Chapter 365: After Lights Out
Chapter 365: After Lights Out
Ron stormed away angrily. “Ron—” Harry reached out toward his back, unsure of what to say.
On the first day back at school, while packing his luggage, Harry had seen the dress Mrs. Weasley had prepared for Ron. From his perspective, it looked more like a deep purple velvet gown with a neckline adorned with what seemed like moldy ruffles, and matching lace at the cuffs.
Harry wouldn’t have had the courage to wear it out. From Ron’s expression at the time, it was clear that he would have preferred to bury the dress at the bottom of his trunk and never use it again.
Ten seconds later, Ron spun out of the room.
Harry and Hermione caught him as he landed on the ground, pale-faced. In a low voice, he said, “I’m sick of being poor. Harry, can you lend me some money? I promise I’ll pay you back!”
Harry hesitated for a moment. He knew what Ron was going to do—buy an Ageing Potion. “No problem,” he said.
“Ron! You shouldn’t—Dumbledore must have considered—” Hermione tried to reason with him.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Ron buried his head, “You said you had a way to get an invitation, didn’t you? Don’t tell me you were just talking big?”
Hermione stared at him in disbelief, but Ron only gave her the back of his head. She gave a haughty glance and stomped up the stairs.
Her figure disappeared in front of the cold, black, floating gate. After just a few seconds, the black mist began to fluctuate violently.
Ron watched in disbelief as a golden name appeared on the black stone monument—Hermione Granger. The black gate opened silently, and a wave of scalding air surged out. The golden flames gradually faded behind her.
...
It was eight o'clock in the evening.
Felix and Justin Finch-Fletchley Apparated into a London alley and then hailed a taxi. Following Justin’s directions, they arrived at the suburb.
“Mom, it’s me, Justin.” Justin pressed the doorbell at the courtyard gate and spoke into the intercom, “I’m here with a professor from school.”
“Oh, my goodness! Sweetie, Mom is coming.”
On the other end, there was a flurry of activity, and the sound of a cup breaking.
Justin opened his mouth, a bit embarrassed, while Felix silently observed the carvings on the pillars. Soon, a well-dressed woman hurried out, adjusting her hat in a fluster.
“Hello, you’re… uh…”
She paused behind the gate, looking at Justin and then at Felix.
“You’re… a professor?” she asked cautiously. This was too young; the professors she had met were all overweight and balding.
Even if magic could treat hair loss, it couldn’t make someone younger, could it? The first professor who visited, Professor Mcgonagall, certainly didn’t have that ability.
“Oh, Mom, open the door. This is my Ancient Runes Professor, I told you about him!” Justin said from the side.
The woman reached through the gate and flicked his forehead.
“Ouch!”
Satisfied, she patted her pocket and said apologetically, “Is this Professor Hep? The boy did mention you, saying you were young, but I thought… Oh, sorry, I forgot my key. I changed clothes when I came home… I’ll be right back.” She hurried off.
Justin asked, puzzled, “Professor Hep? We could use an Unlocking Charm…”
“No need,” Felix said, “It won’t hurt to wait a bit.”
Justin scratched his curly hair, not quite understanding. “Professor, what magic did you use just now? A Portkey?”
Felix laughed. “Where did you hear that term?”
“Ernie told me. He said during the Quidditch World Cup in the summer, the Ministry of Magic prepared three hundred Portkeys for people from all over the world to come to Britain!”
“Three hundred is just the number within Britain,” Felix explained. “Portkey magic requires an object to anchor it. I used Apparition.”
“Apparition?”
“Exactly. It’s more convenient than a Portkey, as you’ve seen. You’ll learn it in your sixth year.”
“But why haven’t I seen anyone else use it?”
“Oh, because the school has spells to prevent Apparition, as well as Portkeys.”
At that moment, Mrs. Finchley came running over, welcoming the two guests inside.
Mr. Finchley, who had the same curly hair as Justin, brought in two cups of coffee. "Justin told me you also drink coffee. A friend gave me some Geisha coffee, you should try it."
He set down the coffee, wiped his hands, and shook hands with Felix.
Felix explained the purpose of his visit, and the Finchleys were taken aback. They immediately led him to the study, with Mr. Finchley explaining as they walked, "It used to be in the living room, but Justin kept playing with it. His mom was worried he might break it, so we moved it to the study."
Justin glared at his mother, who playfully mussed his hair.
In the study, Felix closely examined the antique vase, studying it intently for a long time. Of course, he wasn't looking at the enamel patterns but the hidden magical glow that was invisible to the average person—
"Is there a problem?" Mr. Finchley asked, somewhat nervously.
"Oh, no", Felix replied, "Every time I look, I'm amazed by the goblin craftsmanship. Their unique magic can rival the best alchemical formulas... However, rest assured, there is no curse on it."
"That's a relief, that's a relief." Mr. Finchley sighed with relief. He was worried about some kind of radiation—forgive his lack of understanding of magic, but that's what he imagined a curse to be.
Afterward, the Finchleys invited him to spend the weekend with them. Felix knew they wanted to keep their son close.
He said tactfully, "Hogwarts students are all boarding, and professors have an inescapable responsibility for the safety of young wizards..." Seeing their disappointed expressions, he added, "I can stay until tomorrow morning, if you could prepare a quiet guest room for me."
"Of course, Professor Hep. You can count on it", Mrs. Finchley quickly agreed, afraid he might change his mind. She patted Justin's head and said sternly, "What about your manners?"
Justin mumbled, "Thank you, professor."
...
At Hogwarts, after lights out.
Harry had gone to bed early. He was exhausted from the day, and Ron and Hermione were still at odds, not speaking to each other. However, Hermione had already received an invitation card, and Harry hoped Ron would get one too. He and Ron had spent the afternoon in Classroom Seven.
There was only so much Harry could do. He helped Ron analyze his failures, but it wasn't his strong suit. Fortunately, Hermione had left Madam Pomfrey's potion, which helped alleviate mental fatigue, reducing their rest time significantly.
Ron lay in bed, tossing and turning, his mind heavy with worry.
He stared at the light outside the window, barely able to see the edge of the moon.
Harry had succeeded, and so had Hermione. Even Neville, who was snoring loudly, had managed to get an invitation card.
He knew he couldn't match Harry and Hermione, but he didn't want to fall too far behind.
He sat up, staring blankly for a while, and finally, he got out of bed quietly, taking the half-bottle of potion from the table. He left the dormitory and pushed open the door to the common room.
Ron walked cautiously down the dark corridor, too afraid to use Lumos, fearing he might run into Filch or Mrs. Norris.
Finally, after half an hour, he reached Classroom Seven, feeling lucky.
Ron held his wand in his mouth, making no sound, and felt along the wall with his hands. Classroom Seven was unlocked, and the way to enter was to trace a Runic Symbol. Professor Hep had explained this in the Rune Club.
Now, he just needed to find the right spot, quickly trace the Runic Script, and slip into the classroom, giving him an extra night's practice.
Ron felt a raised object, cold but warmer than the wall and door. His spirits lifted—there it was! But the next second, a muffled scream in his ear made him shudder.
A ghost? Peeves? No, it was a living person...
"Who's there!"
"Who's there!" Ron's voice was strained and distorted, his pitch all over the place, even he didn't know what he was saying.
In the darkness, something unknown was less than a foot away from him. Ron swallowed, took two steps back, raised his wand, and whispered, "Lumos."
A faint glow emerged from the tip of his wand, illuminating the face just inches away—
"Draco Malfoy!"
"Ron Weasley!"
(End of Chapter)
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