Chapter 44. The Hufflepuff Little Badger Who Loves Eating Melons
Saying goodbye to the brothers Fred and George, Duncan and Neville hurried to the Charms classroom.
Professor Filius Flitwick had not arrived yet, but nearly all the seats in the classroom had already been taken by the early students.
Duncan followed the aisle left open between the desks, his gaze sweeping the room in search of empty seats.
"Duncan, Neville, over here!"
Sitting by the window, Hannah stood and waved, then pointed behind them to the spot blocked by their bodies.
That desk was empty, just right for the two of them.
At the same time, footsteps came, and Professor Flitwick came in with a spring in his step.
Duncan quickly went over with Neville and sat down.
"Thank you," Duncan said to Hannah with a smile.
"It's nothing," Hannah said with a big smile, shaking her head.
"Why did you only get to class now?"
"It's that staircase again!" Neville complained.
"We went round and round several times before we found the classroom!"
Duncan gave an embarrassed smile, his eyes evasive, and said nothing.
He had accidentally misremembered the pattern of staircase changes the twins had told him, making them take a needless detour.
"Ah, those staircases are truly infuriating!" Hannah agreed.
"We almost got lost on the way too.
Luckily we met a kind upper-year student who led us to the classroom.
Otherwise, we'd still be wandering on the stairs!"
"Oh..."
As she spoke, Hannah suddenly remembered something, and with a laugh pointed to the girl beside her, who had pale blonde hair.
"Her name is Ellie Sykes.
We grew up together, and we've been assigned to the same dormitory."
"Have you seen that bust by the hall that leads down to the dungeons?" Hannah said proudly.
"That's Ellie's grandad.
He was the first wizard in the world to cross the Atlantic on a broomstick!"
"That's really impressive!" Duncan said in admiration.
"Han—Hannah..."
Unlike Hannah's enthusiasm, Ellie was a little shy.
Her fair cheeks flushed faintly, and in secret she kept tugging at Hannah's robe, telling her to stop talking.
If she let everyone's attention keep focusing on her, the heat rising from her head could cook an egg.
"Alright, alright."
Hannah, still not entirely satisfied, shut her mouth, pulled a face at Ellie, and turned her head back.
"Ellie..."
Hannah pressed close to Ellie and spoke in a low, earnest voice.
"Mr Sykes asked you to come to school to make more friends.
You should talk more with others about topics they're interested in, otherwise you won't finish the task your dad gave you.
I ran into Neville and Duncan yesterday.
They both seem quite nice—good candidates to be friends."
"Mm... I'm not ready yet.
Give me a little more time... Hannah," Ellie said hesitantly, her social anxiety cranked all the way up.
"Alright then..." Hannah nodded, knowing Ellie was again finding an excuse to shrink back, though she couldn't push too hard.
Hannah looked to the front.
Professor Flitwick was struggling to climb a tall stack of books.
As if she had remembered something interesting again, she turned her head and said mysteriously, "Have you heard?
Harry Potter only arrived at school at midnight yesterday, and he was sent straight to the hospital wing.
I heard he didn't wake up until this morning..."
"What on earth happened to him?" Neville's interest was instantly piqued.
"Was he really attacked?"
Beside them, Duncan—who had been leafing through his notes—also raised his head at the right moment.
It seemed the little Hufflepuff badgers were rather fond of eating melons [gossip].
"Not too sure," Hannah said with a helpless shrug.
"I only managed to find out that much.
But Harry Potter should be fine.
This morning the Sorting Hat sorted him separately and sent him to Gryffindor."
"It made the Gryffindor students overjoyed.
When we went to the Great Hall for breakfast earlier, our ears kept ringing with their cheers.
When we left the Hall, I felt like I was going deaf."
Hannah shook her head in distaste.
"Is there anything else about Harry Potter?" Neville asked.
He seemed very interested in someone he had only seen in books.
"There's one more thing..."
Ellie, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.
Seeing the three of them all turn their eyes to her at once, she was startled, and her voice instantly became as thin as a mosquito.
"I went to the girls' loo this morning, and some students were talking about Harry Potter.
They said Harry Potter seemed to have been frightened by wizard chess in the common room this morning.
He clutched his forehead, looking terrified—nothing like a real Gryffindor."
"Wizard chess?" Duncan keenly caught that key phrase and quickly asked, "Did they say anything else?"
"No..." Ellie shook her head.
"They shut up as soon as they saw me, like they didn't want people from other Houses to know about it."
Duncan nodded, brow furrowed.
Earlier he hadn't cared much about Harry Potter's disappearance, but now he had a vague, uneasy feeling.
He planned to find time later to talk with Harry and ask what exactly had happened last night.
The bell for class rang.
Perched on the stack of books, Professor Flitwick waved for everyone to be quiet, then called the roll according to the list in his hand.
After confirming that the students were all present, Professor Flitwick happily explained matters related to Charms, giving everyone a basic concept.
"Do you know what the most critical factors are in casting a spell?" Professor Flitwick asked loudly.
"The incantation, the wand movement, and the will..."
While everyone was thinking, Ellie muttered under her breath in a voice only she could hear.
Professor Flitwick noticed at once and said with a smile, "It seems someone knows the answer.
Miss Ellie Sykes, may I ask you to tell everyone?"
Ellie's face changed colour at once, her ears reddening.
She stood up trembling, head bowed, and spoke in a small voice, "I—I remember the book says that the most—most important are the incantation, the wand movement, and the mind.
When casting a spell, not a single one can be wrong."
"Very correct, Miss Sykes.
You have won ten points for Hufflepuff!"
With Professor Flitwick's words, applause sounded in the classroom.
Ellie smiled bashfully and, after sitting down, still did not dare to lift her head.
"When you start learning spells, you must keep these three in mind," Professor Flitwick continued after everyone quieted.
"Only when your incantation and wand movement are correct will your mind drive the magic within you to move along the proper track and release the spell you want."
Next, Professor Flitwick demonstrated how the same spell differed when the wand movement was wrong or the incantation was pronounced improperly.
"But once your level of magic rises to a certain point, you will come to understand that the three elements affecting spellcasting are not equal in weight," Professor Flitwick said.
"The most important of the three is the mind; the other two serve it."
"If you can rely on the mind alone to guide your magic, then you can discard the other two—like Non-Verbal Spellcasting, which is a swift-casting technique that removes the incantation..."
Professor Flitwick did not speak an incantation.
He merely waved his wand, and the books at his side flew up into the air and circled above the classroom.
"If you can go a step further, you can even do without the wand movement, just like those earliest spells..."
Professor Flitwick pointed his wand upward, with no extra motion, and the flying books turned into a beautiful bird.
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