章節 123: Year Five - Chapter Nineteen

I stood at the center of the Room of Requirements, the students near the walls. "Come at me with anything you wish, but make sure it's not something permanent," I said. "Let us see how far you've come."

One after the other the students came forward, chanting their spells and moving their wands. One after the other I defeated, giving them the time to practice the spells that might end up in the OWLs, but then mercilessly having them bite the dust once they were done.

Some shone even when I didn't expect them to, and others did lackluster performances which I hoped they would polish before the day of the exam.

By the end of the hour, only two remained. "Malfoy, Potter, come together."

They stared at one another, ever so briefly, but I simply rolled my eyes. "Remember that one's failings can be covered by the other," I lifted my wand, "And two wizards should be more than enough to deal with me...if they have practiced sufficiently well."

They both took the stage, hesitant of one another. "Use the openings," I said as I threw the first spell, silently slamming an Expelliarmus Harry's way. He deflected it, his Protego ringing clearly in the air as Malfoy instead went with a Stinging Hex. Wordlessly, I parried it, sending it back his way. That instant was when Harry's own Expelliarmus came for me, thus I twisted the hex against the incoming jet.

They exploded in mid-air in a shower of sparks as I twirled my wand, frost covering the floor and creeping forward towards them both. Harry's wand burst an Incendio from her tip, halting the spread of ice. Draco's next curse sent a bolt of grisly green light in my direction, which I caught and sent for the ceiling. My Protego shield came up just as Harry's Expelliarmus struck it, my next blow hitting with a rocket charm a chair and sending it to hurl towards Draco.

He blocked it, his own Protego flickering to life. I twisted my wand, and the chair snapped and folded upon itself, twirling back towards me.

I caught the handle of the sword thus formed, and it became a baseball bat which I swung to intercept an incoming blast. Then, I let it rocket forth.

As the metallic rod spun in the air, a spell soon followed it. It was Draco's turn to deflect the blow, but as the spell behind it nearly hit him, it was Harry who actually caught on to it with his reflexes, and parried it in his stead.

"Potter," Malfoy grumbled.

"Malfoy," Potter grunted back. "He's toying with us."

Malfoy grimaced, "Then pick up the pace."

I quietly stretched and flexed my fingers, letting my knuckles crack. "Well then," I said gently. "Time to see what you can do when we add another thing to this practical," I smiled, and then I rushed forward.

Their eyes both widened as the first spell that left my wand struck with merciless precision against Harry's Protego, shattering it in a crystal-like sound. Draco tried to cast something, but I was already near him, my free hand having grabbed hold of his wrist, the tip of my wand against his stomach.

"One down," I said as the spell struck his stomach, sending his wand to fly off in the air from his open palm as he crumbled backwards. Harry tried to throw a spell in my direction, but I spun, holding Draco's body in front of me. The spell harmlessly did nothing, since Draco was weaponless, and the next instant Harry's wand flew in the air too, the boy disarmed.

"Two gone," I let go of Draco's wrist, swishing my wand to let their wands float back in the two boys' hands. "Remember that movement is key," I said in the end. "That, and Constant Vigilance!" I barked the last part out with a chuckle, "But you all did well, so congratulations! Go and conquer the Defense Against the Dark Arts OWL! Go, and make me proud of calling you my fellow colleagues in detention!"

There were a few chuckles, and a couple of cheers.

The classroom emptied soon after, leaving only Harry, somewhat willing to stick around until the end. Since he dismissed Ron and Hermione, it was clear he wanted to talk to me privately, perhaps about the upcoming summer vacation.

It must have come as quite the surprise, but even so, he didn't look that angry about it. "I heard from Sirius," Harry said, awkwardly breaching the argument. "You'll be hanging at our house this summer."

"Yeah," I said in turn, "If I stuck around Hogsmeade, I'd end up working. If I stick somewhere else, the chances of me relaxing actually go up a lot." I smiled. "I should bring some kind of gift though, so if you have any suggestions-"

"It's fine," Harry said. "You'll probably have to fight against the Boggarts infesting a few of the guest rooms though," he continued. "Getting rid of them all was a bit of a chore, and we never got around to finishing the job."

I chuckled. "No worries. I cleansed the Hog's Head, I can do the same with a wizard house."

Harry turned thoughtful, "After the OWLs, have you already thought about what you want to do?"

"Probably going to stick around two more years for the NEWTs," I answered. "But afterwards my dream is of making my own private island somewhere in the ocean, and live there in peace and relaxation for the rest of my life."

"Oh, bugger off," Harry said. "You're going to become an Auror, aren't you? Or maybe the next Dumbledore."

"The next Dumbledore?" I parroted, before shaking my head. "I'm not meant for the Wizengamot, or for politics in general. I'm too kindhearted for that sort of thing."

"It's just, you seem to always know what to do," Harry said instead, "It's calming."

"Glad to be the relaxing agent this world needs," I answered with a chuckle, "But I just do what I can," I grinned. "Well, think about all the practice you can get in this summer after the OWLs are done."

Harry snickered in turn, "Yeah, practice," he seemed to find it incredibly funny. "There's a cinema nearby, and a nice hamburger joint right beside it."

I stared at Harry Potter's happy, innocent smile.

"You know," I said with a grin of my own, "Perhaps that sounds quite better than what I had in mind. However," I stressed out, "First comes the OWLS, then comes the rest. Study hard, Mister Potter! Study hard!"

I waved him goodbye, and then took a seat on a plush armchair, formed right as the last student left the place. Even though I had gotten used to the Hall of Shadows, the Room of Requirements would forever hold a special place in my heart.

It shifted and morphed, removing everything superfluous and leaving behind just a chimney, which sparked to life, and a table with a pot of warm tea on it. It was accompanied with biscuits of various shapes and forms, and a book neatly rested on the armchair's hand, waiting for me to simply pick it up, and resume my reading.

Gubraithian Fire, the flames that burn forever, is an advanced form of Charmwork-

-Sectumsempra would come later, followed, perhaps, by its counter-curse.