Fire-Making Spell

Rose couldn't understand why a group of wizards would celebrate Easter, but that didn't stop her from happily looking forward to the two-week holiday ahead.

Starting in mid-March, owls gradually brought the students Easter eggs sent by their families. Although Rose had no family to send her eggs, she had plenty of friends at Hogwarts.

Marlene and Lily's families had each made a point of sending an extra one for her. Even Edgar came over to the Gryffindor table one Friday morning to give her a huge red-and-gold egg.

"I'm sure he fancies you," Marlene said confidently. She insisted she could never be mistaken; she had seen through her own brother Joss at Christmas and realized he was in love. "These boys are so obvious. They might as well have 'I like you' written on their faces!"

Rose was shocked. Marlene's brother was in his fourth year and couldn't have been more than fourteen—and he was already in love!

"Don't be such a little girl, darling Rose," Natasha said with a laugh, falling into Rose's arms. "It's nothing. You just have to enjoy being in love-"

The troubles of romance were still a long way off for Rose. What concerned her most at the moment was what Professor Bosde had said before Christmas.

As winter gave way to spring, a few tender shoots appeared in the grass on the grounds outside the castle. Beneath the huge beech tree by the Black Lake, the ground was still covered with a thick layer of dead branches and fallen leaves, but the dark boughs overhead were already covered in fresh green buds.

It was completely dark, and curfew was fast approaching. Rose hurried out of the library, where she had spent too long looking up information for a Transfiguration assignment. There were hardly any other students to be seen in the corridors.

Wrapping her robes tightly around herself against the cold wind blowing through the passage, Rose hurried down the second-floor corridor with her head lowered. Then she saw someone standing in front of the large floor-to-ceiling window by the entrance to the Hospital Wing.

His back was to the corridor. He was tall and thin, and even beneath his thick winter coat, she could see how tense his back was.

"Remus?" Rose recognized him and called out tentatively.

Her voice rang out abruptly in the empty corridor. Remus's back stiffened even more, as though he hadn't expected to run into a classmate who knew him at this hour. He took a deep breath and turned around slowly.

"Rose? What are you doing here? It's almost curfew." Even though Remus was pale and looked gloomy, his voice was still gentle.

"I stayed late at the library, oh-" Almost without thinking, Rose asked, "What are you doing here?" No sooner had she spoken than Remus looked visibly flustered, and Rose suddenly realized: it was a full-moon night, and he was outside the Hospital Wing. What else could it be?

Seeing how pale the boy's face was, almost transparent, she was filled with regret.

"Er—you must be here to get Pepperup Potion for Sirius, right? I think he's caught a cold." Rose's words came out in a muddle, and she changed the subject rather awkwardly. "Professor Bosde said my magic was blocked because I still hadn't accepted magic in my heart, so I wanted to see if I could find a solution in a book."

Her mind had instinctively turned to her biggest worry, but that was obviously no more suitable as a new topic of conversation. All Rose wanted now was to get out of there quickly and politely. She was so embarrassed.

Rose saw Remus keenly pick up on the guilt and unease in her voice, then look startled for a moment by her new topic. But he soon smiled faintly and looked at her calmly.

"That sometimes happens to young Muggle-born witches and wizards," he said kindly. "Some people are naturally perceptive and sensitive, and they can often feel the magic inside their bodies more keenly. What they need to do is accept their true selves in their hearts-" He smiled bitterly and went on, "Accept what makes them different. It might be a little hard at first, but you'll get used to it."

"Remus-" Madam Pomfrey's voice sounded behind them. She looked at Rose in surprise. "Why are you still here? It's past curfew, child. You need to get back to your common room at once, or I'll have to ask Professor McGonagall to take a few points from you." She stared sternly at Rose, as though she were a naughty child making a racket in the Hospital Wing.

"I'm going right away, Madam," Rose said politely and obediently. She thanked Remus, and after they said goodbye, she carefully avoided Pringle and several patrolling Prefects and made it safely to the Gryffindor Common Room.

She threw herself heavily onto a large, soft sofa, recalling Remus's words.

Accept your true self. He hadn't just been answering her illogical question; he must have been telling himself the same thing.

He had been turned into a Werewolf as a young child, forced to endure a painful transformation every month, and could only spend his days in fear and anxiety around his close friends.

But he hadn't let the pain crush him or lived his days in a daze. In the future, he grew into a remarkably accomplished wizard.

Rose took out her wand and fixed her eyes on a tray on the coffee table. It held some unfinished apples and a few biscuits.

She murmured the incantation, and a bright red apple instantly turned scorched yellow and shriveled, steam rising from it. It was the Fire-Making Spell, a charm she had adapted from the Heating Charm. Previously, she had only had a vague idea of the principles in her mind and had never been able to cast it smoothly.

But today she had succeeded with a little spell of her own creation. The incantation was simple and easy, but this small success seemed to make her feel acknowledged and affirmed, as though her heart had finally found solid ground.

The next day, she went to the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts's office. Professor Bosde was arranging his bookshelves, and several Muggle photographs hung on the walls. Rose curiously examined the one in the middle.

"One of my proudest experiences," Professor Bosde said, raising his eyebrows and smiling as he explained it to her. "In Greece, I intercepted a group of Indian wizards who were illegally selling Chimaera eggs. They were also holding an adult female Chimaera captive; she had just given birth. Newt—the curly-haired man beside me—and I joined forces to defeat them and rescue the poor mother. They even wanted to award me an Order of Merlin for it, but I refused." He shrugged, looking very dashing. "My family didn't write to me for a year over it. They were furious."

"You know Newt Scamander?" The Newt in the picture looked very much like his film counterpart. Both had short brown curls and looked reserved and awkward in front of the camera, yet seemed very approachable.

"We met once. I greatly admire the effort he's put into studying Fantastic Beasts, and we've kept up a correspondence over the years." A reminiscent look appeared on Professor Bosde's face. "Now then, tell me what you came to see me about." He looked at Rose calmly, as though he had long expected her to come.

"I wanted to show you this." Rose took a deep breath, pulled a bright red apple from her pocket, put it on the desk, and pointed her wand at it. She succeeded in making it give off steam and a fragrant roasted aroma.

"A beautiful spell," Professor Bosde praised her. "It works on the same principle as the Heating Charm, but you made a small change at the beginning, altering the way the spell is cast." His eyes were full of admiration.

"Thank you for the compliment." Rose clutched her wand a little awkwardly. "I've been thinking about what you said before, and recently, after talking with a friend of mine, I finally gained some insight."

"That friend of yours must be a very wise person," Professor Bosde said. "May I know his name?"

"It's Remus, Professor. Remus Lupin," Rose said. "He's very clever."

Professor Bosde nodded and said with some surprise, "I thought it would be Lily Evans, but Mr. Lupin also has an excellent grasp of things and a mature character." A trace of regret appeared on his face, and Rose knew he must have been thinking of Remus's condition.

The office was quiet for a moment before Professor Bosde broke the silence. "You have a talent for spells. You can make changes to incantations and try different things—you're quite good at that, aren't you?" He winked at Rose cheerfully. "The Fire-Making Spell, with a slight alteration, becomes Fiendfyre. Such changes are fascinating, but you mustn't indulge in them without restraint, or there will be unforeseen consequences."

At that, Professor Bosde paused, and the office returned to its earlier quiet.

"I understand, Professor," Rose said solemnly. "I absolutely won't become obsessed with studying Dark Magic."

"All right, that's enough for today. I still have homework from several year groups to mark!" Professor Bosde waved his hand, and before Rose closed the door, she clearly heard him muttering under his breath.

"I'm definitely resigning next year. Teaching really isn't a job just anyone can do!"