Chapter 204
Chapter 204
After unexpectedly learning from Ron that the Acromantulas might be near the site of Hagrid’s lesson, Suer could hardly resist going out to investigate that very night.
“No hurry… no hurry… I should wait until the weekend… It’s only roast spider legs. Only venom worth more than a hundred Galleons a pint…”
“I’ve got Transfiguration and Charms tomorrow. Better get an early night…”
No one knew how vast the Forbidden Forest truly was. From outside, it might appear to occupy only one corner of the school grounds, but any wizard who had ventured inside would discover that its apparent area and its actual size were entirely different things.
Knowing the Acromantulas might be somewhere nearby was not enough. He would still have to search for their precise location, and that would take a great deal of time.
For delicious spider legs–no, for training and strengthening himself–it would all be worthwhile. Come on, Suer. You can do it.
He imagined the white meat releasing a rich fragrance over a blazing fire: full-flavoured, marbled with fat, faintly salty and melting the moment it touched his tongue…
An unworthy tear trickled from the corner of his mouth.
When Suer woke the next morning, he was still savouring the dream.
In it, he had displayed his full might against more than a dozen Acromantulas alone. Their legs had been heaped into a small mountain, and the roaring flames crackled so appetisingly. He had waited for what felt like an age and was just about to take his first bite when…
Dawn arrived, and the hateful alarm dragged him back to reality.
The weather was turning cold. By October, the temperature had fallen so low that even old Merlin had pulled on a thick pair of flesh-coloured tights.
“That will be all for today. When you return, I want an essay on the correct way to deal with an Erkling.” Lupin had just finished teaching Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw and was assigning their weekend homework.
No one knew where he had found this Dark creature, which ordinarily lived only in Germany’s Black Forest. Perhaps to make the lesson more memorable, he had deliberately loosened the Erkling’s restraints.
Suer and the others had gained an intimate understanding of its danger. The “cackle… cackle” it produced had entranced almost everyone and drawn them helplessly towards it.
The experience also led Suer to an unexpected discovery: the Occlumency he had learnt from Professor Snape seemed to be the perfect counter to this sort of mental assault. The magic was like a barrier around the mind, shielding him from enchantments and soul-directed Dark magic.
“The essay… let’s say Tuesday. Hand it in by next Tuesday. The usual rules apply: there is no required length, but it must say something worthwhile and contain your own views.” Professor Lupin paused, and his gaze rested on Suer for a moment. His next words plainly carried a message.
“Copying a classmate’s homework may save you a great deal of effort. Indeed, when I was a student in this castle, I sometimes did the same. But I hope you understand that Defence Against the Dark Arts is an extremely important subject. After graduation, you may encounter one of the Dark creatures I teach you about somewhere in the world.”
“So… I want you to form your own understanding through the homework and genuinely learn something useful.”
“And… when certain students ‘refer to’ someone else’s essay, kindly remember not to copy the name as well.”
Amid the class’s laughter, Professor Lupin made his final announcement. “Class dismissed!”
Suer quietly shrank beneath Professor Lupin’s gaze, frantically trying to remember whether he had ever made the same elementary mistake with another professor’s homework.
The answer was no–Defence Against the Dark Arts was the sole exception.
Suer breathed a sigh of relief, gave a couple of sheepish chuckles, packed his books and followed his dormmates out of the classroom.
Tomorrow was the weekend. The expedition he had spent days preparing could finally begin…
The thought set his heart ablaze. He could almost see fragrant spider legs beckoning to him.
Should he go at night, though, or wait for daylight?
Why, at night, of course–
Deep in the night, a little badger huddled in shadow, forepaws clinging to a pillar in the entrance hall as it peered towards the distant oak doors. Since the beginning of the school year, a professor had guarded those doors every night. Suer had already been waiting there for more than ten minutes…
For the sake of that night’s operation, he had eaten a hasty dinner and gone straight to sleep. Only ample energy could provide an extra layer of protection during the adventure ahead.
At last, Professor Sinistra leaned against the wall and began to doze. Suer’s chance had come. He shifted his body and fixed his gaze upon the oak doors, which had not been closed completely. His hind legs tensed–
One, two, three!
Whoosh! A black-and-white shape shot outside like lightning.
“Hmm? Was that something?” Despite being drowsy and inattentive, Professor Sinistra still caught the flicker at the edge of vision.
Professor Sinistra drew a wand and looked both ways but found nothing, then dismissed it as an illusion.
Having successfully won his “freedom”, the little badger concealed himself in the grass beside the path to Hagrid’s hut. His goal was clear: the temporary lesson site where they had met the Bowtruckles.
Fortunately, Suer’s memory was fairly good. He could roughly recall the route. Badgers were nocturnal, and to his eyes the quiet Forbidden Forest shone as brightly as day beneath the night sky. That was one reason he had chosen to begin the adventure after dark.
Hagrid’s hut lay directly on his path. Since this was a secret operation, Suer had absolutely no intention of stopping to see what Hagrid was doing.
Fang, however, spotted him outside the door. Fang sniffed and gave a loud bark. An old friend!
Suer was fast. Before Fang’s rumbling growl could become a full-throated bay, he had already raced past and plunged towards the Forbidden Forest. If I’m fast enough, even a dog’s bark can’t catch me. Heh.
He twisted and turned along the route, ignoring the snakes crouched in the undergrowth and waiting to hunt. He soon reached the meadow, but the few oddly shaped trees were nowhere to be seen.
“Eh? Where did the Bowtruckles go?”
“Have they moved?”
Suer was certain he had taken the correct route, and he had not forgotten his true purpose. He quickly put the Bowtruckles’ overnight flight–trees and all–out of his mind. Employing a badger’s natural gifts, he dug a small hole, returned to human form and buried a cylindrical object inside.
After stamping the turf firmly into place, Suer closed his eyes and sensed it. This was a marker he had spent the past few days preparing. So long as it remained there, the location would shine in his senses like a beacon in the night, ensuring that he could not become lost in the Forbidden Forest.
He patted the wand in his pocket and nodded with satisfaction, then assumed his Animagus form once more.
He did not know which direction Malfoy had run, and Ron had been unable to say. He would have to explore slowly on his own. Fortunately, he possessed one more useful ability.
Little badgers were peerless trackers.
Suer knew the Acromantulas’ scent all too well after his close encounter with them. If they were anywhere in this part of the forest, he would find them!