Chapter 148
Chapter 148
No matter how long the young wizards discussed the attack, bedtime eventually sent everyone back to their own beds.
In the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey lowered the curtains around Suer’s bed, hiding him from sight, and then retired for the night herself.
The minutes ticked past.
Without warning, firelight flared behind the curtains surrounding Suer’s bed, casting a human silhouette upon the fabric. A moment later, the flames flashed again.
Nothing that happened in the ward disturbed anyone. It seemed as though something had changed, yet also as though nothing had happened at all.
…
On the eighth floor, inside the headmaster’s office, two people and a bird took shape amid the flames.
Suer rubbed the back of his head as he collapsed onto a sofa. Heaven only knew what he had endured at noon.
Snape had led him into the corridor no one dared enter and announced that he intended to test the results of Suer’s studies.
What followed had been entirely one-sided abuse. Suer was still a child!
He could hardly bear to remember it. He had used every spell he knew, yet Snape had casually swatted each one aside. When a spell could not be dodged, Snape simply raised a defensive charm where he stood.
Throughout the entire encounter, Suer had not once broken through his defence, nor had he heard Snape utter a single incantation.
If Snape was already this powerful, what of Voldemort, who was stronger still? What of Dumbledore?
Terrifying.
A single lesson from Snape had ruthlessly shattered Suer’s pride in mastering two advanced forms of magic.
Not only that, but while duelling Suer one-on-one — no, while crushing him without resistance — Snape had continued to mock him.
For example:
“I could identify the path of your spell without using my eyes.”
“If your skull were not stuffed with rushes, you would not imagine that a spell fit for a three-year-old could trouble an adult wizard.”
“Against a troll, I would at least have to consider avoiding its club. Against you, I need not move my feet.”
In short, the assault had been both physical and psychological.
At the end, Snape had behaved like an utter brute and forced a bottle of potion down Suer’s throat. It had tasted both fishy and bitter.
Even now, the flavour lingered in Suer’s mouth.
“I want to report Professor Snape.” Suer rubbed the back of his head for a long while. Only when it hurt less did he complain indignantly to Dumbledore.
“He abuses students.”
Professor Dumbledore merely smiled and sent a glass of juice drifting towards Suer with magic.
“Thank you for your trouble, Mr Bones.”
Suer accepted the juice and could not resist one more complaint. “It was nothing, Professor. It would only have been better if Professor Snape could have been a little gentler.”
“I shall tell him.” Dumbledore nodded, still smiling.
Suer drained the juice in one breath. Its sweet taste finally dispelled every trace of fishy bitterness from his mouth. After taking a moment to recover, he asked, “Is there anything else you need me to do, Professor?”
“No, Mr Bones.” Dumbledore shook his head. “You have already done more than enough.”
“Have you finished the books I gave you? I imagine you now possess at least a general understanding of Occlumency.”
Suer nodded, then shook his head.
“I haven’t finished some of them. They’re too abstruse, so I’ve had to consult more material in the library.”
Dumbledore did not appear surprised.
“Then you will go to Severus next. He will teach you how to use this magic. Learn it as quickly as you can; it is extremely important for protecting your gift.”
“You will, of course, use your Animagus form. Until this affair is over, it would be best if you did not appear in the castle.”
“What do you think, Mr Bones?”
Suer suddenly began to cough, having choked on his own saliva. He had suspected that Dumbledore would see through his Christmas journey into the Forbidden Forest to complete his Animagus transformation, but having the secret exposed so directly still left him…
“I have no intention of investigating the form your Animagus takes. Everyone ought to have a few secrets worth protecting, should they not?” Dumbledore winked at Suer and continued warmly, “Filius tells me that you have also learnt the Patronus Charm.”
“To be honest, your talent has exceeded my expectations. Many wizards might spend their entire lives unable to master either one of those two forms of magic. Your parents would be proud of you.”
“You’re too kind, Professor.” Suer swallowed and shook his head with a guileless smile. “I’ve merely been fortunate.”
“But fortune is also part of one’s ability, is it not?” Dumbledore handed Suer’s wand back to him.
“I would guess that this wand is not one of Garrick’s creations?”
Suer accepted the wand and stared blankly for quite some time. Garrick who? He had never known that Mr Ollivander’s full name was Garrick Ollivander.
The old man and the boy talked for a long while in the headmaster’s office. At last, the stone gargoyle outside quietly moved aside, and a small badger poked its head out before slipping away.
Once inside the Room of Requirement, Suer found that it had produced a bed every bit as soft as the one in his dormitory. He returned to human form and sprawled across it in relief.
Dumbledore had invited him to stay temporarily in the headmaster’s office.
That would never do!
The only person who could share his bed was, of course…
That night, moonlight spilled like flowing water across the Black Lake. For the first time in ages, Harry sat by the window and gazed at the shimmering surface in the distance. Now and then, a long tentacle broke through the water before falling back beneath it.
Carefree Ron slept soundly. Neville had worried for a long time before falling asleep, but now he too was snoring.
At dawn, when the sun had only just leapt above the mountain on the far side of the grounds, the Gryffindor common room was already in uproar.
The Weasley twins climbed dejectedly through the portrait hole.
They had tried to use their knowledge of Hogwarts’ secret passages to wander around the castle.
For two such restless people, confinement in the common room was no different from imprisonment, and naturally they could not accept it.
Unfortunately, not long after they descended from the tower through a hidden passage, Snape caught them red-handed. Given the gravity of the situation, he showed no mercy. With a sweep of his hand, he deducted twenty points apiece from George and Fred.
Twenty points each! George and Fred could scarcely believe their ears.
Neville woke Harry and Ron. After washing hurriedly in the common lavatory, they sat in a daze in the common room.
Hermione emerged before long. The dark circles beneath her eyes made it clear that she had barely slept.
“Hermione…” Harry waved to her. Her hair was bushier and wilder than ever.
Exhausted from the lack of sleep and still distracted by the previous day’s shock, Hermione stared for several seconds before reacting.
“What is it, Harry?” she asked, covering a yawn with one hand.
“I thought about it for a long time last night…” Harry glanced around and lowered his voice. “I have a plan…”
And he talked, and talked, and talked…