Chapter 151
Chapter 151
Hermione’s enthusiasm for becoming an Animagus surpassed all expectations. Questions tumbled one after another from her mouth, leaving Suer struggling to answer. Even he understood some of them only vaguely.
Ultimately, he was merely a fortunate wizard whose talent had carried him through the magic successfully.
He therefore chose to visit the library and bring Hermione the book describing the Animagus process.
He could not appear in human form in a place where young wizards normally gathered, but fortunately the castle was under lockdown and the library stood almost empty. Almost — Madam Pince, the librarian, never left it.
With the young wizards confined to their towers and the school currently on holiday, Suer arrived to find Madam Pince dozing in her own little nook.
He managed to “borrow” the Animagus book with remarkable ease.
Once Hermione received it, she finally fell quiet.
Suer also remembered what he had originally intended to do.
Oh no. He had completely forgotten that he was supposed to study Occlumency with Snape, and now…
Judging from the clock still working diligently inside the room, afternoon had already arrived.
Snape had waited for him all day…
If Snape’s resentment had been fitted with a pressure gauge, the needle would now be on the verge of blowing it apart.
Faced with the storm that awaited him, Suer’s first thought was not to repair the situation but to surrender to fate.
Exactly. He would take the inevitable scolding and be done with it.
Hermione’s panicked request had caused the Room of Requirement to create an enormous and remarkably chaotic space. Every imaginable object rose in one mound after another, all of it old and buried beneath a thick layer of dust.
“If I remember correctly, isn’t this an Oakshaft 79?” Suer picked up a battered broom broken through the middle and murmured, “It’s practically an antique… what a pity…”
“Is this a Cleansweep One?” He tossed the first broom aside and picked up another with only a few twigs remaining in its tail, identifying it from the faded markings.
“Broken too…”
“Lumos.”
Only the entrance was illuminated. The farther Suer went, the darker it became. Layer upon layer of ruined furniture, heaps of broken metal vessels and suits of armour blocked every trace of light, forcing him to draw his wand and cast an illumination spell.
Suer suddenly stumbled over something buried beneath thick dust. It was a book.
He picked it up and shook it several times, sending dust cascading from the cover.
It was a magical text from the previous century, perhaps left by a student. Marks still covered its yellowed pages.
Hmm. It might have some value. He would take it back and have a look.
Farther ahead, he found several bookcases standing in a row. They were packed with books from the present century, the previous one and ages even more distant, all lying silently upon the shelves.
This room was a treasure vault. Suer’s eyes lit up.
Delighted, he pulled several books from a lower shelf and leafed through them. Much of their contents, however, consisted of things he had already seen in the library or knowledge since proven dangerous.
Others contained obscure magical theories that looked like incomprehensible scribbles.
Perhaps there was a reason they had been abandoned here.
Disappointed, Suer returned the books to the shelf.
He looked at the tightly packed bookcases. Surely not every book could be like that? During the time he was forbidden from appearing elsewhere in the castle, he decided to explore this place thoroughly. Hermione would probably find it fascinating as well.
His mind made up, he continued forwards. He passed a “rubbish heap” filled with empty glass cases, glass bottles and devices containing unidentified liquids, choosing to give them a wide berth. Heaven only knew what danger approaching them might provoke.
Clang.
A sharp noise rang out when Suer accidentally struck a pitch-black object.
Whoosh… whine…
The misshapen black object, which resembled a spinning top, seemed to awaken at Suer’s touch and began spewing great clouds of white mist.
It spun in place, its noise growing ever shriller.
Whoosh… whine…
Startled by the sudden change, Suer backed away in panic and knocked his elbow against a black stone statue.
He failed to notice the flash of red within the eyes of the huge, legless statue when he touched it.
It raised the broken sword in its hand.
Whoosh…
The blade tore through the air.
There was no time to think. Instinct drove Suer to dive forwards and transform into a small badger on the spot.
Thud…
The heavy weapon smashed into the floor, and the gust from its passage ruffled the black-and-white fur along the badger’s back.
Suer looked behind him in terror. The stone statue had fallen still after a single swing. Had he not entered his Animagus form in time, the heavy sword would have struck him squarely between the legs.
His future happiness had nearly been destroyed. He had no idea whether Madam Pomfrey could treat an injury like that.
To be safe, Suer ran several paces before returning to human form.
The black spinning top continued to whirl with a shrill whooshing whine, but otherwise nothing moved.
“What happened?” Hermione came running towards the sound. The clattering from Suer’s direction had forced her to put down her book.
“Oh!” Hermione cried as she tripped over debris lying across the floor. She stumbled several steps forwards, and one small hand landed squarely upon a piece of stone.
Suer’s pupils contracted. The stone beneath Hermione’s hand was clearly part of a stone guardian holding its sword horizontally. The instant she touched it, red light flashed beneath the statue’s armour.
It raised its sword, poised to sweep the blade across her.
“Look out!”
Suer instinctively became a small badger and raced straight towards Hermione. His hind legs kicked against the floor, launching him through the air. In mid-leap, he returned to human form and knocked Hermione to the ground an instant before the sword swept past.
Another sharp rush of displaced air sounded.
Hermione’s slight body lay beneath Suer’s. Like the black statue before it, the sword-bearing guardian stopped after a single strike.
Dust drifted down around them. Suer’s wand had fallen beside the pair, its tip emitting a faint white glow barely strong enough to illuminate their faces. It flickered, then went out.
The space abruptly fell silent. Deprived of power, the misshapen spinning top toppled onto its side with a clack.
Thump… thump… thump…
Only their racing hearts testified to the danger they had just escaped.
Hermione stared blankly at the face so close to hers. Sweat covered Suer’s brow and his breathing came fast. The lingering panic in his eyes and the modest chest above her gave Hermione an inexplicable sense of complete safety.
It seemed that while he was there, danger could never reach her.
“Are you all right?” Bracing both hands against the floor, Suer raised his upper body slightly and looked down at the girl, who appeared stunned senseless to him.
Hermione nodded numbly. A lovely pink blush raced upwards from her neck until even the tips of her ears glowed crimson.
The darkness, however, prevented Suer from seeing how captivating Hermione looked.
“I’m… I’m fine,” Hermione stammered. “I… aren’t you going to get up?”