บท 42: Christmas
News of the second attack soon filled the school and rumors were flying around everywhere. Art ignored most of the rumors and researched more about the Basilisk. Seeing it's weakness was the sound of a rooster he was excited and headed down to Hagrid's hut. To his disappointment, Hagrid's roosters were all killed, confirming Art's theory about it being a Basilisk.
'Someone knew that the cry of a rooster could kill it so they killed them to protect it.'
Frustrated, he wrote his letter to Newt, asking for advice on how to handle the Basilisk. He met the twins in the Room of Requirement and informed them about his finds. They had a different reactions compared to Cedric.
"A great giant snake is slithering around the castle? We have to stop it!"
"Maybe we can lay a trap for it? Lure it in somehow and kill it."
Art laughed at his friends bitterly, they truly were fearless.
"How do you plan to fight something that you can't look at?" Art asked.
"Well I am sure you can think of something. You're the brains while we are the muscle." Fred said laughing, patting Art's shoulder.
Art gave him a cold look and continued to read the book.
Soon a different kind of news spread throughout the castle, a Dueling Club was being formed and Lockhart was the teacher teaching it.
"What a waste of time, he's an idiot." Art said harshly as he read the paper.
A couple of students heard him and looked at him with weird eyes as they signed up.
"He can't be an idiot Artland, have you read his books? He has done many incredible things." Hermoine said, defending Lockhart.
"Books are books Hermoine. Has he done anything incredible since he has been here? All he has done is make his class a joke and got rid of the bones in Harry's arms." Art said, looking at the bushy haired girl.
She seemed to disagree with Art but didn't say anything and walked away. Art's classes with Flitwick were getting more intense and they couldn't use his classroom anymore and opted for Dueling club room. This made it harder for Art to use his unique style but he welcomed the challenge. Flitwick was still energetic as always, staying that Art had real talent for dueling.
"Should we go?" Cedric asked, appearing behind Art.
Art shook his head lightly, "No I have better things to do. How about you?"
"I think so. It will be enjoyable to watch Lockhart make a fool out of himself." Cedric smiled evilly.
Art laughed and headed toward class. He was working on his inventing his own spell which would allow him to create a map of his surroundings in his head. It would allow him 360 degree vision which could come in handy if he had to fight the Basilisk.
That night he found himself in the Room of Requirement working on his spell. He had failed countless times already but didn't give up hope. He sat down and tried to figure out what he was missing.
Suddenly he slapped the ground, a flash of inspiration came to him.
"A bat! A bat uses echolocation to map its surroundings! I could do the same but with magic! Small but constant burst of magic that would reflect off of my surroundings!" he said out loud. He stood up and tried to control his magic, sending out small waves of magic.
"It works!" he yelled, he laughed in joy as he continued to refine it.
After a few hours of work, he closed his eyes and said, "Omnis Oculus!"
Slowly a grid appeared in his head with his surroundings coming into clear view. He laughed again and tried to walk around. He fell a couple of times due to being a little unbalanced but eventually got the hang of it.
"My first spell." he said, opening his eyes. He felt happiness and pride, it also gave him a new desire to create his own spells.
He looked at the time and saw it was already late so he quickly made his way back to his dorm where he saw the twins were already sleeping.
The next day the twins told Art something that shocked Art. Harry was a parseltongue and he talked to a snake during the Dueling Club.
'But Harry can't be the heir.' Art thought.
The school seemed to be a buzz with the thought that Harry was the heir of Slytherin. People avoided him and stared at him with fear. The twins found this amusing and were yelling at people in the hallway.
"Make way! The heir of Slytherin is coming!" they said, creating a big wake for Harry.
Harry seemed to feel better about it after the twins made such a big joke out of it. Art smiled to himself, glad the twins the way they were. Another attack shook the school, this time it was a second year. What shocked everyone was that Nearly Headless Nick, a ghost, was also petrified.
Art felt immense pressure and started to patrol the hallways, looking for the Basilisk. The great snake seemed to disappear though and Art felt frustrated. Soon Christmas came and almost everyone opted to leave the castle. Art also went home that Christmas as well, missing his parents.
Seeing his parents on the platform, he gave them both a big hug before getting into the car. Being home he felt relaxed and enjoyed spending time with his family. On Christmas he exchanged gifts with his parents, he also received gifts from the twins, Cedric and Newt. From Newt he received his new book about beasts and his private journal from his travels around the world.
From the twins he received a book on advanced spells and from Cedric he got a Sneakoscope. Happy with his gifts Art started to read Newt's journal. The vacation was short lived though and was heading back to Hogwarts.
When he got back, he heard that Hermoine was in the hospital wing. He went to check on her but Madam Pomfrey said she didn't want to see him. Art understood and told Madam Pomfrey to tell her he wishes her to get better soon.
Seeing Art leave, Pomfrey went and checked on Hermione. "You know dear, you could have probably let him see you."
Hermoine peeked out from her hands which were covering her face. Her face was covered with brown hair and her eyes were yellow. "Not like this Madam Pomfrey, I look like a cat." she said quietly.
Madam Pomfrey shook her head softly but didn't say anything more. A week later she was discharged from the hospital but didn't say why she was there causing Art to be suspicious.
He didn't ask them though, as they didn't seem to want to share. The term started again and everyone was busy with class.
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