Chapter 10: End of the year

Rick put down his quill and gave his parchment one last thorough scan, his eyes flicking across each answer with clinical precision. Confident he hadn’t made any glaring errors, at least none that would haunt him all summer, he stood up and walked briskly to the front of the room. He placed his completed exam neatly on the teacher’s desk, right in front of Albus Dumbledore, who was overseeing the exam session with an expression equal parts mischief and mild detachment. Professor Binns, being a ghost and largely incapable of enforcing academic discipline, or even noticing if a student was asleep or casting a copying charm, had long since relinquished any supervisory duties. In his stead, another professor was always assigned to monitor the exams, and this year, Dumbledore had volunteered. Whether out of genuine interest or boredom, no one quite knew, though the twinkle in his eye suggested the latter.

After receiving a small nod of acknowledgement from the headmaster, Rick returned to his seat, meticulously packed away his quill and inkpot, and slung his bag over his shoulder before stepping out of the classroom. It was over, the final exam of the year. As he walked through the stone corridors of Hogwarts, his thoughts drifted backward over the whirlwind of the past six months. There had been laughter, mischief, and moments of unexpected warmth, Marlene’s raucous birthday bash, Lily’s quieter celebration marked by Potter’s incessant interruptions, and a surprisingly peaceful Easter break where Marlene stayed behind with him and Amelia, who still couldn’t bring herself to return home.

It had been, without a doubt, the happiest time of his life. And now it was ending. The looming return to Wool’s Orphanage cast a long shadow over his mood. No spells. No flying. No midnight chats in the common room. Just gray walls, dull routines, and the gnawing frustration of magical suppression. He wasn’t even sure he’d be allowed the solitude to work on his summer homework. His one hope, slim though it was, was that Miss Willson might permit him unaccompanied trips to the library. Not that he’d go there. Not always. He had other destinations in mind.

Whenever he could, he planned to slip away to Diagon Alley under the guise of a library visit. Still, part of him remained genuinely curious about muggle knowledge, particularly chemistry and physics. He’d begun exploring those subjects out of sheer boredom during his last year at public school, frustrated by the way the curriculum crawled far behind his intellect. But now, his interest had a new focus: could the muggle understanding of natural laws, atoms, energy, forces, reveal patterns that wizards had missed? Could it even improve magic itself? The notion had been a quiet obsession of his for some time. He didn’t have answers yet, but the questions thrilled him more than most spells ever had.

His musing was interrupted when Marlene exited the classroom too. She let out a long sigh and Rick understood that it went as she expected: not super well. History was not her best subject by far for the simple reason that she couldn’t stay awake during class, the voice of Professor Binns being quite monotonous and soothing. Lily and he tried to help her as best as they could by giving her their notes but even then she either fell asleep while studying or blew up and went to practice transfiguration or some charm, to their hilarity.

“You did well.” he said to reassure her as he got closer and pulled her to the side to not block the room’s entrance.

“I didn’t know half the answer.” she replied dejectedly.

“If half the answers you knew were all correct, it’s enough.” he tried but to no effect so he changed tactics. “It’s not the end of the world either if you failed the subject though I’m sure you’ll get at least an Acceptable. Then there are the other classes. If you don’t get an Outstanding it’s an Exceed Expectation. It’s just one class.”

“True.” she replied, a smile showing itself on her lips. “Now we just have to wait for Lily.”

“Knowing her, she won’t leave until the end.” he joked, making her laugh.

It had become a beloved running gag between them, teasing Lily for her relentless academic zeal and the encyclopedic essays she wrote for even the most mundane questions. She could easily stretch a one sentence answer into a whole foot of parchment, and for History of Magic, her parchment piles bordered on tragicomedy. Her meticulousness came with its fair share of dramatic flair: one moment, she’d be confidently scribbling away, and the next, she’d descend into a whirlwind of panic, rifling through her satchel for a textbook to double check something she already knew cold. Every time, without fail, she was right, but the panic always struck anyway.

This side of Lily had emerged in full force during their collective revision sessions in the weeks leading up to exams. Rick and Marlene quickly learned that the key to preventing her from combusting into a ball of stress and footnotes was distraction, humor, banter, or just dragging her into an impromptu game of Exploding Snap. Anything to interrupt the spiral. It worked, most of the time. And when it didn’t, well, at least they tried to make her laugh while she panicked.

Fifteen minutes later, Lily swept out of the classroom with a bounce in her step, closely followed by Snape and a cluster of students looking either dazed or drained. Her expression was unmistakable, she was beaming like she’d just been handed an Order of Merlin. That grin said it all: she’d nailed it. Rick and Marlene exchanged a knowing look but didn’t even bother to ask. They had known from the start she would ace this exam, and every other one for that matter. Lily was a force of nature with a timetable, an encyclopedic memory, and a passion for detail that could make even Professor McGonagall look disorganized.

“We’re done! No more tests!” she shouted happily.

“Do we tell her about the one she forgot?” Marlene leaned toward Rick, grinning like a Kneazle that’d found a stash of catnip, and stage whispered just loud enough for Lily to hear, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

“No, I want to see her panic when she finds out.”

“What last test? Which did I forget?! I’m sure we did them all?! We had transfiguration first two days ago in the morning and-”.

“Lily, there is no more test.” said Snape.

Marlene couldn’t hold it in any longer, she let out a peal of laughter so loud it turned a few heads down the corridor, doubling over and clutching Rick’s shoulder for support as her legs threatened to give way. Rick, meanwhile, bit down on his lip hard enough to leave a mark, doing everything in his power not to erupt into laughter himself. His shoulders shook like a misfiring broomstick, and though he remained technically silent, the watery eyes and twitching mouth betrayed him completely. No one was fooled, not even Lily, who was still busy mock fuming nearby.

“You!” Lily shouted in outrage. “You... You… Why am I friends with you again?! I am seriously rethinking our friendship!”

“MarleneForcedMe!” Rick blurted out in a rush, already stepping sideways like a guilty toddler caught with biscuit crumbs. The blonde witch, robbed of her human crutch, stumbled forward with a gasp of theatrical betrayal that would’ve made Professor Slughorn proud. Catching herself with a dramatic flair, she whirled around and jabbed her finger at Rick like it was a wand.

“You lie!”

“I do, it’s payback for that dye jinx from the other day.”

“I told you it was an accident!”

“Sure.”

“Come, Sev. Let’s leave these two idiots and go eat something, it’s been awhile since we ate together.”

Lily grabbed Snape by the wrist and stormed off, her expression a thundercloud of mock indignation and genuine frustration, leaving both Marlene and Rick standing frozen like they'd just been hit with a Full Body Bind curse. The abruptness of her departure, and the firm, no nonsense tug on Snape’s arm, caught them entirely off guard, rendering even Marlene speechless, for once.

“Lily!”

“Come on, it was just a joke!”

Both of them hurried after her, calling out, but Lily remained gloriously deaf to their existence, sweeping through the halls like a queen scorned. She kept up the act all through lunch, stonewalling their attempts at conversation until they finally made it back to the Gryffindor common room. There, after relentless pleading from Marlene, who had latched onto Lily like a clingy koala with abandonment issues, cracks began to form in her icy facade. Rick, took a more strategic approach. Without a word of apology, he casually announced that he was going to borrow a broom and go flying. That did the trick.

Lily's reaction was immediate. Her head snapped up, eyes wide, and before either of them could blink, she was on her feet, dragging Marlene, still clinging to her like a scarf, up with her.

"You are not going alone," she declared, voice firm with a hint of panic. And that was that. The rest of the day was spent basking in the sun, the girls lounging in the grass with chatter and giggles while Rick soared through the sky above them like a Hippogriff finally free of its tether.

He was soon joined by Frank, who had also finished his exams and spotted Rick zooming past a high window of the Gryffindor tower. Wasting no time, Frank grabbed his broom and joined him in the sky, greeting Rick with a competitive grin. At some point, he casually transfigured a hand sized rock into a soft, buoyant ball roughly the size of a Quaffle, and they began tossing it back and forth while performing dives and loops mid air. Their impromptu game drew attention, and soon others began taking to the skies as well, including Amelia, laughing, cheering, and calling out to join the fun.

Within minutes, there were enough students swooping through the golden afternoon light to split into two makeshift teams. They didn’t need hoops or a Snitch to make it entertaining. The rules were simple: if a team could pass the ball ten times in a row without interception, they earned a point. It was chaotic, clumsy, and wildly fun. There were no house rivalries, just a shared sense of freedom and end of term exhilaration. When the sun dipped low and the castle cast long shadows over the grounds, someone called out that it was dinner time, and with reluctant groans and flushed cheeks, the airborne crew descended one by one, landing softly on the grass like falling leaves.

“I’ve heard you were good on a broom, Wald, but not that much. You should try for the quidditch team next year.” said Frank.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Think? What is there to think about? You’re a great flyer, I’m sure you’ll get a spot.”

“I just like flying. I don’t have much interest in quidditch beyond cheering for you against Amelia.”

“I heard that!” the aforementioned redhead called out a dozen feet away.

“You could kick her ass yourself, you know? With your build, you’d be an excellent seeker.”

“As If!” the redhead protested.

“Hmm… You drive a hard bargain, Longbottom. I’ll really take some time to consider it.”

“It’s fine, tryouts are in September anyway.”

Rick nodded and went to put back on the rack his broom. Afterwards he joined Lily and Marlene and went to dinner.

The last week of school seemed to pass in a blur, but it didn’t escape Lily and Marlene’s notice that Rick’s mood had taken a nosedive. He spoke less, smiled less, and seemed to retreat inward, as though already preparing himself for whatever waited at the end of the train line. It only confirmed what they had long suspected, that things at home, wherever 'home' was for him, weren’t exactly pleasant. During the train ride back to London, he put on a brave face, joking here and there, joining in their conversation just enough to make them believe he was fine. But they weren’t fooled. It was the kind of cheerfulness that felt like armor.

When the train finally rolled into King’s Cross, Rick stood, slung his bag over his shoulder, and with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, wished them both a good summer holiday and promised to write. Before they could say anything else, he vanished into the bustling crowd with the ease of someone used to slipping away unnoticed. The two girls stood rooted on the platform, blinking in confusion as the sea of students and families swallowed him whole.

“What in Merlin’s beard…”  Marlene began to swear but Lily spoke up.

“Maybe he doesn’t want us to meet his family? Or, since they don’t like magic, are waiting outside King Cross for him?”

“Didn’t you know? He doesn’t have a family.”

Turning around, they spotted Amelia descending the steps of Hogwarts Castle with her trunk in tow, her expression composed but her eyes betraying a flicker of concern. She moved with a deliberate grace, as though bracing herself to deliver hard truths, the weight of the moment matching the luggage she carried.

“What do you mean?” Lily questioned with a frown.

“Rick is an orphan.” explained the older redhead.

“He is?!” Marlene exclaimed in shock.

“Oh. That would explain why he… Why didn’t he say anything?”

“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask him.”

“Knowing him he didn’t think it was worth talking about.” said Marlene. “With whom does he live then?”

“He lives in an orphanage.” Amelia revealed.

Marlene reeled as though she'd been struck, her gasp sharp and filled with sudden, visceral horror. In that instant, everything clicked, Rick’s silences, his self reliance, the way he sometimes looked at Hogwarts like it was a fleeting dream. Like Amelia before her, she saw the truth: the kind of bleak, joyless existence that awaited a magical orphan growing up in a muggle orphanage. A world with no understanding of who he was, no warmth for what he could do. Her chest tightened at the thought. Lily, meanwhile, remained puzzled, still piecing together the implications of Amelia’s words.

“You sounded like it’s really bad.”

“Because it is, most of the time,” Amelia replied, her tone edged with frustration and something more brittle, weariness, perhaps. “A magical child raised among muggles in an orphanage? That’s a recipe for confusion, fear, and usually neglect. They don’t understand him, and they rarely try. Fear is the most common emotion and it could lead to something worse.” Her words hit Lily like a cold draft, her shoulders sagging slightly under the weight of understanding.

“Aren’t there magical orphanages?”

“No. The magical population is not big enough for them and when a child is orphaned he’s given to the closest relative. Sometimes the Ministry goes back up to five generations for that.”

The conversation came to an abrupt halt when Robert, Amelia’s brother, swooped in and whisked her away to rejoin their family. Lily opened her mouth to ask one more question, but at that very moment her father materialized from the crowd, spotting her with relief and warmth in his eyes. She barely had time to wave before he pulled her into a hug, prompting the inevitable introductions between him and Marlene. In the swirl of farewells and reunions, any further talk of Rick’s situation was pushed aside, but it lingered heavily in their thoughts, unfinished and unresolved.

Outside platform 9¾, Rick was met by McGonagall, much to his astonishment, he hadn’t expected anyone, let alone the Deputy Headmistress, to be waiting for him. Even more surprising was her appearance: clad in sharply tailored Muggle clothes, she looked both perfectly at ease and oddly imposing, like a hawk dressed as a schoolmistress on a covert assignment. The outfit suited her with startling elegance, lending her an unshakable air of composure that made the bustling Muggle crowd instinctively part around her.

“Professor? What are you doing here?”

“Bringing you back to the Orphanage at the end of the school year is part of my duties as your magical guardian.”

“There is no need. It’s only one hour away on foot.”

“Need or not, Mister Wald, I’m still accompanying you.”

Knowing full well that resistance was futile, Rick gave a resigned nod and started toward the station exit, Minerva matching his pace with quiet, purposeful steps. Just as he was about to ask if they were walking the whole way, she abruptly veered into a narrow, deserted alley tucked between two brick buildings. Without breaking stride, she reached out and seized his shoulder with a practiced grip, decisive, unflinching, and utterly McGonagall.

“We’re going to apparate, you might find yourself a bit disoriented on arrival.”

“Apparate? Isn’t it what I did that one time when-”

“Yes.”

“I wasn’t disoriented back then.” he said quizzically.

“Because you’re the one who apparated. What you’re going to do now is called side apparating. I will apparate and take you with me. It wouldn’t be as smooth for you.”

“Oh, I see.” He gripped the handle of his trunk tightly and took a deep breath then nodded to Minerva to signal her he was ready.

Next thing he knew, it felt as though the universe had decided to crumple him up like parchment and shove him through the eye of a needle. Every inch of his body compressed, twisted, and turned inside out, until, just as abruptly, everything snapped back into place. He landed hard, his knees buckling as he toppled backwards onto the cold ground with a graceless thud. The world tilted, his stomach churned, and he fought down a rising wave of nausea that clawed at the back of his throat.

“Take deep breaths, it will pass in a moment.” he heard his professor advised as she put a hand on his shoulder.

Doing as instructed, Rick took several deep breaths, and just as McGonagall had promised, the nausea began to fade. Rising to his feet and brushing off the grime from his fall, he glanced around and immediately recognized the location. They stood in a narrow alley opposite Wool’s Orphanage, its tall, forbidding silhouette casting a long shadow that felt like it reached straight into his chest. The gray stone, the rusted gates, the air of weary neglect, nothing had changed, and yet it struck him harder than ever. His heart sank. McGonagall, sharp eyed and understanding, noticed his reaction and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, her voice softer than usual as she tried to reassure him.

“It’s only for two months, Mister Wald and unlike before, you have Miss McKinnon, Bones and Evans to talk to.”

“You’re right, Professor.” he replied, a small smile finding its way on his lips. “How will I get my supplies for the coming school year?”

“Every summer on the first of August, I and other professors guide first year muggle born and their family through Diagon Alley to help them familiarize themselves with the magical world so they can do their shopping on their own the subsequent years. The… tour begins at ten in the morning. Be present in front of Gringotts at 9:30 so I can give you your funds. Just in case I will send you a letter a few days before as a reminder.”

Rick nodded and wished her a good summer, his voice quiet but steady. After a quick glance in both directions, he crossed the street and approached the iron gate of the orphanage. The familiar creak of its hinges felt heavier than usual as he stepped through and closed it behind him. When he turned back, McGonagall had already vanished without a trace, like a ghost of the life he was leaving behind.

Crossing the cracked courtyard, he made his way into the dimly lit lobby and found Miss Willson at the reception desk, hunched over a ledger. He greeted her with a polite nod and a few words, exchanged out of routine rather than warmth. She acknowledged him with a distracted hum, never quite meeting his eyes.

With practiced steps, Rick ascended to the third floor and entered his bedroom. It was just as he’d left it, sterile, impersonal, and a far cry from the cozy chaos of his dormitory at Hogwarts. He placed his trunk at the foot of his narrow bed, sat down heavily on the stiff mattress, and stared out the window at the gray sky overhead.

‘It’s only two months.’

Unsurprisingly, the thought didn’t cheer him up.