I'm really grateful this fic is starting to find its audience. The recent additions to collections/bookmarks truly made my day.
Because of all the love recently, I'm dropping an extra chapter soon. Stay tuned!
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The next day, no one at school mentioned the fire. Apparently, only the three of them had witnessed the scene. Strangely enough, the forest plants had regrown as if nothing had ever happened.
They had stayed up late into the night discussing the matter, but their group conversation had led nowhere. Albus believed that if Professor McGonagall was aware of the incident and hadn't taken action, then there was nothing to worry about. But Arya was in the library, hunched over a mound of books stacked on her desk. Scorpius joined her.
"Found anything?" he asked.
Displeasure clouded Arya's eyes.
"Nope, nothing!" she replied. "Not even a single reference. It's as if those creatures don't exist!"
Scorpius sat down opposite her and picked up one of the books. "You've checked Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, right?"
Arya gave him a knowing look. "Didn't need to. I've read that book four times. Nothing like that's in there."
Scorpius lowered his voice to a whisper, barely audible. "Then you'll have to search the Restricted Section."
Arya wondered, why did every library have to have a restricted section?
Scorpius nodded towards the closed door at the far end of the library. "But be careful," he added. "Filch is always on the lookout. I can come with you if you want."
She smiled. "Thanks, Scorp. But I think it's best if I go alone."
Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you can handle it on your own?"
"Yeah, no worries. By the way, where's Albus?"
Scorpius, flipping through another book, replied, "He's working on homework. You know how it keeps piling up. Besides, he thinks chasing after this mystery is a waste of time."
Arya said sharply, "Really? I think he left his curiosity behind in the past when he used that time-turner!" She then went back to reading a section from The Most Terrifying Magical Creatures by Mackenzie.
Two days had passed since the incident and Arya still hadn't found anything. She had resolved to ask her Ancient Spells professor today, the only teacher she felt comfortable with. Since then, she had been trying to avoid the boys as much as possible—she didn't have the patience for another debate with Albus over the importance of this issue. But after Herbology class, she ran into both of them in the corridor.
"We've searched everything," said Scorpius, "and there's no mention of such creatures anywhere. Doesn't that seem suspicious to you?"
"Alright, but do you really think Professor McGonagall and Hagrid would bring something dangerous into the school?"
"If it wasn't dangerous, they wouldn't have burnt the place down!" Arya snapped, stepping into the middle of their conversation.
"I went through the Restricted Section last night—nothing. Loads of books on magical creatures, even the American ones, but zilch." She added, clearly annoyed, "Worst part? I had to read Rare Tropical Creatures cover to cover—700 pages! Unless this creature isn't real, because it doesn't appear anywhere!"
Albus, astonished, asked, "You went into the Restricted Section alone?"
"I did. And that's all you got from what I said?"
"Well, I still trust McGonagall's judgement."
Arya shrugged. "Suit yourself," and walked off toward her Ancient Spells class.
The Ancient Spells classroom was quiet as usual. Arya found herself a seat, opened her book, and began reading. For a while now, she'd been trying to find a location spell for magical tracking, but she hadn't had any luck.
Professor Spencer entered, cloaked in navy robes that brought out the blue in her eyes. As always, she wore her signature black gloves and began the class in her resonant voice.
"Alright, everyone. Today we'll be learning two important incantations," she said, beginning to write on the board.
"Anzamas," she demonstrated.
Everyone repeated after her.
"This spell accelerates growth. You can use it to speed up a plant's development, though not for very long—it depends on your magical strength. The record holder is Professor Sprout, who managed to mature a plant five years ahead of its natural timeline."
A Hufflepuff girl raised her hand. "Does it work on humans too?"
"Unfortunately, yes. You could accelerate a baby's growth, but it's incredibly dangerous and usually ends in failure. The silver lining is that the spell has a powerful counter-curse, which protects most users. However, if someone is exposed to it for too long, it can have irreversible effects. The counter-spell is called 'Arixmas.' Everyone, repeat it please."
"Arixmas!" the class echoed.
"Now, everyone grab a plant from the cabinet and try to accelerate its growth," she added with a smile. "Don't worry if it doesn't work. This is an advanced charm and not everyone can pull it off."
Arya took her wand, focused her thoughts, and said, "Anzamas!"
Nothing happened.
For about an hour, the class practised. Arya only managed to grow her plant by a few centimetres, and apparently, the others hadn't done much better.
Professor Spencer finally dismissed them. "That's enough for today. I expect better results next session."
When the class emptied, Arya approached the professor's desk.
"Yes, Arya? What can I do for you?" Spencer asked.
"I'm looking for a tracking spell. One that can locate people. Do you know of any?"
The professor fell into thought. "Tracking humans or objects?"
"Humans."
"I think I came across something like that in one of my older books. I'll see if I can find it for you," she replied kindly, with a smile. "But I doubt you'd be able to cast it—it's a very difficult spell."
"Thank you, Professor."
Arya hesitated, a look of uncertainty on her face.
"Actually... is there a dark spell that can gradually drain life from a person or creature? I mean, not immediately—over time."
Professor Spencer's expression changed. It was as though she knew something.
"There's no dark spell that works gradually," she said in a low voice. "Especially if it's meant to harm or kill. Unless someone has countered it somehow. But I'd need to know the exact curse to say for sure."
"Thank you, Professor." Arya tried to sound casual and turned to leave.
But then Spencer called out behind her. "Arya, these questions aren't for anything dangerous, are they? You know we don't support reckless behaviour."
Arya smiled. "Of course not, Professor," and walked out under her teacher's suspicious gaze.
Arya dropped her book onto the Slytherin table with a thud and turned to Scorpius with a weary look.
"I've been so caught up in this I haven't even done my Potions homework. Think I could borrow yours, Scorpius?"
"Of course," Scorpius replied gently, glancing at Albus, who was still buried in his Transfiguration notes.
While digging through her bag, Arya shared what Professor Spencer had told her.
"What do you reckon she meant by 'unless it was countered'?" Scorpius asked.
Arya furrowed her brow. "No clue. Maybe someone tried to fight it off with a protective charm or a magical antidote?"
Just as she began scribbling out some notes, Scorpius suddenly looked up. "Wait—I think I've got something!"
"The white cactus Professor Longbottom showed us the other day! He said it can hold off the effects of dark magic and even stall death."
Arya's eyes lit up. "That must be it! That's why the curse didn't finish them off—it was still working, just slowed. Someone must've used that cactus on them!"
"But then," she continued, "why torch the whole place?"
"Maybe they're not actually dead yet," Scorpius murmured.
"So how do we find out?" Arya asked.
Albus, who had just lifted his head from his book and was now looking at them intently, said, "We could ask Hagrid."