Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Suer stared blankly at the strange scene in the dormitory.

He wondered whether he ought to be standing outside rather than watching Morn murmur gentle words of comfort to the tearful Justin, an arm around his shoulders…

“You’re back, Suer.” Morn looked up at the doorway.

Morn, who normally appeared so mild, suddenly looked terrifying.

Suer swallowed and silently took a step backwards.

I always suspected something was going on between you two. Now I’ve caught you in the act…

When Suer remained silent and did not even close the door, Morn assumed he did not know what had happened in the Great Hall. He released Justin’s shoulders, rose, and prepared to close the door before giving Suer a proper account.

But Suer, deeply shaken by what he had witnessed, recoiled in horror.

He instinctively yanked out his wand.

“D-d-don’t come any closer!”

“Petrificus Totalus!”

Morn’s expression remained fixed in astonishment as the spell struck him squarely. His face rapidly turned grey-green, and he fell rigidly back onto the bed under the curse’s effects.

“Ow…” Before Justin could react, the stiff Morn crashed into him and knocked him flat with a cry of pain.

“What are you doing?”

Suer froze. He looked at his wand, then at Morn, who had been knocked back onto the bed.

The Full Body-Bind Curse had a knockback effect?

A while later, Suer released Morn from the spell with an embarrassed smile. He sat hunched on the bed like a partridge while his two dorm mates denounced him.

Privately, he remained thoroughly unconvinced. How could they blame him?

Everyone knew the traditions of good old Britain.

A nation of gentlemen…

Besides, anyone would have misunderstood that scene!

To make amends, Suer suffered the painful loss of two Honeydukes deluxe gift hampers. Only then did the pair forgive him.

“So what exactly happened?”

Morn and Justin looked at one another.

“I’ll explain,” Morn said. “Justin… might… He might be about to die…”

Justin looked miserable and silently nodded.

Suer was stunned…

Morn then launched into another explanation. By piecing everything together, Suer eventually learnt the whole story.

“Do you think the Heir of Slytherin has already set his sights on me…?” Justin looked grief-stricken. “He knows I come from a Muggle family. I accidentally let it slip when I spoke to him.”

“Why do you think Harry wanted the snake to kill you rather than wanted it not to hurt you?” Suer thought for a moment before asking.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Morn said angrily. “Everyone knows Parseltongue is a special Slytherin ability. Only he could talk to snakes. Now Potter has the same ability, so clearly he’s the Heir of Slytherin!”

“Maybe he’s Slytherin’s great-great-great… grandson.”

“And if he wanted to stop the snake, why did he use such a terrifying tone?”

“Think about it. Couldn’t it be more obvious? Filch is a Squib. First, Potter got rid of Filch’s cat as a warning.”

“Then there was Gryffindor’s Colin Creevey. Everyone knows how much Colin likes Harry. He’s always chasing Potter around to take photographs, and Potter was obviously annoyed by him. So Colin became the second victim.”

It was supported by evidence and perfectly reasonable. If Suer had not known the real culprit, he genuinely would have believed it.

“Therefore, there can be only one truth,” Morn declared with absolute conviction. “Harry wanted the snake to kill Justin because Justin isn’t a pure-blood!”
“The purge has begun!”

“Boo hoo…” Justin broke down again and covered his face as he wept.

Even when Suer fell asleep late that night, he could still hear Justin sniffling beside him.

Overnight, thick white snow smothered the castle. Suer breathed out a cloud of white vapour and looked worriedly towards the Forbidden Forest, hoping the heavy snow would not affect the potion there. Then he hurried towards the greenhouses.

When he arrived, however, he was told that the final Herbology lesson of the term had been cancelled.

Because of the sudden heavy snow, Professor Sprout had to put socks and scarves on the Mandrakes. It was dangerous work that demanded care, and she would not entrust it to clumsy younger students.

The Mandrakes were the medicine that would save the petrified Mrs Norris and Colin Creevey.

Suer therefore returned to the castle. Using one of Lockhart’s permission slips, he borrowed Advanced Charms Explained from the library, then went back to the dormitory to learn about the Disillusionment Charm in advance.

Fortunately, Cedric was in the common room that day.

“The Disillusionment Charm? Why do you want to learn that?” Cedric elegantly closed the notebook resting on his knees and looked at Suer curiously.

“Don’t you think it’s useful? At the very least, I wouldn’t get caught when I went to the kitchens for food.” Suer casually invented an excuse.

“But the kitchens are only one corridor away from us…” Cedric rolled his eyes, lost for words. “If you’re going to make up an excuse, at least make it a good one.”

Suer laughed awkwardly…

Still, Cedric was perfectly willing to help a younger student.

“The Disillusionment Charm, let me think… Professor Flitwick did teach it to us.”

“Its weaknesses are obvious, however. It only provides camouflage, and there are many ways to see through it. The spell is useless against a wizard with sharp hearing. Footsteps, breathing and scent don’t vanish because of it.”

“Besides, the key word in Disillusionment Charm is ‘illusion’. It’s much like a chameleon. It can only make a wizard relatively invisible, not truly invisible. In other words, it makes the colour of your body match the environment behind you.”

“Can you cast it, Cedric?” Suer asked.

“I can, though I’ve never been particularly interested in the spell and only know the basics.” Cedric nodded. “But I know the fundamental wand movement and incantation.”

Suer immediately tossed the borrowed book aside and looked at Cedric with shining eyes.

“Can you teach me?”

Cedric hesitated, then nodded.

“Yes, but the spell demands a great deal of magical power. Professor Flitwick mentioned during the lesson that the strength of a Disillusionment Charm is directly proportional to the caster’s power. An ordinary person would find it very difficult to become completely invisible. Professor Dumbledore is an exception, of course. He can achieve true invisibility.”

“Moreover, a single Disillusionment Charm consumes enough magic to cast several offensive spells.”

“It is completely impractical in a real fight. The moment you move your magic to cast a spell, you reveal your position.”

Suer considered the implication behind Cedric’s words. Goodness, even gentle Cedric was fond of fighting?

Cedric continued, “Do you still want to learn it?”

“Yes!”

Suer nodded vigorously.

After all, who had never fantasised about becoming an invisible man? Ptooey!