Chapter 52: Wandless Magic
The next morning, Claire went into History of Magic with Tulip. A lot of students were gathered, which Claire thought was unusual given that class hadn't even started yet. Most of them were standing around a round-faced boy wearing a red sweater with orange pants.
"Now since I consider myself an expert on all things in wizarding history and pop culture, let me tell you guys the story of one Dark wizard named Emeric the Evil," said the round-faced boy.
"Emeric the Evil? I don't think we've covered him yet," Claire remarked.
"I just hope Corey doesn't set off the Dungbomb I left under Binns' desk," Tulip remarked, looking at the round-faced boy. "Though I guess it would still be a successful prank."
"A great thirst for power is what fueled Emeric the Evil," the round-faced boy Corey continued, as the students gave him their undivided attention. "He was also an exceptionally aggressive Dark wizard."
While Corey's lecture on Emeric the Evil continued, Claire was surprisingly captivated by his words and how eloquently he explained this historical figure without the dreary boredom of Professor Binns' lectures.
"Hey, you're Claire Krystal, right?" Corey said, getting Claire's attention after he finished lecturing. "I don't think we've formally met yet."
"No, we haven't," Claire said. "But how did you know my name?"
"How can I not know your name?" Corey chuckled. "You're the Ravenclaw Prefect, and became Head Girl to honor your departed friend Rowan Khanna. I'm Corey Hayden, the current Head Boy and from Gryffindor."
"Oh, well, nice to meet you, Corey." As Claire shook Corey's hand, she asked, "So what else do you know about Emeric the Evil?"
"He terrorized the southern part of England in the Middle Ages, and though his reign of terror was short-lived he was the master of the Elder Wand," Corey mentioned.
"Do you know what his motivations were?"
"No actual record of his motivations exist, so I would guess he did it for power and control."
"But why would someone turn evil just to accomplish those things?"
"Nothing is black and white, Claire. He could've done it to avenge a dead family member, or maybe he thought he could shape the world into something better."
"I see."
"Sounds like you're working on a book report, which I would be more than happy to help you with. Though why are you interested in Emeric's motivations?"
"Recently, I've been dealing with people like Emeric and so I want to understand what they're trying to accomplish."
"That makes sense, in the getting-to-know-your-enemies kind of way."
Claire then heard forced coughing sounds behind her, and looked back to see Merula. Reluctantly, Claire left Corey and walked over to Merula who seemed mildly annoyed.
"You've been asking about me, Krystal, or so I've heard," Merula said.
"Um, yeah," Claire responded nervously.
"Do you want to talk about something specific?" Merula asked.
Before Claire could answer, Professor Binns arrived.
###
After learning the incantation Ascendio in Charms, which could lift people high into the air, Claire met Merula at the Training Grounds where all the Seventh-Years were gathered. While some of them wore their school robes, a few wore casual clothes. This included Merula, who was wearing a plaid green shirt over a red top with torn denim jeans.
"Glad you could meet me here, Krystal," Merula remarked as soon as Claire arrived. "That way, you can ask me whatever questions you have in person as opposed to asking other people."
"Well, I couldn't help it since you're hard to find these days," Claire answered.
Merula chuckled. "I'm starting to think you actually missed hanging around me this summer."
"Speaking of that, what did you do this summer?"
"Is that all you wanted to ask? How mundane! All I did was just spend time at home, doing some training and studying spells. Nothing too fancy."
"Really? That's all you did? Because you seem to be in a better mood than usual."
"You could say I feel…relieved, knowing that Rakepick is sealed away in that Cursed Vault reliving whatever awful memories she has in that messed up head of hers. Though I didn't take her down myself, I'd say my revenge is complete. Now I can focus on what's really important to me, and that's proving I am the Most Powerful Witch at Hogwarts!"
Remembering Corey's lecture on Emeric, Claire shrugged. "I guess some things never change."
"Nothing about me has changed," Merula claimed. "I'll always strive to be powerful. Though why are you curious about what I did this summer? You've never asked me before."
"Just curious, since I thought we had sort of become friends last year."
"You think we're friends?" Merula laughed again, then said, "Since you wanted to know how my summer went, I'll show you what I've learned through a friendly duel."
"But none of our duels have ever been friendly."
"This one will be, I promise."
While Merula walked ten paces back, Claire took out her wand. Seeing this, several students walked over to see what was going on. But to Claire's surprise, Merula didn't pull out her wand.
"Aren't you going to take out your wand?" Claire asked.
"Just worry about yourself, Krystal," Merula said as she raised her right hand. "Flipendo!"
A flash of white light leapt from Merula's hand and hit Claire's knees causing her to trip. In the process, she dropped her wand.
"Was that…wandless magic?" Claire questioned as she looked up at Merula.
"I told you I studied over the summer," Merula answered while Claire got to her feet.
"Even so, that's not the kind of studying I was expecting."
"Guess you should study wandless magic before we duel for real, unless you're prepared to lose to me for the first time since you came to Hogwarts."
As Diego and several other students came over to praise Merula, Claire decided to head to the Hogwarts Library.
To be continued…