After Charms Class

On Thursday morning, a week before Christmas, Nelson headed toward the library after class as usual, his arms full of books.

"Nal, are you really not going? Robinson is going to share a secret technique treasured by the Lestrange family this week. I heard it's a powerful summoning spell." Leaving the Charms classroom, the two hurried through the corridor, while several Slytherin first-years who had just come out of class trailed far behind them.

"No. Did you forget? We're going home for Christmas. I don't want to be doing homework at home."

"Are you Nelson Williams?" A boy suddenly appeared in front of them. "There's a slip of paper for you."

"So you really do prefer studying with an upperclassman." Tom's tone was dripping with sarcasm.

"Yeah, Nelson learned Apparition! One second he was chatting happily with Tom in the Common Room, and the next he teleported to the Black Lake!" Alphard's voice came from behind them. He sounded just as sour as he added, "He won't even let me copy his homework anymore. I feel like I've been abandoned."

"Discussing copying homework in public? Ten points from Slytherin. Black, report to my office for detention after dinner." Professor Sakes's voice came from farther back. The Slytherins and Ravenclaws gathered in the corridor after class burst into laughter and dispersed, leaving the air filled with cheer.

Nelson tucked the books against his chest with one arm, smiling and shaking his head as he reached for the slip of paper. But his arm loosened, and half the books he was holding slid down—paper, pens, and books scattered all over the floor.

"Thanks, but no need. I can handle it myself." He thanked Tom and the boy delivering the message as they bent down, then simply set the rest of his books on the floor as well. Pulling out his Wand, he flicked and shook it at the mess.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" The books rose into the air one after another, arranged from largest to smallest, and stacked themselves. The loose sheets crawled along the floor and gathered themselves one by one. A pen cap bounced off to find the fountain pen that had rolled into the corner, then, before snapping itself on, kicked the slightly bent nib with its clip and straightened it... Once everything was done, the items arranged themselves neatly in order at a wave of Nelson's wrist, floating behind him.

Tom leaned against the wall helplessly, watching Nelson put on his little show. The young messenger, however, had never seen anything like this performed by another student. His eyes widened, and he was too stunned to speak. When he noticed Nelson looking at him, he hurriedly said goodbye and ran toward the other end of the corridor, constantly looking back at the stack of books and stationery as he ran.

"Not a bad spell. Ten points to Slytherin. A little flashy, but very pretty."

"Professor Sakes," Nelson and Tom greeted her.

"Mm." Professor Sakes held a stack of lecture notes and walked sternly between Nelson and Tom, heading toward Ravenclaw Tower.

Once Professor Sakes disappeared around the corner, Tom leaned back against the wall again. Looking at Nelson, who was holding up the stack of books with his Wand, he rolled his eyes. "Aren't your arms tired?"

"Help me hold them up."

Tom extended his Wand. Nelson pulled out a sheet from the paper clip and held it in his hand, raising his right arm high before bending his elbow and wrist downward. In an awkward, strenuous posture, he pointed his Wand at the sheet while muttering under his breath. Soon, a miniature handcart with drawers appeared in his hand. He set it on the floor and tapped it with his Wand. The cart grew a little larger, until it was about the size of a book, changing from a tiny little cart into a little cart.

"Lower, please."

Tom lowered his raised arm a little, and the stack of books descended with it, floating at Nelson's chest.

He pulled out a copy of Magical Theory and two sheets of parchment, then placed the remaining books onto the little cart. Tom put his own books onto it as well, keeping one identical to Nelson's. "Slytherin Common Room," Nelson said to the handcart as he bent down. The cart quickly wobbled away.

"Not bad." Tom praised him from the side. "That's the sort of skill an elite should have."

"Still far from it." Nelson wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. The whole operation had tired him out. "It would be impressive if I could give them all legs and make them run back by themselves."

Nelson spent half a day studying with McGonagall almost every week or every other week. His Transfiguration had improved rapidly, and he could already easily transform inanimate objects like this that could move in simple ways. That had basically taken up all his spell practice time. Learning magic was still learning. Though it was magical, for most people there were no shortcuts beyond memorization and relentless practice day after day. The moment he received the slip of paper, he understood that it was McGonagall's notice for this week's lesson.

Although he excelled academically, that was limited to only a few subjects—including Transfiguration, Charms, and History of Magic. Beyond that, he was often lavishly praised by his Divination teacher for being skilled at weaving tragic fates for himself, which made him increasingly doubt whether the subject had any legitimacy at all. His performance in Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts could only be called average. He did not seem to possess any special talent for becoming a Wizard skilled at making money with magic or fighting with it. His performance in Potions, meanwhile, was practically disastrous. There was no particular reason for it; he simply had poor color perception. All greens looked the same to him, differing only slightly in shade and intensity. Every time he entered Hufflepuff's greenhouse, it felt as though he had been soaked in green paint of varying depths—perhaps specially made magical glasses could ease the problem.

"Didn't Avery carry your bag back for you last time?" Tom had been smiling as he watched the little cart race through the corridor, but suddenly remembered something and frowned. "That's right. Where's your bag?"

"What bag? I never carry—" Nal's certain tone suddenly broke off. He remembered that he did have a schoolbag, one he had carried with him ever since school began. His straight brows suddenly twisted together, ruining the beauty of his face. "No, wait. Since when did I stop carrying my bag?"

"Remember to bring your bag next time, or bring fewer books." Tom did not suspect anything. He only thought Nelson was angry at his own stupidity. Then he suddenly laughed and patted Nelson on the back. "I thought you never made mistakes."

"What day does the train come again?" The two walked side by side toward the stairs as Tom confirmed the date.

"Next Friday, at nine in the morning." Nelson pushed the earlier matter to the back of his mind. He had a lot to do today, so he decided to check the Dormitory for the bag that evening. Hugging his books, he calculated the time. "Our holiday starts on the twenty-second, and we leave on the twenty-third. We have a full day to prepare."

"We'll go to Hogsmeade and do some shopping that day." Tom suddenly moved closer to Nelson and whispered in his ear.

"?" Nal raised a brow and glanced at Tom. First-years were not allowed to go to Hogsmeade, and he waited for an explanation.

"Alphard found a secret passage. It leads to a basement in Hogsmeade." Tom leaned even closer, lowering his voice further. "It's right... never mind. You'll find out on the twenty-second."

The two wore expressions that said they both understood. As expected of you, Alphard. Useless at everything else, but first place when it comes to climbing walls and crawling through holes, Nelson thought.

They soon reached the stairway, where their three roommates and three other Slytherin students were waiting for Tom. They looked as though they had been waiting for quite some time.

"See you this afternoon." Tom held out his hand for a handshake, a teasing smile on his face.

"See you this afternoon." They said goodbye. Tom led the six others around the corner and continued down the corridor, while Nelson turned and went down the stairs toward the library.

It was nearly time for lunch. Nelson sat at a seat in the library, feeling restless. Other than helping several first-year students studying there with two Transfiguration questions, he had not written a single word on his own parchment.

Nelson took out the slip of paper he had received that morning and found that it had been folded into the shape of a dog's head. Although the slip of paper was completely still, experience made him poke the dog's head with his Wand.

"Finite Incantatem."

Nothing happened.

For a moment, Nelson thought he had cast it improperly and tried again several times, but the result did not change—nothing happened. There was no magic on the dog head. He reached out and, with origami skills at kindergarten level, unfolded it.

"Half past one in the afternoon, Ravenclaw Tower Owlery."

"Why Ravenclaw Tower?" Nelson was confused. Had McGonagall prepared some sort of trap there to test his practical Transfiguration skills? He felt like he could not stay any longer. The noise from unfolding the dog head and casting spells had already disturbed the people around him.

"Ah—" He sighed softly. Seeing the schoolbag hanging from the back of the chair of the girl seated opposite him, he remembered the topic he had discussed with Tom that morning. Only a little over an hour had passed, and he had nearly completely forgotten about that bag again! Hearing the librarian's calls drawing closer, he hurriedly grabbed the fountain pen beside him and wrote the two words "schoolbag" on the back of his hand near the base of his thumb. He quickly packed up his books and left the library before the librarian's wave of sound driving people out to lunch hit him head-on.

After lunch, Nelson headed toward Ravenclaw Tower.

Taking a detour around Professor Sakes's office door, he pulled out his Wand and continued climbing upstairs.

"Nelson has recently been secretly getting extra lessons from McGonagall, the Gryffindor sixth-year. You know that, right?" In an empty classroom, Alphard and Tom sat by the window, waiting for the people who would soon be joining the activity.

"Mm." Tom looked through the window toward Ravenclaw Tower in the distance.

"I observed that the slips of paper are always folded into little animals."

"So, in order to help ease things between them..." Tom added.

"That's right. I thought Ravenclaw Tower was neither too close nor too far."

Nelson climbed to the top of the tower, pushed open the Owlery door, and pointed his Wand inside. Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, he saw a girl sitting on a table—his Wand was pointed directly at her. Nelson suddenly remembered the expression on Tom's face when they had parted.

"Myrtle, it's not what you think."