Chapter 222
Chapter 222
Two against one, without magic. Suer’s defeat hardly needed describing.
After the laughter and scuffling ended, Justin and Morn found another corner of the common room and set up their chessboard. Merlin knew where their addiction came from.
When in doubt, play wizard chess!
As Justin put it, could a girlfriend really bring a wizard more happiness than chess?
One often heard that sort of declaration in university dormitories…
Suer could only hope to receive Justin’s wedding invitation within his lifetime. The last person he knew who spoke that way had still been unmarried when Suer came to this world. Perhaps he and his virtual wife remained deeply in love, roaming the Rift and shouting “Hasagi” together.
But the past was beyond recall.
The present problem was what to do with the two little bronze badgers before him.
Suer had stared at them for half an hour. Lys’s clues made the witch’s identity almost painfully obvious.
She was female, kind and universally loving, while the badger was an unmistakable emblem. It could only be Helga Hufflepuff.
That was why Suer had accepted the trial disguised as a gift.
Yet he remembered Helga Hufflepuff’s relic as Hufflepuff’s Cup. It had long since become one of the noseless, bald socket-monster’s Horcruxes and now lay in the vault of a pure-blood family.
No. He was thinking too narrowly. The four founders could hardly have left only one object apiece. Strictly speaking, the kitchens were also part of Helga Hufflepuff’s legacy, while Slytherin had left the Chamber of Secrets and a basilisk.
There was no reason the other three would have left nothing else.
Lys seemed certain he could obtain the third bronze badger. The clue must be close to him, and Suer had every reason to suspect the missing figure was somewhere in the castle.
The first came from the vault his parents left behind, and the second from the Forbidden Forest. The third was therefore most likely inside the castle where Helga Hufflepuff spent most of her life.
Wait. His notebook said Amelia had brought him the first. Could she originally have found it at Hogwarts?
He ought to write and ask his aunt, who held such a senior position in the Ministry of Magic.
Suer glanced at the mechanical clock on Justin’s bedside cabinet. There was still time before curfew. He could reach the owlery.
Once decided, he acted. Suer hastily wrote a letter, seized the parchment and left the Hufflepuff common room for the owlery at the far end of the castle.
“Hoot, hoot…” Owl delivery: every mission accomplished!
He possessed another plan as well. No one knew the castle better than Headmaster Dumbledore.
Suer did not share Harry’s view. Refusing to use such a powerful source of help and insisting upon solving everything alone would be irrational.
Lys had mentioned that Headmaster Dumbledore once visited her.
Still, he would wait for Amelia’s reply before approaching Dumbledore. In the meantime, he could search the library for information about trials left by the four founders.
Rain continued over the Scottish Highlands throughout the remaining days of October, until the eve of Halloween.
That was unusual. Autumn weather in the Highlands might change without warning, but ordinarily there would be at least a few clear days.
Every student knew the recent abnormal weather came from the Dementors stationed near Hogwarts.
That day, the Dementors appeared to have left the area, and those within the castle finally saw the sun.
With the arrival of the Hogsmeade weekend, the third-years gathered in the entrance hall. They would travel to Hogsmeade together, enjoy a full day there, then return for the Halloween feast and its wonderful food. It was the perfect arrangement.
“Sorry I’m late. Catching Scabbers took ages.” Ron arrived panting, Harry beside him.
“You’re taking Scabbers with you?” Suer asked.
“Yes. I’m worried Scabbers will claw Crookshanks again while we’re away.” Ron glanced at Hermione. “I don’t want to return and find nothing but a few tufts of rat fur. Scabbers will sleep in my pocket and won’t bother us.”
“Scabbers seems to be doing well lately?” Suer raised an eyebrow.
“More than well. Scabbers hardly behaves like a rat. Crookshanks’s missing fur still hasn’t grown back!” Hermione folded her arms with a huff.
Harry looked thoroughly miserable. To comfort him and change the subject, Ron patted his shoulder.
“Cheer up, Harry. Percy said Hogsmeade isn’t that wonderful. Apart from Honeydukes, Zonko’s Joke Shop is actually dangerous, and we’re too young to order drinks at a pub… Honestly, you aren’t missing much.”
“Oh, come off it. I’m not stupid. Percy only said that to comfort me. Thank you, though,” Harry muttered.
“We’ll bring you lots of sweets,” Suer added. “You can’t go this time, but perhaps we’ll find a way next time.”
“Exactly. We’ll bring heaps,” Ron promised.
“All right. I’ll wait at the castle. It’s only half a day,” Harry said with affected indifference. “There’s still the feast tonight. Enjoy yourselves.”
“That’s the spirit.” Ron relaxed.
“Suer, Hermione, how are you?” Neville approached. He had plainly dressed carefully for the day. His clothes were new, and he had washed his hair, though it remained slightly damp.
“Did you put on perfume, Neville?” Hermione sneezed as he came closer.
Everyone could smell it: a powerful, rather gaudy fragrance.
“N-no. Not perfume.” Neville shook his head vigorously, looking painfully awkward. “It’s a magical plant. Actually…”
“I accidentally knocked over a bottle of plant essence Professor Sprout gave me this morning, so…”
“And it happened to spill over the new clothes you meant to wear today?” Suer asked with a quiet laugh.
“Yes, exactly.” Neville nodded, face crimson.
“What lovely weather, isn’t it?” Hannah approached, ponytail swaying, and linked arms with Hermione. The girls were close friends.
“Oh, Neville, what’s that smell?” Hannah caught the overpowering fragrance and pulled Hermione several steps away.
Neville looked wounded, twisting his fingers without knowing what to say.
Suer coughed lightly and rescued him. “Neville just explained that he accidentally spilled a bottle of essence before leaving. What plant was it, Neville?”
“S-sweetgrass. Professor Sprout gave it to me after I helped care for some recently.” Neville looked gratefully at Suer and explained earnestly to Hannah.
“I know sweetgrass. Professor Sprout gave me a bottle too. Did you spill the whole thing?” Hannah pinched her nose. “It’s so fragrant it almost stinks.”
Her bluntness wounded Neville still further. When he looked ready to flee back to his dormitory, Suer sighed, drew his wand and pointed.
“Fresh Breeze.”
“Whirlwind Sweep.”
Several spells finally dispersed most of the scent, though a faint floral fragrance now filled the entrance hall.
Who was wearing perfume?
At that moment, Filch approached carrying a long stack of lists.