Harry Potter : Bloodraven

Time gradually moved on, and Maverick found himself settling comfortably into his role as a professor.

Teaching the sixth years the major aspects of science had been more enjoyable than he expected, especially watching the teenagers become mesmerized by an entirely new world that had been right beside them all along.

At the same time, the alchemy classes focused more on memorization, with the initial lessons centered on runes. Yet, despite the subject's early dull phase, the students displayed a surprising eagerness to learn.

And some students, like Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, and a few others, displayed real potential in grasping the complexity of the language of runes—showing enough talent to become two-star or even three-star alchemists if they chose to pursue a career in it.

Maverick even considered the idea of taking some of them on as apprentices. However, not right now—perhaps in a year or two, when they had matured more and if they still showed the same enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, the buzz about his two classes stuck around for several days, spreading from students who had attended to those who hadn't, from juniors to seniors and vice versa. But like all gossip, it eventually began to fade.

By the time the weekend approached, the whispers surrounding the name "Professor Caesar" had all but disappeared, replaced by discussions of other ongoing or upcoming events.

...

Time passed slowly, and soon the first weekend arrived. It was now Saturday evening, and Maverick sat in one of the Hogwarts classrooms, accompanied by three others, with the desks arranged in a circle for what appeared to be a meeting.

On one side sat Maverick and another man in formal wizarding attire, while Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch sat across from them, with four empty chairs between them on either side.

"Thank you for accepting the appointment, Mr. Steven, on behalf of Hogwarts, the Headmaster, and myself," Professor McGonagall said kindly, smiling at the man, now identified as Steven. He appeared to be in his forties, with neatly trimmed black hair and a lean, strong build.

"No, thank you, Professor," Steven replied, smiling back at the Deputy Headmistress. "I've been feeling rather bored since I retired last year... that is, until my friend here came to visit me last month."

"I see..." McGonagall raised an eyebrow and glanced briefly at Maverick, then back at Steven. "If you don't mind my asking, what were your plans after retiring from professional Quidditch?"

"Honestly, I've had this idea for a while, even before my last year with the Ballycastle Bats," Steven said thoughtfully. "I wanted to coach a team after my playing career ended. Then, when Maverick came to me last month and asked me to coach the Hogwarts team, I thought this would be a great start."

He smiled. "Besides that, coaching the Quidditch team of the most prestigious magical school in the world would be a great honor for me."

McGonagall nodded, a hint of pride in her expression. It was, after all, a compliment to her school.

"What other superstar friends do you have, Professor Caesar?" Madam Hooch asked teasingly, glancing between the two men before settling her gaze on Maverick.

"It's just Steven here," Maverick chuckled. "And we've been friends for only about a year... Before that, I didn't even know he existed, because, you know, I'm not a fanatic fan of Quidditch."

"That's right," Steven added with a grin. "He came to my grandfather to tweak his broom, and that's how we met. He had a freaking King's Broom of all things and wanted some custom work done on it."

"Honestly, I was skeptical at first... you know, what young man could get his hands on one? I thought he might be some pretender, so I asked him to test his skills against mine."

He chuckled again. "But... then I was shown why he was a student of an Arch-Magus, because my three-time World Champion flying skills were toyed with by him... I've never seen someone maneuver in the air like that."

Maverick smiled a little shyly but didn't deny it, simply shrugging. Then he noticed McGonagall and Hooch staring at him with wide eyes.

"How in Merlin's name can you fly a King's Broom?" McGonagall exclaimed.

"Forget that... how did you even get one?" Madam Hooch added, equally astonished.

Maverick remained calm, smiling faintly. He had decided to gradually reveal some of his abilities to McGonagall and Dumbledore, especially now that he was nearing the rank of Arch-Magus. Some of the things he might need to do in the future in front of them couldn't simply be explained by saying he was talented in pure magic control.

"I have the license to fly it, and the broom itself was a gift from my teacher," he explained, then looked at McGonagall with a knowing smile. "Besides, you should know how skilled I am at magical energy manipulation."

McGonagall didn't know what to say and simply nodded after a moment, recalling a few things. Madam Hooch, however, looked puzzled, glancing between the two for an explanation.

"You know his teacher is Speaker Garling, and to him, it won't be much of a hassle to get one such broom..." McGonagall said, and Hooch nodded in recognition.

"And…" She hesitated, not wanting to overstep by revealing things without Maverick's permission, but seeing his nonchalant smile that seemed to say he didn't mind, she continued. "He's exceptionally advanced in magical energy manipulation and magical sense. So... it's fair to say Professor Caesar can handle it..."

Madam Hooch blinked in disbelief, turning to Maverick. "You're serious?... So young… my goodness."

"He's not a Great Magus," McGonagall clarified quickly. "Like I said, he's just extraordinarily talented at controlling pure magic."

She turned to Maverick again but froze when she saw his faint smirk.

"You are, aren't you?" she asked cautiously, her eyes wide, thinking that her mentor's earlier suspicion might in fact be true.

Maverick studied her for a moment before chuckling. "Does it matter? Anyway, we're not here to talk about me." He turned to Steven, but then his gaze turned toward the door.

"It seems our guests have arrived..."

Right on cue, there was a knock at the door, then with a wave of his hand, Maverick caused it to open.

"You can all come in..."

Eight teenagers in uniforms, two from each house, entered the room slowly after receiving permission. But the next second, one of them let out an excited yelp.

"Morgana's tits... is that Mario Steven?"

The other students gasped as well, their eyes sparkling as if they were seeing a famous celebrity. And that was indeed the case.

Mario Steven was a well-known figure, being the captain of the Ballycastle Bats Quidditch team, which had won the European Quidditch League over twenty times. Steven himself had won it a few times and even triumphed in the World Championship three times with the Irish national team, so it wasn't an unexpected reaction from the children.

"Mr. Caplan, that will be 20 points from Hufflepuff," Professor McGonagall's voice cut through the room like a train, barely a second after the curse slipped out. "Honestly, I expected more from a Hufflepuff such as yourself!"

The boy in question, who had accidentally cursed out of excitement, immediately covered his mouth, as if he could somehow take back his words.

Steven didn't react much as he was now used to this kind of reaction from people and Maverick just watch the little drama amusedly.

"All of you, please take your seats, as we still have dinner to attend, and I don't want our guests to starve by keeping this meeting lingering longer than it should." McGonagall gave her authoritative stare at the group of teenagers, causing them to hurriedly oblige and step toward the empty chairs.

The two girls in the group—a Slytherin witch with a prefect badge and a Hufflepuff—quickly rushed forward, taking seats beside Maverick and Steven, respectively. The others followed, all eager to avoid sitting next to Professor McGonagall. Unfortunately for the Hufflepuff boy who had cursed earlier, he ended up right beside her.

Once they were settled, Maverick stepped in. "Thank you all for taking the time to come to this... let's call it an informal gathering..." He smiled kindly, easing the tension in the room.

"As you've probably guessed, this meeting is about the inter-school Quidditch tournament kicking off in November. The eight of you... each house's prefect and Quidditch team captain have been chosen to assist us in team selection and, more importantly, to relay important information about the tournament from the organizers to your fellow students."

Just then, the Slytherin witch sitting beside him raised her hand eagerly looking slightly impatient. Maverick opened his mouth to acknowledge her, but Professor McGonagall's voice cut through like a whip.

"Put your hand down, Ms. Farley. This is not a class. Listen first, and there will be ample time for questions afterward."

The Slytherin witch dropped her hand immediately, her cheeks flushing, and Maverick gave her a reassuring nod before continuing.

"Now, as I was saying, this tournament will include four of Europe's most prestigious magical schools. It'll be structured in three rounds... the first in November, the second in next year February, and the championship in early May."

"It'll follow a league format. In the first round, each team will compete against every other team once. The top three teams with the most wins will advance, while the team with the fewest wins will be eliminated. If there's a tie in wins, we'll use total scores to determine rankings... And if even that ends in a tie, the team with the fewest fouls will be declared the winner."

"The second round will follow the same format, with the top two teams moving on to the final..."

Maverick paused, letting the students take in the information. "This isn't just a one-time event. The school administrations, along with the other participating schools, have agreed to make this an annual tournament. Moreover, we expect the number of participating schools to increase, but we won't make it more than six."

"The host school will rotate each year, chosen by a fair draw after this inaugural competition."

He then gestured toward a sleek, crystal-like device placed a little further away from them. "This tournament won't just be watched by those sitting in the stands at Hogwarts. It'll be broadcast live to all participating schools and key locations across the countries.

This," he pointed to the device, "is called Magic Vision. It's a new product my company is launching at the end of this month. Think of it as a magical version of Muggle television... it allows people to watch live events from anywhere, even across borders."

His tone turned more serious as he looked at each of them in turn. "This competition will have a lot of eyes on it. For those students dreaming of a career as professional players, this would be a great opportunity to shine. Scouts will be watching."

"Apart from that, we'll also have important guests in attendance, so I expect nothing but the best behavior from all the students. As leaders, it's your responsibility to ensure Hogwarts presents itself well. We can't afford any missteps in front of the world."

He glanced at Steven, who had been sitting quietly beside him. "I'm sure you all know Mr. Mario Steven," Maverick said, a hint of a smile returning. "No introduction needed. He's agreed to coach the all-star team we'll be selecting for Hogwarts."

Steven nodded in acknowledgment, smiling at the students.

"We'll start trials next week," Maverick continued. "The process will be structured... basic skill assessments first... speed, accuracy, reflexes... followed by mock matches to see how students perform under pressure. All will factor into the final selection."

Steven nodded as Maverick continued explaining.

"Once the team is chosen, they'll train under Coach Steven's guidance to prepare for the tournament. This isn't just about winning... it's about representing Hogwarts on a global stage. I expect full dedication from every student who makes the team."

He turned to the prefects. "Your role is to ensure that every student interested in trying out knows about the trials. Any Hogwarts student can apply, even first-years who aren't currently on a house team. Blood status is irrelevant—I don't care if they're Muggle-born or pure-blood. Talent can come from anywhere, and we don't want to overlook anyone who could make a difference."

Maverick glanced at Steven. "Steve, do you have anything to add?"

The Quidditch veteran shook his head. "I think your explanation was clear. As for the training regimens and everything else, I'll speak directly to the team after the trials."

Maverick nodded, then took a breath, softening his expression as he looked at the eight teenagers.

"This is a big opportunity—not just for the school, not just for those who dream of playing Quidditch at the highest level, but for all of you as well. By being part of the organizing team, you'll gain valuable experience, something you can even add to your resume when looking for a job after school."

He paused, considering an idea before adding, "I can also hand over the financial management of the Hogwarts team to you... procuring jerseys, broomsticks, and other necessities... if you're up for the challenge."

"My company will be sponsoring the tournament itself, so to keep things fair and avoid any accusations that might arise if we were to secure the win, it cannot also sponsor the Hogwarts team."

"However, I can connect you with businesses so you can take the lead in securing the best possible sponsor. This will be an excellent opportunity for you to gain hands-on experience in management."

He glanced at Professor McGonagall, who was watching him with a satisfied smile.

"Of course, Professor McGonagall will supervise, ensuring everything runs smoothly. She has managed this school for decades, and her guidance would be invaluable to you."

McGonagall nodded in agreement. She was the kind of witch who genuinely wanted the best for her students, and when it came to their benefit, she wouldn't hesitate to support them.

Maverick watched as the students' expressions gradually shifted throughout his explanation—from curiosity to intrigue, then to genuine excitement—and couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.

Let's make it count." He said finally glancing around the room. "Any questions so far?"

The discussion carried on longer than expected. Because of this, McGonagall arranged for dinner to be brought into the room and served during the discussion, coordinating with the house-elves to make it happen.

At first, the conversation revolved mostly around fangirling over Steven, but fortunately, the man was patient and answered all students their questions. Needless to say, they were thrilled to have him as the school team's coach.

Eventually, the talks shifted back to the tournament, with all the prefects, Quidditch team captain, and teachers sharing their opinions on how to ensure a fair selection process for the school team.

Even Marcus Flint, the Slytherin team captain, behaved rather well during the conversation. In contrast to the arrogant and prejudiced image portrayed in the movies, he showed no objection to selecting players based on talent rather than blood status.

Perhaps it was because he was a massive fan of Steven and didn't want to make a bad impression, or maybe it was McGonagall's presence keeping him in check. Either way, Maverick didn't particularly care—even if Flint was hiding his true thoughts, as long as he didn't cause trouble, that was all that mattered.

The meeting concluded, finalizing most details, including the date for the trials, which were set for the following weekend. McGonagall agreed to make the schedules of the eight students more flexible throughout the year, as long as they didn't slack off in their studies.

By the end, everyone was satisfied. The prefects were eager and excited to take part in the organizing team, the Quidditch captains were thrilled about the tournament, looking forward to the team selection trials, and excited about being trained by a famous Quidditch superstar. The teachers were pleased with how smoothly everything had gone.

Steven then floo'd back to his home to return on the trials day, and everyone went back to their respective quarters to conclude the evening.

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Author's Note:

Just a quick update — up to Chapter 115 is already available on P AT r30n!

PAT r30n [.] com / RyanFic