Repercussions

Ever since the details from Monday afternoon's Defence Against the Dark Arts class had spread far and wide, there had been only one topic of conversation inside and outside the castle over the following days: Amosta Breen.

According to Cho Chang of Ravenclaw, after Professor Flitwick heard about the Wingardium Leviosa Professor Breen had demonstrated at dinner that day, he had charged straight into Professor Breen's office without a word and stayed there for a full four hours before emerging.

Fred and George had also confirmed the reliability of this news. At around one in the morning, while the two of them were off on an adventure through the castle, they happened to see Professor Flitwick dragging his exhausted body out of Professor Breen's office on the third floor. He was panting heavily, but a satisfied smile still hung on his rosy cheeks.

"Ha!"

Ron stood on the common room sofa, controlling a feather he had picked out of one of its cushions, making strange roaring noises with his mouth.

"Let me show you my Charm of Object Control!"

As he spoke, he shook his repaired wand rapidly. Just like Professor Breen that day, he pointed it straight at the sky. Then everyone nearby saw the feather floating above Ron's head wobble its way towards the ceiling at a speed barely faster than a snail's, before finally vanishing into the brilliant candlelight.

Sitting nearby with the copy of Flying with the Cannons Ron had given him over the Christmas holiday in his arms, Harry laughed so hard he got the hiccups when he saw this.

Ever since Professor Breen had repaired Ron's wand in Defence Against the Dark Arts class and awarded him his first points of the term, Ron had completely forgotten his displeasure at Professor Breen using an ingenious Alchemical Device to monitor all the young wizards. He had become his devoted fan.

Honestly, Ron's current foolishness had already appeared many times around the castle. Malfoy, for one, had practised Wingardium Leviosa on a wooden skewer during Transfiguration, hoping it would fly over and pierce Harry's eyes. Professor McGonagall had angrily docked him twenty points for it.

It had to be said that Professor Breen's display in class had been incredibly cool. Even Harry himself had secretly copied the movements with his wand in the dormitory when no one was around.

"If I master Professor Breen's technique!"

Ron jumped down from the sofa. Gazing at the chandelier above him, he murmured dreamily.

"Heh heh, let's see who dares look down on me then. First I'll use feathers to poke a thousand holes in Percy's backside, then I'll poke two big holes in Malfoy's face."

"If you really want to do all that, Ron—"

Hermione, who was sprawled over the table scribbling away, spoke impatiently.

"Then you should sit down and seriously study the spell model for this Charm of Object Control with me, instead of waving your wand around like an idiot!"

"Oh, how annoying. Why can't you say something I can actually do, Hermione?"

Ron, abruptly dragged from his dreams back into reality, immediately pulled a sour face.

"Having trouble, Hermione?"

Harry blinked his emerald-green eyes and asked with a grin. In these days without Chamber of Secrets attacks or Lockhart, he seemed happy every day.

"More trouble than ever, Harry. You simply can't imagine what Professor Breen did to Wingardium Leviosa. Honestly, I even thought this was homework for an advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts class!"

Harry and Ron looked at each other. Since they had known Hermione, this was the first time they had heard her express such clear dissatisfaction with homework for any class.

"...It took me four full days just to figure out that the 'Levicorpus' in 'Levicorpus' came from Ancient Runes, from 'Kurilad Levicorpus'—Titan's Blade. In this spell, it represents sharpness and indestructibility!"

"Ancient Runes? B-but isn't that a course that only starts in third year?"

Neville, who had been eavesdropping nearby, turned around and said uneasily when he heard that.

"Exactly, Neville!"

Hermione folded her arms angrily, but her gaze remained fixed on the parchment spread across the table, on the spell model that had been drawn all over in a mess.

"And the 'm' sound is a ring structure in Wingardium Leviosa's spell model. Its purpose is to weaken the spell's effect by limiting magical power input, so Professor Breen removed it!"

"So that means!"

Ron leaned towards Hermione with shining eyes, pretending he could understand the complicated spell model on the paper.

"You can use the Charm of Object Control now?!"

"It isn't that simple, Ron!"

Hermione rapped the table with her wand.

"I've only figured out Professor Breen's train of thought when he modified the spell. That doesn't mean I'm capable of casting it. I don't have enough control over my magic to manage a powerful composite spell made by cleverly joining two parts together while increasing the magical power input!"

Harry, Ron, and Neville looked at each other, all suddenly feeling as though their two years of magical education had been for nothing!

"Hermione."

Seeing how anxious she was, Harry hesitated before trying to comfort her. "It doesn't matter even if you can't cast it. You've always been the best in first and second year. So far, no one has managed to figure out Professor Breen's Charm of Object Control!"

"It doesn't matter if I can't cast it? What are you talking about, Harry?!"

Hermione stared at Harry in shock, as though he had said being expelled from school would be no big deal. "This is our homework!"

"But—"

Neville rubbed his chubby hands together, looking even more uneasy. "Professor Breen's exact words were—You can try researching this spell. If anyone succeeds, I'll give them twenty points."

"Oh, Neville!" Hermione looked very displeased. "We can't slack off just because Professor Breen left a loophole in his wording!"

"Don't mind her, Neville. Miss Perfect here has grand dreams of becoming a Saint!"

The Weasley twins, who had just been selling Dungbombs among the crowd, walked over with their arms around each other's shoulders. They had also brought along their good friend—the Quidditch commentator with a bit of a hip-hop style, Lee Jordan.

Hermione immediately scooped the huge stack of reference books on the table into her arms. Snatching up her research notes, she headed for the girls' dormitory without looking back.

"You shouldn't have made her angry—"

Ron looked at his two brothers and shrugged helplessly. "Now you've made Harry and me finish our Potions Class homework by ourselves—"

"Oh, sorry! Are you all right?"

Running up the spiral staircase, Hermione was going too fast and accidentally knocked someone to the ground. The books in her arms scattered all over the floor as well.

"I-I'm fine!"

Ginny, whose expression looked somewhat abnormal, tightly covered her bulging pocket. After climbing to her feet, she barely cared who had run into her. She lowered her head and hurried away, leaving Hermione standing alone at the stairwell, frowning deeply at Ginny's panicked retreating figure.

In the dim dormitory, Parvati and Lavender sat together on a bed, secretly giggling over Professor Lockhart's signed photograph. Before long, they began discussing whether Professor Breen or Professor Lockhart was more handsome, as well as which second-year girls had already received love letters.

Hermione listened in for a while, then found it unbearably boring.

The magical lamp by her bed cast Hermione's slender silhouette onto the wall opposite. Hermione quietly watched the shadow on the wall, recalling the Weasley twins' joke and Ron's indifferent attitude when he left. For some reason, she suddenly felt that the early spring night was colder than the depths of winter.

Hermione pulled her blanket tighter around herself, and a thin mist clouded her beautiful brown eyes.

"The strong are always lonely—"

Gazing at the dim starlight outside the window, those unprompted words sent ripples through the lonely young witch's heart.

My daughter has a high fever again. It just never ends.