Harry Potter: The Duelist of Hogwarts

September 1st. King's Cross Station. Platform 9¾.

Sean hugged his parents goodbye, then turned to his ever-present butler. "Aldrich, I'm leaving the house in your care."

"Please rest assured, Young Master," Aldrich replied, his expression serene. "I will take good care of the home."

Sean knew that "taking care of the home" was Aldrich's discreet way of saying he would be protecting his parents. Though he trusted his grandfather's influence was enough to keep Borell at bay, one could never be too prepared for the irrational acts of a desperate man.

With a final wave, Sean pushed his trolley through the solid brick pillar and emerged onto the bustling platform, the familiar sight of the scarlet Hogwarts Express greeting him like an old friend.

"Sean! You're finally here!"

He turned to see Blaise Zabini waving energetically. Sean pushed his cart forward, and with Blaise's help, they handed his luggage off to a porter. Finding an empty compartment, they settled in for the long journey north.

"So, what did you get up to this holiday?" Blaise asked, affecting a wounded expression. "I invited you to my family's villa, you know. You never came."

Sean ignored the dramatic pout. "I went to Beauxbatons for a month-long exchange right after we got back. After that, I spent the rest of the holiday with my parents. Next year, I promise, I'll visit."

"You'd better," Blaise said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "But... why do you look so lumpy today?"

Sean grinned. "You forget. Kulkan loves to burrow into my clothes."

"Is that Kulkan? I don't remember him making you look quite so... bloated... last year."

As if on cue, Kulkan, who had indeed grown significantly over the summer, poked his pearly-white head out from Sean's collar. He stretched toward Blaise's outstretched hand, their heads touching in a gesture that was almost like a high-five—Kulkan's unique greeting for his second-favorite human.

"Ah, there you are."

A quiet voice from the doorway made Blaise jump. Jensen Milne stood there, his expression unreadable. "Jensen?" Blaise asked, his tone instantly wary. "What are you doing here?"

Jensen's gaze flickered from Blaise to Sean. "I'm here to find my Young Master." He walked directly into the compartment and stood before Sean. "Young Master, I'm here."

"Sit down," Sean said, gesturing to the seat opposite him. He studied Jensen for a moment. "From now on, at Hogwarts, you can just call me by my name."

"Young Master, you don't need to do this," Jensen said, his posture stiff. "I don't care what others think."

"I do," Sean replied, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Call me Sean at school, or you won't be staying by my side. It's that simple."

Jensen's lips thinned. He looked as if he wanted to protest, but in the end, he just gave a short, stiff nod. "I understand."

Sean reached out and patted his shoulder, a rare gesture of comfort. He then reached into his robes, pulled the now-massive Kulkan out, and unceremoniously plopped him on the table to bask in the sun. He turned to Blaise's questioning look. "Jensen will be with me from now on. Don't be hostile. Just treat him as you would any other Slytherin."

"Whether he's a friend or not remains to be seen," Blaise said with a shrug. "If he proves himself alright, then he's a friend."

Sean laughed and gave Blaise a light kick. "Fair enough. Now, enough about all that. Where's your girlfriend? I don't see her attached to your arm."

At the mention of a girlfriend, Blaise immediately sat up straighter, a serious, scholarly expression on his face. "She and I are doing wonderfully. We've already agreed to study together in the library after classes start. No more last-minute cramming for me this year. We're going to improve together!"

Sean stared at him, genuinely surprised. "What's wrong with her? Didn't she hate studying just as much as you did?"

Blaise coughed, a faint blush creeping up his neck. "Ah, well. My current girlfriend is someone I met over the holiday. We wrote letters, talked about life... I think she's my true love."

"So you've got another one!" Sean exclaimed, laughing. "What happened to the senior you were with?"

"We broke up," Blaise said simply.

"Why this time?"

"Over the holiday, she asked me to get my mother to give her family's business some preferential treatment," Blaise explained with a sigh. "I told her I don't interfere in family business and that it's not something students should be concerned with. She threw a fit, said she was just 'testing my attitude,' that I wouldn't even do this 'small thing' for her, and that she'd have no status in my family if we got married. I tried to calm her down, but she was relentless."

He leaned back, a look of profound relief on his face. "Finally, she said if I didn't agree, we'd break up. I heard that and thought, 'I can't possibly pass up such a fantastic opportunity.' So I agreed immediately. And that was that."

Sean grinned. Blaise's ex-girlfriend sounded like a piece of work, and Blaise himself was an unapologetic scoundrel. Their breakup was a service to wizarding kind.

"So, Blaise, what year is this new 'true love' in? From your description, she sounds like a Ravenclaw."

"She is!" Blaise said proudly. "Third year, a year older than me."

"Another older girl?"

"They're the best!"

Just as they were talking, and Jensen was silently adding "serial dater of older women" to his mental file on Blaise, the compartment door slid open. Andy Pucey, whom they hadn't seen all summer, squeezed in and sat down next to Blaise. After greeting everyone, he turned his eager gaze to Sean.

"Sean! It's been a while. So, have you considered my offer from the holidays?"

Of all their schoolmates, Andy had been the most diligent correspondent over the summer, second only to Blaise. But while Blaise's letters were pure social chatter, Andy's had a singular, focused purpose: to convince Sean to enter into a full-fledged Potions partnership with him. After a year of watching Sean in class, he had naturally seen his friend's true, prodigious talent. And even if he hadn't, the article in The Golden Cauldron at the end of term had made it clear to the entire wizarding world. Andy was determined to capitalize on it.

(End of Chapter)

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