Hogwarts Outsider

Matthew Wickfield couldn’t believe his luck. He had succeeded in achieving his original goal: to have Professor Slughorn invite him to join the Slug Club.

He had expected to work harder to win Slughorn’s favor, but it seemed luck was on his side.

As he walked through the basement corridor, carrying a stack of potion supplies, Matthew returned to the Slytherin common room.

He approached the giant green snake guarding the entrance and whispered the password for the past two weeks, “Noble Glory!”

The snake loosened its grip on its tail, wriggled gently, and opened the stone gate for Matthew.

Entering the common room, Matthew immediately noticed the presence of Crabbe and Goyle, two massive figures who stood out among the rest.

They were seated in armchairs by the fireplace, diligently writing something.

These two unfortunate boys seemed to be constantly plagued by accidents since the beginning of the school year.

They had been “attacked” twice and ended up in the school hospital each time. Matthew couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for them.

He quickly walked over and sat in a nearby armchair, maintaining a safe distance from Crabbe and Goyle due to the incident with Nott. Matthew greeted them awkwardly, “Hi… Crabbe, Goyle!”

Both boys raised their heads and glanced at him. Crabbe responded slowly, “Wickfield, what’s the matter?”

Curiosity piqued, Matthew asked, “What are you up to?”

“We’re writing essays for astronomy class, due later this evening,” Goyle replied.

They explained that they had to attend Professor Sinistra’s astronomy class in the evening and that failing to complete the assigned essays could have disastrous consequences.

Matthew glanced at his watch, pretending to be surprised. It was almost five in the afternoon, and the class started at seven.

“Time is running out!” Matthew exclaimed. “You better work harder!”

The two boys nodded in agreement and were about to lower their heads to continue writing when Matthew said, “Wait, wait!”

They raised their heads once more, looking at him with confusion.

“I can offer some help,” Matthew said calmly. “Maybe I can provide you with a reference for my essay.”

“Really?” Crabbe and Goyle exclaimed with excitement.

“Of course, don’t make it too similar, or Professor Sinistra will notice,” Matthew cautioned, raising a hand as if emphasizing his point.

“In addition, I have another condition…” Matthew continued, building up the suspense.

“No problem! Who do you want us to… deal with? As long as it’s not someone in the fourth year or above, we can help you!” Goyle blurted out eagerly.

Matthew shook his head quickly. “It’s not about someone. I’m just curious about what happened when you were attacked with Ronald Weasley in the Trophy Room.”

Crabbe looked frightened and whispered, “Professor Rosier… she… she won’t let us talk about it.”

Matthew pretended to understand. “Forget it, then…” He appeared interested and stood up, intending to leave.

“Wait, wait!” Goyle hastily called out, flustered by Matthew’s impending departure.

His words attracted the attention of some senior Slytherin students nearby, who caught their interest.

Matthew turned around again. Goyle motioned his hands for the senior students to leave, then lowered his voice and said, “But you must promise not to tell anyone…”

“Of course.” Matthew nodded without hesitation.

Goyle glanced around and recounted the events hushedly, “We were in charge of cleaning the medals, trophies, and prizes in that room. Weasley was there, complaining while he cleaned. We didn’t know him, so we didn’t engage in conversation. Then, for some reason, he suddenly left the showroom.” Goyle explained.

“Left? Where did he go?” Matthew furrowed his brow.

“I don’t know,” Crabbe shook his head. “Mr. Donald followed him shortly after, leaving us to our job.”

Matthew’s curiosity grew. “What happened next? Did Weasley and Mr. Donald return?”

“We don’t know what happened afterward,” Gore chimed in. “Crabbe and I suddenly lost consciousness without any explanation. When we woke up, we were already in the school hospital.”

“Interesting,” Matthew mused. “Thank you for sharing.”

The attack didn’t happen right at the Trophy Room when Crabbe and Goyle were cleaning it.

The question is, where did Weasley go? Why would the attacker have to go through all that trouble and bring Weasley back to the Trophy Room?

The answers to that question would only be known to Ronald Weasley and the attacker.

Matthew’s mind was racing with many scenarios and what-ifs before he could finally hear Crabbe’s faint voice calling for him.

“So… Wickfield, the paper?” Crabbe asked.

He handed the Astronomy essay to Crabbe and Goyle, instructing them, “Since Professor Rosier doesn’t want you to talk about this, it’s best to keep it to yourselves. Don’t mention that I asked about it either.”

“Of course!” Crabbe and Goyle nodded eagerly.

Just as Matthew was about to return to the dormitory, a senior girl approached him, panting slightly.

“I have something for Matthew Wickfield,” she said, handing him a scroll with a purple ribbon.

“Thank you,” Matthew replied, taking the scroll with his name.

As he carefully unrolled it, he discovered it was an invitation. Professor Slughorn had invited him to dinner in his office on Sunday night. A smile formed on Matthew’s face.

“Matthew,

I would be delighted if you could join me in my office for dinner on Sunday evening.

Sincerely,

Professor H.E.F. Slughorn”