Chapter 242

Chapter 242

Suer left the hospital wing on Thursday.

Madam Pomfrey could not understand how a boy who had still been glowing the previous day, and whom no treatment could awaken, had climbed energetically out of bed the following morning.

After every examination confirmed that the young wizard before her could not possibly be healthier, she had no choice but to release him.

In the Headmaster’s office on the eighth floor, Suer sat opposite Dumbledore upon a sofa, holding a glass of pumpkin juice.

“You appear to have recovered completely,” Dumbledore said with a smile.

“Yes, Professor. I’ve never felt better.” Suer rose and bowed slightly to the old wizard. “Hermione told me that you saved me. If you hadn’t…”

“It was a small matter. There is no need for thanks,” Dumbledore said. “Without Amelia, however, I would not have known how to retrieve that magic stone from your vault.”

“It may have been a small matter to you,” Suer replied earnestly, “but it was my life.”

Dumbledore dismissed the gratitude with a shake of his head. “Every Headmaster of Hogwarts would come forward when a pupil’s life was in danger.”

“But what exactly happened?” His expression grew more serious. “Unless I was mistaken, the magic that rendered you unconscious…”

“Was the Patronus Charm?”

“Yes, Professor. It was.” Suer nodded and gave a full account of the white space he had entered in his sleep, along with his suspicion that it was somehow connected to the Dementors.

He still concealed certain details.

“Dementors and the Patronus Charm…” Dumbledore sank into thought after hearing the story, tapping one finger lightly against the table.

“No one has ever described such an unusual experience. There is certainly a special connection between Dementors and Patronuses… Suer, would you cast yours for me?”

“Of course, Professor.” Suer nodded, drew his wand and summoned a happy memory.

“Expecto Patronum!”

Silver threads poured from the tip of his wand and swiftly gathered into a badger. The pearly-white creature circled the Headmaster’s office in delight, then came to rest upon the small round table between them.

It peered about with bright, lively eyes.

Surprise flickered in Dumbledore’s gaze. He reached out and lightly touched the Patronus before him. A faint halo rippled from the point where his finger met its surface.

“This is already a fully corporeal Patronus.”

“Even I could not achieve this at your age.”

“You’re far too modest, Professor.” Suer lowered his head hastily beneath Dumbledore’s praise.

“There is no need for modesty, Suer. This is an accomplishment worthy of pride.” Dumbledore smiled and shook his head.

“Your Patronus itself appears perfectly ordinary. Have you noticed any other changes?”

“I don’t think so, Professor.” Suer considered the question, then shook his head. “Although I can feel that the magic within my body has changed considerably. Compared with before, I seem…”

“Stronger, if that counts.”

“That is good.” Dumbledore motioned for Suer to dismiss the Patronus. “Apart from Flamel, almost no wizard has ever borne the power of an entire magic stone, even one no longer as potent as when it was first created.”

“But it has also created a difficulty.”

Suer waved his wand, allowing the Patronus to dissolve into silver mist, and looked at Dumbledore in confusion. He had come directly to the Headmaster’s office after leaving the hospital wing and had not yet cast any other spell.

How could greater magical power be a problem?

“Try the simplest Levitation Charm,” Dumbledore said with a slight smile. He conjured a cup and placed it gently upon the table.

Suer did not understand, but moved his wrist and spoke the incantation.

“Wingardium Leviosa.”

Invisible magic erupted. The cup shot towards the ceiling like a golf ball struck by a club, spinning wildly.

Whoosh… bang!

Had the ceiling not stopped it, the cup might have flown considerably higher.

Suer instinctively cancelled the spell and watched in alarm as the cup fell freely back towards them.

“Er… this… Professor…”

The metal cup looked as though an extraordinarily strong man had squeezed it several times. It no longer resembled its original shape.

Could a Levitation Charm truly do that?

Dumbledore pointed one finger. The cup immediately returned to normal. He picked it up and set it aside.

“There could be no clearer demonstration. Imagine a small child suddenly receiving the strength of an adult. His body would not know how to control or contain that strength, and accidents like this would occur.”

“Magic is the same. The magic stone and Severus’s potions gave you far more power than your body presently knows how to control. Your spells will therefore become distorted, just as this Levitation Charm did. Its principle is merely to wrap an object in magic and allow the caster to make it float.”

“That magic should not harm the object itself.”

Suer understood immediately. He was a child who had suddenly acquired an adult’s strength.

“The good news is that your body has borne the power remarkably well. It belongs entirely to you, Suer,” Dumbledore continued. “But you cannot truly wield it yet. You must learn to control it and make it your own.”

“You understand my meaning.”

“I do, Professor.” Suer nodded. “But I don’t know how.”

“It is very simple.” Dumbledore inclined his head. “Begin learning again from the start. Filius and Severus are both excellent teachers.”

So I have to start getting beaten again?

Suer complained inwardly, but nodded all the same.

“I understand, Professor.”

Dumbledore smiled with satisfaction.

“I look forward to seeing what you become, Suer. Do not disappoint me.”