Chapter 79: Smokescreen Spell
Outside the corridor, bullet-sized raindrops had been beating down for days.
Minerva McGonagall keenly sensed a trace of hostility, though she could not place its source.
A ripple crossed her otherwise severe expression as, with precise focus, she caught sight of a half-exposed vial within those sweeping black robes—the tonic for colds, the Pepperup Potion.
As if remembering something, she shifted slightly to the side.
Following her gaze, Snape knew at once what she had noticed. He swept past her without expression.
"I said I will handle it."
His billowing black robes surged as he moved, elegant and urgent, straight toward the Great Hall.
Along the way, first-years who had been larking about and watching the rain drew in their necks and stepped aside to make a path.
...
In the Great Hall.
Justin steadied Shawn's weight in both arms.
Hermione had only just entered and had not so much as lifted a fork before she rushed ahead to clear the way. As she went, she scolded without discrimination.
"Merlin's beard. You are burning up, Shawn. When it comes to putting on a brave face, you are truly..." And then, "And you, you great idiot, making a sick person tell you what to do." And, "Professor Snape is right. The two of you ought to be strung up by your heels on the wall." Then, quieter, to herself, "It is my fault as well. I should have noticed. He looked awful yesterday..."
Justin's gentle features were hard to read. He only answered in a low voice, "Mm."
They were almost at the Hall doors when firm footsteps sounded, and a figure in black robes approached. Justin looked up and saw Professor Snape.
He did not cower or panic. In step with Hermione, he edged right and bowed his head to pass.
The shadow fell over them again.
"Give him to me."
The cold voice came with it.
Justin looked up and, as if on reflex, shifted another step right. The words in his head were only "hospital wing" over and over. He barely heard a professor speaking at all.
"He should go to the hospital wing, Professor Snape," Hermione said, unceremoniously.
"Heh. Miss Granger, as clever as ever," Snape's cold snort made the nearby first-years tremble, "then you should know what potion is given in the hospital wing when a wizard catches a cold."
By the last words, his expression had gone thunder-dark. He had already noticed that the boy being held up seemed to hear nothing. The green eyes were glassy and unfocused, each tremor of his lips sending out a puff of heat.
"Give it to him! Now! Immediately!"
He barked it.
A vial dropped into Hermione's hand.
She stared, wide-eyed, only for a second, and then wasted none of it, tipping the Pepperup Potion into Shawn.
Pepperup took effect in a snap. Steam whooshed from Shawn's ears—like clouds of vapor billowing up from the Hogwarts Express.
At the same time, he slowly cleared. The small McGonagall in front of him turned into a tall Hermione, and a great black bat of a thing seemed to fly away.
Oh, yes. The big black bat had dropped a Pepperup Potion.
...
In the practice room.
Shawn, steadier now, pushed the door inward with a nervous hand.
From behind it, in Mr. Owl's curious tone—"Filius, you again, for Ravenclaw's sake, do get in"—came a small professor, face bright with a smile.
"Delighted to see you so much better, Mr. Green."
Flitwick hopped naturally up onto the oaken desk. A squirrel that had been in the room bolted for the window at the sight of him.
"But, my dear Mr. Green, sometimes rest serves progress better than work. Are you certain you want to study now?"
Shawn thought for a few seconds and recalled a passage from The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection.
I recommend that every young witch or wizard learn at least the following to stand against the darkest parts of magic:
Green Sparks;
Red Sparks;
Knockback Jinx;
Smokescreen Spell;
Lumos.
Of these practical spells, only the Smokescreen Spell and the Knockback Jinx remained for him.
His DADA notes would cover theory. The practical spells had to be learned.
Two more spells. The last pieces of the puzzle.
There were two days until Friday. He had to grind both to Entry-level. He nodded, firm.
Flitwick sighed, as if expecting nothing less, and then brightened. "Very well, Mr. Green. Do not expect me to lower the bar, especially for the gifted."
...
The Smokescreen Spell is a typical defensive charm. It drives a cloud of smoke from the caster's wand to veil sight. It is especially useful in a duel, where it makes aiming difficult. Garrick Ollivander, for one, was a fine hand with it.
Shawn found that this felt like a smoke shaped by the will.
"Fumos!"
[You practiced the Smokescreen Spell once at Entry-level, Proficiency +3]
His wand swept down. A black, clinging smoke blossomed around him—and blotted out everything.
Yes—everything.
When Shawn needed it to, no sound escaped the smokescreen. Light was swallowed whole.
It was far more useful than he had expected. Rather like Lumos.
Lumos had puzzled him in the DADA text at first; it seemed oddly placed. However, the book provided a clear explanation. Beyond mere light, Lumos drives back ghosts and spectral dark creatures, for example, the Gytrash—a dog-like, fork-tailed, pale-skinned creature, swift and dangerous.
They haunt the forests of Britain. The Forbidden Forest has its share.
Shawn suddenly remembered a line from Miranda Goshawk's A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.
When witches and wizards have need, the spells appear. Those that seem useless have, in the history of magic, saved us time and again. So let this be a sincere reminder to every student of spellcraft—there are no useless spells, only useless witches and wizards.
When Professor Flitwick left satisfied, Shawn still had an ice pack on his head. The lack of stamina showed up in spellwork. An entire afternoon barely unlocked the Smokescreen Spell, and—
[Proficiencies]
[Smokescreen Spell: Apprentice standard (150/300)]
A bit more push, and he could reach Entry-level tonight.
Friday. Friday...
Shawn held to that time like a lodestar.
And so, under his stubborn effort, time slid to Thursday morning.
After his illness, Justin and Hermione watched him with greater care.
Very soon, they stumbled onto a fact that was not hard to guess.