Chapter 14: Like You Never Left
Eternal Yujin
Not drowning in uni assignments... yet
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Most of the time, the holiday usually went in one of two directions. Either it passed by way too fast, or it dragged on for so long that the first couple of days alone often felt like weeks. For me, it was the former, and left me feeling a little bittersweet by the end of it. On one hand, I was looking forward to going back to school, but it felt like I'd been home for all of a weekend before I hopped back onto the Hogwarts Express to return to school.
Though there was an upside to the holiday feeling so short. When I did get back to school, it felt like I hadn't left at all. The hallways still felt as familiar to me as they did a few weeks ago. The various portraits waved from within their canvases as I passed by, their lips stretching, revealing glinting teeth as they jumped from painting to painting, greeting us as we trailed down the halls.
The night I'd returned to the castle was one to remember, that was for sure, what with the sumptuous feast and the Exploding Snap tournament in the common room. But since we'd returned on Thursday, the school had decided to give us a three day weekend. I didn't blame them, to be honest. Thursday was an awkward day to come back. Too late to start anything new without it feeling disjointed— I definitely wasn't saying that because of the three day weekend.
Unfortunately, just like the holiday had passed by in a flash, the extended weekend was very much the same. At some point, I had found myself waking up at six o'clock on Monday morning, staring up at the golden ceiling of my room wondering where all the time went. But soon enough, the habits I'd forged over the course of the first half of the school year kicked in and I sprung out of bed, running the familiar route across the castle up to the Room of Requirement.
I realised, during my impromptu cardio session, that, for all its quirks, I'd missed the castle— despite my ever-growing hatred of the moving stairs. Even as I ran, they veered around or rose and fell, making my journey to the Room of Requirement far longer than it had any right to be. After a quick workout to wake myself, I decided to head to the kitchens for breakfast, if only to talk to Dippy— though I wouldn't say no to some food either.
The basement's small, wall-mounted candles flickered slightly as cold drafts of air travelled through the narrow hallway. I shivered a little and sped up my walk. The closer I got to the kitchens, the more distinct the smell of freshly baked bread grew until it had filled my nose and had me unconsciously salivating.
I stretched my hand out and tickled the pear. Swiftly, the portrait swung inward and a childish, tittering voice echoing as it did. By now, I was sure the elves were more than familiar with students leaving and entering the kitchens. Not a single elf batted an eye as the thick wooden door swung shut behind me.
Well… all but one.
"Cyrus!" the familiar small, grey-skinned elf skipped over from the corner of the room. He wiped his flour-coated hands on his filthy tunic and grinned. "Dippy hopes you are doing well?"
I smiled. "I'm doing fine, Dippy. Your English seems to be improving too."
Dippy beamed, his cheeks lightening a little. "Dippy is grateful and very proud. Codger has been teaching Dippy over the break— less work around, you see."
I nodded and a thought struck me as I did. I wondered if the elves would be averse to me shaking off some of the rust that had most definitely set in over the break.
"Dippy," the elf whirled around. "Would you all be alright if I cast a cleaning charm on you guys' tunics? Not to offend you all, but I haven't practised any spells in ages and what better way to do so than help you lot."
The elf was pensive for a moment. "Dippy… doesn't mind, but Dippy is not sure about the other elves," he spread his thin arms out to the side. "But you can clean Dippy!"
"Thank you," I bowed my head and drew my wand. I took a couple of breaths before I stared intently at his tunic, taking in each and every little tear, stain, and smudge. "Reparo."
I watched with a satisfied smile as the cloth rippled from the bottom up. As the ripple passed by, the stains faded away and the once yellow-white tunic practically glowed until it looked as if it had been newly bought.
"So," I slipped my wand back into the holster. "What d'you think?"
"Dippy…" he looked down at his robes, completely still. "...loves it!"
My small smile stretched into a full-blown grin. "I'm glad you like it. I'll be going no—"
"No, no!" Dippy practically latched onto my arm and dragged me across the room. "You is eating before you go. Dippy insists!"
"Thank you, Dippy," I relented. "And it's 'you will eat', not 'you is eating'."
"Dippy understands," the elf merely nodded in acceptance and sat me at the low table.
He brought a napkin out of nowhere and stuffed it down the collar of my shirt before immediately pulling out a tablecloth, baffling me further, and laying it on the table.
"Not that I don't appreciate this," I watched as he circled around the table, making sure all the tablecloth's edges were symmetrical and that there wasn't a crinkle in sight. "But you never used to do this before."
Dippy raised an eyebrow. "You see, Dippy is learning under Codger— always improving."
A little curious, I turned to the elderly elf. His slightly hunched back was turned to me as he stirred a large pot at the far end of the room. Codger stood completely still as he worked, radiating an impressive serenity.
My gaze flicked back to the table and I gasped. I don't know how long I had been staring at Codger, but it certainly wasn't long enough for Dippy to lay out a breakfast large enough to feed three people… right?
"Wow…" Dippy grey eyes glimmered at my astonishment. "This is… amazing! Thank you, Dippy."
"No, Cyrus," the young elf smiled. "Dippy thanks you for coming. Will you visit again tomorrow?"
There was something slightly desperate about how he'd asked the question that sent a lance through my chest.
I lifted a pain au chocolat and bit into it, the perfectly warm chocolate melting as the taste spread across my tongue. Slowly, I chewed the food, savouring the delicious taste of warm dough and cacao.
"Oh, definitely," I washed the pastry down with some water. "The food is lovely, there's no doubt about that, but Dippy? But the majority of the time, I usually come here to say hello to you."
Several emotions flashed across the elf's face— mostly, though, I think he couldn't decide whether to break out into laughter, or start sobbing in joy. Eventually, though, he hiccupped, taking in a deep breath before he decided to do both.
"T-Thank you," he sniffled, rubbing his large, round eyes. I was definitely impressed with his self-restraint. A few months ago, he would've latched onto me and started bawling. "Dippy is very thankful…"
"No worries, Dippy," I picked up another pastry—this time a croissant—and I'm pretty sure I almost moaned at the taste.
Hogwarts cooking was something else.
OOOO
"Welcome back everyone," Brezova's voice echoed from the front of the hall. "I hope the holiday has been restful and you are ready for the exams next week," she waited for the groaning to finish. "Moving on... we've had a change in scenery, I know, but I wanted to start the term a little differently."
She wasn't wrong about that, I thought. We were gathered in the hall the Flitwick had used to have us practise the different element conjuring charms. Except this time, the straw dummies were gone, leaving us in a spacious, if pretty empty room. I craned my neck, spotting a single straw dummy on the stage behind Brezova.
"Different how?" Ellie whispered from in front of me.
I shrugged. "You know what you did last time we were here."
Cadmus perked up. "Wait, d'you think we'll be using the stuff we've learned all year in here?"
"Maybe," Michael hummed. He shuffled a little, turning to face me. "But anyways, did you do anything interesting during the break?"
I grinned. "You know how I was telling you about the time Sadie and I went over to Remus' place during the holidays?"
They nodded.
"Well, Severus, Lily, and her sister were there and we got to practise the Disarming Charm."
Cadmus, as usual, couldn't keep his mouth shut. "The Disarming Charm?!"
His already loud voice was carried at least halfway across the hall. There was a moment of stunned silence, and the whispers began.
"The Disarming Charm?"
"... Who said it?"
"No, I'm more interested in who knows it?"
I pinched the bridge of my nose as the humming grew louder. It swelled, filling my ears until the mutters were little more than a mess where one word was indistinguishable from the other. My eyes snapped open as a searing heat sailed over us, wailing a little until it collided against the wall and exploded in a shower of sparks.
"Are you all finished?" Brezova tapped her foot impatiently against the stone floor. "Good. Now, would anyone like to tell me what that was about?"
To my pleasure, an awkward silence reigned over the hall, and I hoped with all my heart that no-one would have the confidence to speak up. And of course, like always, my hopes were soon ripped to shreds and scattered away into the wind.
"Oh, it was just that," Cadmus turned around and grinned at me. The worst part of it was that it was a completely genuine grin. "Cyrus was saying he knows the Disarming Charm."
"Is that so?"
I knew right then and there that there was no way for me to get out of this one. Dozens of eyes turned back to me— some curious, others disbelieving, and a few were just downright scornful.
"Then I suppose as your professor, I'll have to see whether or not that's true," her brown eyes glimmered yet her face gave away nothing. I couldn't tell if she was amused or intrigued— possibly both. "If Azar wouldn't mind, that is?"
Well, she at the very least knew what she was doing— I couldn't back out now.
The stares grew intense and Cadmus nudged me forward. Stumbling, I shot him a scathing glare and tentatively put a foot forward. The sound of my own footsteps echoed in my ears until I stood before the raised stage, looking up at the Professor. I clambered up and stared at the straw dummy. The flour sack that had been pulled over it was fraying at the sides, I noticed.
"Professor," I said, awfully conscious of how loud my voice was. "What am I supposed to cast the spell on?"
She hummed. "You can't use my wand, but…" her wrist hypnotically snaked through the air as she muttered beneath her breath.
The very air blurred, growing thicker, darker. The blur lengthened, taking a defined shape. I squinted my eyes, realising that she was conjuring a wooden stick. She snatched it out of the air and stuck it into the dummy's head. "You can cast it at that."
I blinked in astonishment at the Transfiguration on display. She'd conjured the stick out of nowhere. But this was neither the time nor the place to marvel at the wonders of Transfiguration.
I shook my head from side to side and tried to focus. "Okay…" I held out my wand and settled into a comfortable stance, my feet spread out slightly. My eyes latched onto the stick and I raised my wand.
This wasn't hard. I'd done it several times before.
My hand was guided by a confidence born from many repetitions and my intent soon followed. "Expelliarmus."
I watched the crimson bolt leap forward and rend the stick from the dummy's head. Since the hall was completely silent, you could hear the stick zip through the air. A smile blossomed across my face once I heard it clatter against the stone floor.
Pocketing my wand, I spun around, grinning. Without saying another word, I hopped off the stage and wandered through the parting crowd, more than a little smug. My eyes searched for familiar dark-haired Slytherin and I spotted Severus standing a little off to the side on the edge of the crowd. He met my eyes and raised an eyebrow. I couldn't help but remember telling him about how I wanted not to attract attention.
I shrugged helplessly and stood next to Cadmus.
After a while, Professor Brezova spoke. "At least we know that the claim wasn't unfounded." she grinned. "Twenty points to Hufflepuff for foresight and, unsurprisingly, hard work! Now," she clapped her hands rather loudly, making at least half of the class jump. "Back to the topic at hand. You will all sit exams next week and each subject comprises two sections: theory and practical. I trust that you all understand what those words mean?"
She paused, probably waiting for somebody to raise their hand. No-one did.
"Alright then," Brezova nodded. "The theory exam is simple. You will sit an hour and a half exam and it could be on anything we have covered since September. The practical, however, is a little harder. You will be required to subdue an imp."
I blinked, certainly not expecting that. Neither had the majority of the class, apparently. They whispered to each other, several heads swooping from left to right.
"Imp?" Ellie's voice rose a little. "Like, an actual imp?!"
She flushed a little when the group ahead of us turned back and stared.
Brezova continued, silencing the class. "Take note that I said to subdue it, not to use lethal force…" she raked her brown eyes over our faces. "I will limit you to the Knockback Jinx and Smokescreen Spell. Meaning that the Verdimillious and Vermillious Charms are out, unless you can control their power, something I doubt many of you can do. With that said, I suppose it's another criteria of the exam. You will need to properly assess the situation and decide what the appropriate level of force is."
I nodded to myself, satisfied. That seemed fair.
"Bringing us onto today," Brezova hopped off the stage. She raised her wand and several cages floated over from behind the stage. I wondered, as they rattled in the air, how I hadn't noticed them before. "I've got some imps, and you will, for the next three lessons, attempt to do exactly that. Any questions?"
There weren't any, and soon we each stood in a relatively open space, standing in front of a cage of our own. I stared into the shadow-filled box, right at the glowing yellow eyes within.
"On the count of three, your cages should open," Brezova called. She was sitting on the stage, her legs dangling off the edge.
I drew my wand, and gripped it firmly, ready to incapacitate the Imp the minute it stepped out of the cage.
"Three," the Imp giggled. "Two,"
"Ooh," it chuckled, its voice annoyingly childish. "Am I in trouble?"
"One!" the cage swung open, and a small but blurred figure leapt out of it.
It looked surprisingly similar to a house elf, except it stood at about eight inches tall. The imp's skin was a dark grey, and it had glowing, pupil-less yellow eyes. It stood in front of me, sharpened teeth glinting. "Well, hello there!"
Despite the friendly greeting, I noticed the wicked gleam in its eye but I indulged it, if only to have a few extra seconds of thought. "...Hello."
"Not one for conversation then?" it laughed. "But that's no matter. We're not here for some chit-chat now, are we? No… I'm here for some fun!"
I blinked and it leapt into the air, surprisingly nimble. The Imp laughed maniacally, it rushed towards me, holding out its hands to push me over as gravity pulled it back to the earth.
I darted backwards, using the heels of my shoes to spin in a circle as I did. "Fumos."
Ivory smoke coalesced at the tip of my wand, slowly obscuring my surroundings as it fanned out in waves and plumes. After a dozen seconds or so, I could barely see further than the cage ahead of me and I slowly began to regret blocking my vision. I spotted the Imp's glowing eyes to my left.
"Not a very smart decision," it laughed.
"Oh, I don't disagree, but," slowly, I raised my wand, training it on the stationary creature. If it noticed I was aiming at it, it didn't move. "That doesn't mean I can't make it work. Vermillious!"
A small, sizzling red spark cut through the smoke, striking the imp.
"Ow!" it yelped, leaping into the air. "That hurt! …I'm going to make you pay for that!"
Surprised that it hadn't been taken out, I raised my wand again, waiting for it to get a little closer. "I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt even more. Flipendo!"
"Wait! I give u—!"
Whatever the Imp was about to say was cut off as my spell hit and it was sent hurtling back into its cage, cursing into the smoky air. Not wasting a second, my wrist whipped forwards. "Colloportus."
The cage swung shut, and the imp's gnarled fingers curled around the bars. "Aww… you're no fun!"
I walked up to and pocketed my wand. "I'm plenty of fun, just not when fun involves pushing me down stairs and chomping on my fingers."
"But that's fun!"
I didn't respond and cleared the mist with a controlled wind-making charm, squinting a little as the rest of the hall came into view.
As expected, the atrium was in complete chaos. Some were running around, chased by giggling Imps. Others were trying their best to pull the imps off their heads, shoulders, and legs.
I scanned the room for Cadmus and laughed when I did.
"Geroff!" he growled
"Ooh~ are you angry?" the Imp on his head laughed, dragging on his ears. "But we're having so much fun together!"
I walked up to them, snickering. "Seems like you're having a good time over here."
Cadmus' frown fell and he turned to me. "Where's your Imp?"
I pointed to the cage on the other side of the room.
He sighed. "I can't say that I didn't expect that."
I sat down on the stone floor and crossed my arms, grinning. "This is golden!"
"Wait, you're not going to help?!" his eyes widened.
"Nope," I smiled. "I'm going to enjoy watching this, though."
"See, he gets it!" the Imp pointed at me, his other hand clutching Cadmus' ear.
"Oh, don't mind me," I said. "Feel free to continue!"
There was a moment where neither of them moved before they began to claw at each other in an explosion of limbs. I watched in anticipation, an unconscious smile forming on my face.
This was karma at its finest, I thought as Cadmus pulled on the Imp's leg. "Get off of me, damnit!"
"Come on~ why are you so down?" the Imp cackled. "Turn that frown upside down, my friend!"
All around us, the class battled their imps, each with varying degrees of success. Brezova drummed her wand against her thigh, ready to intervene if the need arose, her brown eyes carefully surveying the room.
OOOO
The lesson wasn't exactly finished, but by the forty-five minute mark, most people had put their Imps back into their cages. The few who were still struggling to do so were gathered in the centre of the room. It was an odd situation, to be honest. The Imps had decided to band together, and so that made it four students against four Imps.
Now that wasn't really a challenge, but the staredown between the two groups was by far the funniest to happen during the hour-long lesson. The class crowded around to form a sort of ring around them— the Slytherins forming one half of it, whilst we Hufflepuffs formed the other.
The four students glared at the diminutive things, their faces were riddled with scratches and bite marks ran up their forearms. The Imps were far worse off than the students, though. They stood all huddled together, their faces haggard and they couldn't even stand up on their own and leaned on each other for support.
At the centre of the group of students was an extremely irritated-looking Hufflepuff. He raised his wand and as he did, so did the others. Meanwhile, the Imps simply grinned malevolently, unable to raise a finger.
"On three guys," he growled. "Let's send these blighters packing."
The other three nodded. In unison, they cried. "Flipendo!"
As one, the imps hurtled backwards, and they would have collided against the base of the stage if they didn't suddenly slow down. A transparent shimmering bubbling encased them as they began to float into the air. I stared at the hovering creatures for a little and they stared back before all hell broke loose.
Almost in unison, the students gasped in shock and the Imps jeered.
"Ha! That didn't go as planned, did it!" one of them cackled.
"No," another jabbed the first with a knobbly elbow. "Some would say that it's nothing but up for us now!"
Then they all broke out into laughter— each Imp laughing in a different, but equally annoying way. The first screeched, the second jabbered, the third howled whilst the fourth yipped. And though the large bubble surrounding them made it sound like they were laughing from beyond a thin wall, it was still grating.
A familiar sizzling firework shot up from the stage, just narrowly missing the bubble, sending the Imps veering to the left. They rolled inside the bubble in a tangled mess of limbs, indistinguishable from one another.
"Shut. Up!" Brezova growled at the floating bubble, even as it bobbed around the room. "I've heard you lot talk, and talk, and talk, and talk for an hour! I knew this would be annoying—with your incessant jokes—but by my magic I had no idea it would be that bad!" taking a deep breath to compose herself, she sheathed her wand
I felt someone poke my shoulder and turned around.
"I don't think I've ever seen her snap like that before," Michael hummed.
"Neither have I," Ellie agreed.
"You can't really blame her though," I said. "Those things are annoying. Thankfully I dealt with mine fast enough. I don't think I'd be able to bear it otherwise."
The cage at my feet rattled. "Oh don't be a wet blanket!"
"See what I mean?" I pointed out.
Brezova rubbed a hand over her face before addressing us. "So, you've seen today that theory can only go so far. I won't be using this as a basis for your grades, but instead considering how your exam results match up to your performance thus far. Today's session has done what it was meant to; that is to say: it's shown you what your weaknesses are."
I scratched my chin a little embarrassedly at that. Even though I'd taken care of my Imp in a timely fashion, there were things I'd done that I really didn't need to do. Like the Smokescreen Spell for one.
"Work on them," the redhead's voice rose over the Imps who'd gathered themselves enough to start yelling again. That only lasted until they were sent on another journey around the room again. "And we'll be back here next week to see what's changed. Class dismissed."
I followed the bubble's trajectory with my eyes for a little as I walked out. The Imps within it were lying on the stomachs, dragging their gnarled fingers against the sides of their transparent prison.
A few minutes later, I caught up with my three friends, one of which was nursing a sore looking ear.
"Hey," I wedged myself between Michael and Ellie. "What do we have next?"
"Transfiguration," Ellie replied.
I grinned, remembering that we'd see Remus and Lily. "Oh, Cadmus, this is going to be great!"
He ignored me, though I heard him mutter something underneath his breath.
"Are you really that upset?" I rolled my eyes.
"Of course I am!" he glared at me, though there wasn't any real hurt in his eyes. "You sat there and watched as that… gremlin chomped on me!
"First off," I snorted. "They're Imps not Gremlins and if you were in any real danger, I would've helped you I promise," he scoffed. "No, really, look at you. The worst you got was a few scratches."
He sighed and went back to nursing his ear. I mulled over the lesson for a little, a touch of guilt prickling my chest.
"Alright, I'm sorry," I relented, squeezing his shoulder. "But think about it in the long term. This'll make for a hell of a funny story at the end of the year, eh?"
Despite frowning, I spotted the edges of it flickering upwards. And to his credit, Cadmus held out for a bit, but eventually, his smile won out.
"Fair enough…" he half-sighed, half-smiled. "It was funny, I'll give you that."
As we turned onto the main staircase, however, I heard from behind me a voice that I'd grown to strongly… dislike.
"Well, well," Mulciber sneered. "If it isn't McCallan. Look at you! Seems like you had some trouble with your Imp, eh? I can't say I'm surprised…"
The other Slytherins around him laughed derisively.
For a moment, I debated whether or not I should turn around before I ultimately decided that I had better things to do than waste my time and energy on someone who wouldn't be worth it.
Cadmus bristled, a retort on the tip of his tongue, but he was pulled forward by Ellie and Michael holding onto each of his arms. I deflated a little at that. At least they saw enough sense to not indulge him. What Mulciber wanted was a reaction and as somebody almost a decade older than him, I would not give him the pleasure of receiving one.
I stomped up the stairs, each step I took putting more and more distance between myself and the Slytherins. Behind me, I heard Cadmus voice out his grievances once Mulciber and his friends were out of earshot.
"What the hell?" he rounded on Michael and Ellie. "Why did you guys stop me? Mulciber was practically asking for it!"
I answered for them. "Because, Cadmus, Mulciber wants a reaction. He wants to see you pissed. And I know it feels like you lost something but do you really want to give him, of all people, what he wants? I know that I don't."
I didn't wait for him to respond, leaving the staircase and walking onto the first-floor. It was currently break so Transfiguration wouldn't be for a while anyways.
I waited at the corridor entrance for Cadmus, Ellie, and Michael. "I'm going to walk around for a bit— clear my head and whatnot. D'you guys want to come?"
The three of them shared a glance and followed after me. We didn't speak much during our walk, but we didn't really need to. The silence was the comfortable kind, and the general hum of the castle helped to soothe me as I wandered around, searching for absolutely nothing in particular.
Is this dead? Nope! But I do have mock exams in three weeks and with Strep A looming on the horizon not unlike how COVID-19 did, I've been told that the results to these exams will be taken into account in case of another lockdown. That would be bad, of course, and it's only the worst case scenario.
Regardless, here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy and see you soon! ^^
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Like You Never Left
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Like You Never Left
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Most of the time, the holiday usually went in one of two directions. Either it passed by way too fast, or it dragged on for so long that the first couple of days alone often felt like weeks. For me, it was the former, and left me feeling a little bittersweet by the end of it. On one hand, I was looking forward to going back to school, but it felt like I'd been home for all of a weekend before I hopped back onto the Hogwarts Express to return to school.
Though there was an upside to the holiday feeling so short. When I did get back to school, it felt like I hadn't left at all. The hallways still felt as familiar to me as they did a few weeks ago. The various portraits waved from within their canvases as I passed by, their lips stretching, revealing glinting teeth as they jumped from painting to painting, greeting us as we trailed down the halls.
The night I'd returned to the castle was one to remember, that was for sure, what with the sumptuous feast and the Exploding Snap tournament in the common room. But since we'd returned on Thursday, the school had decided to give us a three day weekend. I didn't blame them, to be honest. Thursday was an awkward day to come back. Too late to start anything new without it feeling disjointed— I definitely wasn't saying that because of the three day weekend.
Unfortunately, just like the holiday had passed by in a flash, the extended weekend was very much the same. At some point, I had found myself waking up at six o'clock on Monday morning, staring up at the golden ceiling of my room wondering where all the time went. But soon enough, the habits I'd forged over the course of the first half of the school year kicked in and I sprung out of bed, running the familiar route across the castle up to the Room of Requirement.
I realised, during my impromptu cardio session, that, for all its quirks, I'd missed the castle— despite my ever-growing hatred of the moving stairs. Even as I ran, they veered around or rose and fell, making my journey to the Room of Requirement far longer than it had any right to be. After a quick workout to wake myself, I decided to head to the kitchens for breakfast, if only to talk to Dippy— though I wouldn't say no to some food either.
The basement's small, wall-mounted candles flickered slightly as cold drafts of air travelled through the narrow hallway. I shivered a little and sped up my walk. The closer I got to the kitchens, the more distinct the smell of freshly baked bread grew until it had filled my nose and had me unconsciously salivating.
I stretched my hand out and tickled the pear. Swiftly, the portrait swung inward and a childish, tittering voice echoing as it did. By now, I was sure the elves were more than familiar with students leaving and entering the kitchens. Not a single elf batted an eye as the thick wooden door swung shut behind me.
Well… all but one.
"Cyrus!" the familiar small, grey-skinned elf skipped over from the corner of the room. He wiped his flour-coated hands on his filthy tunic and grinned. "Dippy hopes you are doing well?"
I smiled. "I'm doing fine, Dippy. Your English seems to be improving too."
Dippy beamed, his cheeks lightening a little. "Dippy is grateful and very proud. Codger has been teaching Dippy over the break— less work around, you see."
I nodded and a thought struck me as I did. I wondered if the elves would be averse to me shaking off some of the rust that had most definitely set in over the break.
"Dippy," the elf whirled around. "Would you all be alright if I cast a cleaning charm on you guys' tunics? Not to offend you all, but I haven't practised any spells in ages and what better way to do so than help you lot."
The elf was pensive for a moment. "Dippy… doesn't mind, but Dippy is not sure about the other elves," he spread his thin arms out to the side. "But you can clean Dippy!"
"Thank you," I bowed my head and drew my wand. I took a couple of breaths before I stared intently at his tunic, taking in each and every little tear, stain, and smudge. "Reparo."
I watched with a satisfied smile as the cloth rippled from the bottom up. As the ripple passed by, the stains faded away and the once yellow-white tunic practically glowed until it looked as if it had been newly bought.
"So," I slipped my wand back into the holster. "What d'you think?"
"Dippy…" he looked down at his robes, completely still. "...loves it!"
My small smile stretched into a full-blown grin. "I'm glad you like it. I'll be going no—"
"No, no!" Dippy practically latched onto my arm and dragged me across the room. "You is eating before you go. Dippy insists!"
"Thank you, Dippy," I relented. "And it's 'you will eat', not 'you is eating'."
"Dippy understands," the elf merely nodded in acceptance and sat me at the low table.
He brought a napkin out of nowhere and stuffed it down the collar of my shirt before immediately pulling out a tablecloth, baffling me further, and laying it on the table.
"Not that I don't appreciate this," I watched as he circled around the table, making sure all the tablecloth's edges were symmetrical and that there wasn't a crinkle in sight. "But you never used to do this before."
Dippy raised an eyebrow. "You see, Dippy is learning under Codger— always improving."
A little curious, I turned to the elderly elf. His slightly hunched back was turned to me as he stirred a large pot at the far end of the room. Codger stood completely still as he worked, radiating an impressive serenity.
My gaze flicked back to the table and I gasped. I don't know how long I had been staring at Codger, but it certainly wasn't long enough for Dippy to lay out a breakfast large enough to feed three people… right?
"Wow…" Dippy grey eyes glimmered at my astonishment. "This is… amazing! Thank you, Dippy."
"No, Cyrus," the young elf smiled. "Dippy thanks you for coming. Will you visit again tomorrow?"
There was something slightly desperate about how he'd asked the question that sent a lance through my chest.
I lifted a pain au chocolat and bit into it, the perfectly warm chocolate melting as the taste spread across my tongue. Slowly, I chewed the food, savouring the delicious taste of warm dough and cacao.
"Oh, definitely," I washed the pastry down with some water. "The food is lovely, there's no doubt about that, but Dippy? But the majority of the time, I usually come here to say hello to you."
Several emotions flashed across the elf's face— mostly, though, I think he couldn't decide whether to break out into laughter, or start sobbing in joy. Eventually, though, he hiccupped, taking in a deep breath before he decided to do both.
"T-Thank you," he sniffled, rubbing his large, round eyes. I was definitely impressed with his self-restraint. A few months ago, he would've latched onto me and started bawling. "Dippy is very thankful…"
"No worries, Dippy," I picked up another pastry—this time a croissant—and I'm pretty sure I almost moaned at the taste.
Hogwarts cooking was something else.
OOOO
"Welcome back everyone," Brezova's voice echoed from the front of the hall. "I hope the holiday has been restful and you are ready for the exams next week," she waited for the groaning to finish. "Moving on... we've had a change in scenery, I know, but I wanted to start the term a little differently."
She wasn't wrong about that, I thought. We were gathered in the hall the Flitwick had used to have us practise the different element conjuring charms. Except this time, the straw dummies were gone, leaving us in a spacious, if pretty empty room. I craned my neck, spotting a single straw dummy on the stage behind Brezova.
"Different how?" Ellie whispered from in front of me.
I shrugged. "You know what you did last time we were here."
Cadmus perked up. "Wait, d'you think we'll be using the stuff we've learned all year in here?"
"Maybe," Michael hummed. He shuffled a little, turning to face me. "But anyways, did you do anything interesting during the break?"
I grinned. "You know how I was telling you about the time Sadie and I went over to Remus' place during the holidays?"
They nodded.
"Well, Severus, Lily, and her sister were there and we got to practise the Disarming Charm."
Cadmus, as usual, couldn't keep his mouth shut. "The Disarming Charm?!"
His already loud voice was carried at least halfway across the hall. There was a moment of stunned silence, and the whispers began.
"The Disarming Charm?"
"... Who said it?"
"No, I'm more interested in who knows it?"
I pinched the bridge of my nose as the humming grew louder. It swelled, filling my ears until the mutters were little more than a mess where one word was indistinguishable from the other. My eyes snapped open as a searing heat sailed over us, wailing a little until it collided against the wall and exploded in a shower of sparks.
"Are you all finished?" Brezova tapped her foot impatiently against the stone floor. "Good. Now, would anyone like to tell me what that was about?"
To my pleasure, an awkward silence reigned over the hall, and I hoped with all my heart that no-one would have the confidence to speak up. And of course, like always, my hopes were soon ripped to shreds and scattered away into the wind.
"Oh, it was just that," Cadmus turned around and grinned at me. The worst part of it was that it was a completely genuine grin. "Cyrus was saying he knows the Disarming Charm."
"Is that so?"
I knew right then and there that there was no way for me to get out of this one. Dozens of eyes turned back to me— some curious, others disbelieving, and a few were just downright scornful.
"Then I suppose as your professor, I'll have to see whether or not that's true," her brown eyes glimmered yet her face gave away nothing. I couldn't tell if she was amused or intrigued— possibly both. "If Azar wouldn't mind, that is?"
Well, she at the very least knew what she was doing— I couldn't back out now.
The stares grew intense and Cadmus nudged me forward. Stumbling, I shot him a scathing glare and tentatively put a foot forward. The sound of my own footsteps echoed in my ears until I stood before the raised stage, looking up at the Professor. I clambered up and stared at the straw dummy. The flour sack that had been pulled over it was fraying at the sides, I noticed.
"Professor," I said, awfully conscious of how loud my voice was. "What am I supposed to cast the spell on?"
She hummed. "You can't use my wand, but…" her wrist hypnotically snaked through the air as she muttered beneath her breath.
The very air blurred, growing thicker, darker. The blur lengthened, taking a defined shape. I squinted my eyes, realising that she was conjuring a wooden stick. She snatched it out of the air and stuck it into the dummy's head. "You can cast it at that."
I blinked in astonishment at the Transfiguration on display. She'd conjured the stick out of nowhere. But this was neither the time nor the place to marvel at the wonders of Transfiguration.
I shook my head from side to side and tried to focus. "Okay…" I held out my wand and settled into a comfortable stance, my feet spread out slightly. My eyes latched onto the stick and I raised my wand.
This wasn't hard. I'd done it several times before.
My hand was guided by a confidence born from many repetitions and my intent soon followed. "Expelliarmus."
I watched the crimson bolt leap forward and rend the stick from the dummy's head. Since the hall was completely silent, you could hear the stick zip through the air. A smile blossomed across my face once I heard it clatter against the stone floor.
Pocketing my wand, I spun around, grinning. Without saying another word, I hopped off the stage and wandered through the parting crowd, more than a little smug. My eyes searched for familiar dark-haired Slytherin and I spotted Severus standing a little off to the side on the edge of the crowd. He met my eyes and raised an eyebrow. I couldn't help but remember telling him about how I wanted not to attract attention.
I shrugged helplessly and stood next to Cadmus.
After a while, Professor Brezova spoke. "At least we know that the claim wasn't unfounded." she grinned. "Twenty points to Hufflepuff for foresight and, unsurprisingly, hard work! Now," she clapped her hands rather loudly, making at least half of the class jump. "Back to the topic at hand. You will all sit exams next week and each subject comprises two sections: theory and practical. I trust that you all understand what those words mean?"
She paused, probably waiting for somebody to raise their hand. No-one did.
"Alright then," Brezova nodded. "The theory exam is simple. You will sit an hour and a half exam and it could be on anything we have covered since September. The practical, however, is a little harder. You will be required to subdue an imp."
I blinked, certainly not expecting that. Neither had the majority of the class, apparently. They whispered to each other, several heads swooping from left to right.
"Imp?" Ellie's voice rose a little. "Like, an actual imp?!"
She flushed a little when the group ahead of us turned back and stared.
Brezova continued, silencing the class. "Take note that I said to subdue it, not to use lethal force…" she raked her brown eyes over our faces. "I will limit you to the Knockback Jinx and Smokescreen Spell. Meaning that the Verdimillious and Vermillious Charms are out, unless you can control their power, something I doubt many of you can do. With that said, I suppose it's another criteria of the exam. You will need to properly assess the situation and decide what the appropriate level of force is."
I nodded to myself, satisfied. That seemed fair.
"Bringing us onto today," Brezova hopped off the stage. She raised her wand and several cages floated over from behind the stage. I wondered, as they rattled in the air, how I hadn't noticed them before. "I've got some imps, and you will, for the next three lessons, attempt to do exactly that. Any questions?"
There weren't any, and soon we each stood in a relatively open space, standing in front of a cage of our own. I stared into the shadow-filled box, right at the glowing yellow eyes within.
"On the count of three, your cages should open," Brezova called. She was sitting on the stage, her legs dangling off the edge.
I drew my wand, and gripped it firmly, ready to incapacitate the Imp the minute it stepped out of the cage.
"Three," the Imp giggled. "Two,"
"Ooh," it chuckled, its voice annoyingly childish. "Am I in trouble?"
"One!" the cage swung open, and a small but blurred figure leapt out of it.
It looked surprisingly similar to a house elf, except it stood at about eight inches tall. The imp's skin was a dark grey, and it had glowing, pupil-less yellow eyes. It stood in front of me, sharpened teeth glinting. "Well, hello there!"
Despite the friendly greeting, I noticed the wicked gleam in its eye but I indulged it, if only to have a few extra seconds of thought. "...Hello."
"Not one for conversation then?" it laughed. "But that's no matter. We're not here for some chit-chat now, are we? No… I'm here for some fun!"
I blinked and it leapt into the air, surprisingly nimble. The Imp laughed maniacally, it rushed towards me, holding out its hands to push me over as gravity pulled it back to the earth.
I darted backwards, using the heels of my shoes to spin in a circle as I did. "Fumos."
Ivory smoke coalesced at the tip of my wand, slowly obscuring my surroundings as it fanned out in waves and plumes. After a dozen seconds or so, I could barely see further than the cage ahead of me and I slowly began to regret blocking my vision. I spotted the Imp's glowing eyes to my left.
"Not a very smart decision," it laughed.
"Oh, I don't disagree, but," slowly, I raised my wand, training it on the stationary creature. If it noticed I was aiming at it, it didn't move. "That doesn't mean I can't make it work. Vermillious!"
A small, sizzling red spark cut through the smoke, striking the imp.
"Ow!" it yelped, leaping into the air. "That hurt! …I'm going to make you pay for that!"
Surprised that it hadn't been taken out, I raised my wand again, waiting for it to get a little closer. "I'm sorry, but this is going to hurt even more. Flipendo!"
"Wait! I give u—!"
Whatever the Imp was about to say was cut off as my spell hit and it was sent hurtling back into its cage, cursing into the smoky air. Not wasting a second, my wrist whipped forwards. "Colloportus."
The cage swung shut, and the imp's gnarled fingers curled around the bars. "Aww… you're no fun!"
I walked up to and pocketed my wand. "I'm plenty of fun, just not when fun involves pushing me down stairs and chomping on my fingers."
"But that's fun!"
I didn't respond and cleared the mist with a controlled wind-making charm, squinting a little as the rest of the hall came into view.
As expected, the atrium was in complete chaos. Some were running around, chased by giggling Imps. Others were trying their best to pull the imps off their heads, shoulders, and legs.
I scanned the room for Cadmus and laughed when I did.
"Geroff!" he growled
"Ooh~ are you angry?" the Imp on his head laughed, dragging on his ears. "But we're having so much fun together!"
I walked up to them, snickering. "Seems like you're having a good time over here."
Cadmus' frown fell and he turned to me. "Where's your Imp?"
I pointed to the cage on the other side of the room.
He sighed. "I can't say that I didn't expect that."
I sat down on the stone floor and crossed my arms, grinning. "This is golden!"
"Wait, you're not going to help?!" his eyes widened.
"Nope," I smiled. "I'm going to enjoy watching this, though."
"See, he gets it!" the Imp pointed at me, his other hand clutching Cadmus' ear.
"Oh, don't mind me," I said. "Feel free to continue!"
There was a moment where neither of them moved before they began to claw at each other in an explosion of limbs. I watched in anticipation, an unconscious smile forming on my face.
This was karma at its finest, I thought as Cadmus pulled on the Imp's leg. "Get off of me, damnit!"
"Come on~ why are you so down?" the Imp cackled. "Turn that frown upside down, my friend!"
All around us, the class battled their imps, each with varying degrees of success. Brezova drummed her wand against her thigh, ready to intervene if the need arose, her brown eyes carefully surveying the room.
OOOO
The lesson wasn't exactly finished, but by the forty-five minute mark, most people had put their Imps back into their cages. The few who were still struggling to do so were gathered in the centre of the room. It was an odd situation, to be honest. The Imps had decided to band together, and so that made it four students against four Imps.
Now that wasn't really a challenge, but the staredown between the two groups was by far the funniest to happen during the hour-long lesson. The class crowded around to form a sort of ring around them— the Slytherins forming one half of it, whilst we Hufflepuffs formed the other.
The four students glared at the diminutive things, their faces were riddled with scratches and bite marks ran up their forearms. The Imps were far worse off than the students, though. They stood all huddled together, their faces haggard and they couldn't even stand up on their own and leaned on each other for support.
At the centre of the group of students was an extremely irritated-looking Hufflepuff. He raised his wand and as he did, so did the others. Meanwhile, the Imps simply grinned malevolently, unable to raise a finger.
"On three guys," he growled. "Let's send these blighters packing."
The other three nodded. In unison, they cried. "Flipendo!"
As one, the imps hurtled backwards, and they would have collided against the base of the stage if they didn't suddenly slow down. A transparent shimmering bubbling encased them as they began to float into the air. I stared at the hovering creatures for a little and they stared back before all hell broke loose.
Almost in unison, the students gasped in shock and the Imps jeered.
"Ha! That didn't go as planned, did it!" one of them cackled.
"No," another jabbed the first with a knobbly elbow. "Some would say that it's nothing but up for us now!"
Then they all broke out into laughter— each Imp laughing in a different, but equally annoying way. The first screeched, the second jabbered, the third howled whilst the fourth yipped. And though the large bubble surrounding them made it sound like they were laughing from beyond a thin wall, it was still grating.
A familiar sizzling firework shot up from the stage, just narrowly missing the bubble, sending the Imps veering to the left. They rolled inside the bubble in a tangled mess of limbs, indistinguishable from one another.
"Shut. Up!" Brezova growled at the floating bubble, even as it bobbed around the room. "I've heard you lot talk, and talk, and talk, and talk for an hour! I knew this would be annoying—with your incessant jokes—but by my magic I had no idea it would be that bad!" taking a deep breath to compose herself, she sheathed her wand
I felt someone poke my shoulder and turned around.
"I don't think I've ever seen her snap like that before," Michael hummed.
"Neither have I," Ellie agreed.
"You can't really blame her though," I said. "Those things are annoying. Thankfully I dealt with mine fast enough. I don't think I'd be able to bear it otherwise."
The cage at my feet rattled. "Oh don't be a wet blanket!"
"See what I mean?" I pointed out.
Brezova rubbed a hand over her face before addressing us. "So, you've seen today that theory can only go so far. I won't be using this as a basis for your grades, but instead considering how your exam results match up to your performance thus far. Today's session has done what it was meant to; that is to say: it's shown you what your weaknesses are."
I scratched my chin a little embarrassedly at that. Even though I'd taken care of my Imp in a timely fashion, there were things I'd done that I really didn't need to do. Like the Smokescreen Spell for one.
"Work on them," the redhead's voice rose over the Imps who'd gathered themselves enough to start yelling again. That only lasted until they were sent on another journey around the room again. "And we'll be back here next week to see what's changed. Class dismissed."
I followed the bubble's trajectory with my eyes for a little as I walked out. The Imps within it were lying on the stomachs, dragging their gnarled fingers against the sides of their transparent prison.
A few minutes later, I caught up with my three friends, one of which was nursing a sore looking ear.
"Hey," I wedged myself between Michael and Ellie. "What do we have next?"
"Transfiguration," Ellie replied.
I grinned, remembering that we'd see Remus and Lily. "Oh, Cadmus, this is going to be great!"
He ignored me, though I heard him mutter something underneath his breath.
"Are you really that upset?" I rolled my eyes.
"Of course I am!" he glared at me, though there wasn't any real hurt in his eyes. "You sat there and watched as that… gremlin chomped on me!
"First off," I snorted. "They're Imps not Gremlins and if you were in any real danger, I would've helped you I promise," he scoffed. "No, really, look at you. The worst you got was a few scratches."
He sighed and went back to nursing his ear. I mulled over the lesson for a little, a touch of guilt prickling my chest.
"Alright, I'm sorry," I relented, squeezing his shoulder. "But think about it in the long term. This'll make for a hell of a funny story at the end of the year, eh?"
Despite frowning, I spotted the edges of it flickering upwards. And to his credit, Cadmus held out for a bit, but eventually, his smile won out.
"Fair enough…" he half-sighed, half-smiled. "It was funny, I'll give you that."
As we turned onto the main staircase, however, I heard from behind me a voice that I'd grown to strongly… dislike.
"Well, well," Mulciber sneered. "If it isn't McCallan. Look at you! Seems like you had some trouble with your Imp, eh? I can't say I'm surprised…"
The other Slytherins around him laughed derisively.
For a moment, I debated whether or not I should turn around before I ultimately decided that I had better things to do than waste my time and energy on someone who wouldn't be worth it.
Cadmus bristled, a retort on the tip of his tongue, but he was pulled forward by Ellie and Michael holding onto each of his arms. I deflated a little at that. At least they saw enough sense to not indulge him. What Mulciber wanted was a reaction and as somebody almost a decade older than him, I would not give him the pleasure of receiving one.
I stomped up the stairs, each step I took putting more and more distance between myself and the Slytherins. Behind me, I heard Cadmus voice out his grievances once Mulciber and his friends were out of earshot.
"What the hell?" he rounded on Michael and Ellie. "Why did you guys stop me? Mulciber was practically asking for it!"
I answered for them. "Because, Cadmus, Mulciber wants a reaction. He wants to see you pissed. And I know it feels like you lost something but do you really want to give him, of all people, what he wants? I know that I don't."
I didn't wait for him to respond, leaving the staircase and walking onto the first-floor. It was currently break so Transfiguration wouldn't be for a while anyways.
I waited at the corridor entrance for Cadmus, Ellie, and Michael. "I'm going to walk around for a bit— clear my head and whatnot. D'you guys want to come?"
The three of them shared a glance and followed after me. We didn't speak much during our walk, but we didn't really need to. The silence was the comfortable kind, and the general hum of the castle helped to soothe me as I wandered around, searching for absolutely nothing in particular.
Is this dead? Nope! But I do have mock exams in three weeks and with Strep A looming on the horizon not unlike how COVID-19 did, I've been told that the results to these exams will be taken into account in case of another lockdown. That would be bad, of course, and it's only the worst case scenario.
Regardless, here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy and see you soon! ^^
If you'd like to join my discord, click the link below and hit the discord tab. If you want to peek at the next few chapters in advance, you know where to go. Click on the link below and navigate to the site-that-shall-not-be-named for your goodies.
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