Harry pulled up from yet another reckless dive, his hands in the air. He had caught the Snitch for the fourth time now.
Magnus and his group applauded as Fred and his teammates surrounded Harry midair in congratulations.
Usually, each team had its own Seeker, but since this was just a training session, Harry had served as the only one. So, the team that was leading by the time he caught the Snitch won the round.
So far, the team comprising George, Wood, and Alicia had lost three times to Fred, Katie, and Angelina. To make it worse, Fred's team was playing without a Keeper since Katie only played that role when they were being attacked.
Both sides had taken the game so seriously that Harry found himself fighting the Bludgers whenever he was about to get the Snitch while one team trailed behind.
Harry pulled away from Fred and his teammates as he prepared to release the Snitch for yet another round.
Oliver blew the final whistle.
Almost all the players flew at him in protest, including his own team. The spectators joined in with yells of disappointment.
Magnus was among them.
Being his first time watching anything to do with Quidditch, he had been completely carried away by the sight of the Quaffle dancing through the air.
Every once in a while, the Bludger would scream past, millimeters from its target, drawing tense intakes of breath from the crowd. He, like most of the students, had lost track of time in the electrifying match.
The sun had already curled into a dying orange orb and was dipping over the horizon when Magnus realized George had failed. He had failed.
You see, after all their training and conditioning sessions, Magnus had realized they had finally gotten to the edge of what he could do to trigger Fweg to evolve.
The last step was total loyalty and the willingness to protect its trainer at a moment's notice.
Staging such an incident was out of the question. The Eevee's training had ruled that out. Fweg could now anticipate commands even before they were spoken. Lately, the Pokémon had seemed completely attuned to Fred's thoughts and emotions.
This meant that as long as Fred was in on the plan, Eevee wouldn't register it as a threat and so it wouldn't react.
Earlier, Magnus had asked George to try and hit his twin with a Bludger during the game. But that had failed.
Even if George had managed to catch Fred off-guard, Magnus now doubted the Pokémon would have reacted. The Eevee had probably watched the twins play Quidditch for nearly three school years now.
"C'mon," Ron nudged him from his thoughts.
Students were heading into the castle while others were gathering to offer congratulations to the new Gryffindor Seeker and the team. Magnus followed suit.
The two Eevees, as well as his Zorua, were playing with Hermione's Pichu just ahead of the line. His Zorua took a peek at them, and seeing them descending, resumed whatever mischief they had been up to.
Magnus saw George approaching them, beater's bat still in hand. Goj broke away from the other Pokémon and ran toward its trainer.
"Sorry, mate," George said to Magnus. "It was too risky at close range… I couldn't... "
"It's fine. It wouldn't have worked anyway," Magnus said absently. Something had just crossed his mind.
"You guys don't have to hide stuff from me. I'm part of the team, ain't I?" Ron muttered, addressing no one in particular.
George ignored his brother.
"What was that about, anyway? Something to do with Fweg?"
Now it was his turn to be ignored, as Magnus reached for the bat in George's hand.
"Can I borrow this for a sec?"
George handed him the bat, looking even more confused. A second later, realization dawned.
"You are nuts… you can't... " but it was already a bit too late.
Magnus was running down the steps, acting like a man possessed. A strange certainty had hit him. Though he couldn't be sure of the result, he just knew he had to try. It felt like he had taken a dose of Felix Felicis. He just knew he wasn't far from the mark.
He could hear Ron and George trying to catch up, but he already had the advantage.
His eyes locked on the group ahead. The Pokémon, along with Hermione, had already reached Fred and the rest of the team. Fred had bent down to pick up his overly playful Eevee and Magnus saw his opportunity.
His grip tightened on the bat as he hurled toward the group.
Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he wasn't. But how else would he know? He had to attack. Maybe he wouldn't. No.
He forced the uncertainty out of his mind. He wasn't backing down. He had waded too deep to stop now.
He was seconds from Fred and the Eevee.
The bat began rising as he prepared his strike. He heard some girls squeal fearfully as the bat began its descent. Any moment now, it would crash into Fred.
It happened so suddenly that Magnus's heart nearly froze.
The bat was probably millimeters from smashing into Fred's back when Magnus heard people scream in terror.
He was blasted backward at incredible speed, like a weightless feather.
His body crashed against the edge of the stands with a sickening thud, and the bat clattered away from his grip.
Pain tore through his body like a hot knife shoved inside him.
Surprisingly, his eyes stayed glued to the creature hovering midair like gravity didn't apply to it.
The Eevee's brown fur had disappeared. Now the Pokémon was covered in a soft liliac fur that shimmered in the dying rays of the sun. Its eyes glowed with intense focus, fixed solely on him. A round tuft of red fur marked its mane.
Despite the pain, a smile formed on Magnus's lips as he heard the familiar shouts of Professor McGonagall clearing her way through the crowd.
His Zorua reached him first, leaping onto his chest and sending another ripple of pain through him.
Magnus flinched, but the smile remained stubbornly on his lips. He reached out to his Pokémon, who was now nibbling on his nose.
"Ee… Espeon," he whispered, just as his eyes rolled back.
**read 45 chapters ahead on :**
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