Hermione was utterly exasperated. If it weren't for the sake of their friendship, she would've gone straight to the professors with this.
In the end, she said, "Harry, you can go to the Chamber—but only if you follow my lead. We need to be thoroughly prepared."
She added, "I'll draw up a new plan for dealing with the basilisk, but it'll probably involve a lot of advanced spells. You'll have to put in the time to learn them…"
Harry frowned. "How long will that take?"
Hermione replied coolly, "That depends on how fast you learn. Also, I'm planning to show that mysterious passage from Hogwarts: A History to Professor Holmes. If he can decipher it, it might help you."
Harry nodded in agreement.
Ron piped up, "Hermione, don't forget to add me to the plan. I noticed Harry's version didn't even mention me…"
Hermione rolled her eyes at him.
There were fewer than fifty days left until O.W.L.s.
Back when there were a hundred days to go, Professor McGonagall had vetoed Douglas's suggestion for a 'Hundred-Day Oath' rally. But she did allow motivational banners to be hung on the walls of the magical study room.
This, however, made the fifth and seventh years rather reluctant to spend time there.
When Hermione brought Hogwarts: A History to Douglas, he only glanced at it before pulling out a Chinese Dictionary and a Chinese-English Dictionary.
"These two books might help you," he told her. "But with exams coming up, I really hope you'll focus on your studies. Practice your spells more—you've learned my methods, but your dueling application could use some work…"
Hermione promised she would.
As for what Harry was plotting, Douglas already had his suspicions—the boy had left far too many clues.
Every magic practice session in the study room required real-name registration, and Harry's records clearly listed the Eye-Stinging Hex with Percy as his supervisor. With such a specific and targeted spell, Douglas would be failing his own name if he couldn't guess what Harry was up to.
Still, he wasn't worried. While there weren't any truly harmful spells around the bathroom, each Head of House had set up their own unique alarm charms. If Harry so much as set foot near the place, all four Heads would be on him in a flash.
After sending Hermione on her way, Douglas turned his attention to the five fifth-years who'd managed to clear the curse-breaking challenge on their own—three from Ravenclaw, one from Gryffindor, and one from Slytherin.
He had to admit, this year's Hufflepuffs were a bit disappointing; some of them couldn't even keep up with fourth-year Cedric.
"Don't pressure yourselves too much," Douglas told them. "The Patronus Charm is incredibly complex. Even experienced witches and wizards struggle with it.
Strictly speaking, it's beyond the level of an ordinary wizard. That's why mastering it can guarantee you top marks on your O.W.L.s. I only learned it myself in fourth year…"
The students were stunned by his use of the word "only." Mastering such an advanced spell in fifth year was already impressive—calling it "only" made it sound like there was something even more extraordinary.
Shirley, a Ravenclaw, asked curiously, "Professor, does that mean someone learned it before fifth year?"
Douglas nodded, his tone casual. "Someone did—he managed it in third year, though he had the help of Dementors."
He smiled slightly. "So, I've prepared a Boggart for you…"
Douglas had the others step back, then opened the box containing the Boggart. Using Occlumency, he tricked the Boggart into believing his greatest fear was Dementors.
A moment later, a Dementor slowly emerged from the box, its hooded face turning toward Douglas, a scabbed hand clutching its cloak as the office lights flickered.
The Dementor stepped out, gliding silently toward Douglas, emitting a low, rattling breath.
The five students nearby felt a bone-deep chill settle over them.
Douglas raised his wand, casting a quick spell that enveloped the Boggart-Dementor. It didn't change form, but froze in place, as if it had lost its target.
Douglas turned to the others. "Now, the Boggart's been fooled. It'll think all of you are afraid of Dementors. The rest is up to you."
He moved to the tea table and poured each student a cup of hot tea.
They all swallowed nervously.
The Slytherin student tried to steady himself, watching the Dementor warily. "Professor, are real Azkaban guards the same as Boggart-Dementors?"
The others looked at Douglas, curious.
Douglas regarded the Slytherin with interest. "Azkaban's Dementors are far stronger than this. If this were a real Dementor, you'd all have a hard time just standing here.
I haven't been to Azkaban myself, but the fact that so many powerful witches and wizards have died or gone mad there shows how terrifying those guards are. I certainly hope I never hear that any of my students end up in Azkaban."
Another Ravenclaw asked, "Professor, if we master this, does that mean Azkaban couldn't hold us? Just hypothetically, of course…"
Douglas replied with a faint smile, "When you can cast the Patronus Charm without a wand, maybe… All right, it's getting late. Who wants to go first?"
Of course, Douglas wasn't about to tell them that Animagi could evade Dementors—that was Transfiguration, and he was the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.
The Patronus Charm was far harder than they'd imagined, especially under the Dementor's gaze. Only one student managed to produce a faint wisp of silver smoke, which was enough to send the Boggart-Dementor scurrying back into its box.
Douglas handed out chocolate. "Don't get discouraged. Take your time—no one gets it right on the first try."
Meanwhile, Harry was working just as hard. Hermione's training list was packed with over a dozen advanced spells.
So far, he hadn't even fully mastered the Eye-Stinging Hex.
More than once, he'd regretted his decision. With finals looming and all these extra spells to learn—none of which would be on the exam—his free time was completely gone.
To make matters worse, Wood had ramped up Quidditch training, leaving Harry exhausted.
But Hermione's voice was always in his ear:
"If you've made a plan, you have to see it through!"
"You have to believe you can do it!"
He was too embarrassed to say he wanted to give up, so he just dragged Ron along to practice spells.
No matter how much Ron protested, Harry refused to let him off the hook.
Watching Harry's slow progress, Hermione finally allowed herself a secret sigh of relief.
She'd gone to great lengths to find all these advanced spells, and had spun all sorts of reasons why Harry needed to learn them to face the basilisk.
That way, she didn't have to betray her friendship—and could keep Harry from doing anything reckless.
It was a trick she'd picked up from Percy, and it was proving surprisingly effective.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
🤔 Want to know what happens next to the characters?
🤫 Eager to explore the untold secrets of this world?
✍ Ready to read more of my wildest stories?
✨patreon.com/GoldenLong