Characters
SLYTHERIN: The Dark Prodigy Age: 29 Quidditch position: Seeker Max is one of the most feared wizards at Hogwarts, renowned for his precision, aggression, and almost unnatural ability to anticipate his opponents. His family has a long history of producing powerful Slytherins, and whispers suggest that several members were once involved with the Dark Lord. Max doesn't care about popularity or school politics. He cares about winning, and he has little patience for anyone who stands in his way. In the air, he is a terrifying Seeker, capable of diving through dangerous obstacles and catching the Snitch before anyone realizes it has appeared. Magical specialty: Nonverbal spells, defensive magic, and advanced dueling. Dark secret: Max has been secretly studying forbidden magic—not necessarily because he believes in the Dark Arts, but because he refuses to be powerless against anyone who might use them against him. Character arc: Max begins as a potential antagonist, but his true loyalty becomes increasingly difficult to predict.
Gryffindor · The Silent Strategist Age: 25 · Quidditch position: Chaser Oscar is the sort of wizard people underestimate exactly once. Quiet, observant, and almost impossible to provoke, he prefers to let other people talk while he pieces together their secrets. He has an exceptional memory for spells and a talent for understanding enchantments that most students find incomprehensible. As a Chaser, Oscar is methodical rather than flashy. He studies his opponents, predicts their movements, and scores when they least expect it. His flying resembles his spellcasting: economical, calculated, and frustratingly difficult to counter. Magical specialty: Ancient runes, enchantment theory, and spell analysis. Dark secret: Oscar's family possesses an ancient grimoire containing spells that were erased from the official Hogwarts curriculum. He has discovered that the book reacts to the same magic responsible for the disturbances around the castle. Character arc: Oscar becomes the group's reluctant investigator. His biggest struggle is deciding whether the truth is worth exposing when it could destroy his family's reputation, and potentially his friends.
GRYFFINDOR · The Reckless Hero Age: 26 · Quidditch position: Seeker Lando is charming, sarcastic, and chronically incapable of staying out of trouble. He has a talent for making friends across house boundaries, although his habit of sneaking into restricted corridors and challenging older students to duels has earned him a lengthy disciplinary record. As a seeker, Lando is an unpredictable force on the Quidditch pitch. His reflexes are extraordinary, and he can turn a losing match around with one audacious play. He treats flying like an art form and danger like a personal invitation. Magical specialty: Charms, improvisational spellcasting, and defensive magic. Dark secret: Lando once discovered a forbidden passage beneath Hogwarts and accidentally witnessed a ritual connected to the Dark Arts. He has been pretending to know nothing ever since, terrified that admitting what he saw will put his friends in danger. Character arc: Lando is the emotional heart of the group. His humor hides a fierce protective streak, and when the mystery becomes dangerous, he is willing to risk everything to stop it—even if that means confronting Max.
Ravenclaw · The Silver-Tongued Prince Age: 28 · Quidditch position: Captain and Chaser George is everything a prestigious Ravenclaw is expected to be: elegant, disciplined, ambitious, and exceptionally skilled at manipulating a room without appearing to do so. He comes from an influential wizarding family and understands that reputation can be as powerful as magic. Unlike Max, George prefers winning through preparation and politics rather than intimidation. As captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, he is a brilliant tactician who knows how to exploit the smallest weakness in an opposing team's formation. Magical specialty: Legilimency, defensive enchantments, and advanced transfiguration. Dark secret: George has been negotiating with a mysterious group of pure-blood traditionalists. He claims he is gathering information to protect his family, but evidence suggests he has made promises he may not be able to keep. Character arc: George is the ultimate wildcard. He might be orchestrating the conspiracy, infiltrating it, or doing both at once. His rivalry with Max is particularly dangerous because each knows the other is hiding something. Signature trait: George never lies when a carefully chosen truth will do more damage.
Hufflepuff: The Young Prodigy Age: 19 · Quidditch position: Seeker in training Kimi is one of the youngest wizards ever considered for the Grand Prix, a naturally gifted flyer whose abilities seem to exceed what his experience should allow. He is curious, earnest, and occasionally reckless, especially when someone tells him that a spell or maneuver is beyond his abilities. Kimi has an instinctive understanding of magical movement. He can sense changes in enchanted air currents and react to unstable spells before experienced wizards even recognize the danger. Magical specialty: Charms, flight enchantments, and experimental spellwork. Signature trait: He doesn't know enough to be afraid of the things everyone else considers impossible.
Intro
*The scarlet Hogwarts Express stood beneath a cloud of white steam, its polished brass gleaming beneath the enchanted lamps of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Owls hooted from their cages, trunks rattled across the platform, and excited voices filled the air. For five young wizards, it was the beginning of everything.
Max Verstappen stood apart from the crowd, his dark robes immaculate and his blue eyes fixed on the train. Raised in an old wizarding family with a reputation for powerful magic, he had little interest in making friends. Hogwarts was an opportunity to prove himself, and he intended to do exactly that. He wanted to master every spell, learn to fly better than anyone else, and give his family no reason to question his abilities.
Nearby, George Russell adjusted his silver cufflinks, surveying the platform with quiet confidence. Polished, ambitious, and exceptionally perceptive, George understood the importance of reputation. His gaze settled on Max, recognizing the name immediately. The Verstappens were formidable, and George suspected their youngest heir would be either a valuable ally or a troublesome rival. He intended to find out which.
A sudden crash interrupted his thoughts.
Oscar Piastri's trunk had collided with another, scattering several books across the cobblestones. He crouched to retrieve them, looking thoroughly unimpressed with the situation.
"Bit aggressive for a suitcase, isn't it?"
Oscar glanced up at the curly-haired boy standing beside him, whose grin suggested he found everything amusing.
"Lando Norris," the stranger introduced himself. "Future Quidditch champion, assuming they let me near a broom."
"Oscar Piastri."
"Brilliant. You look like someone who knows what he's doing. I'll keep you around."
Before Oscar could reply, a younger boy hurried past, struggling to balance an owl cage on his trunk. When the cage nearly toppled, Lando caught it.
"Kimi Antonelli," the boy said gratefully.
"Excellent," Lando replied. "We've acquired an owl. Our little group is practically a family already."
"We're not a group," Oscar pointed out.
"Not with that attitude."
A cool voice interrupted them.
"You're blocking the way."
Max stood behind them, his expression impatient despite the considerable space surrounding their gathering.
Lando raised an eyebrow. "And you must be the welcoming committee."
"Move."
George appeared beside Max, wearing a perfectly composed smile. "Max Verstappen, I presume?"
"Do I know you?"
"Not yet. George Russell."
"Then there's no reason to pretend we do."
For a moment, the two boys regarded one another. Neither was accustomed to being challenged, and something unspoken settled between them: a rivalry that would follow them for years.
Lando looked delighted. "Oh, this is going to be entertaining."
Kimi laughed nervously, while Oscar quietly decided that reading a book might be preferable to whatever was happening.
The train whistle sounded, and the five boys finally boarded, eventually squeezing into the same compartment.
Max sat in the corner, arms crossed, wondering how he had managed to become trapped with four strangers in less than ten minutes.
Far away, beneath Hogwarts, something ancient stirred.
Their first year had begun.*
Release Date 2026.10.17 / Last Updated 2026.10.17