Chapter 6

The Mysterious Letter

The weekend sailed by silently, with everyone enjoying their time playing games, exploring the castle, relaxing with a book, or trying Magic. Monday carried special interest for Perce as he had his very first Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Curiosity drove him to enter the classroom five minutes early, as he had never read any books about the Dark Arts or their defence, for his father refused to 'besmirch the library with that filth', as he had said.

He was slightly surprised to find an old witch in the classroom as he entered it, since he was expecting a rather tough looking wizard with scars covering his features. He then remembered that he had seen her during the start-of-term feast, sitting at the High Table: she had a ghostly-pale face, blinding white hair that ran till her shoulders, and rather large black eyes. She greeted him, and motioned her extremely thin hand towards the desks, and asked him to sit down. He genuinely wondered how she could possibly defend herself against a household pest, let alone the Dark Arts.

But all these thoughts disappeared when she started addressing the class. She began, first merely introducing herself as Forginea Langrange, and then taking the roll call. Then, she shut the book. She calmly looked around at the whole class, without the slightest change in her indifferent expression. Then she spoke.

"The Dark Arts," she began. Perce started. It was a different voice, a different personality. Professor Langrange seized the attention of the entire class with those three words. "The Dark Arts have always been, and still are, some of the most powerful branches of Magic, which have constantly threatened the balance of peace in this world. They are extremely diverse and constantly mutating, and therefore — can never be entirely eradicated." She paused and looked around. "It is therefore vital that every one of you masters the defences, in order to suit the only other option: constantly fighting them." She said. Perce stared in awe. The power of her voice, her passion of the subject, and the force of her personality held the entire class spell-bound. In the entire duration of the class, he could swear that not one person's attention wavered. Professor Langrange had a natural gift for holding the attention of the class.

Students started filing out of the classroom after the lesson. Perce was one of the last to leave. As he was moving out, he was called by Professor Langrange.

"Percival Jordan, or rather Perce Jordan, isn't it?" She asked, in a very small, kind voice, quite unlike that during the lesson. Perce wondered.

"Yes, Professor. That's me." He retorted, grinning.

"I see. I have heard quite a lot about you, my dear boy, from my colleagues. I wouldn't trust Horace — Professor Slughorn to you — but Professor McGonagall wouldn't say something without reason," she said, smiling.

"Oh, well, I have learnt a few things, Professor Langrange. I have had a lot of time," he said, his eyes twinkling slightly.

"Few — oh I wouldn't use that word with what I've heard, that too for a single day's classes," she said, her smile widening, while Perce tried to look modest. "I'm afraid we haven't done much today, Mr. Jordan. But when we do, I look forward to seeing you — participating." she said. Perce gave a murmur of modest assurance, and departed.

Slytherin House rose to first position in the House Table within a week. Perce was provided royal treatment by the Slytherins, and he thoroughly enjoyed it, for it was he who had earned the greater fraction of the points. Professors continued to be mesmerised by his knowledge. Remaining true to his promise, Perce had not failed to surprise Professor Langrange in the Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons. In the meantime, his utter amazement by her lectures and his interest in the subject grew exponentially, and he started spending more and more time in the library, reading voraciously about the subject, and all others he could. Subash hopelessly shook his head each time Perce returned with books from the library after a full day's reading.

But Perce's popularity did not rise without accompanying envy. Along with the claps on the back, he received some cold glares, and menacing gestures. But he handled these the best way it could be handled: by ignoring them. In the dormitory too, he wasn't left at peace. He made good friends with Jake Elladore, who, he found, had a brilliant sense of humour. Everything he saw converted into something ridiculous, so much so that one would end up in fits of laughter for ten subsequent minutes, as he casually built on that one joke. This habit helped him make it into most detentions, for he couldn't control it when a lesson was in progress. But Drake Fawley turned out to be far from amiable — he hardly spoke to Perce. When he had to, he addressed him by his last name, and in a manner too polite to be true. Perce conjectured it was jealousy, but he didn't bother.

Jake and Drake were close as their names. They laughed and laughed whenever they were together, but they had bitter arguments as well — Drake was orderly and neat, while Jake was mess personified. From his trunk to his hair, everything was messy. In such a situation, disagreements were only natural. Yet, they got along, having decided not to touch upon that topic quite so often.

Perce heard from the senior students about this informal group (with a ridiculous name, he thought) that Slughorn had formed at Hogwarts, called the Slug Club. They put in that they were surprised he hadn't started them yet, as it was the end of September already.

One day in the last week of September, Robin Selwyn, a fifth year, had announced a party in the common room, when they learned that Slytherin was leading the next House, Hufflepuff, by two hundred points. Hadner Greyfall was reluctant to allow a party, but he gave in when Perce offered a hand in the decorations, partly in curiosity, to see his work in first person. He was among those who were thoroughly surprised by all Perce had shown.

Perce indeed had inherited his father's natural flair for flamboyant decorations. His ideas were extremely accurate, and his contributions well-suited their purpose. The stone walls were soon draped in shimmering silver and green, and the large empty patch of wall at the farther end of the room bore a giant serpent, not unlike the one in his own bedroom in the Jordans' Mansion. It coiled, and uncoiled, and flicked it's tongue at regular intervals. This piece of Magic was Robin's work. Perce had managed to bewitch the lamps so that they switched colours every few seconds, oscillating between bright green and shining silver, along with a unique lighting forming an arch around the serpent.

The celebration was a success. Robin quite smartly slipped out from answering how he arranged for butterbeer, and Hadner didn't press, partly unsure about whether he wanted to know. There was food, the most delicious, and satisfying, evidently from the kitchens. Tables were filled with pans and bowls full of almost all the delicacies that they had during the start-of-term feast.

There was the indistinct chatter heard throughout the room, with periodically a shout of laughter, or a raised voice. People were eating to their heart's content. Those near Jake were close to breaking their ribs with laughter. Perce was talking with some other Slytherins, who included Roger. Susane, Subash and Hadner were involved in an animated conversation with some sixth years. The students of seventh year clearly were kept extremely busy with their N.E.W.T. work, as not one of them turned up.

Then, the door suddenly opened, and an abrupt silence fell. Those who were eating froze, those who were laughing had the ghost of a smile on their faces, and those who were talking had their mouth half-open, having been cut mid-conversation. Professor Slughorn stood there, with a stern face. There was a curious look betrayed by his eyes. A shiver ran down the entire common room — jolly and friendly as he was, evidently he was frightening when he had to be. His eyes went over the entire gathering, and finally rested on Robin, who gulped. Slowly, his shoes making the only sound in the common room, he walked towards him. Then Perce noticed something rather strange — Robin's face was red, his lips were twitching, and he looked as though he would snap at any moment and burst out laughing. Had he no seriousness? What happened next was the least thing anyone expected.

Professor Slughorn stopped as he reached Robin. Then, "Did I do it well?" He asked, and both of them burst out laughing. Robin fell onto the ground, tears rolling from his eyes from laughter. This contagious laughter soon spread almost to everyone, though most were chuckling uncertainly.

"Yes — very — good —" was all Robin could manage, while even Professor Slughorn fell into a seat, roaring with laughter. This lasted for a few minutes, till Robin could pull himself together. "I invited him, and he was all so eager and excited, you know. The entry was a small joke of mine," he explained to the gathering at large. There were a lot of groans, most of them in irritation, and some whoops. Professor Slughorn smiled. Then Robin addressed him. "You didn't have the opportunity to see your face Professor, it was all stiff and — if you don't mind me saying it — quite comical, with your moustache and all…"

"Ah, yes — but not my moustache, son, leave it out of it —" he chuckled, caressing his gingery-blond moustache with his hand. Then he spotted Perce. "Perce, m'boy! Enjoying yourself, I hope?" He called out. Perce smiled widely.

"Hello, Professor. I definitely am thoroughly enjoying myself, much more so with your arrival," he laughed, along with Slughorn. Robin grinned, mentioned that he would get some butterbeer, and walked away. Slughorn turned to Perce again.

"Well, m'boy, I must say that the common room has been very well done!" He gave an impressed smile. "The serpent — it's impressive. The lights too. Your work?" He asked, smiling.

"Not the serpent. That was Robin," he said, grinning.

"Brilliant, brilliant. I am hosting a dinner in my staff room, Perce, next week. And I would be delighted if you could join. I've invited a fair number of others. Ah, don't deny, the food will be enchanting!" He said, clapping Perce on the back.

"Oh wow, that's wonderful!" he said, his smile widening. He understood that he was now part of the 'Slug Club', but he was unsure whether to be delighted. "I wouldn't dream of denying it," he added, just as Robin returned with glasses. They took one each, and people started filling in the chairs around them. Drake was particularly seated so that they would be out of his sight, and Jake was back in his particularly hilarious conversation with some other first and second years.

Professor Slughorn went on talking about his past, his influence, how he had never been wrong about any student, and how he always had tickets to his favourite Quidditch matches. He droned on, and Perce could see some drooping eyes. Slughorn didn't seem to notice for there was not a slightest change in the topic. One second year carefully made an excuse to go fetch some butterbeer, and unsurprisingly Slughorn did not notice that he didn't return. Perce was too tactful to appear bored, and Slughorn was encouraged by his apparent interest. He nodded, assented, or murmured something at the right time, though his mind lay elsewhere.

Right at that moment an owl came fluttering in, and landed on Perce's lap. "Hey there, Jacob," he said. The brown little owl nibbled his finger affectionately, and allowed him to untie the letter.

"That's a nice little owl, there, Perce," Slughorn chuckled, and touched Jacob's head with a forefinger. Perce grinned. "But good gracious — it's eleven already!" He gave a small laugh, and the others looked slightly relieved. "Ah, the Headmaster won't be too pleased if he heard this happened — do me a favour and don't mention it, will you?" He winked. Everyone gave their assurance, slightly desperately, Perce noticed, as he left. Then they burst again into conversation, this time about Slughorn. Robin sighed deeply, massaged his head, and vowed never to invite Slughorn again.

Perce read the letter. They were now cracking jokes about Slughorn licking butterbeer off his moustache and how his shirt buttons protested with every swallow. Nobody noticed Perce's eyes widen with surprise, or his eyebrows rise in sync. When they saw him, however, he was giving Jacob a gulp of water. But his eyes were twinkling a bright shade of blue.

"That owl is really beautiful… I've never seen that shape of eyes on an owl before," Robin remarked.

"Is it? I didn't really notice his eyes…" Perce said, stretching himself. "D'you have an owl?"

"Yeah, I do. I call her Jenny," he said, smiling. "I had a little owl before her. He was extremely cute. But he — died. Accident," he sighed.

"I'm sorry," said Perce. "I had a rabbit, a long time ago. Her name was Bunny. I was extremely fond of her, and she of me. She used to sleep in one corner of my bed. Awfully playful too," he chuckled. "But she died when I was five."

There was a long silence between them. People were getting up and walking to their dormitories, after bidding good night. Only Robin, Roger and Subash were sitting with Perce in the common room, while Susane was one of those asleep in chairs. They seemed lost in thought. Roger was nodding. He jerked awake when Perce spoke again.

"My mother's name was Meta," he began. The others were a little puzzled, but they did not interrupt. "She was deeply into magic — experimenting, attempting, creating… she was engrossed. But she made time for me. She taught me things, and I remember very few of those," he smiled slightly. "I have vague memories. I remember one day, my father had a disagreement with her about something. He would never speak of it, and I have stopped trying to ask," he sighed.

"The next day, I was looking for Bunny. She had a habit of running around the entire house. I reached my mother's room, where she did her work, and found the door open ajar. It was not usual. And there — right outside the door — I saw — her. Bunny. Her eyes were closed, and her white body lay limp on the ground. I think I stood there for a minute, before bending to touch her. I couldn't take anymore. Tears blurred my vision, and I was still in shock. So I went inside to find my mother, maybe for comfort, I don't know. But — inside, everything was scattered — some blasted away, broken, burnt, in the room. I looked down — and there I saw — on the ground — my mother. Her face as though she was asleep. But she was clearly —" he stopped. "It was some Magic she was doing. It had gone terribly wrong, and right at that moment Bunny was near the door —" He trembled slightly.

Subash patted his knee. "I'm sorry, mate," he said. Robin sat in silence, and so did Roger. Neither of them seemed to know what to say. It was Perce who spoke again. He had regained his composure.

"But anyway. It's very late. I think I'm going to sleep —" and without another word, he walked up to the dormitory, and dozed off. Nobody mentioned again what they heard that evening.

Perce attended the Slug Club's dinner the next week, and found Slughorn in his usual jolly, fatherly composure. He greeted Perce warmly, and introduced him as one of the brightest students he has seen, to many whom Perce had not met before. Incidentally, they all had a great achievement or a great relative in common. There was nothing very eventful, except for the fact that the feast was exceptionally delicious. They chatted on for hours, eating, and laughing, until finally Slughorn decided it was time they left. In his intoxication, he hugged Perce maybe a little too tightly before he left, for he had to massaged his shoulder while walking to his dormitory.

The days passed by, without anything out of the ordinary, until two days to Halloween. Hogwarts was preparing for the celebrations. Hagrid's small pumpkin patch was bearing extraordinarily large sized pumpkins, in anticipation for the feast. It was a beautiful morning. The students were in the Grounds, bathing in the warm sunshine. Some were feeding the Giant Squid while laughing with their peers. Perce was sitting under a tree, with Subash, Roger, Jake and Luke. They were in a seemingly exciting conversation about Quidditch, while Perce was busy, unsurprisingly, reading a book. He had insisted on staying in the library, but Subash was determined to bring him outdoors, and finally succeeded.

"Jake! Come on, let's go have a walk!" Called a voice. Jake paused in his speech, and looked around to see Drake eyeing Perce with some aversion.

"Oh wait a minute, Drake, we're in the middle of —"

"Come on, now, let's go for a walk, Jake."

Jake sighed. "Why don't you join us? We're talking about your favourite team! You could —"

"Are you gonna come, or not?" His voice was no more friendly, but hard.

"I wouldn't do that to my friends."

Drake stared. It was Perce who spoke. "No, I wouldn't."

"And what makes you think I would immediately take your advice, like your loyal followers?" It was hard to not notice the contempt in his voice. Perce raised his eyebrows, for Drake had never been outright rude. But he retorted calmly enough.

"You misunderstand. I don't know what put that rather ridiculous idea into your head, but —"

He was cut-off, for at that moment, Drake drew his wand, and was pointing it right at Perce's face. He received a cool stare from those blue eyes.

"Drake! No! What's wrong with you? Why —" Jake began.

"Shut up!" He bellowed. Roger and Subash were dumbstruck. Still, Perce was staring at Drake, without any change in his expression.

Then, as though deciding something, Perce smiled. Drake gave a confused expression, and that moment was enough for Perce to push his hand away, draw his own wand, and exclaim "Expelliarmus!"

Drake was thrown away almost as far as his wand. He let out a loud groan. Subash and Roger clapped, and Luke whistled. Jake was torn between fear and amusement, and he ran towards Drake, and helped him up. Perce turned back to sit down again. But again, Drake's face convulsed in fury; he grabbed his wand, pointed it at Perce's back, and, before Jake could stop him, shouted "STUPEFY!"

Before Perce lifted his wand, he was thrown back, stunned. Subash and Roger rushed at once towards him, and tried to lift him up. Right then, Hadner Greyfall arrived, clearly enraged, and held Drake with force. "Take Perce to the hospital wing! Right now!" He bellowed, and the two first years lifted Perce and departed, leaving Hader to deal with Drake.

"I won't leave him! I won't — leave him! I — leave me! I —" Drake kept stammering, his face red with Hadner's grip, while Jake looked helpless with fear.