Harry Potter and the Order Of the Phoenix [152]
“Hey Harold!” yelled Harry, suddenly getting an idea.
“What?”
“When she teleports, she’s not really gone from this universe, is she? She’s just moving so fast that you can’t see her.”
“Yeah, but what does that do?” Harry smiled, maybe he and his clone weren’t exactly the same. Since Lavender’s clone was still in the arena at all times, even though she appeared invisible sometimes, she was susceptible to an Unavoidable Curse.
“Harold! Use the Unavoidable Heat Curse!” yelled Harry. Harold nodded, and took out his wand.
“Anataga atsuidesu!” he yelled. There was a red flash in the arena as the spell took action. It made Lavender’s clone freeze in mid-teleportation, and fall to the ground. He had hit her.
“Korosucide!” yelled Harold, pointing his wand right down at Lavender’s clone, who looked unconscious, lying at his feet. The spell immediately hit her, and she exploded into millions of tiny bits that soon disappeared into the air. Harry felt the surge of adrenaline pump through him again, making him feel more alive than ever. He almost envied his clone, who got to do the actual killing….
Harry shook his head hard, what was he thinking? Was he becoming like Malfoy, a vengeful sadist? Harry reassured himself, no. There was no way he’d ever be like Malfoy. This was just a test, not with real people… but they were real….
“Harry Potter is the first place winner for this round, and Lavender Brown is the second place winner!” announced professor Flitwick, de-railing Harry’s train of thought. He skipped back up to his chair, and sat down next to Harry and Hermione.
“I told you reading that Advanced Dark Arts book would help you,” said Hermione. “It was worth sneaking into the Restricted Section.”
“Yeah, I was the only one who knew the more powerful Killing Curse,” said Harry, sitting down. “That gave me a good advantage.”
“Yeah, that and being the only decent dueler down there,” said Ron. Hermione and Harry looked at him.
“What do you mean, Ron?” asked Harry.
“Well, Dean an Seamus are easy enough, and Lavender didn’t look that bad. But me, I have to go against Hermione and Neville!”
“Neville?!” said Harry and Hermione together. Ron leaned in closer, and beckoned Harry and Hermione to do the same.
“Well, you know, I sleep in the bed right next to him, and he usually keeps me awake all night with his terrible snoring. But, the past few months, especially the last few nights, he hasn’t snored at all.”
“Maybe he got some sort of treatment,” said Hermione. Ron shook his head.
“That’s what I thought at first too,” said Ron. “To investigate, one night I took Harry’s invisibility cloak after he fell asleep. I waited right in front of Neville’s bed, for him to come in. Not only did he come in long after everyone fell asleep, but he just laid there all night.”
“What do you mean, ‘just laid there’?” asked Harry.
“It was weird,” said Ron, contorting his face, “he just kind of lied down, but sat as well. He was also holding his hands oddly… it was like he was reading some sort of invisible book. Every now and then, he’d move his fingers like he was turning an invisible page, too. It was just… weird.”
“So, what does that have to do with anything?” asked Hermione, shaking her head.
“Well, he just started doing that a few nights after the Yule Ball, the night he was acting strange. And, ever since he’s started reading that book, he’s done better in school too, except for his occasional falling asleep in class. I think whatever he’s been doing has been making him… smarter.”
Harry and Hermione leaned back, and looked at each other. Just as they were going to make a comment, Professor Flitwick spoke again,
“Everyone who wasn’t in the last duel, please come down here now. That should be… Miss. Parvati Patil, Miss. Hermione Granger, Mr. Ron Weasley, and Mr. Neville Longbottom!”
Ron and Hermione walked down to the arena, amid many loud cheers from Harry. Ron went over to the red turret, and Hermione to the blue; Parvati walked to the green one,