George was enthusing about a race. Sadie perked up, and while lunch sounded fabulous, her curiosity demanded she agree. Quidditch meant broomsticks, and though Sadie wasn’t particularly fond of heights, she wanted desperately to see people in flight. Broomsticks were such a staple in the muggle view of witches and wizards. It amused her that actual witches and wizards did use them. How much of her storybooks were true?

“Alright then,” she agreed, quickening her pace so as not to be left behind by the boys. Seine grinned as George asked about the tapestry, bringing a finger to his dark temple.

“Yeah, it’s Barnabas the Barmy and his trolls,” he commented lightly, as if that sentence made any sense. Sadie didn’t question it. Inevitably she’d figure it out, and she was anxious to get to this race.  If it was the Quidditch teams participating, she realized suddenly, Brennan would be there. He wouldn’t want her there, she mused a little sadly, but as a professional Younger Sister, she felt it was her duty to cheer for him.

They stopped in the Great Hall, wrapping up sandwiches in scarlet napkins. Even the sandwiches seemed extravagantly made, and Sadie wondered who had time to make so much food for so many students. Seine chattered away, and she forced herself back into the moment, bantering brightly as they followed a crowd down to the grounds.

The grounds were lush and marvelous, rolling hills and the black lake glittering in the distance. The Forbidden Forrest loomed, its trees still and shadowed, and she wondered why a forrest needed to be off limits. 

“There’s loads of dangerous creatures in there,” Seine remarked when she posed the question. “Acromantula and thestrals, for one. My dad says there’s a giant in there, and the centaurs of course.”

“Centaurs,” Sadie repeated a little skeptically. She caught herself with a faint laugh, “Of course.”

The throng of students seemed to be settling in on the grass. The three first years found a spot (Sadie waved to Gail and Tasia, who returned the greeting) in among the other students. Standing with vaguely familiar faces, Sadie caught sight of her brother. He looked surprisingly happy, chatting with a tall girl with a massive French braid. Ooh, that was suspicious. Sadie filed the information away for later, lips curving into a mischievous grin.