In an atmosphere so expectant it bordered on prayer, Halloween arrived.
Laughter filled every corner; all the young wizards couldn't wait to see the castle, fantastically decorated for the day. They traded gifts and shared sweets—in the Hope Nook as well.
"Oh, Sean—rare to see you carry that much," Justin teased, just a little, because when Sean pushed the door open he was completely buried under floating candies.
Calmly, Sean stowed the sweets in the wooden cabinet near the hearth. Of its six cubbies, three were already full; with everyone else's treats, the cabinet was packed with all manner of odd snacks.
Justin was using Levitation to move some of the sweets out of the cabinet. "Try this?" he said, holding up a blue gummy shaped like a mouse.
Soon everyone heard Neville's chattering teeth and squeaking. "It's in my mouth!" Neville yelped, sticking out his tongue as if to scrape away the "nonexistent" mouse.
"Neville, I did warn you—that's normal," Hermione said, arching a brow, though her eyes were smiling.
"Try this one—" Justin popped a red candy. "Supposedly a Black-Pepper Imp makes you breathe fire—step back!"
"Whoa!" As black smoke puffed from Justin's mouth and flames spurted from his ears and nose, Hermione's smile grew.
In the cabinet, her own cubby brimmed with sweets—but they were all gifts from the Hope Nook crew… Thankfully, it was plenty.
On the table.
The Biting Vine seemed irritated by the flames; its tendrils slowly curled in and flipped one of Sean's letters over. Beside it sat a small silver cat figurine—nothing special to the eye, but actually the product of complex Transfiguration: multiple transfiguration.
The principle: repeatedly transfigure the same object so a single Reversal Spell can't immediately undo the change. Like an equation—once there was one unknown to solve; now there are several. From that angle, you understand why the difficulty spikes.
And Sean's gifts for today were more than just that, so his hands moved quickly…
A distant cooing—then a pure-white owl perched on Sean's windowsill. Its feathers were ruffled, a stray tail plume from some bird clamped in its beak, and it held its head high. It had, after all, just bested ten owls to land at this window.
"Una, thanks for helping." Sean set several letters and small parcels under her talons, then brought out a little plate of meat, toast, and salad for the eager courier.
—As for owl names, Sean remembered every single one.
"Coo." The white owl nuzzled Sean's fingers, gripped the letters, and swept away.
At another stained-glass window, Minerva McGonagall took the owl's delivery. She looked at the silver cat figurine; her eyes—deep as a lake—rippled softly.
Her desk already held who-knew-how-many letters. Every one was postmarked Croydon; many weren't replies at all but originals the owls had carried back. Today, the signature wasn't "Minerva McGonagall," but a lady named Rowland—a woman who had volunteered many times in Hollesley.
Charms classroom.
Professor Flitwick, as energetic as ever, stood atop a stack of books and squeaked, "Right then—don't forget that delicate wrist motion we've drilled! Swish and flick! Remember—swish and flick. Clear pronunciation is crucial!"
About a fortnight had passed since the last Levitation lesson, and most students still struggled. But today, the room's change made Flitwick's eyes pop.
Last time, Harry and Seamus swished and flicked over and over, yet the feather that ought to have floated lay stubbornly on the floor. Seamus even jabbed it in a huff—and set it on fire.
But today, many students sounded as if they'd been trained together—pronunciation in unison, wandwork steady. No surprise, feathers finally reacted; some even floated for a good while.
"Tremendous progress, ladies and gentlemen!" Flitwick trilled.
"I never thought Charms could be this easy—just follow the notes—" Harry heard Ron muttering, thrilled, and he nodded hard.
"But you're still saying it wrong," came Hermione's brisk voice. "It's Wing–gar–dium Le–vi–o–sa—and you must draw out the gar."
"You think you're better than Sean?!" Ron flushed scarlet.
Sean, beside Hermione: "?"
"You've only got the old version; Sean's levitation has jumped farther than you've evolved—from troll to wizard!" Hermione rolled up her sleeves, raised her wand: "Wingardium Leviosa!"
"Oh, well done!" Flitwick clapped. "Everyone, look—Miss Granger's Levitation is excellent!"
Just before the bell, Flitwick kept Sean back, a sky-blue notebook in hand, saying with interest: "Ah—very intuitive. Clever. For beginners, this is even vital. But, my dear Mr. Green, the mysteries of Charms lie far beyond these straightforward bits…"
He praised Sean a little, then gently cautioned him. Sean knew what he meant; he nodded lightly.
Following the sweet smell of pumpkin, he spotted Hermione striding out, chin high, and Ron with eyes full of curiosity. Eager to hunt new notes, Ron wouldn't have time to bad-mouth Hermione now—which meant she might very well avoid the troll in the girls' lavatory, Sean thought.
In the corridor—
Ron wasn't in a bad mood; compared to "annoying Hermione," he cared more about Sean's notes. He sidled up to a knot of Gryffindor girls. "Green's notes… any updates?"
A Gryffindor who roomed with Hermione huffed, "How would we know? She says unless we practice properly with her, we'll never see them. Hah—bookworm!"
"Poor Mr. Green—she must have dosed him with a Love Potion…" another girl added.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 120 Chapters Ahead of Others!