Chapter 52: ch 52 An off script event
September 24, 1991, Tuesday 12:07 pm Herbology Class/ Greenhouse 1
-Hermione's POV-
'Why isn't it working' I waved my wand again and chanted, "INCENDIO!". My wand sparked, and a small flame appeared at the tip, but it didn't go to the flitterbloom in front of me.
"Incendio!" 🔥🔥🔥🔥 I turned around to see Marshall sending a stream of fire to the pot of flitterbloom and incinerated it.
*clap!clap!clap* Professor then applauded and said, "Nicely done, Mr. Witcherly. 10 pts for Hufflepuff!" She said that with a proud smile. She was probably happy that an excellent student appeared in her house.
'Grrr... Again!? Marshall is first again!' Frustrated, I tried again, pointing at the plant in front of me and just yelled, "INCENDIO!". The same thing happened, it was just a spark of flame.
"Marshall! A little help here. What am I doing wrong?" I heard a boy with glasses yelled out. I thought, 'Can't you do it yourself? Why always ask Witcherly?'
Marshall walked near to other Hufflepuffs and observed how they were casting the spell. Seeing he was silent, I internally laughed, 'Ha! See that guy won't help!'
But then Marshall said, "Wayne, Susan and Naomi, you guys are messing up the last stroke of the wand movement. It might look like a capital "A" but this part here has an ark…" He then points at the diagram of the wand movement on the board in front.
He continued, "For the rest, I advise you don't feel frustrated. Try to cast it with a calm mind. Fire is a dangerous element to both the target and the caster."
"Eh? What should we do then?" Hannah Abbott asked while looking puzzled. I remember her as she was the first student to be sorted.
Marshall closed his eyes and said, "Try to think of anything fire related, and the purpose and significance it has in your life. Like a warm cozy fireplace, a candle that lights your room, or my favorite… for cooking delicious meals."
"Fire doesn't only represent destruction. It also brings life and a sense of security…. Try to evoke 'desire' while casting it." said Witcherly with a calm look on his face.
"Treat the flitterbloom in front of you as firewood. You want to set it on fire for something you want. Once you achieve that, cut off your supply of magic. If you cast the spell when you don't have a clear idea when to stop, you will probably lose control of your flame, which can be dangerous. "
'Is this guy high on something?!' I got weirded out by what the guy was talking about. It's not in the book. He sounded like one of those philosophy speakers.
I saw his fellow Hufflepuffs thinking deeply. They really took everything Witcherly said seriously.
I asked myself, 'Why is it when I give advice to my fellow Gryffindors, they frown at me and won't listen. How is it different from what Marshall is doing with his group? Is it because he always gives them food?'
My thoughts were interrupted when Ernest MacMillan properly set ablaze the potted plant in front of him. He said, "I get it now... fire with a purpose. Right?" He looked at Marshall, who replied with a thumbs-up.
'What?!' I silently exclaimed, 'That really worked?'
Then one by one, the Hufflepuff were able to produce a stream of fire burning their flitterblooms.
Then there was someone from our group who properly cast the spell. I looked behind me and saw, Parvati smiling. She called out Marshall, "Thanks, 'rice prince' for that tip!"
"Ugh, Com'on Parvati stop calling me that. What did you desire when you cast the spell?" Marshall cringed hearing his weird nickname and tried to change the topic.
Parvati smiled while clutching her wand, "Eh! I'm just imagining igniting our charcoal stove at home so we can finally cook rice!"
"Pfft…Hahaha! Is that your way of asking Marshall from some rice dish again, Parvati? Very subtle...very subtle.." Lavender Brown laughed.
Parvati made a funny face and replied, "Am I that obvious? So, Marshall, what's for lunch.?"
Marshall gave a proud smile and said, "Padma already gave me hints at our DADA class yesterday. I made lamb curry with basmati rice. But I have to apologize, I don't have coconut milk in my pantry."
"Awww... you didn't make a Chinese style curry? Only Indian style?" It was Naomi Wu who asked. She is a muggle born like me, but she seems adapting well to Hogwarts. Well, they say that Hufflepuffs tend to be close with each other.
"I saw this coming. Cho and Sue will probably accuse me of favoritism. Don't worry. I also made Chinese style curry, as well as milder version for those that don't tolerate spice." Witcherly just comply to everyone's request. Seriously, is cooking his way of flirting with girls?!
"Guys… stop talking about food. Marshall a little help here, mate!" Now Ron asked for assistance. This guy got mad at me when I tried helping him with the levitation spell!!!!
I'm mad now, and look at the flitterbloom in front of me and vent my anger, "INCENDIO!!!!!" 🔥🔥🔥🔥 A strong flame finally came out from my wand.
I kept pouring my frustration into my wand and the flame just kept coming.
"Finite!" Someone called out and my flame suddenly died out. I realize what happened and look around. Everyone looking at me with fear in their eyes. I saw Marshall pointing his wand at mine. He canceled my spell.
"Ms. Granger, are you alright? As Mr. Witcherly said earlier, fire is very dangerous if you lose control over it. Sorry but… 5 pts from Gryffindor." said Professor Sprout. She had a look of concern when staring at me and the burning plant and the scorched ground, she looked at Witcherly and said, "Thanks, Mr. Witcherly for a quick response. 5 pts for Hufflepuff!"
I'm still stunned at what happened. I then realized, 'What?! I got a point deduction!?'
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- Marshall's POV-
'Woah… I'm surprised to see Hermione losing control,' I thought.
The class ended. I then approached Ron and Harry, then whispered to both of them, "Guys, be mindful of your words around Hermione. Especially you Ron. If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say it."
"Why Marshall? You got worried about her?" Ron asked with an annoyed look.
I nodded, "To put it simply, Yes!"
Harry nodded and agreed, "Sure Marshall. We dismissed her most of the time. We might have overdone it."
Harry and I look at Ron. He let out a sigh and unwillingly nodded.
We then proceeded to the Great Hall, where I saw a group of girls huddles together at the Hufflepuff table. When they saw me, they smiled. Their smile is not romantic in nature. It was like they saw an oasis after walking through the desert for a long time.
Ron whispered, "Man, you now have a fan club..... of freeloaders." Harry chuckled, while I just rubbed my face and laughed at myself.
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1:07 pm, Forbidden Forest
-Third-person POV-
"So this is called curry, you say?" Nephele was eating the lunch that Naji's group brought. It was not the first time she was given food by the three. They said that their 'father' purposely gives extra for Nephele to taste.
The trio also nodded while eating their packed lunches. They were having lunch while looking over the herd of unicorns.
"Your 'father' really dotes on you guys, huh?! I really want to meet him someday…" she absent-mindedly said those words.
When the trio heard that, they quickly reacted. "Hooo!ho!hoo!" "Croaakk!!!" 🔔"Ting!..ting!"🔔. They said that their 'father' really wanted to come to the forest to explore it a bit and meet their friends.
Nephele laughed, "Hahaha... So are the lunchboxes you three were giving me bribes?! Hahaha... Well, I don't have any problem meeting him. The unicorns also seem fine with the idea, right?"said Nephele to the stallion near us.
"Neighhhh!" The unicorn leader gave a nod.
The three were happy to finally get permission from their 'father'. Marshall will provably praise them.
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2:39 pm, Hogwarts Tower, 5th floor
-Third-person POV-
"Huf..huff.huff... Draco... huff... what are you looking for?" Crabbe asked. He is trying to catch his breath after climbing the stairs up to the 5th floor.
Draco has a book and looking around with an open book in his hands. He was annoyed when seeing his two fat lackeys. He always has them around to look intimidating to other students, but they are not the smartest and fittest fellas.
Malfoy then took out his wand and pointed around the place. He started vigorously waving his wand and wantonly saying "Revelio!" in every direction. He just read this new spell and was not familiar with it. He was just following what it said in the old book.
Then, for a second, a stair appeared at the end of the farthest corridor before vanishing again. Draco smiled and said, "Got you!" He then walked towards where the invisible stairs, with Crabbe and Goyle following him.
"Goyle, check if we can still step on the stairs while it is invisible." Draco ordered his lackey.
Goyle hesitated , but when he saw Draco's stern look, he just approached the invisible stair and tried to feel it with his feet. Thankfully, it's there, just can't be seen. He then said to Draco, "It's there. Yup, the stairs are there."
"Then what are you waiting for, you big bloke! Climb it!" Malfoy yelled.
Goyle didn't move. He looked at Draco and Crabbe. He fears what he will find up there. Furthermore, he could already feel a cold chill emanating upstairs.
"Coward!" Draco yelled with a grunt. He got frustrated and went up the invisible stair, and his lackeys unwillingly followed him.
When they reached the top of the stairs, they were met with a hall made of ice. At the end they saw a grand door. Draco got excited and went toward the door.
As they got near the door, the temperature became colder and colder until they were shivering in front of it. Crabbe said, "Brrr.. Ddd.dDraco... I think we shou.. should go back.."
Draco shook his head and yelled, "No! It's a vault! It might have treasures or artifacts! Obviously, no one had opened it yet! We could claim to be the one to get our hands on what's in the other side!" He look determined and took out a red, orange potion and placed it at the base of the door.
"Stand back!" He ran to the middle of the hall and the turned around to look at the door with the potion in front of it. Crabbe and Goyle followed him.
"Goyle asked, "What potion is that?"
"Erumpent potion. When it breaks, it will explode." Malfoy explained. He pointed his wand at the potion and yelled, " Wingardium Leviosa!" The potion flew from the ground and hit the door. Then....
*BBOOOOMMMMM!!!!*💥💥💥💥💥💥
The hall shook, and the ice started to fall from the ceiling. The door at the end of the hall did open, but they couldn't see what's beyond it.
There was a burst of sudden wind and the hall became colder and colder. There was a visible build up of ice on the walls.
It became so cold that the three Slytherins couldn't move and just hugged each other for warmth.
A group of metal knights walked out of the blasted door and surrounded them.
Draco is now regretting his decision to find the vault!!!
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2:54 pm Astronomy room
-Marshall's POV-
"I never thought Oliver would be so intense when it comes to practice. We have to be up by five in the morning!!!!" Harry began ranting about his new captain.
I just listened and laughed, seeing his face. We're currently waiting for Professor Sinistra for our Astronomy class.
It was just a normal afternoon with everyone talking and playing with each other. Hermione was still mopping alone. She glances at me, Harry and Ron occasionally with a frowning face.
I just didn't pay attention to her. She can be resentful all she wants but I won't start walking on eggshells because of her bruised ego. I haven't done anything wrong to feel guilty of.
Going back to my chat with Harry. I said, "Stop complaining, dude. It sounds weird when you complain with a wide smile on your face. You're obviously liking being part of the team."
Ron nodded, "Yeah. You should have seen him last Sunday, Marshall. He freaked out when he found a crooked twig in his Nimbus. He almost cried."
"I did not!" yelled Harry with a slight blush and red ear.
I just laugh, "Pfft... hahaha. Why do I think you go to bed hugging that broom of yours, Harry?... huh?!" My attention was caught by a sudden shockwave of magic in the air.
It can't be detected by normal senses, but I just 'saw' it passed by us. I tried to sense where it came from, but Ron nudged me, breaking my concentration.
"You OK, Marshall? You just became quiet" Ron asked.
I just said with a serious face, "I think something big happened somewhere in school. I felt a tremor just now."
Harry, Ron and those around me quieted down and tried to sense something, but they felt nothing. Justin asked, "Are you sure, mate?"
I nodded, looked around and counted the number of people. All are present. I said, "Everyone, don't leave the room. Let's just wait for the Professor on how to proceed. Gather your stuff and be ready to move at a moment's notice."
My fellow Hufflepuff followed what I said. Harry and Ron also did the same. The rest of the Gryffindor looked at us puzzled.
Ernie, seeing their questioning look, said, "Just follow what he said. There's no harm if it is just a false alarm, but from how he is acting, Marshall is not joking. This guy can detect things we don't." It was an observation my fellow Puffs had made over the weeks being with me.
Hermione frowned and said, "Are you serious? I've been quiet and still this whole time and didn't notice anything."
Ron laughed, "Don't compare yourself with him. This guy had been studying magic since he was eight or nine. He has a license to keep XXX magical creature because he can tame them."
Harry added, "I've stayed with him for a month and even his muggle friends listen to him. He never jokes around when it comes to the safety of the people he is with."
"That's just absurd..." Hermione still protested.
I didn't pay any attention to their conversation because I'm focused on scanning everything in the castle. This is an off script event. The golden trio is with me. I'm searching for the source.
I sense Voldy in the DADA classroom with some older students. The rat is in the Gryffindor tower.
I found Dumbledore in the Hogwarts tower, around the 5th floor. McGonagall approached him, then Snape arrived, followed by Sprout, and last Flitwick. The ghost of each house also came. They are huddled at the end of the corridor. In front of them is the source of an uncontrolled magic leaking.
I tried to sense what's beyond the leak, but for some reason something was blocking me. All I can tell is that the leaking magic has a cold nature.
McGonagall disappeared and reappeared in front of our classroom. She stumbled to Professor Sinistra who was just about to enter. They talked for a while, and then the door opened, and both Professors came in.
"Hello everyone. Before we begin, Mr. Witcherly, Professor McGonagall is looking for you. You are excused." said Professor Sinistra. She had a look of concern, but still tried to hide it.
McGonagall looked around the class and let out a sigh of relief when she saw Harry. Then she looked at me and I just nodded in understanding.
I just exited the room and McGonagall said, "We require your assistance, Mr. Witcherly."
-end chapter-
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