บท 12: The Recording Charm
The days after Hallowe'en passed quickly and soon the inaugural Gryffindor v. Slytherin Quidditch match neared. After the troll incident, Ron was once again the talk of the school. Most comments were positive, but some were critical, claiming he'd loosed the troll himself for the glory of vanquishing it. Regardless, everyone was talking about it.
He'd even got a letter from Arthur, filled with pride and concern. Nothing came from Molly though, much to his dismay.
As for the Professors, Ron claimed he was worried about Neville, wanting to cheer him up in detention. Since he'd left before Quirrell's announcement, none of the teachers suspected any foul play. After Blaise and Hermione corroborated his story, Dumbledore dismissed it as a 'happy coincidence' and awarded them 5 points each.
But Hermione and Blaise were still suspicious about how he'd known about it all.
"Did you put a ward on him? Or communicate via two-way mirror?"
"Or maybe a protean charm? But that's N.E.W.T. level magic! Surely, you're not that far ahead."
"Board 1, Queen B3 checkmate. Board 2, Rook H8 checkmate." Ron replied simply, extending both hands. "Good game."
Going black as a pair of cauldrons, Hermione and Blaise grimaced as Ron thrashed them at chess, all while evading their questions. Repairing up the chessmen, Ron collected his board while Hermione collected hers.
"Are you really not going to tell us?" She asked irately.
"Nope. Now shouldn't you be hyping up Potter with the other Gryffindors? He's got a game in an hour."
"Oi! Whose side are you on?" Blaise objected.
"My side." Ron grinned.
Hermione departed with a frustrated sigh, while Ron and Blaise headed up to the Common Room, then down to the Quidditch Pitch. As they arrived, they ran into the Gryffindor team, with the twins and Harry all giving him a second glance. Since the troll incident, the twins' pranks had finally stopped, and Harry no longer seemed actively irate with him. It wasn't much, but it was progress.
Up in the stands, Blaise wanted to sit with the other Slytherins, but Ron dragged him to the teacher's stand, with Hermione and Neville meeting them there. He made sure to sit near Quirrell in case he needed to disrupt a jinx.
In the early stages, the game went well, with Slytherin getting an early lead. Slytherin had good chasers, and decent beaters, though the Seeker was mediocre and the Keeper, Miles Bletchley, was awful. That bade well for Ron though, since keeping was his specialty, and he was considering signing up next year. Still, he was more focused on Quirrell.
Sure enough, about ten minutes into the game, Harry's broomstick started jittering in mid-air, and Quirrell beside him couldn't take his eyes off it. Hermione and Neville's breaths hitched. It was time to act.
"What are you doing here, Professor Quirrell? I never would have taken you for a Quidditch fan! Which team do you fancy?" Ron started up a conversation.
Quirrell's eyes left Harry, flashing with anger before resuming their typical fearful glint.
"W-well I reckon it's g-got to be Gr-gryffindor, right? They s-say Po-potter's the young-youngest Seeker in a c-century." Quirrell stammered.
Then, he returned his gaze to the game, and Harry's broom was again started trembling. But Ron wouldn't let him off.
"I dunno, Potter's great and all, but Slytherin's chasers are picking them apart, wouldn't you agree Blaise?"
"M-maybe y-you're right."
"Maybe? Of course he's right!" Blaise jumped in.
"W-well, we sh-should just watch and s-see…"
"Where's the fun in that?"
Constantly breaking Quirrell's focus, Ron barraged the Professor with questions. While Quirrell would have a few seconds of eye contact here and there, it was never enough to destabilize Harry especially with Snape on the counteroffensive. Eventually, Harry caught the Snitch, ending the game at 180-80. Despite hiding it well, he could tell Quirrell was seething in the aftermath. He'd have to watch his back from now on.
Still, it was worth it. Bidding farewell to the others, he decided to spend the rest of the day in the library, searching for a music-making spell for Fluffy. He'd tried using the Room, but most of the books he found needed the caster to have musical skills in order to cast them. Unfortunately, the library was mostly the same.
"If I already knew how to play the piccolo, why on earth would I want to learn the ruddy piccolo-playing charm?" Ron grumbled; slamming shut a large book.
He considered giving up and join the frog choir, but just the thought of being a band geek repulsed him. Heading back to the shelves, he ran into Hermione along the way, carrying a stack of books half as tall as she was.
"Ron? What are you doing here?"
"It's a library, what do you think I'm doing?"
Ron haphazardly slotted his book into the shelves before searching for another.
"That's not where that goes. You would know that if you came here more." Hermione critiqued, setting down her stack to replace the book. As she did, she glanced over the title. "Magical Melodies and Sonorous Spells? Why would you be reading about those?"
"Maybe I'm going to serenade you for Valentine's."
"Can you stop telling jokes for five seconds?" Hermione cried, blushing slightly.
"Nope. My sister says it's a cry for attention on account of having five older brothers."
Hermione fumed, forcefully dumping half her books into Ron's hand to enlist him as a mule. Taking a glance, the books were all on the topic of famous wizards of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was puzzled for a moment, until he noticed she'd written the word 'Flamel' on her hand. So, that plot had already started.
"Why are you smirking like that? Haven't you got a serenade to compose?" Hermione quipped.
"Oh, it's nothing, just remembered a joke Blaise was telling me the other day. Now, what are you looking into?"
"None of your business."
Seeing her smirk, he could tell she was relishing in the fact that she had the secret now. But just as she expected him to pry, or beg for more, Ron only shrugged, heading back to the shelves.
"W-wait! Aren't you going to keep asking?"
"Why should I? You said it's none of my business."
"You… you're infuriating sometimes, you know!"
This cry brought the attention of Madam Pince, the librarian, who swept into their aisle to shush them sternly. Hermione went pale, apologizing furiously, while Ron only sniggered before turning back to the shelf. This infuriated her.
"What are you really looking for?" She asked again, adding. "Maybe I can help…"
"How about we trade? Tit for tat. You tell me why you're looking for Nicolas Flamel, and I'll tell you what I'm looking for."
"How did you know I was looking for Nicolas Flamel?" Hermione asked furiously.
"You've got his name written on your hand." Ron pointed out.
Hermione went scarlet, quickly scouring the name off her hand. She mumbled something about not wanting to forget, before dragging Ron back to the table. There, she explained how, on the night of Hallowe'en, while they were fighting the troll, Harry had noticed Snape lurking on the Third Floor. Then, he'd later seen Snape in the Hospital Wing, treating his bite wound. Coupled with them knowing about Fluffy and the mysterious Gringotts heist, Harry and Hermione finally confronted Hagrid who'd let the name slip.
Ron was amused by the whole story. At first, he wondered how Harry was going to find out about Flamel without the troll incident, but Dumbledore had it covered. Indeed, he believed that this incident, Harry's entire first year in fact, was masterminded by Dumbledore.
While he wasn't some 'Dark Lord Dumbledore' conspiracy theorist, Quirrel's plot was too stupid. A troll goes loose and the so-called 'troll expert' just happens to be there but does nothing? Dumbledore must have seen through it, and intentionally ignored it. Ron suspected this was all devised to lure out Voldemort, both to confirm he was alive and to ensure Harry's love protection was effective.
Of course, Ron didn't believe Dumbledore had nefarious intentions. Quite the contrary, he took Harry's safety seriously, appearing within seconds whenever he was at risk. Still, there was no way this was all coincidental.
"So, what do you think?" Hermione asked.
"You're overthinking it. Snape might be a little biased, but he's not a murdering psychopath."
"Of course you'd say that. You're the one he's biased in favour of!" Hermione harrumphed. "Anyways, I told you what I'm looking for, your turn."
"I'm looking for a spell that can make music, without needing the caster to have any musical skills."
Hermione frowned, stumped for a minute.
"Does it have to be a particular song?"
Ron shook his head.
"Is it okay if the spell just repeats a melody? Something it's heard before."
Ron frowned, but he nodded, and she leapt up excitedly. But instead of going to the music section, she headed in the opposite direction. Returning a few seconds later, she brought with her a large book, titled 'Magical Journalism'. At first, he didn't understand, but she quickly opened the book to a page on the recording charm and it dawned on him.
"I can just record someone else playing a song, then play it back." He muttered.
"Exactly." Hermione asserted triumphantly.
"You're brilliant Hermione!" Ron cried, excitedly hugging her, before rushing away.
"Wait! You've left behind your book! And you still haven't helped me find out about Nicolas Flamel!" She called after him.
"Try the Alchemy section!" He called back.
But before Hermione could question further, Ron was gone, headed up to the Room to put his new idea into practice.
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