"Harry Potter and the Shadows of Merlin"

Draco Malfoy felt deeply frustrated seeing Dana in the spotlight.

Yet even he had to admit—the criminal's flying skills were incredible! As good as Archie Hipworth, the Seeker for the Ballycastle Bats.

Well, Dana did come from the Avery family. Though he'd taken the initiative to sever ties, the noble pure-bloodline still flowed in his veins. It was only natural he'd have such abilities.

Maybe this Emrys isn't so bad after all.

Malfoy shook his head violently, trying to rid himself of the thought. What was he thinking? This guy was his enemy! Just moments ago, Dana had cast a spell on him!

"Yes, he is the enemy!" Draco blurted aloud.

"Draco, what are you saying?" Crabbe asked beside him, puzzled by Malfoy's sudden outburst.

Startled, Draco realized he had spoken without meaning to.

"Um... nothing." He quickly shook his head and decided not to think about Dana anymore. Thinking about him only made him irritated.

There were happier things to dwell on today—why ruin his mood?

After all, Harry Potter had disobeyed a professor and been caught red-handed by the Deputy Headmistress! He had been taken away. Surely, he was in serious trouble now!

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall was facing a dilemma.

Right after class, Madam Hooch had rushed to find her.

"Minerva, listen—Dana Emrys is a flying genius. He pulled off maneuvers on an old school broomstick that 99% of professional players can't do!"

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Yes!" Madam Hooch nodded fervently. "That child only needs a bit of practice, and he could easily go pro!"

"That's excellent news. But Rolanda, why are you telling me this now?"

"Because a student with that kind of potential should be playing Quidditch—now, Minerva. Shouldn't you be recruiting him to the school team?"

McGonagall hesitated.

"But I've already introduced Harry Potter to Oliver Wood. Hogwarts has never had a first-year student on the House team before—I've already made an exception for Harry. If I make another one..."

Madam Hooch interrupted with a dismissive wave.

"So what if you've already made one exception? What's the harm in making another?"

McGonagall sighed.

"You're missing the bigger picture. Dana's...situation is delicate. After what happened—after he was wrongfully imprisoned in Azkaban—most students now avoid him. If he joins the team under these circumstances, his teammates might ostracize him. That could kill his enthusiasm for Quidditch altogether. And being ostracized is not something any eleven-year-old should go through. He's already endured a month of isolation."

Madam Hooch frowned but said nothing.

McGonagall continued, "Fred and George already have perfect coordination—they're irreplaceable. Harry is small and agile—he's perfect as Seeker. That only leaves Wood as Keeper and the three Chaser spots. Dana's best fit is clearly as a Chaser. But replacing any of the current ones will upset the remaining two—and Chasers must have good chemistry. It's the most teamwork-intensive role on the field."

Madam Hooch fell silent. McGonagall was right.

"Such a pity," she finally muttered. "He's such a promising talent..."

"Seeker?" Ron nearly choked on his pie.

"But first-years never—wait, wow, you must be the youngest House team member in ages!"

"In a century!" Harry said, eyes glowing.

"That's what Wood told me!"

Just then, Dana entered the Great Hall and sat quietly at the end of the long table. Harry saw him and eagerly moved closer.

"Dana! Guess what—I've been chosen for the Gryffindor Quidditch team!"

Dana offered a warm smile.

"Then I should congratulate you, Harry. I believe you'll bring us many victories."

"They say I'm the first first-year in a century to make the team!"

Harry looked ecstatic. Dana didn't want to dampen his joy, so he offered some friendly encouragement:

"That's incredible, Harry. You'll be in Hogwarts: A History for sure—maybe even the Hall of Fame!"

Harry beamed. Being selected for the House team gave him a huge boost in confidence. It also made him feel closer to Dana. Beans should stick with beans, cabbage with cabbage, as the saying went.

But then Malfoy arrived. And provoked him.

He challenged Harry to a duel.

"Potter, you can't ask Dana Emrys to help you! If you rely on a criminal, then even if you win, it won't be honorable!"

"Dana is not a criminal!" Harry snapped, trying to stay calm.

"And I don't need Dana's help to deal with you!"

So Harry shut the door on asking Dana for help. Instead, he turned to Ron to talk it over—and, of course, Hermione overheard.

Dana, meanwhile, observed everything quietly.

As expected, the famous trio was heading toward their first real adventure—on the fourth floor, right-hand corridor.

But this had nothing to do with Dana.

He was completely immersed in the sea of magical knowledge.

The library had become his favorite place at Hogwarts. His schedule was packed: attending regular classes, devouring books in the library, and receiving extra lessons from Professor McGonagall on weekends.

He'd discovered talent in many areas. Clearly, bloodline did play a role.

Even though Dumbledore had worked hard to promote equality between pure-bloods and Muggle-borns, Dana had to admit: a strong bloodline often made things easier.

Look at the core members of the Order of the Phoenix—how many were Muggle-born? Almost all were pure-bloods or half-bloods.

That's why Hermione Granger's eventual brilliance was so exceptional. She truly was a rare talent.

Dana immersed himself in astronomy, alchemy, potions, ancient runes, herbology… and more.

He paid special attention to Herbology for a while—after all, when he played Hogwarts Legacy, he loved using Chinese Chomping Cabbages in combat.

Unfortunately, Chinese Chomping Cabbages were now a restricted species—perhaps because a certain Dark wizard had weaponized them in the past century. You couldn't buy the seeds in ordinary herb stores anymore.

Time passed quickly. Halloween approached.

Dana knew that something would surely go wrong at Hogwarts on Halloween.

And this year, it was going to be Professor Quirrell (with Voldemort attached) letting a troll into the castle. The Trio would deal with it—and Gryffindor would lose house points in the process.

So Dana decided to avoid the chaos.

With Dumbledore around, there was no real danger anyway. The Trio would be fine.

In the original timeline, Ron knocked out the troll using the Levitation Charm.

Dana had always found that scene odd—Ron couldn't master the charm in class, but suddenly nailed it under pressure?

Sure, maybe he was the kind who thrived in crises, but lifting a huge wooden club with Wingardium Leviosa? That took real magical power.

Ever wonder why feathers are used in class to teach levitation?

There was only one logical conclusion:

Dumbledore had secretly intervened.

With that in mind, Dana skipped the Halloween feast entirely. He smuggled some apple pie back to the dormitory earlier in the day, just in case Harry came looking for him to help with the troll incident.

Sure enough—

"Ron, we have to find Hermione!" Harry said urgently.

"What? Why?"

"She doesn't know!"

"Know what?"

"That a troll has gotten into the castle!"

Ron pressed his lips together.

"Alright, let's go find her. But we'd better avoid Percy."

"And we need to find Dana too!" Harry added.

"Why him?" Ron frowned.

"Because he's really powerful!"

Ron shook his head.

"Harry, don't do this! Dana is powerful, sure—but so are you! Have you forgotten? You're the first first-year in a century to make the House team!"

Ron wasn't exactly sure how Quidditch skill would help with a troll, but his words bolstered Harry.

Besides, how bad could their luck be? Surely, they wouldn't actually run into the troll… right?

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