****
Evening. Hogwarts Castle. Eighth floor. Room of Requirement.
I must admit, Neville's reaction to the appearance of the room (or more precisely, its transformation into greenhouses) was beyond praise. I have rarely seen such a variety of emotions on the face, as well as those experienced by it. And his further actions are worthy of special mention...
Perhaps it's worth starting with the fact that as soon as the door opened, Nev immediately disappeared into the dense thickets of magical plants. And since the entrance led us to one of the common greenhouses, he knew perfectly where everything was located. Only this time Professor Sprout is not around, and we didn't have to break in. Help The room perfectly bypasses all surveillance spells. (An interesting fact, if you ask to open a passage anywhere on the school grounds, then you will get there (if you have the right to get there. For example, I didn't get into the vultures' living room.), but you can only exit back to the corridor of the eighth floor Why exactly this is so is unknown, but I clearly felt the "taste" of the mana of space, as well as something else unknown to me at the moment)
So poor Neville lost his head a little at the prospects that had opened up and, leaving me behind, rushed off to a corner of what could be considered a small, personal paradise (for him, of course).
Since we are still in the Room of Help, all its resources are still available to me. Therefore, I sat down directly on the ground (there is a lot of mana here, so I will absorb it and then release it into space. Not a bad workout while I am busy with other things), I opened the book on the magic of cryokinesis that I received from the room. Almost all the literature available to me in this field has already been read, only a few copies remain.
An hour later, I finally finished with the book (and not only with it. My memory allows me to create a lot), and Neva is still not visible. Closing my eyes for a moment, I was able to sense his aura twenty-five meters away from me. At the moment, he is enthusiastically rummaging around in the ground, and at the same time absorbing natural mana. Well, since he's busy for now, he should occupy himself with something else. You shouldn't distract him.
Having sat comfortably, I closed my eyes again, but this time for a completely different "action". A slight feeling of free fall and after just a couple of seconds I open my eyes in my inner world. Perhaps it's worth once again "living" the day of the attack, as well as its consequences. Something doesn't give me peace. But what?
*****
A week ago. Long after midnight. Neighborhood of Hogwarts Castle.
As soon as I soared into the sky, I began to move my wings with redoubled force. Only after a minute and a half was I able to calm down and examine the tower, along with the surrounding area.
After ten minutes of close inspection and careful reconnaissance, I was finally able to go down to the ground again (the area of the astronomy tower) and, assuming human form, began to go down the steps (of course, I didn't forget about the invisa. I shouldn't neglect this, even if it doesn't help me much with encounter with a snake). It might seem that I am acting rashly, but this is not entirely true. There are reasons for my actions.
It's worth starting with the fact that we made a lot of noise. I bet that most of the teachers are already on their feet and combing the corridors of the castle. Another reason for my confidence is the magical beacon (Barely perceptible grains of my mana. The same method as with Snape. It will not last long, but it will fulfill its role), which I managed to "throw" on the heir during our small clash. It was not perceptible within my sensory range.
But this is not the most important thing, now I need to return to one of the collision sites, since one of the stones from the wall caught me there, managing to wound me. And the shield against physical attacks didn't help. The stone, overflowing with ancient mana, over such a long period of time, able to become a pseudo artifact, shot through the spell, managing to cut my side. It is necessary to destroy the blood, and immediately after this, carry out the cutting off ritual. Someone could very well get a piece of my flesh; there's no point in leaving them a "working" trump card.
My quick but careful walk to the collision site ended before it began. Even though I mobilized all my senses one hundred percent, maybe more, and also meticulously examined the path in front of me, however, after fifteen minutes I arrived at the right place.
Hmmm, the snake's blow is terrible. The stone wall, reinforced with spells, and also saturated with a thousand years of magical recharge, was destroyed almost into dust. There was a hole about a meter in diameter on the half-meter wall. From this hole, many cracks, small and large, spread in all directions. The remains of this wall were scattered all over the floor.
To fall under such a gift once and there won't even be a wet spot left of me. What kind of power do you need to have to do something like this?
Having found pieces of rubble that cut my side, I was convinced that there was a scarlet liquid on its edges. A slight wave of the wand and all the blood burns in a blue flame, leaving not even a trace behind.
Well, the business here is over, now only the ritual remains.
*****
At the same time. Hogwarts Castle. Empty classrooms near the dungeon.
An empty classroom, once filled with dust, devastation, old age and decay. Now it looked much better: cleaned walls, floor and ceiling. Desks pushed to the walls. A small corner for brewing potions, a medium-sized cabinet with various literature, a work table (on which there were several open letters), as well as a small, obviously portable (consisting of several parts) ritual circle.
At the moment, this room is clearly popular, since someone took a fancy to it and changed it to suit their needs. However, at the moment the owner of this premises was absent. Maybe he was busy with his own affairs?..
With a slight creak, the door leading to this room opened, and a second later (as if someone invisible had entered the room) it closed again. For a brief moment, the runes that were written on both the door and the wall next to it flashed in different colors.
Smoothly, from nowhere, a hand appeared in space holding a small vial filled with something scarlet. Carefully placing it on the table, the hand reached up, to where the people's heads were. Grabbing something invisible, she forcefully threw this "something" back. Silver ripples ran across the space. A moment later, a man dressed in a silver robe appeared in the center of the room.
Slightly tousled black hair, glasses, and bright green eyes. That's right, this person turned out to be the Hero of the Magical World - Harry Potter.
Having carefully looked around the space, he (she?) nodded his head in satisfaction. Taking off his robe and carelessly throwing it on a chair, he took the previously set aside branch to the side and headed towards the ritual circle.
"Let's see why the whole school hates me," the lips stretched into an ominous smile, and the "flame" fluttered in the eyes. - So much effort down the drain. But it's okay, I'll settle accounts with you soon...
Having placed the bottle in the center of the ritual circle, he went to the bookshelf and began to look for something. Having finally found what he needed, Harry took the book he was looking for and opened it to one page that only he knew.
"Well, well," the hero (heroine?) muttered barely audibly and, armed with chalk, began to complement the existing drawing.
Consulting the book all the time and redoing it several times, Potter was still able to finish the drawing in about fifteen minutes. Having made sure of the correctness of the ritual construction, he put the book aside with pleasure and, taking the wand in his hand, muttered (mumbled?):
"Now I will find out who you are, "Heir," an ominous smile graced his (her) lips. - You will answer for everything.
A slight wave of his wand and mana flowed from Potter, straight into the ritual circle. Filling the entire drawing with herself, she intensified the work of the ritual.
Gradually the circle began to fill with power, and at the same time it began to shine in the twilight of the room. With every second the radiance became stronger and stronger, until, in the end, it was impossible to look at it.
However, at that very moment, two kilometers from this room, one teenager finally finished the ritual of renunciation, which in turn affected the ritual that the Hero was performing.
Slowly the light faded, and over the space of the circle, flaming letters began to float up one after another, forming words. Potter's eyes looked at this picture with anticipation. There was so much desire, triumph and joy in them. But…
In an instant everything changed. Directly from the depths of the drawing, where the vial with the treasured liquid was located, a light ripple flowed. Faced with the spells being cast, she destabilized them, and they, in turn, went into disarray.
Green eyes, in which triumph had recently splashed, looked at this at first with incomprehension, and then with horror.
- No! - The only thing Harry managed to do.
All the fiery letters instantly gathered at one point. Having frozen for one second, the resulting body in a matter of seconds expanded to unprecedented sizes, filling the entire drawing.
*BANG!* An explosion sounded. If not for the concealment spell, this sound would have been heard even in Hogsmeade.
The room was covered in a cloud of dust. There was silence.
"Kha-kha," a cough was heard from one of the walls. A few seconds later, the entire cloud dissipated (by simply retracting itself), revealing to the eye of an outside observer the consequences of the explosion.
The cozy room no longer existed. In its place was an absolutely clean room. No cabinets, no boilers, no steel. Nothing, just a silver robe, dried blood in the center of a drawing that had once been here, and also a Hero who looked at it all with hatred in his eyes.
"Ay," sharply grabbing his left hand, he forcefully removed the previously invisible bracelet. Throwing it aside, he just sighed tiredly. A moment later, the bracelet crumbled into dust, and with it, for a moment, a greenish barrier covering Potter's body appeared and disappeared irrevocably. - Uncle will kill me.
There was silence again. There was not a sound to be heard. The hero was thinking intensely about something, and every now and then I clenched my wand in my fist.
"Okay," Harry finally said after a couple of minutes. "We'll have to take a more difficult path."
At that moment, his left hand took out something from the bag that was hanging at his side. Unclenching his fist, the hero looked with complex emotions at the small, diamond-shaped amulet, in the center of which a blood-scarlet ruby sparkled mischievously.
- And how can I explain "This" to my uncle?
*****
"Kol," my friend's voice brought me out of meditation.
Opening my eyes, I stared at Nev. Hmmm, it's immediately obvious that he didn't waste his time.
- What? - Nev didn't quite understand my look.
With a slight grin, I transfigured a mirror in front of him with a wave of my wand.
"Damn," after looking at his reflection for several seconds, the guy only cursed, taking out his wand.
And the picture was as follows: tousled hair, small circles under the eyes, a rumpled robe, and also a lot of dirt. Oh, it was everywhere: on the robe, on the hands, on the face and in the hair. Oh, what a plant maniac he is.
After watching this comical picture a little more, I finally got up from my place on the wall. It's time to end all this.
- Well, are you ready? - Neva asked standing at the door.
"Yes," he nodded, hiding his wand.
- Well then, let's go...
With a slight creak (probably due to the door hinges), the door opened...
*****
Twentieth of December. Early morning. Hogwarts Castle. Big hall.
The children were arriving. Of course, after an hour or two they will go home to their relatives. That's why it was so lively, even if it was Saturday.
"Good morning, Kol," Nev greeted, sitting down next to me. "Uh-huh," he still couldn't resist and yawned.
"I see someone didn't get enough sleep," I said instead of greeting.
"Something didn't sleep well," Nev said, blushing a little.
All I could do was smile silently. I know why he looks like that. Still, tonight was the last time this year when he could take care of the "cute" plants. So he stayed too long, and so did I.
Well, okay, it happens to everyone. The main thing now is that most of the students will leave the walls of Hog today. I don't know how the heir will react to this, but it's clearly in my favor. Fewer people means more time for your activities. Help the room is waiting.
- Hello, Sid, - oh, here comes the restless one. And with it the Moon.
"Good morning to you too, Astoria, Luna," he nodded to them in greeting. — Are you ready to leave?
"Yes, for a long time," Greengrass was the first to answer, and Luna just nodded in confirmation.
— What are you planning to do during the holidays?
"Nothing in particular," the snake somehow withered. - Attending various balls, and towards the end there will also be a celebration taking place in our estate. Nothing special - apparently such an active girl was pretty tired of it.
"And my parents and I will go to Australia," the second girl took the floor without looking up from her food. "Dad wants to find something there, but he doesn't say what exactly," at the end of the sentence she even puffed out her cheeks a little, like a fighting hamster.
"Well, I'll spend all my time in the mansion," Nev said, smiling at something.
"In the greenhouse," a grinning Astoria finished for him.
- Yes-ah... That is, no. Did you even take it from him? - Nev tried to refute our words, but when he came across three attentive glances, he only lowered his head in embarrassment. - Just think, I love plants...
- Yes, no one...
*Ding-Ding* The sound of metal hitting glass echoed throughout the large hall, stopping any conversation at once.
Turning our heads together towards the teaching table, we came across the figure of the director, who was holding a glass in one hand and a fork in the other. Hmm, why does everyone have such gloomy faces?
"A moment of attention," the director's ringing, power-filled voice was mesmerizing, forcing you to listen to him. — Dear students, I congratulate you on the coming of the Christmas holidays. And even if the events of this year are not entirely rosy, I noticed how Argus squeezed the glass with such force that it shattered into small pieces. "But we are all looking forward to the new year."
What is this all for? What does he mean by this? It is clear that all this is not easy.
"However, I must tell you some sad news," Dumbledore's entire figure was filled with sadness and regret. — Due to the situation in the magical world, as well as on the recommendation of the Ministry, all students cannot leave the walls of the castle for the Christmas holidays.
A second, two, three. A bomb exploded.
*****