章節 321: Let's Have a Bonfire

Without so much as a warning, the piles of twigs suddenly assembled themselves into humanoid shapes and leapt into the air; it rather looked as though a dozen marionettes had just come to life. Pansy Parkinson's shrieks of laughter turned into shrieks of terror, but unfortunately, Oleandra wasn't in any state to fully appreciate the moment.

Oleandra had somewhat of a visceral reaction upon seeing the little wooden things running around playfully; heat spread throughout her body as her magic activated on her own, and…

The wooden creature closest to her burst into flames.

Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil shrieked in fright, while Professor Grubbly-Plank desperately tried to put out the fire that had engulfed the magical creature. But that was easier said than done, as the panicked creature ran into its fellows, lighting them on fire in the process as well. Stunned, the rest of the class could only watch in horror as the old woman failed to save the creatures from turning to cinders; they were too fast, and she was too slow; and they were also extremely inflammable.

"Whoever did that, step forward!" Professor Grubbly-Plank yelled. "You're in a world of trouble either way, but mark my words, when I find out who you are…"

Obviously, nobody stepped forward, though the Gryffindor Trio glared at Draco in an accusatory manner. Oleandra desperately tried to maintain a surprised expression, but she couldn't keep her cheeks from turning bright pink. For Merlin's sake, this was extremely embarrassing! Hel, it was positively mortifying! She was fifteen; way too old to be losing control over her own magic!

This was a new experience for her; she had never experienced accidental wandless magic as a child, since she'd been quite unmagical before attending Hogwarts.

At any rate, after berating the entire class for ten minutes, the seething Professor Grubbly-Plank was no closer to finding the culprit. After all, nobody had pronounced any incantations, nor had anyone had a wand in hand at the time of the crime. It simply was an unsolvable mystery.

Of course, many people knew about the Slytherin Trio's wandless runic magic, but they hadn't seen them move or say anything, so they kept their suspicions to themselves. Besides, in their eyes, wasn't Daphne basically an avatar of nature, or something? Why would she or the two others attack a poor, defenceless creature? Draco Malfoy, on the other hand…

Flustered and red-faced from having shouted so much, Professor Grubbly-Plank was forced to admit defeat and continue the lesson without the creatures.

"Anyone know the names of these creatures?" she said angrily. "Miss Granger?"

"Bowtruckles," Hermione said. "They're tree-guardians, they usually live in wand-trees." Giving Daphne a sidelong glance, she added, "Wood Nymphs often keep them as pets."

The Greengrass sisters hadn't known about Bowtruckles, since their family didn't deal in ordinary trees, but in magical herbs and the like. Wand-trees were just mundane trees, after all; a wand made of a wilful tree such as a Whomping Willow was more likely to put out your eye than to help you cast a spell.

"Five points for Gryffindor," said Professor Grubbly-Plank gruffly. "Correct, and as Miss Granger rightly says, they generally live in trees whose wood is of wand quality. If you find a Bowtruckle, then that usually means a Wood Nymph is not far away."

Daphne was now looking thoroughly outraged at the death of a potential pet, so Oleandra looked away quickly before her sister could see her face.

"Anybody know what they eat?" Professor Grubbly-Plank then asked.

"Woodlice," said Hermione immediately. "But Fairy eggs if they can get them."

"Good girl, take another five points," said Professor Grubbly-Plank, who then launched into an explanation about how it was wise to bribe a Bowtruckle with delicious woodlice before attempting to harvest wood from one of their trees.

And now it was Oleandra's turn to be outraged. Bowtruckles eat Fairy eggs? Good riddance!

Fairies don't do anything but look pretty; they want nothing more than for everyone to enjoy their beauty. They don't harm anything or anyone, they only flutter around and make pretty lights. That's why it's a sin to kill innocent creatures such as Unicorns or Fairies!

'So that's why I reacted so strongly,' Oleandra thought to herself, her hand brushing against her belly absent-mindedly. 'If they go after Fairies' eggs, they must go after Greater Fairies' as well…'

For the first time since she had played with dolls as a young girl, Oleandra was considering the possibility of motherhood. Unconsciously, she looked around the class for a potential romantic partner, and her eyes ended their journey on Tracey. Oleandra quickly shook her head. What was she thinking? She was her best friend, and it's not as if two girls could make many babies together…

"Now, normally," said Professor Grubbly-Plank, snapping Oleandra out of her trance, "this is where I would make you sketch 'em from up close, but since they've burned down to cinders…"

She cast one last suspicious look at the class.

"Just try your best based on what you remember," she sighed.

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"That was the worst class of Care of Magical Creatures ever," Oleandra heard Harry say as the Gryffindors and Slytherins climbed the steps back up to the castle. "Hagrid would never have let that happen, he's ten times the teacher she is."

"More like ten times the weight, I'd say," Draco said in that drawling voice of his. "Too bad the fat old lump's not going to be coming back; let's just say having him mess with stuff that's too big for him wasn't the best of ideas, if you catch my drift."

Oleandra frowned; did Draco know something she didn't? His father was an official Death Eater, so was it possible that there had been some conflict between Dumbledore's and Voldemort's forces somewhere? Was that why Professor Hagrid had been absent at the start of the school year, and why he hadn't returned yet?

"Call him that one more time," said Harry angrily, whirling around to face Draco. "I dare you."

"With pleasure," grinned Draco. "He's a fat—"

"Stop that at once, the two of you," said Oleandra sharply. "Harry, you do not want to assault a prefect, and Draco, I can't give you detention, but if you—"

Draco threw up his hands in the air mockingly, as if admitting defeat.

"Yes, Miss Greengrass," he said. "You'll make me regret it; I know how it goes by now."

Pansy shot Oleandra a nasty glare, but what else was new?