章節 130: And for my next trick...

"You go first," whispered Oleandra. "I need to concentrate for mine."

Harry was a bit at a loss. How was he supposed to compete with the teachers? What's more, he was beginning to get stage fright. Everyone was looking at him; Malfoy was already laughing it up with his father, ready to watch him fail in front of everyone.

"Just play to your strengths," Oleandra told him. Easier said than done.

But the only thing he was good at was Quidditch… Wait, that was it! Harry looked to the end of the table where little Derek, age 11, was opening his Christmas present: a brand-new broom. First years weren't allowed to bring brooms to school, but it didn't count if the broom was sent to him, did it? Besides, by Christmas, he already had a few flying lessons under his belt.

Harry politely borrowed the broom and took flight. He pulled out his wand, and cast the Red Sparks Spell continuously. He then tried to write the words 'Merry Christmas' in the air in red sparks, but unfortunately, he got mixed up a bit with his letters, resulting in an unreadable, jumbled mass of red.

"Seven," said Oleandra. And that was being very generous!

"Eight," said Dumbledore. (For being the chosen one)

"Seven, for the impressive flying," said Professor McGonagall.

"Zero," said Professor Snape lazily.

Harry looked at him, aghast. Even he had given him a one, why a zero!?

"Four," said Professor Sprout. "And I'm being generous!"

Hey, that's my line, Oleandra internally complained!

"Three," said Professor Flitwick, wincing. "Come now, Mr. Potter. Surely, I've taught you more exciting spells than the Red Sparks Spell?"

Draco was laughing his head off in the background.

"I believe that makes twenty-nine," said Professor Dumbledore. "Which means Miss Greengrass must obtain more than thirty points in order to win our little competition!"

Oleandra took her place and raised her wand.

"Close your eyes, little one," she whispered to her cape. She didn't want to get eaten by her own Lethifold.

She took a deep breath.

"Expecto Patronum!" she shouted.

Nearly all of the teachers recoiled in shock. Was this little third year really going to attempt the Patronus Charm? That magic was incredibly difficult! However, using this sort of magic was just like riding a bike; you never forgot. The only thing that could stop one from using it again after successfully casting it once was severe emotional trauma. And since Oleandra had already used it once successfully…

A jet of silvery-white light flew out of Oleandra's wand and fell back down to the ground again like a fountain spouting water. The silvery aura solidified at her feet, signifying that the lake of magic was ready for the next step. Oleandra lowered her wand, then raised it again, as if she were conducting an orchestra.

In the small lake of silver, glowing fish of all species and sizes began splashing around. Frogs leaped every which way, and waterfowl flew above, performing acrobatic displays.

The teachers were stunned. Not only had this student successfully performed the Patronus Charm and produced a Corporeal Guardian Spirit, it had been in this form. In the history of humanity, there had never been someone having multiple Guardian Spirits. Very rarely, a person's Patronus would change form after a great emotional upheaval, but this was unheard of. And what was with the pool of silvery light at her feet?

Harry was surprised, and more than a little jealous. The last time he had seen her, she had still been doing that weird pool of light thing instead of the normal incorporeal tornado of light. What exactly had changed?

After a while, Oleandra let the magic dissipate. After such an enchanting display, the world seemed grey and mundane. The students in attendance clapped enthusiastically, but the adults were still frozen in incomprehension.

"Professors?" Oleandra said. "My score?"

"My friends," Professor Dumbledore said. "We're all agreed, that truly was the Patronus Charm?"

"It certainly felt like it," said Professor Flitwick thoughtfully. "No, there can be no mistake about it. That was a true Patronus. But why was it so different? Why so many Guardians? Miss Greengrass…?"

"I have no earthly idea," said Oleandra. "It's always come out in liquid form, ever since Professor Lupin taught Harry and me the spell weeks ago. And you're wrong about another thing. I only have one Guardian."

Professor Snape was looking at her strangely from his seat, while Professor Dumbledore sat forward, fascinated. Professor Dumbledore was now one hundred percent convinced of Oleandra's good character; in his book, there had never been a bad person to produce a Patronus Charm successfully.

"Which of the animals you displayed would that be, Miss Greengrass?" asked Professor Dumbledore, sitting forward in his chair. "No, unless…"

"That's right," confirmed Oleandra. "My Spirit Guardian doesn't take the shape of an animal; it's a lake. Hence all of the aquatic animals."

"An inanimate Spirit Guardian," said Professor Flitwick, astonished. "Well, I suppose that might be the case. Most people have a mundane animal as their Guardian, but very rarely, some have fantastic beasts, like our Headmaster here. There's also the case of Andros the Invincible, whose Corporeal Patronus had gigantic proportions. It's not unheard of to have an unusual Patronus."

The apparent number of guardians wasn't the only unusual thing about Oleandra's Patronus. It was extremely limited in range, but in exchange, offered unparalleled protection against Dementors in an area around her; but this also meant Oleandra couldn't use her Guardian as a mailman.

In the end, Harry and the teachers gave her full marks for her beautiful Patronus Charm. (And then everyone clapped).

"Very well," said Professor Dumbledore mirthfully. "You've won our little game, which means I'll tell you what you want to know."

Oleandra listened closely. With this information, perhaps she'd finally be able to find out her past life's name, and free herself from the mysterious man's curse once and for all! (And maybe raid her own tomb for goodies; it looked as if her last incarnation was pretty important.... What, it's her belongings, she can do what she wants with them!)

"The key to the Fidelius Charm is the Secret Keeper," Dumbledore began. "As you already know, the Secret Keeper hides a certain piece of information from the world itself within their very soul. However, a secret is only truly a secret until it's shared with another."

"It's considered good practice to have an outsider be the Secret Keeper," he continued, looking at Harry melancholically. "Which is why neither of Harry's parents were Secret Keepers of their own house; if they had left their house, then had been tailed back to their home by enemies, it would have been considered as having shared the secret, breaking the protection."

"Indeed," added Professor Flitwick. "Ideally, you would pick someone strong, or someone either completely unexpected or unremarkable to be Secret Keeper, and have them stay far away from the place you want to keep secret. Of course, the protection would also be unbreakable if yourself were Secret Keeper and never left the safety of your own house."

"Back to the subject matter," said Dumbledore. "There are two ways to break the Charm; either kill the Secret Keeper and everyone involved, or have them tell you the secret."

Oleandra's heart sunk. Essentially, there was no way to forcefully unravel the Fidelius Charm. There was one, and only one, weak point to this magic, and that was the Secret Keeper. Since Oleandra couldn't make out the man's and the woman's faces in her nightmare, that meant the Secret Keeper was still alive, otherwise the magic would have broken.

However, how in the world was Oleandra supposed to find the man, much less convince him to undo his magic? At the very least, she knew he wouldn't be going anywhere; he was trapped.