Chapter 56: Spell Undid and Spell Did

Slughorn cornered me after class. Seeing that I cannot do the Notice-Me-Not spell again to him because suspicions might arise, I have no choice but to go with the flow. He head been stretching my patience, so far.

"Professor Weasley?" Ianthé walked towards the teacher's table after class.

George looked at her with his eyebrows raised, "Uh-oh…"

Ianthé smiled widely, "Do you have joke product in the guise of crystallized pineapple?"

George closed his eyes, "What did he do this time?"

"He's trying to set me up with Zabini for Merlin's sake!" Ianthé slumped on an empty chair.

"Ianthé, you do know that patience is a virtue…" George sat down next to her.

"But I want to wring his fat neck! Aaargh!"

"Tell you what… Why not focus that negative energy of yours and turn into something else for your loverboy tonight?" George got up and arranged his things.

Ianthé smiled at her friend, "You're bloody brilliant!" She got up and kissed George on the cheek, "Thanks again!" She ran out of the room.

George smiled sadly and unconsciously rubbed the spot on his cheek that Ianthé kissed. He sighed and gathered his book and bag and walked slowly towards the door.

Ianthé knocked on the portrait door of Viktor's sleeping quarters.

The door opened and Ianthé quickly came in.

There were piles of parchment on the large mahogany table near the window.

"Are you busy?"

Viktor shook his head, "I can finish this tomorrow. So what brings you here?"

Ianthé carefully toyed with her robe, "You."

Viktor smiled mischievously, "Remember the teacher-student policy… I should be out of bounds for you…"

"Not for this uptight virgin…"

Viktor raised his eyebrow, "Who told you that?"

"One of your students… Romilda Vane, I think…"

"I should give her a T in Divination, don't you think?" Viktor approached her.

"You should," Ianthé took charge and kissed him ferociously.

"Good morning…" Ianthé beamed at Nikki as she sat down on the Ravenclaw table for breakfast.

"You look…" Nikki frowned and checked Ianthé's face, "You got terribly wasted last night…"

Ianthé smiled and shrugged.

Nikki looked on the staff table and found Viktor who looked like he was smiling on the omelet he was eating.

"You guys are so dead…" Nikki whispered.

"Hey, McGonagall said to be discreet about it… And the walls of the room are made of stone…. It's not like we will be overheard…"

Nikki snorted, "If you could yell his name one decibel louder when you guys have that hot and….." She looked on the sky as the owls began to land on different areas in the Great Hall.

"Isn't that your owl Razilia?"

The eagle owl landed in front of Ianthé and stretched out its leg.

Ianthé removed the rolled-up parchment and opened it.

Yours or mine?

Ianthé blushed as she knew who wrote this line. She looked on the staff table and she saw Viktor looking at her discreetly.

Nikki peered to see what was written that made Ianthé blush. She read while sipping her pumpkin juice. She sputtered when she read it.

"You guys are crazy, you know that?"

Ianthé just smiled mischievously and took out a small parchment from her bag. She scribbled "You're mental! That's from the one beside me. I think it's my turn now…"

Nikki shook her head as Ianthé tied the parchment to Razilia's leg. Ianthé stooped closer to the owl's head and whispered something.

"You're barking mad! You're talking to owls now?"

Ianthé shook her head as she grabbed another buttered toast and got up from the Ravenclaw table. Nikki followed suit.

"I just gave her specific instructions. Watch and learn."

They reached the Owlery and found Razilia waiting for them, perched nearer the door.

Ianthé took the letter that she tied and took out a small gold whistle from her neck.

A few seconds after she blew it, another magnificent owl arrived and perched beside Razilia.

"This is Edmond's gift for him. It's supposed to be a secret owl, now that Viktor's the cheeky git, I suppose I need to scare him a bit."

Nikki nodded as Ianthé tied the letter to the other owl.

In the middle of Viktor's lecture (tactics to fight two opponents), a magnificent owl swooped inside and landed on Viktor's desk.

Viktor was surprised to see the owl and immediately looked at the back of the room for Ianthé.

She smirked at him and looked at the owl.

Viktor removed the letter and read it. He chuckled a bit, much to the surprise and curiosity of his seventh year students. He pocketed the small parchment.

"Sorry class for the distraction. Now, let's continue with our lesson. The odds are against you, especially if you're cornered by two or three or even more opponents. The question is what to do to survive that particular situation?"

"I think the jinx on the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is still on…" Nikki whispered to Ianthé after they left class.

Ianthé deliberately let the class trickle out and discreetly winked at Viktor when no one was looking.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he might be sacked for reasons you already know…."

"Oh come on, nobody will find out…"

"It's not as if no one's following him around…." Nikki motioned to the group of girls waiting outside Viktor's classroom.

Ianthé's eyes narrowed as she went back.

"What do you think you are all doing?" she crossed her arms on her chest.

The group scowled at her and left with the corridor with thundering footsteps.

The door opened and Viktor peered out.

"Are they gone?"

Ianthé nodded as Viktor sighed.

"I need to contact your father about something. Vaclav contacted me about the dementors. They're dying out…"

Ianthé's jaw dropped, "What?"

Viktor nodded, "A few cousins of mine including Vaclav discovered their breeding grounds and observed them. After they bred, they were weakened and the young ones ate their makers."

"That's great news!"

Viktor walked out of the classroom while scribbling something on a piece of parchment. He then gave it to Ianthé.

"Send this to Edmond. He'll tell the others about this."

Ianthé nodded and sprinted towards the direction of the Owlery.

She happened to pass by Professor McGonagall.

"Professor, I know this is a wrong place to discuss this…"

Professor McGonagall nodded. Ianthé tiptoed and whispered something into her ear.

Professor McGonagall's eyes widened, "Are you sure?"

Ianthé nodded, "He wanted me to relay it to the others because he can't. There are always girls following him around. I can only do my part as Head Girl and shoo them out of his way… I do hope the Head of their House would address to them that Professor Krum is an instructor in this institution and not the Quidditch superstar. Most of the girls were…. Gryffindors…"

"Very well, I will speak to the Professors Weasley about it… I mean they may not take it seriously and it might jeopardize his position… I'll contact the other members about the interesting news. Keep me informed, Miss Herze."

"Yes, Mam."

Ianthé walked towards the staircase where Nikki was sitting.

"What took you?"

"News from him…that I need to relay to Edmond pronto…"

"What about Potions?"

"Tell Slughorn that I'm not feeling well and that I proceeded to the hospital wing. I might be late for today's lesson."

Nikki nodded as they parted. Ianthé went to the direction of the Owlery.

After she had sent the letter to her cousin, she proceeded to the hospital wing.

"Madam Pomfrey?"

The school nurse went out of her office as she heard there was a student calling her.

"Yes? Oh, it's you, Miss Herze. What can I do for you?"

"Since the school banned Hogsmeade weekends, how rescheduling my lessons on Healing to Saturday mornings."

Madam Pomfrey nodded.

"There had been plans of making a Healing club… in case of emergencies… so that we can help you if there are a lot of injured students…"

The nurse frowned, "Do you think it's possible?"

"One thing I had learnt from my great uncle is that it's not bad to be a paranoid and morbid thinker, at least we can be prepared for the worst… just in case… you know…"

Madam Pomfrey nodded, "I hold you responsible for calling in possible members for this club you're organizing. See if they can squeeze in Healing lessons on Saturdays."

Ianthé nodded.

Madam Pomfrey went back to her office and got a pile of thick books, "Here are the books you wanted to borrow."

Ianthé received them, "Thanks. I better get to class."

Ianthé arrived inside the Potions classroom.

"Ah, Miss Herze! Breakfast did not agree with you?"

Ianthé meekly smiled, "I think I had too much orange marmalade, Professor."

Professor Slughorn nodded, "Better get to your Potions work!"

Ianthé looked at the board and saw the potion they were making --- Blood Replenishing Potion.

"Nikki, did you copy everything?"

"Yeah, I'll lend you my notes later."

Ianthé managed to perfect her potion, much to her amazement and to the delight of the professor.

"I should have recognized your talent from the start! Give your entire batch to Madam Pomfrey, she will be delighted."

"That was amazing!" Ernie exclaimed, "How do you manage a perfect potion when you were late for class?"

Ianthé shrugged as she placed a jug full of potion carefully in her bag, "Motivation, I guess. I mean, it's used in Healing and I kinda planned to be a Healer…"

She saw Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson approach her, "..or maybe not… You guys better go.." She looked at Nikki pointedly.

Nikki got what she meant and dragged Ernie away from the dungeons, chatting about his plans after Hogwarts.

"Hi Pansy, Blaise. How are you guys faring?"

"We need to talk to you about something…" Blaise looked around them to check for people.

"What is it?"

"Draco…"

Ianthé's brows furrowed, "Did something happen?"

"He contacted us…"

"And?"

"He told us that he escaped them…"

Pansy was on a brink of tears. Ianthé put a comforting arm around her.

"Did he mention where he was?"

"He just told us he was safe and protected."

Ianthé got the gist of what it meant and was relieved, "If he's safe, then why are you worried?"

"It's not in his nature to defy someone as powerful as the Dark Lord. He might be hunted down…"

"Maybe something changed his mind."

Blaise was the one who spoke as Pansy dissolved in tears, "Pansy thinks Draco is in love with another, that's why he turned his back on the Dark Lord."

Ianthé inhaled deeply, "Or maybe not… Pansy, he wrote to you. That should mean something…"

Pansy cried some more and held Ianthé. She folded the sleeve of her left arm, "I did this for him."

The Dark Mark, red and raw, was etched in her left arm.

"When?"

"Before the school year started. My orders were…"

Ianthé stopped her from talking, "Telling me this might get you into trouble… No one can escape his fury…"

Pansy shook her head, "No. I need to tell you this… I was told to observe the whole school for the changes that had been made and report it immediately. So I owled my contact and told them that they just hired the twin blood traitors as professor. Aside from that, I couldn't see more…"

Ianthé rubbed her hand on Pansy's back, she needed to do this to somehow extract more information from the pug-faced girl.

"They contacted me again and told me that if ever Draco owled me or contacted me, I should tell them immediately… What should I do?"

Ianthé breathed in deeply, "Blaise, do you have any suggestions?"

Blaise shook his head, "That's why we approached you. You're the only one we can trust around this place…"

"Do you really really trust me?"

Pansy nodded. Blaise also nodded.

Ianthé took out her hand, "Give me Draco's letter."

Pansy handed her the letter. Ianthé recognized the parchment immediately. It was not fully known to others that the Herzes have a special kind of parchment, and Draco used theirs.

"I will modify both of your memories so that the two of you won't remember this conversation or this letter. You must understand that this is for both of your safety."

"We're ready," Blaise said.

More of Pansy's tears fell as she watched Ianthé burn the letter.

"Ready?"

Pansy nodded.

"Obliviate!" Ianthé waved her wand near Pansy's head.

Pansy collapsed after the spell.

Blaise was next.

Ianthé looked if there were people and muttered "Ennervate" to revive the two.

Pansy woke up, "What happened?"

Ianthé helped her get up, "Both of you fainted because of that nasty smell from the mishap made by Ernie during Potions class."

Blaise was still groggy as the pair walked towards the Slytherin common room.

Ianthé sprinted immediately to the Head Girl's room and took out her Invisibility Cloak.