The Boundary of Magic

Chapter 7: Quidditch Surprises

         "He said he'd learnt it... weird guy, really."

         "What? You're kidding —"

         "No I'm not. I'm serious."

         "Wow... I mean, is that even possible?"

         Perce stirred in his bed in the Hospital Wing, and the voices died down. He slowly opened his eyes. Hadner was sitting there, along with Subash and Roger. They were smiling down at him.

         "How long —" Perce began.

         "Half an hour," cut in Hadner. "Really, Madam Pomfrey fusses a lot. A simple spell woke you up, but she wanted you to stay."

         Perce chuckled, sitting up. "Strong attack, wasn't it?" He said, his eyes twinkling.

         Hadner nodded. "That's what we were talking about. Drake really is rotten, you know, he learned and practiced that spell for two days," he laughed. "He told me that in his rage."

         Perce shook his head, smiling slightly. "Wow. Two days, that isn't easy... he is smart," Subash gave him a look of disbelief, while Perce only laughed. "Well, why did you bring me here, then? I was just stunned, you could've —"

         "I did not know you were stunned till Pomfrey told me. And they" he glanced at the other two, "were too shocked to speak." He smiled.

         Perce chuckled. "Well, when will I be free from the captivity of Madam Pomfrey?"

         "Actually, she said you could leave when you woke. So — let's go!" Subash said, grinning, and got up. Perce got out of his bed, picked up his wand from the table, and walked out of the wing with the others.

                                                  *     *     *

         Magnificence showed itself on the day of Halloween, in the form of the celebrations at Hogwarts. Hagrid's pumpkins sat proudly at every other corner of the castle. The Great Hall was home to thousands of bats that night, all fluttering over their heads, and a thousand more swooping low, close to the tables, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The food appeared in their plates, and the delicious smell filled everyone's nostrils. Perce rubbed his hands in satisfaction, as Subash and Roger were stuffing their mouths. Susane was sitting close to them, and she had a huge smile as she accepted a roasted potato. The Hogwarts kitchens definitely had standards, and it hadn't dropped since the first of September.

         Perce searched the table twice. Some seventh years were together, laughing over an old joke. Hadner waved at him from the other side of the table, before delving again into the conversation with his friends. Subash and Roger were talking to a first year girl, who were shortly joined by a second year named Donald Canners. Perce had met him earlier. He had dark skin, glasses that rested on a thin nose, through which saw two grey eyes. His hair was a distinguished brown. Perce's eyes then wavered to the Gryffindor table, and was surprised to see Luke's mouth closed for once. From Luke's neighbour's laughing face he deduced that he had been tricked into stuffing a potato into his mouth. Perce smiled to himself.

         Subash was laughing loudly at a joke that Jake had just narrated, when a bat neatly picked up his steak and flew high. This resulted in a louder round of laughter, and Perce couldn't help but join in this time. A lot of stares and glares from the other tables followed, while some simply chuckled watching them. It took the entire period of the feast for the laughter to completely die down, though some occasional bursts of giggles were uncontrollable.

         This was one of the best feasts Perce had. Hogwarts was always so enchanting, and alive. Or maybe it was the magic. The only one who looked sour was Drake, who was silently chewing his meal, hardly conscious of what he was eating. Jake gave repeated sad glances at Drake, but he wouldn't budge.