"What did I miss?" I whispered, finding a spot in the great hall at the back of the Ravenclaw table beside Samantha and Quinn.
"In two weeks, all eligible witches and wizards will be presented to the Chair of Wizarding Courtship," Quinn grinned. "We shall wear gowns!"
"One witch and one wizard will be declared the Incomparables, the diamonds of the season," Samantha added. "Obviously two purebloods will be named."
"We don't know that for certain." Quinn frowned cutely. "But, probably."
"What are we whispering about?" Everett Clopton, a lad who had more book smarts than people smarts, inserted himself to the conversation from across the table.
"Oh, go away." Samantha hissed. "Listen, Black is saying something important."
"There are two new faculty members I'd like to introduce," Headmaster Black announced. "First, is Piers Pemberton, replacing the late Professor Fig as a guest lecturer on magic theory, and offering a new class on Muggle art."
The hall greeted Piers Pemberton with hesitant applause. I knew he had a rivalry with the groundskeeper, Professor Moon, and had been behind the Demiguise statues that had tormented him all around Hogwarts. Lord Pemberton was a bitter man with a disheveled appearance, and I honestly never considered he may possess the ability to become a professor. But yet, here he was, dining on chicken and giving everyone a shifty look.
"I'd also like to introduce Lord Troy Bart, the new flying instructor. Thanks to Lord Bart, Quidditch has returned to Hogwarts." The students reacted with cheers. "He will have big shoes- or, rather, quidditch gloves- to fill as Madame Kogawa has decided to pursue professional Quidditch coaching."
Lord Bart, seated at the edge of the faculty table, appeared to be a stern looking man with short silver hair and distinct frown lines. He did not wave.
"Furthermore," Headmaster Black dabbed nervous perspiration from his brow with a handkerchief, "In order to give proper attention to the ever important courtship season, it is with much careful consideration, that we have decided the Quidditch teams this year shall be male students only."
The student body erupted in a wave of shock. However, above the murmurs and discontent, there came a distinct, blood-curdling scream.
"NOOOOOOOO!"
I immediately thought someone was dying. Looking around for who could have been injured, or maimed, I discovered the scream had come from none other than Imelda Reyes. She sat at the Slytherin table looking pale and agonized, as though someone had just told her that her entire family had died.
"Oh, poor Imelda," I said. "She didn't get to play last year, either." I was disappointed in Black's decision as well, but I knew I likely wouldn't have made the team due to my terrible eyesight. Without my glasses on, I couldn't tell a bludger from a snitch.
Black's decision to exclude women from Quidditch was utterly sexist. It made me detest the courtship season even more than I already did.
I looked to Everett. "You'll be on the team, won't you Everett?"
Everett balked, his eyes shifting nervously. Everett didn't seem too excited by Quidditch; he'd rather fly wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted. "Um... sure, I mean... I don't know. Maybe Duncan will be beater this year!"
Eyes went to Duncan Hobhouse, a quiet, homely boy who was scared of almost everything.
"Duncan? He'd run away from the bludger and get frightened by the snitch," Andrew Larson said bluntly.
What Andrew said was not false. Even though Duncan was well aware of his cowardly nature, I could see that the comment stung him nonetheless.
"We'll still have a decent season." I tried to keep it positive, and take the attention away from poor Duncan. "Without Imelda playing, we may have a chance at beating Slytherin this year."
"A final announcement," Headmaster Black declared. "At the end of the school year, there shall be a ball to celebrate all the successful matches."
That seemed to liven everyone's spirits a bit. While Quinn and Samantha bonded over what gowns they would wear, and how they would do their hair, I was struck by a strange note of sadness, as I thought of the people who could not be here tonight.
Sebastian would have thought this was ridiculous. Everyone running around the castle, hyper-fixated on marriage. Even Ominis was not immune to being lovestruck- oh, how Sebastian would have loved to tease him about that.
The last thing Sebastian had said to me was that he was glad we met. That simple sentence had destroyed me every day since, and I could not get him out of my mind.