Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Thump.

Suer set a thick volume, Better Methods for Handling Rare Materials, on a long table in the library. He sat down and searched the index, hoping to find instructions for treating unicorn hair.

Untreated unicorn hair was far too stiff and resistant to bending. It could not possibly be used for soft scarves or gloves.

Suer had asked Hagrid, but Hagrid merely looked blank.

There it was.

Unicorns, page 279.

After a rapid rustle of pages, Suer stared speechlessly at a passage he had already encountered at least four or five times that day.

Well done. Copy and paste, was it?

The entire passage explained how rare, precious, and valuable unicorn hair was and listed all the wonderful things one could do with it.

The author said nothing about how it should be treated.

Did Suer truly have to follow Professor McGonagall’s advice and ask Professor Snape?

At the thought of Snape’s deadpan, corpse-like face, Suer rubbed his scalp.

But apart from the headmaster, Snape was probably the only person at Hogwarts capable of changing the physical properties of a magical creature’s material.

Suer had considered using charms. Professor Filius Flitwick had kindly warned him that unless a spell destroyed the material itself, as a Severing Charm did, most charms were temporary.

Materials taken from magical creatures also retained some resistance to magic even after leaving the creature’s body.

“What are you looking for?” Hermione leaned over to glance at Suer’s book.

“Nothing.” Suer closed it. “I was only browsing.”

“Oh.” Hermione nodded. “I saw you reading about household magic a few days ago. Did you find anything interesting?”

“No.”

Suer glanced at Harry and Ron, who sat opposite them, each frantically paging through an enormous book. Then he looked back at Hermione and shook his head.

“Only spells for creating a more harmonious atmosphere at home.”

“I need to return to my dormitory. See you this afternoon, Hermione.”

Suer stood, returned the book to its shelf, and left the library.

“What was that about? He’s acting so strangely.”

Hermione pursed her pink lips. She could not suppress her curiosity. Suer had behaved oddly lately, as though planning something, but refused to tell her what it was.

So mysterious.

Hermione shook her head and opened A Century of Wizarding History.

She still had to discover who Nicolas Flamel was.

The mysterious Suer was currently hesitating outside the Potions professor’s office in the basement.

Christmas was approaching. If he could not find a way to treat the unicorn hair…

He gritted his teeth and made his decision.

Several students carrying homemade Warming Flasks looked at him curiously.

When they saw him push open the door, curiosity became astonishment, and astonishment gave way to pity.

Another student sentenced to detention with Snape, apparently.

Snape’s office was bitterly cold. Glass jars filled with unknown liquids lined a cabinet by the entrance, various animal specimens floating inside.

Tsk. A perfect villain’s lair.

Suer shuddered.

Snape, his hair oily, looked up from the parchment on which he had been writing and saw Suer inspecting the room.

Suer’s breathing caught beneath that cold gaze. He gave Snape an awkward smile.

“Good afternoon, Professor Snape.”

Snape pressed his lips together and offered no response.

“Er… Professor Snape, I have a question I would like to ask.”

Silence answered him again, though Snape did not look away.

“If I wanted to make a material softer, what method should I use?”

Suer and Snape stared at one another.

Snape appeared to be trying to drive him away with nothing but his eyes. Suer remained immovable. An invisible struggle passed between them.

Surprise flickered in Snape’s eyes, and Suer caught it.

At last, the professor deigned to speak.

“What material?”

“Unicorn hair.” Suer hesitated before telling the truth.

Unicorn hair was valuable, but Snape was a Potions master and undoubtedly wealthy.

Besides, different materials required different methods.

Snape frowned at the mention of a magical creature’s material.

“What is it for?”

“Er…”

“A scarf, Professor.”

“What?”

Snape appeared to doubt his own ears.

“I want to make scarves with it, and perhaps some hats as well, Professor,” Suer said firmly.

“Hah.”

Snape gave a quiet laugh, but anger stirred within the sound. He believed the Hufflepuff had come deliberately to mock him.

“Get out.”

“I’m serious, Professor.”

Suer met the irritated stare with absolute conviction.

Professor Snape chose silence once more. Plainly, he did not intend to answer.

Suer had lost this round.

He sighed inwardly. He would have to buy the gifts in Diagon Alley. Perhaps some extravagantly luxurious shop sold scarves woven from unicorn hair.

“I’m sorry to have disturbed you, Professor.”

Despite his disappointment, Suer remained polite.

As he turned and opened the door, a voice as faint as a mosquito reached him.

“Purple shamrock.”

Suer froze.

Professor Snape had given him a clue after all. The simple name suddenly connected everything Suer had read over the past few days.

“Thank you, Professor!”

Suer spun around, bowed, and thanked him at tremendous volume.

The door closed.

A trace of memory crossed Snape’s eyes.

“Tch. Pointless,” he muttered disdainfully.

He picked up his quill and resumed writing. The office returned to its customary silence.

“Tsk. Such a tsundere.”

Outside the closed door, Suer muttered with a smile.

He remembered great masses of purple shamrock growing vigorously in Professor Sprout’s first greenhouse.

Kind Professor Sprout surely would not mind allowing him to pick some.

“Let me think…”

“The juice from three pots of shamrock, six pots of water, soak for three days, then soak in clean water for another three days… That should work.”

“I also need a perfectly safe room to store the unicorn hair.”

“Hm… Of course. The Room of Requirement! Nothing could be more suitable.”

On the way to the greenhouses, Suer worked out his entire plan.

Unless something unusual occurred, Head of House Sprout was certain to be tending herbs there.

As expected, Suer found her inside.

He walked back toward the castle in high spirits, carrying three pots of purple shamrock. Professor Sprout had been curious about his purpose, but she kindly gave him three exceptionally healthy plants.

The slanting evening sun gilded the castle at that moment.

It was beautiful.

Just like Suer’s mood.