章 47: Aftermath I
** Pop Jumble **
--Pov Extimum--.
** Cough Cough**
**Bluergh**
As soon as my body landed on the ground, I couldn't help but start coughing heavily and finally vomit due to the dizziness caused by the abrupt jumble.
** Bluergh **
And from the sound next to me, it seemed like I wasn't the only one.
Following the sound of retching, I saw Bloom standing a few feet away from me, not much better off than I was, though at least she wasn't coughing.
Rising from my kneeling position on the ground, I lightly dust my clothes and then summon some water to wash out my mouth.
It was a pity that the quick bath spell didn't cleanse internally and therefore couldn't cleanse the terrible taste of vomit from my mouth. Ugh.
Maybe some ideas for the future, so I would avoid brushing my teeth.
Bloom had also thought the same as me and had summoned water to cleanse her mouth.
As I pulled a handkerchief out of my pocket to wipe my face, I couldn't help but think how close we came to dying there.
We had only made it out of there alive because at the last moment I felt that sudden sense of crisis again and had immediately drawn my wand and forced my two magical natures to merge while making the apparition.
And with that, I had brought us to the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest.
It's not like I hadn't thought of doing it before, but the situation wasn't very good, it was only because the basilisk retreated far enough that I was able to act at the exact moment I felt something was wrong.
On the other hand, it was a good thing that I had already tried forcing an appearance in the castle before, and while there were some side effects, they were not too big.
Well, if we put aside the great wear and tear generated by carrying out such an action.
Although I still don't understand why the castle's defenses have such a great vulnerability and even more so, as so few people know.
I can understand that anti-apparition defenses and restrictions work primarily against those who fall into the mages category, or those with a magical nature common to what is associated with mages.
And this is because there aren't many creatures that can teleport or use the Apparition spell on their own to begin with.However, the fact that there are few does not mean that there are not.
In my case, it was only enough to cover my magical signature with that of my celestial fox bloodline and the castle no longer restricted me at all from appearing.
Bloom: "Are you alright, Extimum?" .
"*Cough* Yeah, I'm just a little exhausted. *sigh* Damn, how can you be so unlucky?"
To make matters worse, the ideas in my head are more and more like voices, but not just voices, but rather persuasive voices.
*Cough*
My involuntary actions at that time could have ended very badly, in fact, I'm pretty sure my glasses would only protect its wearer from dying, but I still have no reasonable idea as to why I wasn't petrified despite sharing a direct look...
*cough cough*
And what about this cough?
Removing the hand that covered my mouth, I sighed and was about to speak, when I noticed that Bloom's eyes widened in the direction of my hand.
Following her gaze, I noticed a light red stain with some blackish tinges on my hand, it was blood.
Bloom: "Are you hurt?!" Bloom exclaimed in alarm and concern as she reached over and took my hand for a closer look.
"No… The basilisk didn't even get to touch me, though, I have a good idea what it could be. For now, I just need to rest."
I wasn't too surprised by the sight, to some extent, I had expected it.
Ignoring Bloom's gaze, I wiped my hand on my handkerchief and turned my gaze to survey the surroundings.
Just a few glances and I realized we weren't too far from Hagrid's hut, that would at least do the trick if I need anything, after all, I can't go back to the castle in my state.
Also, I lost my bag…
Thinking a little more about my situation, I couldn't help but think how strange and laughable my situation was, especially that I could so easily identify my location.
Literally turning my eyes is like...
Tree.
Tree.
Oh look what is that? A tree.
Yeah…since I can joke around like that, I think my injury is more worrying than it seems.
Fun aside, though, I could pick up a lot of differences between each tree, bush, and leaf, so I was able to easily understand my location.
With that in mind, I started walking, looking for a suitable place to rest, while Bloom flew after me.
Bloom: "If I don't touch you, then...Wait, I saw a greenish mist come out of the basilisk's mouth before I closed my eyes, don't tell me that was-"
"Poison, yes."
Bloom: "But we were both at the same distance, it's impossible that only you show signs of being poisoned and I don't, unless... You!... You didn't, did you?"
"Do what?".
Bloom: "Use your magic to block the poison coming at me".
"*Cough* Even if I keep several layers of illusion reinforced, it still isn't too much of a burden to create an insulating barrier around you *cough*."
Bloom's face changed at my response and I commented with a few hints of anger.
Bloom: "Why did you do that stupid thing? You could only have told me, I could have done it too, so you could have protected yourself".
"Heh, who are you kidding here? Do you think I didn't realize that just throwing that fireball used up almost all of your stamina? *cough cough* Although you've recovered very well, but after all, you don't even have a year since you recovered and you were frozen for at least a few centuries *cough cough*".
The anger on Bloom's face was greatly reduced by my words and now she looked even a little embarrassed with herself.
"For me it will just be a bit of pain, but for you, the results may not necessarily be something as simple as that. You can't just force your body to such levels without even your magic core recovering. Besides, hadn't I told you before?"
"*Cough cough* I've never been sick before, so this may not be so bad".
It may not be that bad, but that wasn't what mattered to me, it was that Bloom didn't get hurt.
Walking a little further, I finally stopped, finding what I had been looking for; a tree big and thick enough for what I needed.
I unsheathed my wand and pointed it at him and after a flash; a large hole was made in its trunk.
It was just an application of elemental transfiguration, molding the inner shape of the tree, in this way, it could form a safe space inside.
Giving a small jump, my body shrank and I took on my heavenly fox form.
I imperceptibly felt that I had grown a bit more since last time, but the hole was still big enough to hold me comfortably.
The instant I had transformed, I felt that the poison coursing through my body was now much more tolerable.
Besides the cough, I hadn't let any other symptoms be visible so as not to worry Bloom, but the situation wasn't that simple, just breathing was painful, as if my lungs were burning and I felt as if my body was boiling or being eaten away by acid, however, compared to what I had felt when I activated the pendant, the current sensation was just a joke and was to a certain extent, quite tolerable.
Looking up, I met Bloom's gaze who was looking at my body attentively. Her eyes were watery and a little red as if she was holding back the urge to cry.
"Come on, you don't have to be so sad, I'll just stay here for a short time, until at least the poison wears off and since my exposure was pretty low in all respects from just breathing in a bit of mist, the only thing what remains is to remove the poison and be careful about where and how to release it.
"That said, releasing it into the castle would still be very dangerous given the poison's highly corrosive characteristics".
Bloom: "But I... I feel useless, I could barely hurt the basilisk and I even had to be protected by you at the end." Bloom's voice sounded frustrated and even though she was flying, her feet still stomped in exasperation.
"You're not useless, it's just that you haven't recovered yet, besides, if it wasn't for you, it would have been very difficult for me to get a chance in that situation. In a normal situation I could have faced the basilisk, but having appeared so suddenly and from our back it is already a good result to have come out intact".
At my words, Bloom immediately raised her eyebrows in question.
"Well, almost intact…".
It was really a combination of bad luck and my carelessness that I left the briefcase where I kept the roosters I stole from Hagrid's farm before Ginny killed them all.
Had I had them with me at the time, I might have been able to annoy the basilisk enough to get the upper hand and attack.
Although it's at least lucky that I didn't come into direct contact with the basilisk's poison, if so, I wouldn't have a way to get rid of the poison that easily since I still haven't gotten phoenix tears.
Bloom: "Are you really going to be okay?".
"Yes, I can feel it, I just need rest and… sleep. My body can take care of the rest; however, you shouldn't be too close to me while my body expels the poison".
Bloom: "But then how will I know if you're okay?"
As Bloom spoke, I felt my eyelids grow heavy. My body instinctively demanded sleep so it could focus on eliminating the threat.
"You will begin to notice that the nearby nature withers... When there are no signs of corrosion... you can go ba...ck".
Finally, everything went dark, as my mind wandered on its way to the world of dreams.
--End pov--.
Bloom stood for a few minutes looking at Extimum's body in his fox form, however, when she finally noticed a green mist starting to come out of Extimum's body, she quickly flew away.
And just as he had said, nature was slowly beginning to wither in a wide area around him.
Flying back and forth in indecision, Bloom finally stopped, took one last look at Extimum, and flew towards the castle.
.
--Pov Mitchell--.
Concern
That was the feeling that now surrounded all the students of Hogwarts at this moment and the one that I could observe the most in the faces of my housemates that surrounded me.
Something big had happened.
I do not even know when things started to turn so bad.
All was quiet in the morning and although in the afternoon a certain level of panic had been reached by learning the identity of the monster that had been lurking around the castle, but given the approach of the creature and the results so far, in the end, things were able to calm down.
Although it was mainly thanks to the joint effort of several students and teachers.
Like the prefects and some students who had great influence in their respective houses and had used some words and little tricks, in order to stabilize the morale of the students.
Extimum himself had contributed with his act of selling a pair of glasses that could apparently prevent you from dying from the Basilisk's gaze.
Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure if it worked, but relying on my knowledge of Extimum that he doesn't usually crack jokes especially when it comes to serious matters, plus I've seen some of his inventions, I chose to believe him.
In addition, even if they didn't work, it served to give us a bit of security or peace of mind.
The principal also made an effort to try to reassure the students and had commissioned the kitchen to make some desserts in order to lighten the atmosphere a bit.
With everyone's efforts, the tense atmosphere had managed to relax and although there was still pressure, things slowly returned to the way they were before the identity of the monster was known.
I even think I've heard some Hufflepuff students joke about the basilisk.
However, it had all gotten worse when it was recess after afternoon classes.
--FlashBack--.
I was sitting at my table with the others while we were doing a boring essay that Professor Snape had left.
Ugh, sometimes I wish I were like Extimum with his eidetic memory. I literally saw him write a short essay on moon salts within minutes of Snape saying he'd give it up for homework. Is that even fair?
Steve: "Hey Mitchell, what's up? Why are you making that face? I'd say this is one of the simplest topics Snape has ever put up, even I'm not complaining". Steve's mocking tone was not hidden at all.
"Tch, of course you're not complaining, your family has a moon salt factory, you don't even need to read the book and you already know the vast majority of related things".
Steve: "Hehehe, it's just a coincidence, besides, I don't know everything yet, and I only know some basics, however, hehehe, look what I have here". Finishing speaking, Steve took out a thin scroll.
The scroll itself was quite ordinary, but seeing the neat and symmetrical handwriting on it, I knew immediately who it was from.
"Impossible! How did you get it? Did you manage to take it without him noticing?"
Steve: "Hmp, I would never steal anything, besides…"—Lowering his voice slightly, Steve continued—"Is it even possible to take it without him noticing? Don't you remember what happened last time?" Steve flinched slightly at his own words, though I was not much better.
Extimum can be very scary when he wants to be.
"Good point, but then?"
Steve: "Hehehe, well, do you remember that I was late going to the potions room? Actually, I was deliberately late and used the opportunity to quickly sell all the glasses that Extimum gave me. I didn't even have to give discounts, I only sold a few and I said that Extimum made them and with that, most of the students came by themselves to buy them".
"Only in that short time did I manage to sell them all. So, on the way out of potions class, I proposed to Extimum that instead of giving me my share of the sales commission, he lend me his homework instead".
"And, he agreed, can you believe it? I'll finally get an O in potions".
Padma: "You know, saying that, that's pretty lame in itself, how can you even not have one for the entire school year? Besides, Extimum always helps if you ask".
Steve: "Yeah, but there's a limit to what you can get just by asking".
Padma gave me an "oh, you haven't told him yet" look as soon as she heard his words, but did not say anything else.
The highest grade Steve usually got was an (A) Acceptable and very occasionally an (E) Exceeds Expectations, but with the exception of last year, this year he hadn't gotten a single (O) Outstanding in any subject.
"Tsk, I would have preferred the money".
Hahahaha, Oh Steve, poor Steve, you wasted a good amount of money on too little, if it had been me I would have asked for at least a week's worth of homework.
It's a shame that you still don't know how Extimum works, but I don't plan on telling you any time soon.
Although it is true that he never lends his homework to copy, but there is a gap that he himself left and that is that as long as you ask him and he was in a good mood, although the latter was a bit difficult to know; you could get him to give you a quick dictation of the assignment.
And though he would only say it once and not repeat himself, Padma, Trudor, and I had managed to split up and write a portion of his dictation as fast as we could, managing to greatly improve our grades on this year's papers.
Is there perhaps some magic in the way he write his essays that somehow makes teachers give you a better grade? Hmm… honestly, it has been one of our unknowns.
McGonagall: "Your attention please. All students are to return to their respective houses immediately. Teachers are to proceed to the staff lounge. Please hurry". Professor McGonagall's voice echoed throughout the castle.
Trudor: "Hey, what's up? It's still half an hour until free time is over".
Padma: "Maybe… maybe there was another attack?".
"Never mind, we'll find out later, for now, let's go back to the common room, maybe Extimum will know something."
--End Flashback--.
Arriving in the common room, the three groups from our house had already gathered, which were essentially the students who decided to go to the library, the great hall, or the Quidditch pitch. They were the three supervised places they'd been allowed to go to in the last few days besides the common room.
I didn't see a trace of Extimum though, maybe it's already in his room?
While we waited for the arrival of a teacher to explain the situation to us, the prefects made a silent count of all the students.
The students started whispering among themselves wondering what was going on or making crazy theories. Nervousness grew when the calm that had been built among the masses seemed to waver.
Although I'll admit it, I was a bit nervous too, I just hope it's nothing serious… Who says it cannot be an emergency meeting for a good deal?
Perhaps will Dumbledore return?
*sigh* I looked around to see how the others were.
Trudor was talking to the other students in our year, apparently discussing the homework Snape left behind and we still haven't finished.
Padma had also met a small group of girls, most of them from our year, but there were also a few third years.
Luna was... well... being Luna, although she was together with Padma, she only spoke occasionally and other times she was looking at something...
Seriously… What is she looking at so much? Maybe there is something I am not seeing? Hmm… sounds likely, sometimes she says very observant things, things that most people sometimes overlook.
Though for some reason, she seems worried?
Steve, on the other hand, he was… What is he doing? It looks like… Ugh, I have no idea what he is doing, it has a weird object, it looks like those weird prototypes that Extimum sometimes makes.
However, he quickly snapped out of whatever he was doing when a boy approached him from within the crowd and started whispering something in his ear.
Oh, on a closer look, that's Reinold, one of the most active informants and gossip finders who works for Steve, although I'm still not sure what he pays them with… oh forget it, I can already make a guess.
hmm?
What's the matter? What could he have said to make Steve go that pale and look so worried?
Sensing my gaze, Steve also looked at me and then, careful not to draw the attention of our friends who seemed busy with other matters, he approached me and secreted information in my ear that made me open my eyes in surprise.
--End pov--.
Flitwick: "Silence, everyone, please. Thank you. As some of you may have noticed, an incident has occurred again, however, the seriousness of the situation this time is truly dire, for which the headmistress together with the rest of the teachers have decided to close the school until the situation can be properly dealt with".
Flitwick's voice sounded incredibly serious and carried a slight hint of heaviness in it. The mere sentiment in his voice made the students listen carefully, they had never seen the normally friendly and cheerful teacher in such a state even when the previous incidents occurred.
"Therefore, you will leave on the train to return home in two days. Until then, classes will be cancelled and instead, they will be assigned a compendium of topics and assignments that will serve to bring a satisfactory closure to their school years".
Student x: "But Professor Flitwick, how will the papers be graded if we leave in two days?"
Flitwick: "You could say that, in order not to disadvantage students, the end of the school year will be dealt with by mail".
"Ah, one last thing, students who are close acquaintances of young Extimum, please follow me to my office for a moment to discuss some matters". Saying the last part, Professor Flitwick seemed slightly downcast.
His last comment caught everyone's attention and caused different reactions in some.
Steve, Mitchell, Trudor, Padma, and Luna only shared a glance, and then followed Professor Flitwick out of the common room; while the other students discussed the information, they had just been told.
…
Some time later, the door to the Ravenclaw common room was opened again, as Steve and the others were seen returning, however, some more observant students noted that they looked visibly downcast and a little clueless.
Of course, not everyone was so observant or considerate and they immediately surrounded them to try to get some information out of them.
For some reason, on this occasion, the victims or the general situation were not reported, which greatly puzzled the other students.
Among the small group, Luna was the one who stood out the most, as she did not stop to look at the students around her and walked slowly, but without stopping through the crowd, while holding a bag tightly in her hands.
Her lost gaze that didn't even pay attention to the path she was walking on and the slight aura or sinking feeling around her, along with a distant feeling, made all the students who saw her unconsciously make way for her.
Only to then return to surround Steve, Mitchell, Trudor and Padma under his circle of people and questions.
.
--Pov Extimum--.
My mind wandered in the dream landscape, while I felt how my body was slowly expelling the poison from my body and even though I slept most of that time, when I finally felt that all the poison had been eliminated, I felt more tired than before instead of rejuvenated.
It was so much so, that I was only fully lucid for a few seconds before it fell into a state somewhere between being asleep and partially awake, keeping a light watch for any creatures approaching.
However, I doubted that any would dare to do it in a good time due to the slight aura of corrosion and the state of the surrounding environment.
At some point, I felt Bloom's aura approaching… I also vaguely felt another aura next to her, but at that moment, my body finally gave up on holding that last bit of consciousness as I felt Bloom close by and didn't detect any threat or danger.
Falling asleep again.
…
I woke up some time later, I was feeling completely fine now, though still a bit lethargic, something unusual for me, but still, I lazily stretched in place to shake off my sluggishness and was about to open my eyes, when I felt as if all the hairs on my body were standing on end.
Without a second thought, I carelessly rolled to the side and looked around alertly.
I was in a room, but it was not mine… and a few meters from me, two girls were staring at me intently, showing a rather strange and disturbing look in their eyes.
There was emotion, affection, tenderness and… Ugh, I felt a shiver run through my body.
My alarms of danger had been extinguished largely when understanding the origin of my previous concern, but that last emotion made me feel uncomfortable.
Student A: "Kyaa, it's so cute".
Student B: "Yeah, he finally woke up, does that mean he's fine now? Can we play with him now?"
Pl…play…with me?
--End Pov--.
All Extimum's thoughts suddenly calmed down when he heard that girl's last comment.
And if possible, a swollen vein might have been visible on his forehead upon hearing such words.
Extimum: ' Breathe… Breathe… Exhale, they are just uneducated children, you must not take them completely seriously- '.
As he calmed down and analyzed his current situation, he quickly realized that he was in the girls' dormitory, however, he couldn't figure out why he was here.
He didn't have much time to think though, as his body instinctively jumped back as one of the girls lunged at him trying to catch him.
Only to almost trip in the attempt, due to a blanket that had been covering his body and he hadn't initially noticed.
Student A: "Oh, it's a very fast".
Student B: "I know, we're going to surround him, so he has nowhere to go".
The two girls were getting into position to try to catch Extimum again, when suddenly, the door to the room opened, making a rather screeching sound that caught everyone's attention and made the two girls stop in their actions.
Luna: "What are you doing? I told you not to bother him because he needed to recover".
Luna said with a firm and slightly angry voice, different from her usual calm, as she looked at the two girls, at the same time, she also gave a few curious glances at the fox who was now lying awake on her bed.
She recognized him as the one she had met that time when she woke up sleepwalking, but she still wasn't entirely sure why Bloom had asked her to help bring him to the castle.
Although at least, in all that journey to bring him to the castle, she had learned several things that had greatly cheered her previously low mood.
--FlashBack--.
After returning to the common room, Luna looked visibly downcast as did the others who accompanied her, so she ignored everyone else and went straight to her room.
Upon arrival, she simply sat on her bed and stared at the wall, trying to reign in her thoughts and make sense of what had happened and at the same time, herself.
Student to: "Hey, Luna".
Student b: "Luna?"
Her two roommates tried to talk to her, also wanting to know what Professor Flitwick had told them, but she just ignored them, keeping her eyes on the wall.
In the end, her two roommates got tired of calling her and trying to get any answers from her and just left her alone while they went back to doing their things.
It was like that until at least…
**Ti-lililin Ti-lin**
A familiar sound entered her ears.
**Ti-lilililin-lin-lin**
The first time she partially ignored it, but when said sound entered her ears for the second time, the depth of her gaze was reduced, replacing it instead, with a much more lucid gaze accompanied by a touch of surprise.
That sound was soft and a bit dreamlike, but despite its low key, it managed to completely get Luna out of her thoughts or rather, the absence of them.
So her gaze moved around the room trying to find the source of the sound.
**Ti-lililin Ti-lin**
Hearing the sound for the third time, Luna's gaze finally focused on the window near her bed.
There, behind her window, was Bloom, who was flying and beckoning her with her hands.
'Bloom… If Bloom is here and okay, then Extimum…'. Thinking about it, Luna's hands tightened on the bag she had carried with her all this time.
It was a blue bag, with a peculiar design full of stars.
Without dwelling any longer on her thoughts, she went to her window and opened it.
As soon as the window was opened, Bloom immediately flew into the room; however, she did not stop immediately, but circled around Luna several times and finally, after giving her a scrutinizing look, stopped in front of her.
The slight sound, accompanied by Luna's actions, attracted the attention of Luna's two roommates, who were looking on curiously.
Looking Luna, Bloom frowned slightly.
Luna: 'Hmm? Why is she looking at me like that?'
Seeing Bloom's expression, Luna was taken aback, her actions upon entering had been as if she was checking if she was all right, besides, why was she frowning? Not understanding, Luna quickly looked at herself in a nearby mirror.
Luna: 'I look normal, maybe just a little sloppier than usual, though… my eyes are a little red… No wait, that's not important right now'.
Just as Luna asked the question that disturbed her mind, Bloom also seemed to have a change of mind and cast aside Luna's somewhat haggard state, while instead putting on a somewhat anxious face that Luna had never seen on her before.
Bloom walked over and tugged on her robe while pointing outside repeatedly and looking at her.
Luna: "Do you want me to go outside?"
**Ti-lin** Bloom nodded immediately.
Luna: "I don't think I can go out and much less now... things have become very complicated". 'Maybe she doesn't know yet?'
Bloom's face screwed up, frowning, however, her attention quickly seemed drawn to something else and she shifted her gaze to the star patterned bag in Luna's hand.
Bloom flew over and put her hands on the bag, her gaze resting on it for a moment and then, while pointing at the bag, she pointed out again.
Luna: "You say Extimum is out there?" Understanding her implication, Luna immediately asked her guess.
However, the instant she understood her own words, Luna suddenly felt energized, as if all her earlier decay was just an illusion.
Nonetheless, Bloom immediately shook her head upon hearing her question, causing all that energy to disappear and her mood to drop again, however, seconds later, Bloom nodded much more discreetly, reviving Luna's spirits again.
Luna almost felt like Bloom was playing with her emotions just by nodding or shaking her head.
At all this, Luna finally noticed that her two roommates had actually been paying close attention to their entire exchange, however, they seemed a little less interested when they saw Bloom shake her head.
Understanding the situation, Luna made a sign to Bloom, which she understood immediately, flying towards her and sitting on her shoulder, later, they left the room.
She needed a more secluded place in order to fully understand Bloom, however, with the current situation, there didn't seem to be anywhere that was discreet enough.
Just as Luna was weighing her options, Bloom caught her eye and then pointed to a seemingly normal wall in the area just after going down the stairs
Looking at said wall, Luna's eyes lit up and she didn't take long to go towards it.
Because that was the entrance to the Extimum room and although she didn't know how they would get in, she believed that Bloom should have a way since she had suggested it herself.
Arriving in front of the wall, Bloom waved her hand, causing the wall in front of them to suddenly turn translucent.
And without too many thoughts and not wanting to draw too much attention, Luna quickly crossed to the other side of the wall, to which she became corporeal again right after, noticeable by the astonished gaze of some nearby students at that moment.
Passing the short dark corridor and reaching the room, Luna went straight to Extimum's desk.
Luna: "Just wait for me a moment, I'll take a scroll, along with a quill and inkwell".
???: "That won't be necessary."
Luna stopped dead in her tracks at the sudden unfamiliar, yet slightly familiar voice that sounded close to her ear.
And as her eyes flickered in surprise and she turned her head to look at Bloom, Bloom spoke again.
Bloom: "There's no time to explain how I can speak. Extimum and I were attacked by the Basilisk. He's fine now, but he's recovering and I need your help to…to…bring someone very important to the castle".
Luna: 'Bloom can talk!... It's amazing! I had suspected it, but seeing or hearing it for myself is something completely different'.
'But…'
"What about Extimum?".
Bloom: "He…he'll be fine".
There was something else, Luna could tell, but it was fine, just knowing that he was fine was enough for her at the moment.
Luna: "But I don't know if I can help you, going out is currently very difficult, I don't even think I can leave the common room outside to go to the bathroom and only under the supervision of some teacher. Everyone believes that the basilisk did something to Extimum and since nothing but his bag was found, there's too much speculation, on top of that, the basilisk took Ginny, while the heir of Slytherin left a message enacting her death".
Professor Flitwick had informed Luna and the others of the situation when they entered his office.
Starting from the potions classroom in the castle dungeons, a trail of destruction was found. Several cracked walls, traces of an explosion, ashes from burnt things and what were believed to be drops of blood. As if that were not enough, at the end of that destructive trail, the solitary bag of Extimum was found lying on the floor nearby.
With a short investigation, several conclusions could be drawn about what could have happened, added to the fact that no one had seen Extimum since the potions class.
In addition, the heir to Slytherin had left a message written in blood under the old one, along with Ginny's disappearance. Everything pointed to the fact that the basilisk had reappeared and attacked two students, taking one of them and as for the other… it was not known, but the worst was feared.
Bloom: "That won't be a problem, that's precisely why I asked you to come here". Speaking up to here, Bloom opened the bag of Extimum and then took out a long sword from there.
The sword was mostly silver with some purple details, however, its body and especially the silver parts, gave the feeling that, instead of some metal, it was made of some kind of silver and translucent glass.
Luna: "What will you use the sword for?". Luna's curiosity grew when she saw her draw a sword in such a situation.
Bloom didn't answer her question and instead opened the bedroom window and then threw the sword directly.
However, to Luna's surprise, the sword, instead of falling, floated there a few inches from the window.
Luna: "A flying sword! It's fantastic, my father had told me about them, but I've never seen one".
Bloom: "Well, get on".
Although the idea sounded very tempting to Luna, the sword was very thin…. 'Oh, it can expand'.
Without further thought, Luna climbed onto the desk and then held on to the window frame while stepping one of her feet on the blade of the sword.
And contrary to what she expected, the sword held incredibly steady and she was able to put her second foot down with ease.
Already standing over her, Luna couldn't help but comment.
Luna: "But…I don't know how to fly a flying sword…"
Bloom: "Okay, I'll drive". As Bloom spoke, she also flew towards the sword and sat in front of Luna and soon after, the sword began to move.
--End Flashback--.
After accompanying Bloom, it was quite a surprise for Luna when they reached a part where the entire forest seemed dead and at the epicenter of all that disastrous area was the mythical nine-tailed fox that had been found that snowy night.
It was even more so, when Bloom asked her to help him bring it to the castle and although she didn't know why she wanted to do it, when she saw the poor fox in what seemed like an area of devastation, she actively helped her in the process.
It was so much so, that she refused when Bloom told her to leave him in Extimum's room and ignoring all her words, she brought him to her room to take care of him.
In addition, Luna could not help but think that Extimum might be angry when he came back if he saw that they had brought an animal into his room and even let him sleep in his bed. It's not like she saw him angry, but she guessed that he might not like it and would rather not be the cause of his anger.
Considering all that, she left him in her bed and covered him with one of her blankets, where he had slept all the rest of the afternoon and night, until early today.
Precisely because it was already early, she had gone out with Bloom to go to the bathroom and when she returned, she found herself in this situation.
Student A: "Ugh… But he's already awake, besides, look at him, before you got here he was able to jump and even make all this mess".
Student B: "Yes, besides, we didn't do anything wrong to him, we couldn't even touch him, he's very slippery".
Looking at the situation in the room, Bloom was first glad to see Extimum awake, however, when she felt the atmosphere in the room her joy quickly faded.
The blankets on the bed were torn, accompanied by a trail of claws reaching to Extimum's position.
And although the two girls had moved away a little when they saw her and Luna arrive, Bloom could see that they still hadn't taken their eyes off Extimum.
However, what alarmed her the most and made her feel uncomfortable was actually that she could clearly sense that Extimum was very angry and displeased with the situation.
He had seen Extimum angry, at times domineering or grumpy, but she had never seen him angry.
Furthermore, the gaze with which he looked at the two girls was beginning to turn dangerous from her perception.
Luna: "Of course he would try to move and escape if he feels threatened, but that doesn't mean it's good for his health. I'm back anyway, so you can go back to your business".
Student A: "Hmp, stingy".
At Luna's words, the two students were not entirely convinced and even felt a bit resentful, however, all those thoughts quickly died upon hearing a low, but chilling growl.
**Grr**
The growl almost made them wince, so they looked scared at the fox that had seemed completely cute and harmless before and took a few steps back.
« insolence » «it is blasphemy» «they must die»
'silence!'.
«...»
Extimum mentally sighed that he could finally silence the voices in his head and not wanting to stay here any longer, he was about to slip away, when he felt a hand lightly rub his head.
Luna: "It's okay, it's okay, don't get mad. They were a little rude, but they didn't mean anything bad". Luna said softly as she lightly rubbed the fox's head trying to comfort him.
Extimum froze in place when he felt someone touch his head, for some reason, he felt that today everyone was testing his patience and self-control.
However, he quickly snapped out of his daze and stepped back, pulling his hand away above his head, while staring into Luna's eyes.
Luna also kept his gaze, a little insecure and nervous inside, although she didn't show it outwardly, since she was aware that she wasn't too close either, nor had she gained the trust of the nine-tailed fox in front of her.
She knew that a magical creature could not be treated as a simple animal, much less those that had a certain level of renown and history, because all of them were mostly possessed of great intelligence.
Of course, the main reason why she dared to do so was because she believed that he must be an acquaintance of Bloom's, and besides, she had helped him, so he shouldn't be hostile towards her.
Sharing glances with Luna for a while, Extimum finally sighed mentally and just turned around preparing to leave the room.
Extimum: '*sigh* I think I'll get old from so much sighing. Forget it, it must be that I have exhausted all my good luck in the past few days and this is just my retribution'.
Luna: "Wait, you can't leave."
Seeing the nine-tailed fox heading for the exit, Luna unconsciously walked over and hugged him to try and stop him from leaving.
However, she quickly released him upon being aware of her actions.
And feeling the gaze of the nine-tailed fox, Luna hurriedly said.
Luna: "You can't just go out like this, to begin with, you're not supposed to be here, besides, although you seem to be fine, but when we found you, you were in a devastation zone, so maybe you should rest more".
Extimum considered it a bit and took a quick glance at Bloom, mainly to better understand his situation and finally agreed.
So he walked over to the corner of the bed and lay down there, planning to at least stay for a while before he just disappeared.
Extimum: 'So my actions managed to make Voldy nervous, huh… so I guess he decided to act earlier, presumably I should have considered it by directly healing his victims. Although seen from another side, they could actually be considered more like a game for his entertainment or just a very large series of coincidences'.
'Otherwise, it would not make sense that none of those affected were completely petrified and all were only partially petrified due to one event or another'.
Luna sighed to herself seeing the nine-tailed fox accept her request, on the other hand, contrary to her calm, Bloom felt a little restless.
The look Extimum had given her seemed normal on the surface, but it seemed like he blamed her for the unfolding of current events and felt like his look promised revenge.
Extimum: 'On the other hand… I'm currently reported missing and only Luna knows I'm fine. So how should I go back? Just showing up isn't entirely unfeasible, but I would need a good excuse, no, wait, first of all, my disappearance could raise a lot of problems, because even ignoring the fact that someone in my family cares, but only for the sake of the image, they could take action'.
'Damn it, I swear that even if Harry doesn't, I'll find my ways so that basilisk doesn't rest in peace even in its death, as for its master, we'll see…'.
Extimum's mind began to race as he thought of different ways to deal with this situation, mostly ignoring what was going on around him.
**drag**
As Extimum thought of a solution to his situation, a slight shuffling sound was heard around him and as he looked, he noticed that the canopy curtain surrounding the bed was beginning to close.
And turning his eyes, he didn't find Bloom anywhere, only Luna...
--------------------
discord.gg/ZZrUfk3msj
クリエイターの想い 
Zeroz7
Zeroz7 Ugh, sorry for the delay, I had wanted to upload the chapter last week, but I got too busy with some exams and by the time Saturday arrived, what I had left of the chapter did not leave me very satisfied, added to a small mental block...
Anyway, I'll try to do a double release at the end of the month if possible to recover the chapter.
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