ELIXIR: A Harry Potter Fan Fiction

Nine. The Weighing of the Wands.

Friday afternoon found Sean in A History of Magic with Marlowe. Neither of them were quite sure why they were still taking the subject. It wasn't as though anyone particularly enjoyed it. Sean supposed his Exceeds Expectations grade on his O.W.L. exam two years ago had been an indicator that he should continue, because he had certainly not expected to receive such a decent grade. He slid Marlowe back his book, inside the cover of which they had been playing hangman. Sean had just guessed the word "champion" in one go. Marlowe read what he'd written, snapped his fingers comically and filled in the letters.

This was a huge improvement on the last word Marlowe had given him (Horklump) which Sean had failed miserably to guess. Only a few minutes earlier, Marlowe had tapped the little hangman drawing with his wand and made him go swinging. He was still swaying back and forth at the top of the page, his little stick person legs kicking uselessly.

Sean began to think of a new word, his quill poised on the page, when Marlowe held up a finger to signal he had thought of another one. Marlowe pulled the book back towards himself and began scratching out short lines for each letter, this one two words long.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _    _ _ _ _

Sean considered it and wrote the letter 'A' somewhere above the dashed line.

Marlowe filled in the word appropriately. Professor Binns droned on about the development of werewolf laws and the increasing acceptance of part-human creatures in recent years. The subject might have been interesting, even relevant had they had a different teacher.

_ A _ _ _ _ A _ _ _ _    _ A _ _

Sean frowned at it. He thought another vowel would be a good bet and chanced an 'I.' Marlowe grinned and drew a big round head hanging from the hangman pole. He doodled an impressive mustache and huge frightened eyes on it while Sean thought.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Professor Binns, who was so used to ignoring the sounds of people not listening, did not go to answer it. He did not, in fact, even seem to have heard it. Sean looked towards the window on the door and saw a familiar face peering in, barely tall enough to see inside the door. It was Elliot, Marlowe's little brother. He caught Sean's eye and waved frantically. Then he pointed first at Sean, then back at himself, and finally jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, mouthing something that Sean could not understand.

He looked at Marlowe who had been watching too. "Guess you'd better go," he whispered. Sean looked back at Elliot who repeated the gesture and then, for the first time in seven years, he raised his hand. Professor Binns looked startled. "Did you have a question, Connor?"

"Uh..." said Sean, not sure exactly why he needed to leave. "I have to go..."

"You are in class, I'm afraid," he began, but then Elliot opened the door a crack and poked his head in.

"Excuse me," he said. "I've been sent to take Sean? It's for the tournament?"

Sean looked back at Professor Binns who sighed and said, "Very well," and continued on with his lecture as though there had been no interruption.

Sean packed up his things silently and stood to go, but Marlowe tapped him on the shoulder before he could leave.

He had filled in the rest of their hangman game.

B A L L Y C A S T L E    B A T S

Sean smacked himself in the forehead and Marlowe gave him a thumbs up. "Tell me what they're doing," he whispered. Sean nodded and he slipped out of the room after Elliot.

As soon as the door shut behind him, Elliot began chattering loudly. "I was in Professor Munslow's class," he said. "And he let us go early, because he had to go to the Weighing of the Wands. And then he said he had to go and get you and I said I  could go and get you. And he let me! What's the Weighing of the Wands?"