บท 125: Chapter 125: Master of Fire (4)
Thursday after lunch, the Gryffindors were waiting outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, casually discussing what dark creature they might study that day. The fourth-years were set to continue their work from the previous year, now delving into more perilous topics. Since this was a basic course, the actual defensive spells were reserved for the N.E.W.T. levels. Despite that, excitement buzzed through the group, fuelled by wild speculations that Professor Thorne might present a real vampire.
"Honestly, I'm not that thrilled about meeting a vampire." – Catherine remarked, perched on a stone windowsill and biting into an apple - "I sit next to one during every Ancient Runes class."
Her comment prompted laughter from the boys, who glanced across the corridor at the Slytherins. Snape, visibly paler than usual, closed his book, his thin lips trembling with rage. His black eyes bore into Catherine with intense hatred.
"I'd sooner die of starvation than have a drop of your filthy blood!" – the boy hissed, his fellow housemates howling with approval.
"How dare you…" – Sirius began, drawing his wand and pointing it toward Snape.
"No!" – Catherine's voice had a metallic edge – "I don't need anyone's help."
With that, she swiftly jumped from the windowsill and closed the distance to Snape in a few strides, locking eyes with him fearlessly. The fact he was now almost a head taller than her annoyed the young witch a bit, but she didn't back off. The boy flinched slightly, a nervous tic appearing at the corner of his mouth, but he just frowned and stood still. He hated Catherine Plantier being so close to him. Normally adverse to physical closeness except with Lily, the black-haired girl's proximity unnerved him. Her jade-green eyes drove him insane with anger. The fantasy from last Christmas emerged in his mind and he stared at the one he blamed for his failed attempt to ease his pain.
Severus saw her hand move and immediately thought she was about to draw her wand out and hex him. Acting on instinct, he grabbed her wrist and yanked her forcefully. The wizard saw the shock on the Gryffindor's face, briefly noting that her hand felt a bit too fragile. Suddenly, the girl collapsed, falling forward onto Snape, who didn't expect such a turn of events and barely managed to catch her in time to prevent her from hitting the floor.
"Sirius, no!" – Lupin's voice rang out, as the Slytherin boy felt a sharp pain in his jaw.
***
Carter Thorne sighed with exasperation as he finished grading of the last one of his fifth-years' assignments. He was well aware that long and complicated tasks were necessary to fully prepare his students for the upcoming OWLs. However, this also meant he had to read through all of them. One thing the aristocrat had already noticed was that when the homework involved simple research tasks, the results were usually acceptable. Unfortunately, when he tried to make his students think critically and analyse certain events and situations, the outcomes were often horrendous.
Such was the current case with the essays he had assigned as a lighter exercise to help the fifth-years relax a bit – an assessment of recorded famous duels, coupled with suggestions of what could have been done differently by the defeated side. The DADA teacher was currently debating whether the worst work was Aelia Greengrass's, who suggested Morgana le Fay should have used her womanly charm during her famous duel with Merlin, or Leif Thornton's from Hufflepuff, who chose to write about an imaginary duel between Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin. Upon further investigation, Carsilion found that this mysterious event had only been described in a cheap novel apparently circulating among the older students due to its rather steamy love stories.
Of course, there were some decent works that showed good analytical skills and an understanding of the core principles of duelling. Regrettably, one such essay belonged to Greg McMahon, who had decided to dedicate his homework to the 'great duel between Marquess Carsilion Egbert and Louisa Plantier.'
'I can't believe that brat had spent so much time and effort just so he could mock me – like father, like son!' – the wizard thought, vowing that the cheeky heir of House McMahon would receive a proper payback sooner rather than later.
A quick glance at the clock on the mantel showed Carsilion he was late for his afternoon class. The Marquess quickly arranged the scattered parchments on his desk and headed towards the entrance of the DADA classroom, trying to remember if he had managed to grade all the fourth-years' homework.
The sudden commotion that erupted from the corridor prompted the Professor to hurriedly unlock the door, just in time to see Sirius Black punching Severus Snape in the face. Remus Lupin and James Potter rushed towards what appeared to be the unconscious Catherine, who the Slytherin was still holding awkwardly.
"What the hell are you doing?" – Carsilion's angry voice boomed over the students, who immediately started shouting in futile attempts to explain their version of the events.
"Silence!" – the teacher commanded, causing the noise to cease immediately – "Mr Black, I don't care whose fault that was! You can't fight like Muggles right under my nose! Twenty points from Gryffindor and a week of detention with me! Mr Snape, what have you done to Miss Plantier?
"I haven't done anything to her!" – the young wizard stated defensively – "We were having an argument and she just fainted."
"You did something to her, fucking bastard! Admit it!" – Sirius shouted beyond himself with rage, glancing at Catherine's pale face, resting against Remus' shoulder. He and James had finally managed to free their friend from Snape's grasp and Moony had volunteered to carry her to the Hospital Wing.
"Mr Black, can you not control yourself?" – Professor Thorne asked impatiently – "Ten more points from Gryffindor. Mr Lupin, did Mr Snape hurt Miss Plantier in any way?"
"I… I'm not sure." – Remus stuttered – "Everything happened very quickly, but I think it was just a coincidence and Catherine felt ill. May we take her to Madame Pomfrey, Professor?"
Carsilion carefully studied the girl's unconscious features, battling a strong desire to snatch the young witch from her friends and check if she was truly alright. Such a display, however, would raise many questions, especially because it concerned Catherine Plantier, whom everyone thought he had a grudge against. After a moment of contemplation, the wizard finally sighed and nodded.
"Apparently Miss Plantier needs some medical attention. Mr Potter, help Mr Lupin to take her to the Hospital Wing. You'll report to me afterward. Everyone else, get inside! The class has already started."
As the fourth-years slowly filed into the DADA classroom, Carsilion's gaze followed Potter and Lupin as they hurried down the corridor, Catherine still in Remus' arms. Quickly opening himself to his element, the wizard summoned the spirit of air, manipulating the sound waves to hear what the two Gryffindors were discussing.
"I knew this was a bad idea!" – James murmured angrily.
"She understood the risks very well." – Lupin answered – "It's important for Catherine, so it's our role to support her and help her get through this."
"I just don't see why she risks her health, so she could play with fire." – James groaned as they disappeared around the corner.
Carsilion shook his head in irritation. Dumbledore could have mentioned that they had started the girl's elemental training. This way, he could have anticipated such side effects. Sadly, relations between the Headmaster and the DADA teacher were a bit frosty after their argument at the end of the summer. Succumbing to his frustration, Carsilion forcefully spread his wings, made of air, releasing his pent-up anger. He wished he could go for a fly—it always helped him relax and clear his mind. The wizard sighed deeply and released his element, remembering he had a class to teach. Then he noticed that Snape was still standing in the corridor, staring at where his wings had been just a few seconds ago. The boy quickly snapped back to his senses and darted into the classroom without looking at his Professor, who in turn stared after the boy.
'Is it possible that Snape saw my wings? But they aren't visible to anyone but another Air Mage! If he did, he must have a very strong air inclination to be able to do so without any training.' - Carsilion thought, but then quickly reminded himself that this was not part of his job. He had more than enough on his plate with Catherine without searching for kids with a talent for Air magic.
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