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Chapter 76: “Clubs”
🕑 Added 2024-02-21 22:14:58 +0000 UTCIt was five minutes to seven in the evening. James was already heading up to the 7th floor to the disused classroom. He was alone. He had his wand ready to pull it out at any moment just in case.
'We'll see who sent the two mysterious letters,' thought James, looking at the old wooden door of the disused classroom.
As he was about to open the door, he heard a couple of voices that seemed to be in a heated argument. One voice belonged to a man as it was low-pitched. The other voice was higher pitched and sounded female.
'Should I go in...?' thought James. He decided to go in. After all, they had summoned him there.
The classroom was in poor condition. There was a lot of dust, poor lighting, and many stacked desks. Shelves filled with old books and lots of cobwebs.
Near the center of the classroom, he could see the two people arguing. They were a blond boy and a black-haired girl. The boy seemed more relaxed and had a friendly smile. The girl, on the other hand, seemed to have a stronger temper.
What surprised James the most was seeing Gwen behind the black-haired girl. As always his friend had a haughty look on her face. Behind the blonde boy was a girl with short hair and a stoic face.
'What is Gwen doing here? And why are there people from so many houses gathered here?' thought James confused. He was ready for combat after being summoned to this disused classroom, but it didn't seem to be the case.
What most caught his attention was that the blond boy was in a wheelchair. He had never noticed it before, and it was something striking. The boy was wearing a Hufflepuff uniform. The girl behind him was also from the same house. On the other hand, the girl next to Gwen was from Ravenclaw.
Everyone hearing the door looked towards James, who didn't know how to proceed in such a situation.
"Oh, we were just talking about you," said the black-haired girl as she approached James with a confident smile.
"About me? Did you send me those strange letters?" asked James with his guard lowered, since there was Gwen there.
"First, let me introduce myself. My name is Erika Rath fifth year. I'm from Ravenclaw. Nice to meet you, James Potter," said the girl with a smile, as she stretched out her hand.
"Nice to meet you too..." said James with a strange look on his face as he waved at Erika.
"Don't beat me to it, Erika. Hi, Murphy McNully. The next best professional Quidditch commentator in the magical world. Nice to meet you," said the blond boy, as his wheelchair moved on its own and arrived near James.
"A pleasure," said James, now accepting Murphy's handshake.
"You must be wondering why we summoned you here and what we want," said Erika with a slight smile as she saw James' confused expression.
James nodded slightly as he looked at Erika. He found it strange that two older students wanted to talk to him. He looked at Gwen, but Gwen hadn't said anything, just watched silently.
"The two of us, we come on behalf of the Dragon Club to give you an invitation to join the club," Erika said with a confident face, as she included Gwen.
"Chiara and I, we come on behalf of the Sphinx Club. We want you to join us," said Murphy, who didn't want to be left behind.
"Dragon Club...? Sphinx Club...? What's that?" asked James with a more confused expression than before. At least now he knew that DC stood for Club Dragon and SC, Sphinx Club.
Hearing this, everyone in the classroom put on surprised expressions, except Gwen, who seemed to be expecting this, 'It was possible that he does not know anything about the clubs....' sighed Gwen as she shook her head.
Erika, who had a confident attitude before, didn't know how to proceed, "You don't know anything about the three big clubs?" she asked.
"Mm, they don't ring a bell. Are they clubs like the dueling club?" asked James.
"No! Well, actually yes, but there are important differences," said Erika as she thought about how to explain to James. She hadn't come prepared for this.
"Let me explain," said Murphy, clearing his throat.
"The three big clubs are exclusive clubs led by Hogwarts students themselves. There is the Club: Sphinx, Dragon and Hippogriff. They are over a hundred years old since their inception..." began Murphy patiently explaining.
After about 20 minutes where he told him all the history of the three clubs his explanation ended, "That's all," he said as he caught his breath.
James processed the information in his brain. They were very exclusive clubs. You couldn't join the dueling club that anyone could join.
Instead, in these three clubs you could join them only if the current members agreed and decided to send you an invitation. From what he told you, they are very famous among all Hogwarts students, as they are over a hundred years old.
Each club is looking for new members with specific skills or great talent in those areas. For one, the Sphinx Club specializes in Transfiguration, Astronomy, Flying, and Quidditch.
The Dragon Club specializes in Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Dueling. As for the Hippogriff Club, he doesn't know, as he wasn't invited by them.
'Whoa...' thought James with surprise at the incredible history these clubs had.
They were founded in 1800 by three students: Skylar Flame (Sphinx), Margaretta Ironbark (Dragon), and Olin Oakwood (Hippogriff). According to the story Murphy told him, the three were best friends and were part of a single club, but for some reason, they fell out and ended up splitting up. Each of them created a different club and dedicated themselves to the areas of study they liked the most.
"Are you part of the dragon club?" asked James, looking at Gwen.
"Yes... I joined several months ago," replied Gwen a little awkwardly, as she had still been talking to James since that incident.
"It's such an honor to receive the invitation to our club! Besides, rarely do freshmen get to have an invitation," commented Erika.
"I see..." said James. It was certain that because of his duel against Rabastan, he had caught the attention of these exclusive clubs. He had wiped the floor with an heir of an ancient pureblood family.
"The Sphinx Club, it's perfect for you. You can learn a lot about Quidditch, Flying, and Transfiguration. You like Quidditch, right?" said Murphy, though he already knew the answer. He had done some research on James before coming to convince him to join his club.
When he arrived he didn't think there would also be the Dragon Club wanting to steal their new member, so he had to take the initiative.
"Don't listen to him! Dragon Club is the one for you. I know what I'm saying. Your dueling skills are very good. If you join our club you can improve. There are many exclusive books in our library," Erika said quickly.
A heated discussion began between Murphy and Erika. Both want to convince James to join their club. Each told of the benefits they could bestow on him.
How the clubs had few members, when they decided to invite a new one they took it very seriously if they had to compete with another club.
"Which one will you join!?" they asked in unison after ten minutes.
"Mm... What are the schedules? I have quidditch training on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday," asked James.
"There is no schedule. We get together when we want to. We're not like those silly clubs that have to be on a schedule," Erika replied with contempt for the normal clubs. Murphy nodded agreeing with her.
'That's good...' thought James. He never thought that his previous problem would be solved without having to do anything. The problem with normal clubs was schedules, but now he didn't have that problem anymore.
"Well, what's your choice?" asked Erika.
Silence reigned, and everyone looked at James. Gwen was staring at him with a frown. She seemed to want to say something to him through her mind, though she couldn't.
'You better pick our club or else...' thought Gwen. She had already been angry when James was chosen in Gryffindor, but she couldn't blame him, as that was up to the sorting hat.
After a few seconds of contemplation, James replied, "Club Dragon," A slight smile formed on Gwen's face as she heard his response.
"Good choice, mate!" said Erika, brutally patting James' shoulder, who looked like he was getting used to such treatment.
"May I know why?" asked Murphy, sighing in defeat.
"I indeed like quidditch, but I already have the Gryffindor team for that, and I'm more into Defense Against the Dark Arts and dueling," James answered honestly. He already had William and the others to talk about Quidditch to exhaustion.
Besides, if the Dragon Club had dueling in their specialties it meant they must have friendly duels between them, and it was just what he was looking for to test his new offensive and defensive charms. To gain experience.
Murphy respectfully said goodbye to everyone and left along with his partner who hadn't said a word since James walked in. The only different thing he could observe was the slight frown.
"Today is already late. Can you come to the club tomorrow? There will be a welcome party for you. They are special occasions when there is a new member," said Erika.
"Okay. Where?" asked James.
"I'll pick you up-
"I'll do it. You can wait for him with everyone already there," interrupted Gwen.
"Okay. It's already dinner time and I'm starving," said Erika, who unlike Murphy didn't look too neat, to say the least.
"See you tomorrow, James," Gwen said goodbye quickly and without giving James time to try to make conversation.
