บท 193: Oleandra and the Goblet of Fire
"What do you think you're doing?" said Daphne with a frown on her brow. "Don't tell me you forgot to bring the bit of parchment you wrote your name on?"
"I changed my mind," said Oleandra. "I don't want to enter the tournament."
"What, you got cold feet, or something?" Ginny questioned her.
"No," scowled Oleandra. "I just…"
Oleandra's voice trailed off. She had wanted to enter so very badly, so why had she changed her mind so easily? Something seemed… off. It wasn't like her to give up so easily.
"Hold on," said Oleandra, "let me try again."
Oleandra crossed the Age Line once more, but this time, she didn't even make it three steps in before turning back and stepping over the line again.
"Yeah," said Oleandra. "This is definitely stupid. I'm going to bed."
As Oleandra made to leave the Entrance Hall, Daphne grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and dragged her back.
"What's the matter with you?" Daphne said. "Don't tell me you're giving up that easily."
"Well, nobody's stopping you," snapped Oleandra. "Go on and put your name in, if you want to enter this blasted tournament so badly."
"Fine, then," Daphne sniffed. "I'll enter by myself then."
Daphne jumped over the line and strode over to the Goblet, before stopping five feet away from it. She stopped for a moment to think, before returning to Oleandra's side.
"I daresay you were right, Sis," said Daphne. "We probably shouldn't be entering such a tournament. Mother expressly forbade us from doing anything that would worry her."
"Wouldn't want to worry Mother," nodded Oleandra. "Or make her angry. Er— angrier."
A few steps away, Ginny had been quietly observing the twins' antics. Inwardly, she was very surprised that their mental protections had failed them; she knew from first-hand experience that the runes inscribed in their souls formed a tight net that prevented any mental attacks. Even a Horcrux's insidious magic hadn't been able to bring Oleandra's mental defences offline for long.
The old man knew about the Greengrass twins' runic magic; Ginny knew that for a fact. So it stood to reason that an Age Line wouldn't have been the only layer of security; knowing the old man, there had to be a second line of defence, and maybe even a third protecting the second.
There was also another thing Ginny was curious about; how had Oleandra detected the hidden Caterwauling Charm without using any revealing spells, and how could she see runes when Ginny and Daphne couldn't? Was she hiding something from them?
"Oleandra, Daphne," said Ginny. "Could you take a look around the room for me? Tell me if you see anything out of the ordinary."
Ginny then started going around the room, saying, "Aparecium!" at random intervals. Meanwhile, Oleandra and Daphne were beginning to shake off the effects of whatever had affected their minds, and they were feeling slightly miffed from having their minds toyed with.
"Sister," whispered Daphne upon seeing the Age Line's true form appear due to Ginny's Revealing Charm. "We need to have a word, privately. Once we're done with this."
Oleandra nodded. She had never told anyone about her Mystic Eyes, as for some reason, she had always felt it was better not to reveal them, even to her closest friends and family. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for these feelings; her eyes weren't especially powerful, so why had she felt this need for secrecy?
The three searched the room for ten minutes, without much success, until Daphne happened to look up.
"On the ceiling!" Daphne gasped. "It was on the ceiling!"
A second runic circle had been drawn on the ceiling, which was the best hiding place for anything, as nobody ever looked up. However, the runes drawn on it seemed almost alien to Oleandra; those weren't the Futhark runes she used daily, but rather the Irish Ogham runes, which she recognized from Professor Babbling's class.
"The magic of the earth," murmured Oleandra. "Dampens the magic of the stars."
"Ah, got it!" announced Ginny from the other side of the circle. "There's a Repulsion Charm placed on the Goblet itself. It works a bit like the Muggle-Repelling Charm; if you're a Muggle, it implants mental wedges, suggestions that you need to urgently be somewhere else. Similarly, if you're underage, the more you want to approach the Goblet, the more you'll want to have nothing to do with it!"
Professor Dumbledore had set up four lines of defence:
Firstly, the Age Line runic circle to stop underage students from approaching the Goblet of Fire.
Secondly, the smaller Ogham runic circle on the ceiling within the confines of the Age Line, to stop runic magic users from using their powers once inside it.
Thirdly, the Repulsion Charm, which would turn the underage runic magic user away without arousing their suspicion! If Oleandra had crossed the Age Line in broad daylight, she wouldn't have even considered trying again after turning back once in front of a crowd of observers!
Fourthly, a Silent Caterwauling Charm that would alert him to nighttime visitors, allowing him to keep an eye on them while they tried to submit their names!
Unfortunately for Dumbledore, Oleandra had chosen to come in the dead of night, and Ginny had known how to undo the powerful Repulsion Charm, which would work even on Wizardkind!
Muggles had absolutely no magical defences, but even the weakest Wizard or even Squib could walk through a Muggle-Repelling Charm unhindered, due to their innate magical field disturbing the weak magic fluctuations of the Charm.
Once the Repulsion Charm was disabled, no matter how much the runic circle on the ceiling cancelled Oleandra's and Daphne's magic, it couldn't stop them from approaching the Goblet of Fire!
The twins threw their parchments inside the blue flames of the Goblet together and watched the fire consume the paper.
"Alea iacta est," murmured Daphne.
"The die is cast," said Oleandra. "There's no turning back now, Sis. Come on, let's go back to the dorm and try to catch a few hours of sleep."
"I'm going to stay here for a while," said Ginny. "There's something I need to check."
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