'Where is my reward?' Leon wanted to curse someone as the professor took roll call to dismiss the class.
He had eagerly waited for it after finishing his breakfast, but even as breakfast time ended, no owl came for him. As the book didn't teleport to his room, he thought he was going to get it via owl for sure.
Susan had to drag him to class as he wanted to wait some more time for his mail.
After the professor, Snape Don't-even-think-loud-in-my-class dismissed them, Susan and Hannah cornered him.
"Why were you so stubborn this morning Leon? What were you waiting for?" Susan asked her hand on his shoulder.
'Well! Why not?' Seeing he didn't have any reason to lie, he showed her his hand -literally.
The Heir ring turned invisible after he left his room, giving him quite a fright as he thought he lost it when he checked on it while eating.
But touching his finger let him know it was there.
Leon waited for the ring to appear while the duo examined his hand.
The trio stared at the hand for a couple of seconds before Susan looked at him narrowing her eyes, wondering if he was pranking her.
After an awkward cough, Leon willed the ring to appear, and appear it did.
The exquisite appearance of the ring elicited a squeal from Hannah. She latched onto his hand, bringing it closer to her eyes.
"You got your heir ring. I thought it was weird you already didn't have one. What were you waiting for then?"
Under the reluctant gaze of the twin-tailed girl, the pristine, fragile-looking ring vanished.
"A book. I was supposed to receive a book from my house Vault."
While he didn't exactly lie, he didn't go into detail about the child abuse his house subjected him to. After all, it wasn't necessary.
It may come off cold, but they weren't that close.
The original Leon part of him loved his friends, and he did like spending time with them. But they weren't close enough to reveal 'house secrets'.
"Don't worry, sometimes the goblins take time," Susan said, looking not too sure herself.
'But they are the closest people in the world.. not that it means much as I didn't have any friends due to that headache.'
As Leon was coming to terms with his social life, a pleasant breeze caressed the trio as they walked in the corridor, Leon looked outside to see a perfect sky.
The sun shone warmly in the clear sky as the gentle breeze caressed the flowers and trees.
"Susan, Shall we fly around for some time?"
With a glance at the outside, she answered.
"Good idea, I was also waiting for a good time. Let's borrow Tonk's broom for you."
They quickly reached their common room with Hannah humming and Susan lost in thought.
The girls hurriedly entered their dorm and came out with three broomsticks.
It didn't take long for the trio to reach Hogwarts grounds.
With a kick, Leon soared into the sky.
As the wind buffeted him, a smile wormed onto his face.
After some warm-up rounds, Susan suddenly plucked Hannah's hair band and darted away from her.
"Hey!" Hannah shouted and gave chase.
Even with the headstart Hannah quickly gained on her friend.
The Bones heir threw the hair band to the right making Hannah take a 90 turn and chase it.
Hannah easily caught the hair band with a dive before turning towards Susan to glare at her - Only to see Susan dangling another hair band.
She reflexively touched her head and noticed that both of her twin tails were free.
Hannah once again dashed towards her friend who was flying away after showing off her prize.
The shy Hufflepuff easily caught up to Susan who tossed the hair band again.
The twin-tailed girl looped in the air, and with a fluid maneuver, she caught the band in a few seconds.
Leon was dumbstruck at the ferocity and confidence the timid girl moved in the air.
"She is talented is she not?" Susan asked, startling him.
"Yes," he nodded.
While Leon has more fine control over the broom, due to his talent at perceiving magical connections, he can't move like Hannah without hours of practice, at least.
"Help me convince her to join the quidditch tryouts."
"What? She isn't interested in playing for our house?"
Susan grimaced.
"She'd love to but she is too shy."
"Leave it to me, I think I got an idea," Leon muttered eyeing Hannah who was darting towards them like a cute meteor.
"Hey! Susan that was mean." She pouted, stopping abruptly, just as he thought she was going to crash into them.
"I just wanted to see if you lost your touch with the broom. After all, instead of flying in your free time, you are studying with us now - after coming to Hogwarts."
Susan signaled Hannah to show her back and took the bands from her.
The trusting girl didn't hesitate for a second and turned around.
Susan sent a glance at him before helping Hannah tie her hair.
"You are good in the air, Hannah. But I don't think you can catch me."
Leon proclaimed confidently.
"I can!"
"You can't!"
"I can too!" The girl whined as Leon dashed towards the goalposts.
"Catch me, then!"
Leon dashed away, hugging the broom, hoping to reduce drag.
The magical broom reacting in equal parts to his touch and will, he knew he was near the top when it came to pure talent.
"You can't run away from me!" Hannah's voice snapped him back as he was feeling good about it himself.
'Damn! here I thought I was fast.' The girl was right on his tail.
It didn't take long for them to reach the goalposts.
Leon abruptly canceled his momentum as he dove into the goalpost- a huge ring- and changed his direction using his hands to swing around.
Hannah soared through the goalpost, inches behind him.
She answered his abrupt turn by climbing into the sky, without losing any momentum, before she dived towards him like a bird of prey.
While it wasn't as successful as he hoped he did increase the distance between them.
He performed sudden turns a couple of more times- zooming into the audience podium, diving and slowing down to let her momentum carry her, and much more.
But Hannah wasn't discouraged, the Hufflepuff circled him with the surety of a hunter.
Quickly he ran out of his tricks, making Hannah catch up with him.
He was greeted with a side tackle.
Clutching the broom to not send it spiraling, Leon shot a glance towards Hannah to see her smiling mischievously.
"You did it! That was very good, Hannah."
Visibly perking up under Susan's praise, Hannah shyly smiled at him as he neared them.
"It seems I was wrong. But can you take this from us?"
Leon showed off her hair band, making her touch her head again.
As Hannah shot towards him he tossed the band towards Susan.
She played along too.
Whenever Hannah reached her, Susan would toss her hair band towards me and try her best to obstruct Hannah.
But Hannah easily bypassed her friend, ramming into her, looping around her.
While she took a little longer to corner Leon, she did eventually always corner him.
He too always passed it to Susan, bracing against Hannah's tackles and rams, who he aptly dubbed as the Hufflepuff harpy.
Leon for the life of him couldn't imagine that the timid, shy girl was the same one in front of him.
He lost count of the times he was sent spiraling or spinning out of control because of her.
She wasn't shy about putting her weight behind her tackles and rams.
And finally, like shark-smelling weakness, she tackled Susan and caught her hair band before she could pass it.
"See! I can take both of you! Maybe you should find help if you want to bully me in the air." The Hufflepuff's Harpy beamed in pride as Susan rubbed her ribs.
Leon let out an incredulous laugh before going after her, this time he was the chaser.
The trio retired to their dorms in high spirits as the sunset.
As Hannah ran to her room to freshen up, Susan caught Leon's arm, stopping him.
"You should also join the tryouts, you look very natural on the broom."
"Nah! I am not interested."
While he loved flying around on a broom, he didn't want to spend hours practicing for a match he didn't care about.
Susan still didn't leave his arm as he tried to turn around.
"You know that any Hufflepuff will give you their broom for your matches if you get selected right?"
"Hmm! I know."
Susan unhanded him while peering at his face like she was searching for something.
"It's not like I don't want to keep you company. But you know you stink, right?" Leon teased the overly concerned girl.
Suddenly shy, she slapped his arm before running away.
'Well! I don't mind having these guys as the closest people in this life!'
With plenty of time before the tryouts, he and Susan decided to take their time convincing her.
'It will be a shame if she missed the chance to play for her house due to stage fright.'
...
The next day's herbology class had some zing to it- literally.
A plant danced in its pot as its sole luminescent flower, at the top, sparked with electricity. Two branches extended from its stem, like hands, their ends sparkling.
After the professor explained everything about the plant, it was time for them to replant it.
"Anyone who doesn't wear the hand protection and successfully plants them will get 10 points."
The professor announced as students were about to wear the gloves.
Leon didn't mind the challenge, so quietly crept upon the plant that was happily dancing in the wind.
He placed the other pot beside the plant and touched its stem only for the plant to use its branches to shock him.
"Ouch!"
"Of course! I forgot to mention that the plants are very shy and they use lightning to make their displeasure known."
The explanation was followed by the giggles of the professor as she watched her students take a step back from the baby Listom plants.
Leon danced around the baby Listom as it flailed its branches around, for quite some time.
The magical plant didn't want him to touch it.
Tired of its antics, he took a break and decided to see how others were faring.
Hannah was happily repotting the plant as the baby Listom merrily danced to her humming.
Neville was slowly making his way towards the plant like it was going to swallow him if he took a single misstep.
But he too started replanting the Listom without gloves. The remaining students, just like Leon watched them before some decided to use the gloves.
Susan finished her work and joined him in staring at his plant, rubbing her hands where the Listom plant shocked her. The baby plant decided it didn't like Susan at the very last step.
"You can do it, Leon." Susan encouraged.
Hannah too joined them.
Leon looked at the plant which was waving its branches at him in a 'come hither' motion and moved towards it. He knew it wasn't intelligent enough to mock him but it still felt like it.
He successfully repotted it, ignoring the plant which was giving electrified kisses to his hands.
"I didn't think anyone would brute force their way, Mr Leon. But you did it. And that makes three people from Hufflepuf. 30 points to Hufflepuff."
A cream levitated toward Leon and Susan as the professor went toward the Gryffindors.
He tossed it to Hannah, so she could apply it to Susan who was only burned once.
Knowing her friend would protest to receive the cream first, Hannah quickly uncorked it and started rubbing it on her hands.
The burnt spot magically recovered in a few seconds.
"Wow! That's awesome!"
Susan and Hannah hurried to apply the cream to his hands.
Black spots covered every inch of his forearms, making it a two-person job.
"All that for ten points, Leon? I know you earn nearly twice that in Charms and Transfiguration every other week in the least."
"It wasn't about points, I guess… And these are just small wounds, they may look painful. But they aren't."
Suddenly, Susan punches him on his shoulder. "They are painful, don't do this again. Any number of points isn't worth this."
Leon just nods his head, shrugging.
'I guess, I did it because I was frustrated with Herbology… and Potions too.'
They had potions class right after this. And in both of the subjects, practice didn't mean anything.
Magical plants liked some people more than others. And just like how his charms are better than others even if they follow the same steps, his potions are of lower quality than Susan or Hannah's even if he follows the same steps.
Leon did research into reasons, it was all about the type of a person's magic. He got the sense it wasn't as easy as saying people have different types of talent, but more about the attributes and property of their magic i.e., you can't say that if one is talented in transfiguration then they would be talented in Alchemy. It was more personal, the books were vague about it.
With his previous life bolstering his magic, his positions were average, unlike Herbology in which he totally sucks.
It seemed magical plants didn't care how awesome or powerful his magic was.
The Hufflepuffs went towards the dungeon, the dominion of the bat for potions, after lunch.
From the half-remembered canon events, Leon knows Snape didn't feel sympathy for Harry even when he saw how awful his childhood was.
Leon didn't know what to think of a man who acted like he was the only victim and didn't care that Harry was a kid at the end of the day.
But he wasn't arrogant enough to think he knew what was going on in the mind of a master of occlumency. So it could all have been a long con to be a double spy.
'But again, he doesn't treat Neville - It doesn't matter anyway. This is an AU, here maybe Snape likes James Potter or Sirius Black.' He let out a sarcastic laugh.
The class went on as usual, with the professor making them brew a potion and submit it at the end of the class.
Leon watched the potion professor as students submitted their potions under his withering gaze.
His potion was just acceptable- like it was always- and can be said to be above average in quality this time, luckily.
Leon took in the fresh air and shook his head, dispelling the heavy mood the dark dungeon and its bat master created in students.
After bidding goodbye to Susan and Hannah who were going to play with the brooms again, Leon used the time to search for Helga's secret room.
...
One more day went by as Leon waited for his reward to be delivered and brainstormed ideas on how to make Hannah join the tryouts.
"Mr. Astraeus, please meet the headmaster after your meal. The password is sour candy." The Hufflepuff's head approached Leon as he was devouring the food with his normal gusto, startling him.
'Damn, what did I do?'
"Don't worry dear, you are not in trouble." With that Pomona left leaving behind a paranoid boy who still didn't stop eating even as his mind swirled with conspiracies.
.................
A/N: This new release schedule isn't working for me. Procrastination and being busy is a deadly combination, so we are going back to the previous schedule. GMT+8 Monday, Wednesday, Friday 00:05.