after, leaving a sizeable package in front of Yukimura.
"Your parents' gift?" Sanada asked.
Yukimura undid the strings tying the box, opening it up to find several more boxes inside. "And Emiko's and Pisky's, from the looks of it."
"Pisky?" Marui asked. "Your parents named a kid Pisky?"
"House elf, actually," Yukimura said as he pulled a tin of ginger cookies and a warm Slytherin-green sweater from Pisky from the box, "and we didn't name her."
His parents had sent him two books, one on Quidditch and another on aquatic plants. He passed around Emiko's cookies, which had the correct amounts of flour and sugar this time, and flipped through the herbology book with mild interest.
Akiteru came over, forcing himself between Yukimura and Sanada, and sat down. Marui and Jackal stared, clueless, while Niou hardly spared Akiteru a glance.
"Happy birthday, Seiichi!" Akiteru said. He placed a long poorly wrapped box next to Yukimura's plate. Yukimura ripped off the paper, which was the front of yesterday's Daily Prophet, and opened the box. It contained beautiful white quill that shined like a rainbow under the light. "It's a Pegasus feather quill. They're super light and whenever you write with it, the ink will never smudge or fade, even if you drop the parchment in water."
"Thank you," Yukimura said, picking up the feather and turning it in his hand. "It's beautiful."
"Mom and Dad got you some rare muggle plant—your father is taking care of it until you get back. They sent me a letter with the name." Akiteru reached into his robes and procured an envelope, sealed with wax and the Sanada family crest, which he handed to Yukimura. "Here."
Yukimura opened the letter, written by Mr. Sanada, which explained his gift, a plant called the kadupul flower. Yukimura had read about the plant once, in a muggle book his father kept as light reading. It only grew in one place on earth and was considered priceless to many muggles for its rarity and beauty. Mr. Sanada explained that the plant was in excellent care and there was no need to worry.
"How did your parents get it?" Yukimura asked, flushed with excitement. "It's so rare. It's not even native to this continent."
"Mom pulled in a couple of favors with some of her contacts in the country where it grows," Akiteru said. "She said if she can't use her power and position to get a plant imported then she's a failure as an auror and a Sanada."
Yukimura smiled. "I don't think your mother could ever be considered a failure."
"Me neither," Akiteru said, grinning. "Now, I'd know you'd love to have me stick around since I'm always the life of the party, but I have a Defense Against the Dark Arts exam to study for."
Akiteru clapped Yukimura on the shoulder, wished him happy birthday again, and left.
Once the prefect was gone, Marui looked at Sanada. "Was that your brother?"
Sanada nodded.
"Your brother is a lot cooler than you. He actually smiles," Marui joked. Sanada frowned. "See what I mean?" Marui looked at Jackal, who rolled his eyes.
"I should take all of this back to the room then go to Potions," Yukimura said thoughtfully, drawing the attention away from Sanada. There was nothing Sanada hated more than people pointing out how different he was from his older brother. "I have a busy day of not taking notes to attend to."
Potions was far more enjoyable when he did not have to hurry to write down everything Professor Kurobe said while attempting to keep up with the fast paced lecture. He learned more about the twelve uses for dragon blood than he ever thought possible.
Each event that his friends had planned went perfectly and only lifted his mood higher.
By dinner, no one looked sideways at them as they sat together in the Great Hall. He received muggle devices called pencils from Yanagi, which could be erased and sharpened for reuse, and new Quidditch gloves from Sanada. The others had also given him gifts, to his surprise—sweets from Marui and Jackal, a book on Quidditch strategies from Yagyuu, and a spell from Niou that transfigured a ball of fabric into bees to help pollinate plants.
Yagyuu and Niou left after helping him into the greenhouses, choosing not to assist in their grounds-wide search for an answer to the riddle. But even with Marui and Jackal's help, the trio found nothing that resembled where the twins could stand tall.
Despite that, it was by far the best birthday Yukimura had ever had.
The following day, rain poured down from the gray sky in sheets, stinging like needles. Thunder cracked in the distance but no one had seen lightning so the Quidditch match was to be played as scheduled. Yanagi used a spell on their green Quidditch robes that made the water run straight off like water on wax paper.
Imayoshi gave them their usual pep-talk in the Slytherin locker room. "Those brainless lions are looking down on us. If we're clever, and aggressive, we can beat them. Beaters, make sure you hit hard…"
Yukimura drowned out his captain as usual.
Yukimura, Sanada, and Yanagi followed their teammates out onto the Pitch. Yanagi lingered at the entrance where they were still blocked from the rain. He frowned as the rain came crashing down and the wind howled all around them.
Yukimura and Sanada did not advance onto the Pitch without him.
"I've never flown in a storm this bad before," Yanagi said. His voice was softer than usual, his hand looser around his broom.
"You'll be fine," Yukimura said easily, though he had never flown in a storm quite this strong either. He did not let his inexperience affect his confidence. "We taught you."
"Don't fight the wind," Sanada said, sounding unsure.
"It looks like we'll need to go directly against the wind to get to the goalposts," Yukimura said, noting the way his hair was pushed into his face. "Go to the side, then cut towards the goals. You'll have less resistance that way."
Yanagi nodded. "That sounds logical."
"HEY!" Imayoshi shouted over the wind, waving them over to where the teams were lining up.
The stands were packed with red and gold. Even without the rain, Yukimura doubted he could spot his friends' faces in the crowd. He focused on the Gryffindor Chasers and the Quaffle, rising into the air, swaying in the wind but remaining in place.
"And the Quaffle is up!" Professor Watanabe said. "Gryffindor takes possession—passing is going to be hard in this weather—never mind, Gryffindor is passing! Way to make your professor look like an idiot. Slytherin in pursuit, but the Chaser in possession is at the goalposts—can't exactly see who with the rain—and they score, right past Slytherin Captain and Keeper Imayoshi! Ten points to Gryffindor."
Imayoshi tossed the Quaffle back out. A Gryffindor tried to intercept, but Sanada didn't allow it, catching the ball despite the leather being slick with rain. He headed down the Pitch.
Yukimura flew alongside Sanada, keeping an eye out for rogue Bludgers and their opposing Chasers.
A flash of gold caught Yukimura's attention, and it wasn't lightning. The Snitch was right in front of him. He nearly laughed. Only the Seeker could catch the Snitch, yet it was right there, an arm's length away.
He wanted to scream to his teammate, but that would only alert Gryffindor, and who knew if his Seeker would hear him over the storm.
From where he was in the sky, the Snitch was in line with the Astronomy Tower, the tallest of all the school's towers. It hit him like a Bludger. Yukimura slowed and stared, wondering how he could have been so blind. It was right there alone along. He had seen the answer months ago!
"Seiichi!" Sanada shouted.
Yukimura turned, catching the Quaffle without thinking, and took off towards the goalposts. The Snitch disappeared.
"There goes Yukimura, cutting across the Pitch to the avoid the wind—no quick passes from those first years today in this weather—"
Yukimura shut out everything around him. He scored once, but Gryffindor took it right back and then other. Gryffindor was up by forty before Yukimura even touched the Quaffle again, dodging Bludgers and pressing against the wind towards the goalposts. Sanada scored right after him, but when Yanagi aimed his shot, the Keeper blocked it.
Yukimura intercepted a hastily made pass, tucking the Quaffle to his side and flying down the Pitch. But out of nowhere, a Bludger appeared in his blind spot, it's approached silenced by the rain.
The ball rammed into his arm, pain blossoming but not lasting. He dropped the Quaffle, nearly cursing at himself. He should know better than to release the Quaffle for a mere hit from a Bludger.
To his relief, Yanagi flew in underneath him, caught the Quaffle, and flew towards the goalposts without looking back.
Sanada flew up besides him. "Are you okay?"
Yukimura nodded. "Focus on the match."
"Yanagi scores another ten points for Slytherin! The snakes are hanging on by their fangs."
Unfortunately, the Snitch did not stay hidden from the Seekers for long, and soon the Gryffindor Seeker was diving, and then—
"Gryffindor has caught the snitch for one hundred and fifty points, ending the match. Gryffindor wins two hundred and ten to thirty!"
If Professor Watanabe kept talking, Yukimura couldn't hear him. The sound from the crowd was deafening. Yukimura couldn't even hear his own team groaning in defeat, though he had no doubt it was occurring. It would have been nearly impossible to win, but they had held on to a shred of illogical hope that they would. Gryffindor would play Ravenclaw for the Quidditch House Cup in a few weeks. Their season was over.
The teams landed on the muddy ground. The captains were forced to shake hands by Professor Ryuzaki, who was brimming with pride at her house's victory. She hadn't been unfair in her calls, despite her house's rivalry with Slytherin, and Yukimura held a great deal of respect for her for her impartialness.
Instead of returning to the locker room with the rest of his team, Yukimura mounted his broom again.
"Follow me," he said.
Sanada and Yanagi looked at each other, appearing equally confused, but they mounted their brooms anyways. Yukimura was just about to push off the muddy ground when Professor Ryuzaki came over.
"No flying outside of the match, not in this weather," she said sharply.
"I'm going to the Hospital Wing to have my arm looked at," Yukimura lied flawlessly. "It's still sore and I want to have it checked as soon as possible."
"And we're going with him," Sanada said.
Professor Ryuzaki sighed. "You boys, I swear…" She looked at Yukimura critically, trying to decide if he was lying. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "GO! Before I change my mind."
They pushed off, taking to the stormy sky, and flew towards the castle. Yukimura's arm did not hurt in the slightest. He flew as fast as he could, as though his revelation may leave his mind at any second.
They landed in the main courtyard and hurried inside, but instead of veering down the right corridor to the Hospital Wing, Yukimura went up the stairs. Sanada and Yanagi followed him.
"The Hospital Wing is the other direction," Yanagi said.
"We're not going to the Hospital Wing, are we?" Sanada asked.
"I figured it out," Yukimura said excitedly, practically running. "On Christmas, the Grey Lady told me to stop lurking. Of course she would know where Ravenclaw's library is—she's the house ghost! She may even have been alive when Ravenclaw was."
"Seiichi, you're not explaining anything," Sanada said.
"I was in the Astronomy Tower when she talked to me. I saw it—I just didn't realize it!"
Yukimura sprinted down the corridor to the Astronomy Tower, tossing open the door that lead to the circular room with the spiral staircase to the top of the tower. He walked along the right wall until he found it, a tiny white gemstone in the shape of a crescent moon embedded into the wall.
"A moon," Sanada said slowly, out of breath from running. He pinched his eyebrows together in confusion.
"Is there a sun?" Yanagi asked.
Yukimura nodded, pointing to the other side of the room. Yanagi crossed the room, quickly finding the small yellow gemstone carved into the shape of the sun.
"The riddle talked about the sun and moon," Yukimura said. "Yagyuu said they have been written as twins. We use the spells here, in this tower on the stones, where the twins stand tall. This is the path to knowledge of all. This is where Ravenclaw's library is hidden."