The Replication Charm

Deep in the Forbidden Forest!

The incantation "Iksere Alik" rang out every few minutes. Between attempts, a dim blue light flashed around the tree stump.

"Woof! Woof!"

After a whole day as his practice partner, Fang bared his teeth and barked his displeasure.

"Fang, catch!"

Fang caught the cold grilled sausage neatly in his jaws. A few crunches later, not a crumb remained.

He stepped closer, licking his lips. His damp eyes fixed on the black cloth bag. He clearly wanted another sausage. No, probably more than one.

"Fang, at least you stuck with me. Ronan and Bane lost patience by noon. Speaking of which... are these things edible?"

Wagging his tail, Fang looked at the barn-sized pile of apples. Some were triangular, some square or pentagonal. Some were only half-formed, some had wormholes, and some were strange colors. None looked much like the big red apple on the stump. He blinked and quietly backed away two steps.

"Tch. They're apples, not poisonous bugs. What are you afraid of? It's just a Replication Charm. You think that's enough to beat me? Keep at it!"

He took several deep breaths to steady himself and recover his strength, then aimed both his wand and his eyes at the red apple. He channeled magic into his wand, focused on its path, traced the symbol "¤" in a single stroke, and spoke the incantation with force: "Iksere Alik!"

The blue light that flashed this time was different: a brilliant Klein Blue.

When the light faded, another red apple sat on the stump. Its size, color, and sheen—even the black spot on its stem—were identical.

Had the Replication Charm worked?!

Luo Bin scooped up Fang and spun in place. "It worked! I finally did it!"

His excited shout drew Ronan over. The centaur picked up an apple from the stump and examined it closely. "Oh, you uncovered the secret of the Replication Charm in a single day. You're the most gifted wizard I've ever met!"

"Strange. I didn't change the symbol or the way I said the incantation. Why did it work? Let me try again. Iksere Alik!"

The blue light flared brighter still. When it faded, a second stump stood before him. Even the pattern of rings across its cut surface matched the first. "Amazing. The great philosopher Leibniz said, 'No two things in the world are exactly alike.' But magic might prove him wrong!"

"Magic defies nature and common sense. Listen, Robin Sear: the Replication Charm is far more dangerous than you think. Never use it unless you have no other choice. And it has no effect on living things!"

"Ronan, you seem to know a lot!"

"No, I don't. Don't ask me anything. Look how bright and beautiful the stars are tonight!"

Ronan craned his neck so far back that his head was nearly parallel to the ground. He stared at the stars without blinking.

There he went again!

In the original story, centaurs were seers. They could read the stars and learn what would happen in the future, but they kept their mouths shut. Even if the protagonist asked, even if the culprit stood right in front of them, they would not reveal a word.

And on nights when the stars shone brightly, they could spend the whole night staring up without moving their heads.

"Fang, let's go!"

After tidying the clearing, Luo Bin raced Fang through the Forbidden Forest. Skitter, skitter. Aragog's descendants heard his footsteps and hurried out of the way.

"Oh! Robin Sear, you can't keep doing this. The Forbidden Forest hasn't been very safe lately!"

Hagrid was waiting at the forest's edge. As soon as he saw the boy and dog emerge, he hurried over to warn them.

"Hagrid, did something happen?"

Had Voldemort gotten impatient and started hunting unicorns early?

That couldn't be right. Ronan and Bane hadn't mentioned anything.

"No. But once something happens, it'll be too late. Dumbledore told me... Anyway, you can't go into the Forbidden Forest whenever you like anymore. I'll keep an eye on you. Now get back to the castle. Good students shouldn't stay up so late!"

"All right. Here, have an apple!"

"Oh! Looks like I won't need to cook a late-night snack!"

Hagrid often pulled strange things from the pockets of his moleskin coat and gave them to students as gifts, but few students gave him anything in return. He stroked the red apple as though it were a Magical Beast Egg, then tucked it into an inner pocket.

"Hagrid, fruit tastes awful if you leave it too long. Eat it soon!"

"I know. I'm not a child who doesn't know anything!" Hagrid retorted.

Luo Bin had seen just how rough Hagrid's habits were. He would eat two-thirds of a pot of pumpkin porridge on the first day, add fresh pumpkin and water on the second, and go seven days without washing the pot!

"I hope so!"

Luo Bin patted Fang's big head and headed toward the castle. When he reached the Great Hall, Harry and Ron stopped him.

Without a word of greeting, they each grabbed one of his arms and marched him toward the Trophy Room!

"Phew. Hermione, we brought him!" Harry said, panting.

"What? What are you two doing?! Luo Bin, are you all right?" Hermione asked anxiously, dark circles under her eyes.

"I'm fine. Hermione, you don't look well. Are you feeling sick? Have you seen Madam Pomfrey?"

Hearing his concern made Hermione feel even guiltier. Her voice trembled as she fought back tears. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things to you. Malfoy made me so angry that I lost my head. I'm sorry..."

The proud, headstrong girl had suddenly become tearful and was trying to apologize. Luo Bin froze, unsure what to do. Only when Harry prompted him did he shake his head and say, "Hey, I was in the wrong that day too. Don't cry. I was never angry with you. Here, have a red apple. It's really sweet!"

"You're really not angry anymore?" she asked through her tears.

"I never was!"

"Then why did you ignore me?"

"Huh?"

"Hmph. This morning, you finished eating and left almost as soon as I entered the Great Hall. In Potions Class, you never even glanced back. When we had to pair up, I wanted to work with you, but you went straight to Malfoy. After class, you ran faster than a Broomstick. I couldn't catch you. And when we didn't have class..."

Hermione counted off on her fingers every little time Luo Bin had ignored her.

Uh, put like that, I sound incredibly rude. "Sorry. I've spent the past two weeks looking up some information. I didn't mean to ignore you!"

"Really?"

"I have no reason to lie about that. Here, this is for you. I made this Eye Cream myself. It works wonders on bags under your eyes!"

What girl didn't care about her appearance? Hermione blinked her tired eyes, then threw her arms around Luo Bin. "I'm sorry. I won't misunderstand you again!"

"Glad that's cleared up. Hermione, we need to go. Don't forget, we still don't know who Nicolas Flamel is!" Ron said, pulling Hermione away.

Hermione shook off Ron's hand and lifted her chin, back to her usual argumentative self. "We've looked for two weeks without finding a clue. A little more time won't matter. I have lots of things I want to ask Luo Bin about!"

Ron fell silent and turned away, his eyes reddening. Harry shrugged at him, showing that he couldn't persuade her either. "That's a conversation between top students, Ron. We won't be able to join in. Let's go."