Chapter 39: Cedric Diggory (Patreon)

After hearing Shane explain that the fundamentals of magic circles could only be grasped through personal understanding, Hermione could only sigh in defeat and return to studying Foundations of Magic Circles and Rune Construction.

Watching her struggle reminded Shane of another scene from long ago.

Back in Aslant, deep within the guild castle's underground library, there had often been a cute blue-haired girl buried beneath piles of books, forgetting to eat or sleep as she researched Solid Script Magic.

She had always loved reading or scribbling notes around the guild.

In that respect...

She and Hermione were remarkably alike.

Thinking of Levy's adorable face, Shane smiled.

Then, with practiced ease, he gently extended two fingers and lightly tapped Hermione on the forehead.

Before she even realized what had happened—

She was asleep.

He used to force Levy to rest the same way.

Otherwise, she would spend days without sleeping while studying magic, eventually collapsing from exhaustion.

Carefully, Shane lowered Hermione's head onto her folded arms before picking up the book she had been reading.

After flipping through it, he discovered that in just a single night, Hermione had already filled countless pages with notes.

Many of her conclusions were logically flawed.

But her effort was obvious.

Smiling faintly, Shane quietly corrected several of the more serious mistakes before placing the book back beside her.

Then...

He turned his attention elsewhere.

"You know..."

"If you've got something to say, just say it."

"Why have you been secretly staring at me this whole time?"

Shane turned around with dead-fish eyes and looked helplessly at the student sitting behind him.

Ever since entering the Great Hall, he had sensed someone constantly sneaking glances in his direction.

To his enhanced perception...

The gaze might as well have been shining like a spotlight.

Only after being called out did the student awkwardly turn around.

He looked embarrassed, as though he wanted to say something but didn't know how to begin.

"H-Hello..."

The young wizard scratched his head nervously.

Oddly enough, despite knowing the boy before him was two years younger, he still felt an inexplicable sense of pressure.

Shane narrowed his eyes at the badge on the student's robes.

A Hufflepuff.

Judging by his appearance and height, he was probably a third-year.

"Go ahead."

"What do you want?"

"H-Hello."

"My name is Cedric Diggory."

"I'm a third-year Hufflepuff."

Cedric politely extended his hand.

"Cedric..."

The name immediately rang a bell.

No wonder he had looked so familiar.

Cedric Diggory.

One of Hogwarts' champions during the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

An exceptionally talented student.

Unfortunately...

Also an exceptionally unlucky one.

After helping Harry Potter reach the Triwizard Cup, he had been transported by the Portkey to Voldemort's graveyard...

Only to be killed moments later by the Killing Curse.

At the end-of-year feast, Dumbledore had described him as the embodiment of Hufflepuff's finest qualities.

Kind.

Loyal.

Fair.

A young man worthy of everyone's respect.

Someone whose death should forever remind others to choose what is right over what is easy.

Of course...

The Cedric standing before Shane now was still years away from becoming the brave young wizard who would raise his wand against Voldemort and Peter Pettigrew.

His cheeks still retained traces of youthful softness.

The innocence of adolescence had not yet completely faded.

Yet beneath that youthful appearance already lay a quiet elegance.

Shane accepted the handshake politely.

"So..."

"Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff."

"What brings you here?"

"As long as it isn't about the comics or yesterday's troll incident, feel free to ask."

Cedric smiled sheepishly.

"Actually..."

"I wanted to ask you about your magic."

"The spell you placed on the giant pumpkin yesterday."

"I joined your game."

"It was incredible."

"I've never seen magic like that before."

"I honestly didn't plan to ask."

"I know a spell like that isn't something people would casually teach."

"But..."

"I accidentally overheard your conversation with the young lady beside you."

"I realized you're teaching her magic."

"So..."

"I was wondering..."

"...whether I could learn as well."

"I know it's an incredibly presumptuous request."

"But that magic is genuinely important to us."

After hearing Cedric's explanation, a faint blue glimmer flashed through Shane's eyes before disappearing.

Then he sighed helplessly.

"People always say Hufflepuffs are honest and straightforward."

"But apparently that isn't always true."

"Even your volunteer healing team yesterday nearly exhausted Madam Pomfrey by recklessly casting Healing Charms all afternoon."

"You want to learn Skyscraper..."

"...because you intend to use it to train Hufflepuff's Quidditch team."

"Am I right?"

Cedric froze.

"H-How did you know?"

"So the spell's called Skyscraper..."

He smiled awkwardly.

"You're right."

"I did think of using it to help train our Quidditch team."

"The idea came to me while I was playing your game yesterday."

"Hufflepuff hasn't achieved much in Quidditch for decades."

"We've tried learning from the other Houses."

"Gryffindor's aggressive style..."

"Ravenclaw's endless tactical variations..."

"Slytherin's cunning approach..."

"But none of those suit us."

"And besides..."

"Most players from the other three Houses own personal broomsticks..."

"As for us..."

Cedric stopped there.

He didn't continue.

Through Legilimency, however, Shane had already seen the rest.

Rolling his eyes, he shook his head.

"Hufflepuff's ideals are honesty, loyalty, hard work, and fairness."

"But you've twisted them into stubbornness."

Hufflepuff's philosophy toward Quidditch had always been simple:

Win through pure skill.

They looked down on Slytherin's reliance on expensive equipment.

To them, true Quidditch ability came entirely from the player.

That belief wasn't inherently wrong.

The problem was...

They had trapped themselves inside it.

They proudly swore to defeat the other Houses using Hogwarts' ancient, worn-out school broomsticks through skill alone.

It was an admirable dream.

But...

Was that really what honesty meant?

Lady Helga Hufflepuff would probably demand an apology if she heard that interpretation.

Equipment and personal ability had never been mutually exclusive.

The finest broom in the world was useless without someone capable of using it.

Likewise...

A poor flyer wouldn't suddenly become a champion simply because they owned the newest broom.

The two complemented each other.

After thinking quietly for a moment, Shane looked back at Cedric.

He wasn't about to reject him simply because they had only just met.

In truth...

Shane had already been planning something.

Starting next semester, he intended to establish Fairy Tail Guild within Hogwarts.

Once the guild officially existed, any student who passed his trials and became a true member would have the opportunity to learn the power of magic circles.

It was also the solution Shane had come up with to prevent unnecessary trouble once magic circles inevitably became known to the wider wizarding world.

In other words...

Hogwarts—and Dumbledore himself—would become his greatest shield.

Even someone as dangerous as Voldemort wouldn't dare attack Hogwarts recklessly while the Headmaster remained there.

There was another reason as well.

By establishing Fairy Tail inside Hogwarts, the wizarding world would naturally come to associate the school with the study of magic circles.

People would simply assume that attending Hogwarts granted access to that unique branch of magic.

Beyond all of that...

Shane had one final goal.

He wanted the guild to become the foundation of a force capable of standing against the pure-blood faction that dominated the wizarding world.

A dream of that scale...

Could never be accomplished by one person alone.

To achieve it...

He would need to unite every ally he possibly could.