With the fortune he had at his disposal now, Julian could absolutely afford to have basilisk venom imported from the handful of people insane enough to raise the beast for profit.
Whatever, I'll deal with this later, he decided as he walked toward the Quidditch pitch at an unhurried pace.
It was a brisk, biting day, but Julian didn't really care. His winter clothes were thick enough that the cold didn't bother him much. This was the first match of the season, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, which meant Julian, Ron, and Hermione were seated on a different stand from Tracy and Daphne, who were there to cheer for their own house.
...
"Bloody hell, Julian, how are you not freezing?" Ron complained, shivering despite wearing winter clothes of his own.
Julian rolled his eyes and pointed his wand at him. "SOLES CALOR!"
Ron let out a relieved breath as the warming charm took hold.
Hermione, meanwhile, was holding a sealed glass jar with a bright blue flame trapped inside.
"Bluebell flames," Julian said casually, nodding toward it. "Not useful for crafting because they run too cool, but they're perfect for keeping warm."
Hermione seemed to like the acknowledgement.
...
"What about your spell?" she asked, curious. "I didn't find anything like it in the library."
Julian grinned. "It's a tweak on a little-known warming charm. It's meant to cling to someone instead of just blasting them with hot air for a moment." He chuckled when she pouted.
She might not be constantly comparing herself to him, but she still had a competitive streak, and it always surfaced the moment she got shown up. Between the two of them, Julian's charm was clearly the better option, purely because it didn't require lugging around a jar.
...
Even so, Hermione wasn't stubborn enough to insist on using the weaker method when a better one existed.
"It's like this..." Julian saw her about to ask how the spell worked, so he explained it without hesitation. It didn't surprise him at all when she understood it immediately.
The charm wasn't complicated, and it wasn't even particularly impressive. Over the years, people had created nearly a hundred different warming charms. This one wasn't special enough for him to guard it like a secret, so Julian didn't mind sharing.
He ended up having to anyway, since the rest of his housemates got jealous.
...
Before long, the match officially began. There was a tense, hard stare-down between the Slytherin team and the Gryffindor team while Madam Hooch stood between them, laying out the terms.
It was basic stuff. Keep it clean. Try to keep injuries to a minimum.
Contrary to what people might expect, the balls weren't released all at once. First came the bludgers, enchanted self-propelled cannonballs that served as a constant threat and deterrent during play.
...
Next came the ball that actually kicked the match into motion, the quaffle. It had three large dents along its sides, designed to make it easier to grip, and it wasn't truly magical beyond floating at a set height and returning to the field after being thrown through the hoops.
The match started with a rough struggle among the chasers for possession. Oliver Wood, Gryffindor's keeper, was already hovering at his team's goals, while Slytherin's keeper waited at the opposite end.
...
Harry flew high above most of the field, probably keeping himself safe until the snitch appeared, which hadn't been released yet.
Lee Jordan was commentating, with McGonagall hovering nearby to keep him from getting too ridiculous. He was still obviously biased toward Gryffindor, though.
Gryffindor scored the first goal, giving them an early lead in points. Then Slytherin took the quaffle, and the snitch was finally released.
Julian's eyes caught the tiny golden ball with wings the instant it shot out from a small hole beneath the stands.
...
He didn't say anything.
Pointing it out would have been the same as announcing he could spot it faster than Harry, and Julian wasn't interested in risking the old man deciding to shove him onto the team as well, just to try and earn favor with him.
Dumbledore had already proven he had a habit of trying to gain favor and only making a bigger mess instead, even if his original goal had technically been achieved to a degree.
Julian wasn't afraid of him anymore. Now he just wanted to stay away from the problematic old goat entirely.