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Edward raised his automail arm at the last second and saved his life. The bludger may be 30 kilograms of metal but his automail was one of the best, if not the best, in the world.
Crazy gearhead's creation versus one magical ball and crazy gearhead's creation won the match.
The referee zoomed up to Edward on her broomstick and demanded to know if he was okay.
"Fine!" Edward said, twirling his bat and grinning. The referee looked stunned.
She pulled up his sleeve and gasped when she saw the automail. Edward winced. It was dented slightly from the hit. The next thing he had to do was to find a nice plot for his grave and inscribe something elegant on his tombstone before Winry killed him.
"I'm fine!" Edward repeated, shaking his sleeve down before anyone else in the stadium could see.
At the corner of his eye, Malfoy dived suddenly. Edward whipped around to see Harry tailing Malfoy. Harry's broom was faster but Malfoy was nearer to the ball.
There was a scuffle and Harry was standing on his broom, reaching out to grab the ball.
Not so fast.
Edward pelted a bludger at Harry who jumped, avoiding the bludger and catching the Snitch.
The whistle blew and Edward directed the air current so that he was back safely on the ground. The Slytherin team converged and no one looked particularly happy.
"He pushed my arm away!" Malfoy shrieked, throwing his broom onto the ground. "I could have won!"
"Forget it, Malfoy! Those lousy Gryffindors are nothing but cheaters." Bole muttered.
And the whole Slytherin was in agreement with Bole. Even with the exams ongoing, Slytherins trying to jinx the Gryffindor team was too common to be considered a breach of school rules after a while.
Edward could not seem to understand the hostility that brew up from the game and simply ignored everyone. He was more focussed on his task on observing Malfoy. It was high time that he return home.
The Potions examination was extremely successful where Edward was one of the only ones who managed to actually to brew something that worked. The task was a Confusing Potion. Edward added a heavy dose of Codeine into the mixture and a carefully measured about of hydrochloric acid to decrease the alkalinity of the solution. He never turned on the fire until late into the experiment to slowly remove the excess water when the rest of the students had fires blazing at the start of the experiment.
Snape scrawled a huge zero on his paper when he passed Harry's table and two zeros when he passed Edward's. It could only mean a perfect grade. Take that! Science has done it again! You can never go wrong with science.
The rest of the exams passed by in a blur except for Transfiguration which was so disastrous McGonagall was literally ripping hair from her head. Don't ask.
Defense Against the Dark Arts was the only subject Edward had to use the hocus pocus stick for. The test was a sort of obstacle course outside in the sun, where they had to wade across a deep paddling pool containing an unusual looking chimera, cross a series of potholes full of things that will not die no matter how much Edward slashed his automail blade at them, then climb into an old trunk and battle with a new boggart.
It was at the boggart stage where Edward had to actually whip out his stick, banish it away using hocus pocus words and struggle not to emerge from the exit looking disgusted.
The exams were almost over. All that was left with was the fortune telling examination conducted by the lady with googly eyes in the afternoon. Edward's class had a break before the exam so he decided to spend it doing something constructive like stalking Malfoy.
Instead of studying in the dungeons with the rest of the third years, Malfoy had quietly stood up and left without asking Crabbe and Goyle to follow him. Edward had been observing him too long to be the only one who noticed this.
Counting to ten, Edward closed his eyes for a moment and put down the book he was pretending to study. He opened them again and with the same quiet demeanour, left the common room as well.
Time to find out what daddy's boy was up to.
Edward followed Malfoy carefully, sticking to the shadows cast by the firelight but careful not to be too close. Firelights in dark hallways tend to make shadows exceedingly long because of their position. It took effort not to give a hint of his presence away.
When Malfoy left the castle to stroll the courtyards, Edward quickly shortened the distance between them and almost was spotted by the person Malfoy was meeting.
He was old and withered looking but had vitality in his face. The man was wearing a green bowler hat and had a cane with him.
"Pity... pity..." The man was saying to Malfoy. Edward searched his brain, wondering where he had heard that voice before.
"It's not a pity when you see what the creature did to my arm, sir." Malfoy retorted. He had bandaged his arm again despite displaying almost acrobatic stunts during the Quidditch Cup.
"Still, it is a pity to execute such a fine beast," the man sighed. Of course! He was the man from Hogsmeade. The one who talked to the teachers about Sirius Black.
"The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures required a witness to the execution of a mad hippogriff. As I needed to visit Hogwarts to check on the Black situation, I was asked to step in." Bowler Hat said. "I do need you to come along with me to identify if the creature is the one who attacked you."
"With pleasure," Malfoy said with a grin.
Edward followed them more cautiously now that he was out in the open.
As Malfoy approached the chimera, Edward had to stop himself from lurching forward in case Malfoy was attacked again.
Malfoy said something to Bowler Hat who nodded and dismissed him. Malfoy's eyes became downcast but he left grudgingly.
Edward debated between following Bowler Hat or returning back to the castle with Malfoy but remembered he still had an exam with the googly eyes woman.
"She's seeing us all separately," Goyle informed Edward as he went to sit down next to him. He had his copy of Unfogging the Future open on his lap which did not really surprise Edward anymore. The boy actually studied and was not as brainless as he looked.
The line of people outside the classroom shortened very slowly. As each person climbed back down the silver ladder, the rest of the class hissed, "What did she ask? Was it okay?"
But they all refused to say. Malfoy was growing impatient and kept looking at his watch. Edward knew the chimera's execution was at 2 o' clock and it was already past one.
"Draco Malfoy," said a misty voice from over their heads. Malfoy grimaced and climbed the silver ladder out of sight. Edward was now the only person left to be tested. He settled himself on the floor with his back against the wall, listening to a fly buzzing in the sunny window, thinking about what Malfoy was going to do about the chimera's execution.
Finally, after about twenty minutes, Malfoy traipsed down the ladder looking bored.
"Where are you going later?" Edward asked him, standing up.
"Mind your own business, Elric." Malfoy spat back.
The tower room was hot. The curtains were closed, the fire was alight, and a sickly scent made Edward cough as he stumbled through the clutter of chairs and table to where the woman with googly eyes sat waiting for him before a large crystal ball.
"Good day, my dear," she said softly. "If you would kindly gaze into the Orb... Take your time, now... then tell me what you see within it..."
Edward bent over the crystal ball and stared, feeling like an idiot.
"Well?" Googly Eyes prompted delicately. "What do you see?"
The heat was overpowering and his nostrils were stinging with the perfumed smoke wafting from the fire beside them.
"I see two large round orbs," Edward said, thinking he should hurry up and find Malfoy before he did something stupid. "They are really dark and bottomless looking."
"Really now? Can you figure out what it is or what lies beyond." She said 'beyond' like it was a fantastical place with unicorns.
"Oh- er, yea. It's quite hard but I think I can see something."
"Go on," Googly Eyes exclaimed, voice rising in a crescendo. "Do you see emptiness? Souls screaming? Or the promise of despair?"
"Um... not really. I think I see a little booger coming out from your nose, Professor."