HP: The Duelist of Hogwarts - 420

Chapter 420: An Angry Umbridge

Umbridge watched Harry closely. As he smoothly wrote out line after line of “I must not tell lies,” the gloating delight on her face shifted to confusion and then to anger.

She knew exactly what that black quill was supposed to do. What she was seeing from Harry now was nothing like a student under its effect.

What was going on?

This was not how it should look.

“Stop.”

Harry looked up at the furious Umbridge and understood at once that Sean’s amulet was working. Her quill had lost its bite and done him no harm. That was why she was so unsettled. But Harry had grown a little craftier. He put on an innocent expression and met her gaze, acting as if he had no idea what was wrong. His performance was surprisingly good.

Umbridge, for her part, could not say much.

A Hogwarts professor using a Dark artefact to punish a student was the sort of thing that, if exposed, would bring her serious trouble. The quill’s effect was subtle. Without proof, no one could say anything. But if she drew attention to it herself, she would be handing her enemies a weapon.

“Give me the quill.”

Harry obediently handed the black feather to her.

She tried a stroke on the parchment. A stab of pain shot across the back of her hand, making her suck in a sharp breath and frown.

The quill was working perfectly.

Which meant the problem was Harry Potter.

“What are you wearing?”

“I am sorry, Professor, I do not know what you mean. What is wrong? What happened to the quill? It felt fine when I was writing.”

Harry’s guileless puzzlement made her swallow her next words. She gave the quill back to him. “Nothing. Carry on.”

When the time set for detention was up, Umbridge said nothing more and dismissed Harry.

This detention had clearly failed to achieve what she wanted. But she had a good idea what had happened. If the quill was sound, then Harry Potter must have been wearing something that blocked Dark magic. Only two people at Hogwarts would think to give Harry such protection: Dumbledore and Sean Bulstrode. Dumbledore had been away from the castle almost constantly in recent days. That much she knew. Which meant the person who had armed Harry was Sean Bulstrode.

At that thought, Umbridge made a mental mark beside Sean’s name. For now, she could not strike back. But soon. Soon she would make him pay.

On Saturday night, Sean finally saw his two long-absent teachers.

“Professor Anthony, Professor Nicolas, it is good to see you again.”

“We two old men are not so easy to miss.”

Nicolas smiled as he joked. The Alchemical puppet Lisa pushed his wheelchair forward until he was right in front of Sean. “From what I hear, things in the British magical community have been quite bad lately. That must be affecting you.”

“Fudge sent someone to Hogwarts. She is… troublesome.”

“That is the truly frightening thing about Voldemort,” Anthony said, stepping up beside Sean. “He can ignore laws and other people’s opinions. Anyone he dislikes or finds inconvenient, he can simply kill. You cannot. You have to deal with everything inside the rules, or all your years of preparation and effort will be wasted. You will become what he is. I do not think you want that, do you?”

Anthony understood Sean very well. He had put his finger squarely on Sean’s thinking.

Sean nodded. “Do not worry, Professor Anthony. I already have a plan to handle this from within the rules. So let us not dwell on that now. I have some new ideas about Life Alchemy. I would like you both to look them over and see if they are viable.”

By nine o’clock, Sean and Nicolas left the classroom at the end of the third-floor corridor and went their separate ways.

This time, Sean did not return directly to the Slytherin common room. Instead, he headed for the Defence Against the Dark Arts office to find Gavin.

“Professor Jobbins, I have a question.”

Seeing Sean enter, Gavin nodded, lifted his wand, and sealed the office door Sean had closed behind him. “Is that Alchemy array of yours really that effective? I can feel my body starting to stiffen again.”

“Trust me. It works.”

As he spoke, Sean began setting up the Life Alchemy array. Since the Defence Against the Dark Arts office was not large, he cleared space first. With a few flicks of his wand, desks, shelves, and other furniture floated up to cling to the ceiling, leaving the floor open.

He drew the array with care. When the intricate pattern was complete, he placed each prepared component at a point of the thirty-six-pointed star. Only then was the Life Alchemy array ready.

“Grandfather, lie down in the centre.”

“All right.”

Without a trace of hesitation, Gavin shrugged off his outer robe and lay down in the heart of the array.

Sean did not hesitate either. He swept his wand, and a pale green flame rose from the lines of the array. Filaments of green fire unfurled like tendrils, coiling around each ingredient in turn and breaking them down, releasing drifting clouds of soft green light that gathered above the array. The light condensed into a single drop of pale green life essence, which fell onto Gavin’s chest.

The liquid seeped into his body, visibly following his veins as it spread through his frame. Within moments, the dead chill inside him began to dissipate. The pallor of his skin warmed with a faint flush of colour. Seeing this, Sean finally let out a long breath. In theory, he had been certain Life Alchemy would work, but many things that function beautifully in theory break down in practice.

Now, watching Gavin’s condition genuinely improve, he finally relaxed.

When the last of the materials had been consumed, Gavin sat up and coughed hard, bringing up a lump of congealed black blood. Relief washed over his face and posture.

“It definitely works. I feel like two more treatments might restore me completely. What exactly is this Life Alchemy of yours? How is it so effective?”