Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Snape's Robes on Fire
Harry was tumbling head over heels in the air, almost slipping off his broomstick, clutching it tightly with just his hands. The Gryffindors gasped in horror at the precarious situation, while the Slytherins jeered with glee.
"Come on, Hermione!" Ron muttered nervously beside her, his face etched with worry.
As for Eisen, although he hadn't taken any other action, he had already gripped his wand tightly. If Harry fell off his broomstick, he would promptly cast a Levitation Charm to prevent him from crashing to the ground.
On the other side, Hermione quickly made her way to the stand where Snape and Quirrell were seated. Since Eisen hadn't had a chance to warn her this time, her target remained Snape instead of Quirrell.
With everyone's attention focused on the Quidditch match, no one noticed Hermione's arrival. She then whispered the Incendio spell, setting Snape's robes ablaze. After the fire ignited, Hermione didn't linger and swiftly fled the scene.
Just like the original story, within seconds after Hermione set Snape's robes on fire, the surrounding staff noticed the issue.
"Fire! You're on fire!" a shriek interrupted Snape's spell-casting. Panicked, Snape stood up, causing a small commotion. Snape's disruption also broke Quirrell's concentration beside him.
As a result, Harry's broomstick stopped bucking. Seeing this, Hermione naturally blamed Snape for the earlier jinx on Harry's broom. The true culprit, Quirrell, was completely overlooked.
After being jostled, perhaps sensing the opportunity had passed, Quirrell didn't attempt to re-jinx Harry's broomstick. Snape, his face blackened, simply stamped out the fire without further comment, glancing at Harry in the air.
As for the source of the disturbance, Hermione didn't care; she was just relieved to have disrupted Snape from jinxing Harry's broomstick.
At that moment, everyone suddenly noticed that Harry's broomstick had stopped jerking wildly.
"Look, Harry's back on his broom!" Ron exclaimed joyfully, spotting Harry's movement through his binoculars.
Regaining control, Harry spotted the Golden Snitch once more and went into a steep dive towards the ground, with Terence Higgs of Slytherin following closely. However, as they neared the ground, Higgs pulled up at the last second to avoid crashing.
But Harry, the natural Seeker, continued his breakneck plunge, swallowing the Snitch just as he hit the ground.
"He's got the Snitch! Harry Potter receives 150 points for catching the Snitch!" Lee Jordan's voice rang out.
"Gryffindor wins!" Madam Hooch blew her whistle and made the final call as the referee.
The Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff students in the stands cheered loudly, while the Slytherins looked crestfallen.
However, none of this concerned Eisen anymore. Since he needed to practice Occlumency, the Patronus Charm, and Alchemy, he headed to the library alone after Gryffindor's victory.
Meanwhile, Harry and the others visited Hagrid's hut.
"Snape did it," Ron explained. "Hermione and I saw him jinxing your broomstick. Uh, Eisen knew about it too."
"Snape?" If it was Professor Snape, Harry could understand.
"Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't noticed the incident during the match. "Why would Snape try an' kill a student?"
Clearly, the trio didn't know how to respond. They exchanged glances before Harry decided to reveal what he knew.
"I found out something about Snape," Harry said. "On Halloween, he tried to get past that three-headed dog guarding the trapdoor. He got bitten by it. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."
Harry summarized his discovery, unaware that Hagrid's face had darkened.
"How do you know about Fluffy?" Hagrid dropped the teapot heavily onto the table.
"Fluffy?" Ron looked incredulous.
"That thing has a name?" Hermione asked.
"'Course he's got a name, he's mine! Bought him off an Irish fella I met down the pub las' year. Then I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the..."
"Yes?" Harry urged, but Hagrid didn't continue.
"Shouldn't've said that. Don't ask me anymore, it's top secret, that is."
"But Hagrid, Snape's trying to steal whatever Fluffy's guarding!" Harry tried to persuade him.
"Codswallop," said Hagrid. "Professor Snape is a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."
"But he jinxed Harry's broom!" Hermione protested, her trust in Snape plummeting after witnessing his actions. "I read all about jinxes, I saw him staring at Harry without blinking!"
"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" Hagrid snapped. "I don't know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, the three of yeh - yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. Yeh forget that dog, an' yeh forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel -"
"Nicolas Flamel?" Harry seized on the unfamiliar name.
"I shouldn'ta said that," Hagrid looked furious with himself. With that, the disgruntled Hagrid promptly ushered them out.
"Who's Nicolas Flamel?" Harry asked Hermione as they headed back to the castle, hoping the knowledgeable witch would know.
"I don't know," Hermione shrugged, stumped for once.
In the following days, the trio spent their free time in the library, searching for information on Nicolas Flamel, but to no avail.
As for Eisen, he had gained a basic understanding of Alchemy and learned how to cast the Patronus Charm, though he still felt a bit rusty with it. However, he believed he could now effectively defend against Dementors.
Occlumency, on the other hand, progressed at a snail's pace. The entry requirement of emptying one's mind proved extremely challenging for Eisen as an adult, especially one who had experienced the information overload of his previous world.
Fortunately, Eisen eventually found a solution by drawing from Taoist practices of stillness and meditation, achieving some minor progress. However, he was still far from mastering Occlumency.
Whenever he thought about the difficulties in learning, Eisen couldn't help but lament. Although his magical affinity allowed him to continually increase his magic reserves and replicate the properties of magical artifacts, it couldn't directly grant him skills or allow him to level up abilities.
If only he could level up skills, Eisen was confident he could max out all his spells. Then, not only could he apparate between Earth and the Moon, but he could freely jump between different galaxies.
Alas, his affinity didn't offer such convenience, preventing him from surpassing the limits of the wizarding world's power levels. It was a pity indeed!
(End of Chapter)
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