"Ron, Harry… want to join our club?"
It was Parvati who came over to ask — big eyes, long lashes, a very pretty girl. She was the one who'd told Sean and the others about Hermione before Halloween.
"What club?"
Harry was confused. He'd only ever heard of the Quidditch Club; Ron had only heard of the Wizard Chess Club.
"The Castle Familiar Club. You mean you really don't know?"
Parvati covered her mouth in mock shock. She glanced at Justin and Hermione, looking genuinely surprised.
Lavender beside her widened her eyes too, looking equally incredulous.
"Sorry, what kind of group is the Castle Familiar Club?"
Ron realized he was a bit behind and asked, embarrassed.
"Well, I'm delighted I get to explain it again. You've seen the Lucky Statue on the third floor, right? That's one of the proofs of the Castle Familiar's existence… although honestly, it's strange you don't know. If you've ever lost House points for sneaking out at night, you should have had a chance to see the Castle Familiar."
Parvati rattled all of this off in one breath.
Harry and Ron suddenly understood.
"That statue was real?! But why would night–time wandering let you see… the Castle Familiar?"
Ron yelped.
"Good question. Let me tell you about its deeds… It's the Herald of Christmas Night, the Castle Familiar who governs good fortune.
Haven't you noticed? Ever since Christmas, Hogwarts has had good luck non–stop.
Mr. Green has released multiple volumes of Green's Notes in different subjects, loads of kids sneaking out at night have been rescued by the Castle Familiar, Mr. Filch isn't as terrifying as before, even Professor Snape actually points out little key details in class… and now, there's even a great alchemist appearing at Hogwarts!
We believe all of this is thanks to the Castle Familiar who rules over luck!"
Lavender's eyes sparkled. She took out two club invitations, each printed with a photo of a black cat, and handed them to Harry and Ron.
"By the way, our club got approved faster than any other club in Hogwarts history! So please, think about it. Our time at Hogwarts is short…
If no one manages to touch its ear, we'll be total failures."
Parvati sounded both proud and disappointed — proud of the approval speed, disappointed in the club's "results."
After handing the forms to Harry and Ron, they left.
The Great Hall was noisy as ever, with students everywhere trying to recruit for one club or another.
They really didn't have much time before the year ended, so the club's vice–president had come up with this plan — more people, more power.
"If you touch Its ear, you'll be lucky for a whole year…"
Ron turned the invite over in his hands, eyes full of curiosity. Hogwarts students were always fascinated by oddities hidden in the castle.
Otherwise they wouldn't spend so much time studying paintings or hunting for hidden passages — in this magical castle, anything was possible.
This was Hogwarts, after all.
"This is interesting — look, they even wrote down the Lucky Cat's activity routes. It actually helps students on their night–time wanderings… Merlin's beard, if it had helped us that time, we wouldn't have lost so many points…"
Ron sighed.
Harry pictured it: if that black cat had helped them avoid Professor McGonagall that night, he supposed they would have been pretty grateful themselves.
"Sean, you joining?"
Ron asked without thinking.
Sean noticed Justin already laughing so hard he could barely sit up straight. Hermione had her head down, shoulders shaking.
"No. And you two probably shouldn't either."
Sean said helplessly as he packed his things and stood to leave the Hall.
He really did think Hogwarts students had way too much free time.
Before he left, he followed a faint, inexplicable instinct and glanced at the staff table. Dumbledore was smiling at him over his goblet, hand pausing mid–lift.
"Uh—right. Well, Harry and I are kind of interested. Justin, you lot want to join?"
Ron exchanged a look with Harry, then turned to Justin.
He felt like they were a team and ought to act together.
Justin, who'd just been enjoying the show, gave a bright, gentle smile.
"No need."
"Oh… I thought you'd be interested…"
Ron's face reddened in the firelight.
"He said 'no need' because he's already in it. And he's the vice–president."
Hermione said, still smiling.
"Huh?!"
"Seriously?!"
Harry and Ron both stared.
"Is that why you never got caught night–wandering?"
Harry asked, belatedly suspicious.
"That's not it."
Justin said.
"What about you, Hermione? You joined too?"
"Mmm–hmm."
Hermione lifted her chin.
Sean, who hadn't quite left the table yet, put his book down and gave them a look.
"We're allowed a bit of fun, aren't we, Sean?"
Justin said with a forced straight face. Anyone could see he was on the verge of cracking up.
"What about Neville?"
Harry asked, catching on, and looked over to see Neville give a tiny nod.
"H–Hannah asked me to… and I… didn't say no."
Neville muttered, not daring to look at Sean.
"So everyone is in!"
Ron perked right up, then his expression turned awkward as he cautiously asked Sean,
"Sean, you really don't want to join?"
By now Justin was laughing too hard to sit up, and Hermione had turned away, mumbling, "Idiot."
"What are you laughing at? You haven't stopped."
Ron was thoroughly lost.
Harry was just as confused, and he nodded in agreement.
It was rare for the whole Hope Nook crowd to have such a lighthearted moment; ever since the Forbidden Forest incident, most of their time had gone into revision.
Sean sighed. He'd only just found out they were all in this club.
"What they're saying is all fake…"
He trailed off, suddenly realizing: yes, the "god of fortune" stuff was nonsense — but the castle really had been changing, and that change was undeniably tied to him.
"Fake… what?"
Ron leaned in, curious about Sean's reason for refusing.
"Maybe… it's true."
Sean left the Great Hall.
…
After the Castle Familiar Club's members quietly sprang into action, yet another rumor took root at Hogwarts:
The tale of a black cat roaming the castle.
It was a month of rumors — April, full of rain but, when it cleared, surprisingly dry and mild.
On those clear, mild nights, Sean would head into the Forbidden Forest to study divination magic with his centaur teacher, Firenze.
At the same time, Sean was wrestling with two problems:
Divination magic was so vague it was impossible to grasp any clear method. On top of that, the improved cleaning broom had become a headache.
One night, he happened to bump into the Weasley twins at the caretaker's office door.