Black Phantom

"Harry!"

Ron didn't want to leave, but he couldn't talk Harry out of it. Once they were gone, Hermione pulled a stack of books from behind her back: Dark Magic: A Guide to Self-Defense, Magical Drafts and Potions, A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration...

"I have a feeling I'll be getting back very late tonight," Luo Bin said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. So... let's start with the easiest subject: Transfiguration!"

Her eyes were clear and bright. As they shifted, a dreamy gleam passed through them. But what she said made him want to bolt for the door.

With the misunderstanding cleared up, Luo Bin and Hermione slipped back into their old rhythm of rapid-fire questions and answers. One night a week later, snow fell thick and fast, and a bitter wind rattled the windows. In the library, which should have been dark and eerie, a dazzling blue light suddenly flashed!

Damn. I underestimated that rare book. After a week of practicing the Replication Charm, Luo Bin had discovered that the brightness of the blue light changed with the value, size, and magical power of the object being replicated.

"Wh-who's there?"

A voice like rusty gears grinding came from the corridor. Filch. Luo Bin hastily restored the chest to its original state, grabbed the rare book, and ducked behind a shelf. With a stumble, he passed through a rope and into another space.

The layout was the same as outside. Row upon row of shelves held books thick and thin, tall and short, with no apparent order. Or perhaps he simply couldn't see the pattern.

But the books had one thing in common: they all gave off an eerie, unsettling air. As Luo Bin walked between two rows of shelves, a chill crept over the back of his neck. It was almost as if a demon were whispering in his ear.

Clang, clang! Clang, clang!

At the bottom of a shelf, a black-and-silver book shook itself with a clanging noise. Afraid the sound would draw Filch over, Luo Bin hurriedly picked it up.

The moment it left the shelf, the book began to tremble violently, as though it had waited ages for this chance. Black mist rose, and its cover strained open. Luo Bin pressed both palms against it. Even Neville would have realized there was something wrong with the Black-and-Silver Book!

Suddenly, the head of a black phantom pushed through the gap. Its mouth gaped as wide as two apples, and it let out a shriek that chilled Luo Bin to the bone. He flung the book away.

Flap, flap! Flap, flap!

In the moonlight, the pages turned so fast they blurred. Half the Black Phantom's body had emerged. Its red eyes fixed on Luo Bin's wand as it chuckled harshly, almost as if it were looking forward to its first meal after winning its freedom.

The nerve of it. The sheer nerve!

Crackle! Crackle!

Blue sparks flickered inside the ping-pong-ball-sized orange flame at the tip of Luo Bin's wand. The Black Phantom stopped thrashing. Its red eyes took on a strangely blank, foolish look.

Sensing danger unlike anything it had ever known, it grabbed the pages holding it captive and tried desperately to force its head back inside. It had never imagined its prison might one day save its life.

Luo Bin controlled his magic, shrinking the flame from the size of a ping-pong ball to that of a small date, then jabbed it into the Black Phantom's head.

Crackle, pop, crackle! Like a ball being flattened, the phantom swiftly went from three dimensions to two, until all that remained was a hideous doodle on the page.

Luo Bin closed the cover with his foot. When he looked up, he met a pair of cold, empty eyes. "P-Professor Snape..."

"Wh-who's there?"

The rusty-gear voice came again. Filch had found them!

"Run," Snape said coldly.

"Right!"

Luo Bin set the Black-and-Silver Book back down with a thud and sprinted toward the far end of the shelves.

The fury in Filch's pale eyes vanished when he met Snape's snake-like gaze. "Professor, what... are you doing here?"

"Looking for a book. Go back. There's no one else in the Restricted Section."

Filch glanced toward the last row of shelves. "But... just now, I..."

"Do you think I'm lying to you?"

"Of course not. Come along, Mrs. Norris!"

After the man and cat left, a figure emerged from the last row of shelves and approached Snape on unsteady legs. "There's something strange about that boy. I can't put my finger on it!"

"Listen to me. He's in Slytherin House. He's my student. You are not to touch him!"

"And Harry Potter? Don't forget, you played a part in his parents' deaths too. Heh, heh!"

Veins bulged on Snape's forehead. "Quirrell, you deserved to be chosen!"

"You... Hmph. Let's see how long you can protect Harry Potter."

Luo Bin knew nothing of the two professors' covert struggle. He crossed the Restricted Section and the library, then raced down the corridor. Only when a towering suit of armor blocked his path did he realize how long he had been running.

Meow! Meow!

A cat meowed nearby. Mrs. Norris. Filch had to be close. Although Filch treated Luo Bin far better than he treated other students, Luo Bin dared not risk it. Filch's harsh treatment of rule-breakers was notorious.

He slipped behind the armor and backed away step by step until he felt the stone wall against his back. The jingle of keys grew closer. Then he spotted a door to his left and pushed through it without a second thought.

"Mrs. Norris, why have you stopped? Do you smell a student wandering about?"

On the other side of the wall, Luo Bin covered his nose and silently pleaded, Go on, Mrs. Norris. Please go. I'll give you roast sausage tomorrow!

Mrs. Norris flicked the tip of her tail, signaling that there was no student. "Come on. Let's look somewhere else!"

Only when the jingle of keys had faded completely did Luo Bin lower his hand and look around the empty room.

By the wall near the window stood piles of tables and chairs with broken corners and missing legs. In the hazy moonlight, their shadows slanted across the floor like the giant squid in the Black Lake. Thick dust covered the stone slabs, rising in a cloud with every step. A large mirror stood against the wall opposite the window.

It was so tall its top reached the ceiling. Its golden frame shone in the moonlight, utterly out of place among the broken furniture. Two thick, claw-shaped feet supported it, and a line of small writing seemed to be carved along the top.

Luo Bin walked toward the mirror to read the writing. Then he stopped and eyed it suspiciously.

Light struck a person or object and reflected into a mirror, which then reflected it into the viewer's eyes. That was how people saw images in mirrors.

But this mirror showed the broken furniture, an overturned wastebasket, and the great arched window. It did not show him. Could it see through to a person's soul?

Luo Bin drew his wand and edged forward. Suddenly, a whirlpool appeared in the center of the mirror. It widened, and a tremendous force pulled him toward it.

Luo Bin was pressed flush against the glass. His arms, palms, and toes hurt terribly, but he couldn't pull himself free!

"Luo Bin, come here! Mom made your favorite Shepherd's Purse and Pork Dumplings today."

"You little brat, where have you run off to now? If you're so capable, don't come home ever again!"

"Meow, meow! Meow, meow!"

Those were his parents' voices—and Pipi's. Could the whirlpool be a passage between the two worlds?!