ch 86. A Blind Spot
-Third-person POV-
Earlier…
Quirrell woke up and got up from his bed. He then proceeded to take out one of the remaining two vials of unicorn blood from the secret compartment under his bed.
As he finished drinking the blood, he began to dread that he only had one vial remaining.
He now had to buy a batch from Mundungus or hunt for a unicorn himself.
However, because of the earlier batch of unicorn blood and the dragon's egg, he now has zero money left. He did scour the forest but didn't find any unicorn.
He has to get the stone soon… or else…
"Tthere migght be unicorn bbloood in Severussh's prrivate storee..shh.." said by the voice behind Quirrell.
The man realized that it was possible for Snape to have some unicorn blood stashed in his private store.
Thus, he began to think of how and when it is a proper time to ransack Snape's storeroom.
Suddenly, he heard a gentle strumming of guitar somewhere...
🎵...🎶...🎵...🎶...🎵
Followed by gentle voice...
When the day is long
And the night, the night is yours alone
"Aagh!..." Quirrell felt like he was attacked deep in his mind. He quickly asked for help, "M-Master... "
When you're sure you've had enough
Of this life, well hang on...
As Quirrell heard more of the song, he began to lose consciousness and passed out on the floor.
His body didn't stay down for long as he slowly rose from the ground. A thick black smoke covered his body and he became a black hooded figure.
The entity controlling his body took his wand and pointed it to his ear and, disabling his hearing.
Though he disabled his ears blocking the song, the vibration in the air still caused the entity to be repulsed by the song.
The black hooded figure approached the window and saw the commotion outside.
Though he is not aware of why and who caused it, he determined that it's the proper time to make some advance preparation.
He was not sure how long the commotion outside would last, at least he was sure that Dumbledore's eyes won't be on him for now.
The black hooded figure quickly grabbed Quirrell's wand and searched for the wand box in the secret compartment and took out what's inside it, an old broken wand.
Exiting Quirrell's quarter, the hooded figure cast an invisibility charm on itself and dash up the castle.
On the way, he encountered a lone female student with a short blonde hair.
Without chanting a spell, he immobilized the girl and turned her invisible.
Proceeding to go up the castle with the girl, he finally reached his destination, The Room of Requirements.
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7:37 am
-Marshall's POV-
"Pfft..Guys, sorry... pfft... for the commotion....pfft..." I bowed my heads and apologize to the crowd that gathered in the viaduct courtyard.
It is taking great effort to hold myself from laughing.
What's funny? You see, earlier...
After my pets, contracted beasts and Jolly returned to my beast space, I bid farewell to the squid and merpeople, the ghosts and house elves returned to the castle.
I could already sense that the crowd that gathered by the edge of the forest started to disperse, and the owls flew back to the owlery.
When It was only Dumbledore, Fawkes and me in the boathouse, I was going to greet the phoenix, but it quickly vanished, obviously avoiding me.
Dumbledore told me of the altercation between Fawkes and Reza. I thought, 'Too bad… Maybe some other times.'
The cat and dog Patronus gave their farewell and dissipated in front of me. I'll do a thorough analysis of their uniqueness later.
When I went up with the headmaster from the boathouse to the courtyard, the sight of all the students crying with red, puffy eyes was hilarious.
"You're able to laugh?! Sniff...Do you know how worried we were?!!!..sniff" yelled Susan in between sobs.
Harry came forward, with tears running down his face, smiled and congratulated me, "Marshall, Happy Birthday!"
What followed was everyone giving their greetings. Some more sincere than others, but I don't mind.
I turned to face Dumbledore and asked his permission, "Headmaster, will it be fine if I tweak the menu a little and provide my 'personal touch' later for dinner? Nothing fancy… It will just be like the barbecue party we had last year. Just for this time."
Though he frowned, Dumbledore just gave a weak sigh and nodded.
The students got excited when they found out that I'll prepare the food for my birthday later.
Before we scattered, Quirrell appeared again in the castle. I quickly assessed his location and concluded that he came out from the Room of Requirements. 'He must have been hiding himself from my song…'
When I saw the headmaster walking back to the castle, I just remembered something, so I quickly called out to him, "Headmaster, wait!!"
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-Dumbledore's POV-
While Witcherly got greeted by most of the students, I approached Snape and Flitwick and instructed them to check on the 'safe' and made sure that Quirrell didn't attempt to enter while everyone was distracted by Marshall's little show earlier.
'I feel I have aged a few decades remembering everything I saw Witcherly did.' I was going to go back to the castle to take a much-needed rest from all the surprises this morning when someone called me.
"Headmaster, wait!!" I heard a familiar voice calling me. 'Oh Merlin! What does this lad need now?'
With a sigh, I just turned around and asked the kid, "Anything else, Young Witcherly?"
"Headmaster, regarding the 'zoo' that Professor Kettleburn and Hagrid proposed… I think we overlooked some legal aspect when it comes to housing additional magical creatures." said Marshall.
Feeling another headache coming, I rubbed my forehead and asked for clarification, "Mr. Witcherly, I thought you'll just create a building similar to your greenhouse for the creatures in the school's barn? Why would there be a need to consider legal aspect? And what additional creatures?"
The kid gave me a puzzled look, "Eh? But we're talking about a zoo? Shouldn't it consist of more varieties of creatures? Hagrid and Prof. Silvanus even asked me if it's possible to house 'large' beasts. Hagrid even hinted a place for dragons."
"What!! Oh, Merlin!!" I let out a yelped.
Marshall and I looked at each other and realized that we're not on the same page regarding the zoo.
"Lad, I believe we have to reconsider that zoo…" I quickly want to stop their plan. It is too troublesome.
"Hmmm…" Marshall frowned and in deep thought. It's obvious that he's not giving up on that project. He finally suggested, "Since it is a project planned for next school year, we still have time to iron out some issues…"
"Oh? What do you propose, lad?" I curiously asked. Though I still find it quite troublesome, as long as this kid is busy with his own business, I'll keep an open mind.
Witcherly quickly said, "I think it's better if we have another meeting with Prof. Kettleburn and Hagrid…."
I nodded and agree that we need to be on the same page with everyone involve.
"... Also…" The kid continued, "... We need to include Newt Scamander and someone from the Ministry's Department of Magical Creatures to give their input. Mr. Scamander for his rich experience raising and containing magical creatures, and the Ministry people to advise us on the legality of those creatures. Coincidentally, I'm acquainted with Amos Diggory who works in that department..."
Letting out another sigh, I pondered for a moment what the lad said. True… Newt and Diggory would be able to provide some needed clarity on what we can and can't do.
Finally, I gave my approval, "Very well… Let's set a proper meeting next Saturday. I'll send out the invitation to Newt and Amos Diggory. Anything else, Mr. Witcherly?"
"None… For now, Headmaster." The kid said.
'Finally!' I thought and said, "Then you could talk to the house elves for tonight's dinner. And by the way … Happy Birthday, Marshall."
Quickly I walked back to the castle.
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6:21 pm
-Third-person POV-
That night, Marshall prepared an indoor buffet that is an upscale version of the barbecue party he organized last year.
Wigby and Jolly, with the help of the other house elves, manned the stations.
Though it did garner some disapproval from some pureblood students, the addition of common muggle dishes, snacks and drinks were very popular to the majority.
Before the busy dinner time, a lone Ravenclaw girl with a short blond hair walked out of a room in the seventh floor.
After closing the door, it vanished.
The girl absent-mindedly walked back to the Ravenclaw common room, and back to her room.
On the way she bumped to some Gryffindors and fellow Ravenclaws going down the castle.
In her room, she took out an old broken wand and a teacher's permit to visit the Restricted Section of the School's Library and hid the two items in her desk drawer.
The girl then blankly walked out the room and another girl coincidentally called her out, "There you are, Rose! We were looking for you all afternoon…"
Rose's eyes regained some clarity and replied, "Sorry, I'm feeling unwell the whole day… I just got my.. You know…"
"Oh? So that's why. Are you fine now?" The other girl showed a sense of understanding and concern.
"Yeah… I'm actually hungry now." Rose said.
Her friend quickly grabbed Rose's arm and said, "Then we need to head to the Great Hall. That 'Beast Boy' just threw a party and there are some muggle drinks. I've been craving some…"
Rose just nodded and allowed herself to be dragged by her friend toward the Great Hall for dinner.
~end chapter ~
Next Chapter will be on May 20.