𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨 (𝖽𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖿𝗈𝗒 𝗑 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋)

chapter sixteen

I walked through the hallway, trying to find Star quickly so that we could go outside and practise our spellcasting.

She dashed up to me. "Is it cool if Draco joins us?"

"Yeah, that's fine," I said indifferently. Draco walked out of the dining room, oblivious to our presence. He held two green apples in his hand. Upon noticing us, he waved a greeting and tossed one of the apples towards me. I caught it, unsure of what to do with it.

"I noticed that you didn't come down to breakfast this morning," he explained.

"Thanks," I said, taking a bite.

He nodded. "Are we going outside or what?"

We followed Star outside and I was instantly drawn to the beauty it held. The rolling, open land that spread around the mansion was incredible. Everywhere I looked, if I didn't see the manor, I saw grass, kept short by magic. Star followed the trimmed hedges out into the middle of the garden, in between a fountain and flowerbed.

"Hi, Alvis!"

My eyes jerked up to see that Star was waving at a man who was walking towards us with a wand in hand. He had short brown hair with the start of a beard, and his eyes seemed flowing with wisdom, kindness, and wit.

"My two favourite twins, hello!" he greeted, voice soft and joyful. "I see that you have a friend?"

"Yes, sir," I responded. "My name is Y/n Potter."

I nodded. He shook my hand immediately. "It's an honour to finally meet you." He released my hand and turned back to Draco and Star.

"According to your father, your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor from the previous year failed to introduce you to a large number of essential spells. I am going to be introducing some of those to you today. We'll be starting with Rennervate, a spell that is used to undo another. It is usually used on one who has been Stunned, reviving the person instantly rather than waiting for it to wear off." The man turned to Star. "May I please Stun you to show the charm in action?"

Star stepped forward and nodded.

"Stupefy!"

Star's body froze; she was Stunned.

Alvis faced Draco and I, then gave us the instructions for how the spell works.

"Rennervate!"

Star's body was instantly freed, and she turned to greet us again.

"Draco and Y/n, practise on each other."

I gulped, scared of being Stunned.

"Don't worry, Y/n, I'll make sure that you're okay," Draco said, apparently seeing the fear in my face.

I nodded.

"I'm going to do the charm now," he added. "Take a deep breath and try to relax."

His voice was calm, easing me with every word. Soon, my body was frozen. I couldn't move, no matter what I tried. I was stuck.

"Rennervate!" Draco shouted.

Fluidity streamed through my body again, and I shook my hands to prove to myself that I was fine.

"See? You're alright. Now, you try it on me."

"Okay," I answered. "Stupefy!"

His body went still, and guilt flooded through me as I realised he was going through the same thing I had just done. I undid the spell quickly, happy to see that he was fine. In fact, he seemed completely unphased by being Stunned. Maybe this wasn't his first time.