Chapter Three

A Place called MortoLand

"Harry, where do you reckon MortoLand is?" asked Hermione for the thousandth time on Professor Binns' all-time boring History of Magic lesson.

"I don't know," Harry simply answered, and then added, "but like what I've said, we can ask Binns about this after this class,"

"No way," said Ron, leaning over from his dog-eared pages, "Binns' just a ghost, and he only cares about history, not geography,"

And then, the three were forced to end their conversation by noting down the two-parchment-length-essay homework Binns assigned to the class that is due the next day.

"Though, I just hope that MortoLand isn't mortal!" Ron murmured after jotting down the homework.

"What?" Harry was surprised to hear Ron talking about the subject when all of a sudden,

Ding, dong…

The bell signaling the end of class rang, and all the other students gushed out of the classroom like water been released from the opening of a pipe, desperate to get out of the hazy and dizzy environment of Binns' classroom. After all the other students had gone out, and Binns himself had drifted through a wall and disappeared out of sight, Hermione sighed, and proposed,

"Let's ask Slughorn, he's more of a person that we can rely on," said Hermione, sounding hopeful.

"Why Slughorn though?" Harry asked back, curious.

"Well, you see that he is not only talented in Potions, but also in Defense Against the Dark Arts as well," said Hermione, turning her head to look out of the window, "As a matter of fact, this was also what I heard the reason why Dumbledore invited him to come to Hogwarts this year: Slughorn was one of the most prominent students at Hogwarts during his time!"

"Yeah, just like you right?" Ron asked, resulting from a nudge on his shoulder from Hermione in an angry yet humorous way. He chuckled, and so did Harry.

"Well, shall we be off to Slughorn's place now?" asked Harry.

"Certainly," said Hermione.

"But, where is he now?" Ron asked with his eyebrows frowning.

"I checked the notice board this morning, and he's supposed to have just finished a lesson of Defense Against the Dark Arts with the fourth years," said Hermione, already heading out the door of the classroom, "I guess if we go now, we'll still be able to find him before Astronomy!"

As Hermione turned herself around and headed off into the distance of the seemingly stretched corridor, leaving Harry and Ron behind, Ron merely smirked and said, "Well, let's see if the know-it-all's always right," And then, the two started to follow Hermione towards the DADA classroom as well.

Several minutes later, all three arrived in front of the shut wooden classroom door. As they approached the door, Harry knocked silently.

"Who's there?" a confident yet seemingly drunken voice came from inside.

"Harry Potter, Ron Wea-…" Harry responded solemnly when all of a sudden,

"Come in!"

Professor Slughorn interrupted Harry's speech, and the three of them slowly entered the classroom. As they caught sight of the professor, Harry saw that he was reading a book called 'Odd Phenomenon in Potions That Matter with the Dark Arts' behind the teacher's desk, his belly so huge that it seemed that he will soon knock it over. When Slughorn spotted the three students entering, he miraculously waved like a little child as if he wasn't aware of the reason they were entering for.

"Ah, hello there Gryffindors, shouldn't you be in class?" he asked joyously.

Harry was puzzled. Class should be over by now, and Astronomy is the next lesson coming up for them. Perhaps he was reading his book for too long and lost his thoughts, thought Harry, and he spoke seriously to the dazzled professor.

"Professor Slughorn, class was over when the bell rang. And, we have a question to ask you, just one if you won't mind,"

"Really," Professor Slughorn raised his dark brown eyebrows out of surprise, giving Harry an impression of Professor Lockhart, who was Harry's DADA teacher back in his second year, "Well then, I would like to hear your question; but be quick, ok?"

"Ok," Harry paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and mumbled, "Duh yeh know where 'ortoLand is?" He was doing so because he wanted to attract Slughorn's full attention, and it worked.

Professor Slughorn threw his book aside and leaned closer to the desk with a deep frown, "Sorry boy, I didn't catch that,"

Harry cleared his throat and repeated, clearly this time, "Do you know where MortoLand is?"

Professor Slughorn stared at Harry for a lengthy moment, not even blinking. The atmosphere seemed to have locked between the two all of a sudden, with neither of them able to escape the other's gaze. And then, after what seemed like one whole minute has passed, Professor Slughorn finally sighed, leaned backwards on his chair, and spoke to Harry calmly,

"You should know boy, that MortoLand is a dangerous multidimensional island located south west, about a mile off from Hogwarts," Slughorn stated like a lecture, "Because it is multidimensional, so any flying object that got there will lose its position and control immediately. Anyways, on the island, there were used to be an abundance of treasures and gems: Ruby, gold, you name it. The muggles used to occupy that island and use it as a mineral base long time ago,"

And the professor leaned a bit closer, speaking gravely while staring straight into Harry's pupils, "but not anymore,"

"Why, Professor?" asked Harry curiously.

"Because there are tons of guards there," murmured Slughorn, leaning back again and continuing his lecture-like speech, "So, after the first excavation, the enchantment on the island started to activate at once. This enchantment is a different kind of magic: Very dark, very powerful. Eventually, the muggles started to die out throughout the place, and the local residents began to think that it was due to the 'Treasure Curse' of the island. So then, they all fled away in a matter of days, and none had ever mentioned MortoLand ever, ever again,"

Ron and Hermione looked at each other grimly, while Harry's attention was completely undivided.

"In fact," Slughorn carried on, pointing out a finger, "the size of the island is approximately from here to the Boathouse, you know. However, once people got on there, they'll find it incredibly huge, as you know, due to its ability to manipulate between multiple dimensions. There were, and I believe still are, different magical creatures inhabiting on the island, with some of them even carnivorous! There are hidden weapons and cliffs there too, grown out of the 'Treasure Curse' as you might propose, so that if you're absent minded enough, the next thing you'll know is that you are either stabbed to death, or fell to your death! Or: Even worse… In recent times, I believe the creatures there have improved their intelligence and started to build gargoyles and chambers. And, as far as I know, no one has ever returned since the muggles' abandonment of the island in the distant past,

"And…, by the way, why are you six years asking me this?" Professor Slughorn's mind had finally come back to Earth.

"Oh, uh, we had been researching for some, uh, data on absurd islands for Professor Binns' homework," Hermione lied quickly. Harry could see her expression of improvising any homework she could imagine that is adequate to the situation. Nevertheless, Slughorn still understood that it was a lie, and he made to speak again,

"Severus had put you up to this, didn't he?" Slughorn whispered, his tone suddenly sounding cold and unpleasant.

"Well, yesterday, we saw a note on the desk in front of you written by Professor Snape," said Harry, finding it best to tell the truth, "and MortoLand was on it. We have no offence, but just curious to know about it,"

"Oh, for curiosity?" asked Slughorn as though he had just been awakened from a dream at climax, "Thank Merlin! I thought you were asking me for another purpose! You're just like your mother, Lily, curious in learning everything,"

"Well, you see professor…"

"But still, I must warn you Harry," Slughorn interrupted Harry again, "that Morto Land doesn't really matter to students, especially years higher than four. It is simply because they, like you now, would become more and more curious about the world around them and the purpose of all knowledge and things. And, this is coincidentally one of the things that you students are forbidden to know about, and…, you know what I mean, Harry?"

Harry nodded, but he still asked Slughorn,

"But what do you mean, by Snape had…?"

"But it's still good to take a risk to ask a question," interrupted Slughorn for the third time, "just like your father you are, James, a very brave lad he was indeed,"

Before the three could have another word, Slughorn looked over their shoulders and raised his eyebrows,

"And now, off you go all! Don't be late for your next class!" And he picked up the book he had thrown aside and buried his face back into it.

"C'mon, let's go!" Ron whispered urgently to Harry and Hermione, as the three of them departed the classroom and headed off to their next Astronomy lesson with Professor Sinistra.

As they climbed the stairs heading up to the AstronomyTower in silence, Harry's stomach was again full of wonders. Moreover, those wonders are going to cycle within his head again and again for the following days to come:

...multidimensional…tons of guards there…no one has ever returned…Severus had put you up to this, didn't he…doesn't really matter to students…