thefictionvixens Chapter 55 A Morning Conversation
Chapter 55 A Morning Conversation
Karen awoke from a dreamless, deep sleep. Morning light filtered through the blue curtains of the Ravenclaw Tower, casting dappled shadows on the four-poster bed's canopy. He had slept very well that night. He blinked his grey-blue eyes; there was no more discomfort below his right shoulder blade. Madam Pomfrey's ointment had indeed worked very well.
"Merlin's Beard, you're finally awake!" Wesley's freckled face suddenly came into view, his reddish-brown hair standing on end as if he'd been electrocuted. "Tell us quickly, what happened last night? Fabian and the others only said that you came back last night and told them everything was fine."
"Oh, so that's why!" Karen sat up and found Fabian sitting in an armchair by the window reading a book in the morning light, while Ernesto stood in the doorway, also reading a book, but his eyes kept glancing over in their direction.
Fabian closed the book and adjusted his glasses. "Wesley's exaggerating. We're just worried about the side effects of Professor Eisenberg's 'solution'." A gentle smile appeared on his bronze face. "After all, methods that can make the Selwyn family, a pure-blood family, bow down are usually not very...gentle."
Ernesto snorted and approached, the hem of his dark blue robe swaying gently. "What I'm more concerned about is, what makes that Defense Against the Dark Arts professor from Germany capable of threatening an ancient pure-blood family?" His sharp gaze met Karen's. "Are you sure he's just an ordinary professor? Or that his methods actually work?"
Karen secretly rejoiced that he had prepared his explanation in advance. He rubbed his temples, feigning a groggy look as if he had just woken up: "The professor said he used some of his connections. He didn't tell me the specifics, only that it caused some 'trouble' for the Selwyn family's businesses abroad."
"That's it?" Wesley slumped dramatically, plopped down on the edge of Cullen's bed, making the bed frame creak. "I thought there would be a more exciting solution! Like sending a bunch of fire dragons to circle over Selwyn Manor, or having their house-elves go on strike or something!"
Fabian couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Wesley, do you think this is a fairy tale? Political maneuvering is often more effective than direct confrontation." He turned to Karen, his eyes behind his glasses gleaming with rationality. "But can these things really make the Selwyn family bow down?"
Ernesto's long, slender fingers tapped rhythmically on the bedpost: "It seems this Professor Eisenberg is no ordinary person, but the fact that I can't find a single trace of someone with such influence in my family suggests..."
"What does that mean?" Wesley asked impatiently.
"This shows that he's not some ordinary professor from Germany at all; his identity might even be fake," Ernesto said softly, his gaze never leaving Karen's face.
A silence fell over the room. Karen didn't know how to continue; Ernesto's insight was always frighteningly sharp.
"Hey!" Wesley suddenly jumped up, breaking the silence. "Professor Eisenberg knows alchemy, maybe he even knows Nicolas Flamel! I've heard that alchemist master has lived for hundreds of years and knows all the important people!"
Karen nearly choked on her own saliva; Wesley had inadvertently guessed part of the truth.
Fabian nodded thoughtfully. "That's a reasonable assumption. Flamel's status in the alchemical world is indeed enough to influence many aspects of the international magical community." He looked at Cullen. "I remember you were still studying alchemy with Professor Eisenberg, weren't you?"
“Yes,” Karen picked up the conversation, “the professor gives me private alchemy lessons every week.” He deliberately changed the subject, “Speaking of which, weren’t we planning to practice at the Eagle’s Nest today?”
Ernesto seemed about to press further, but ultimately simply shrugged gracefully: "Suit yourself. But it's good that the 'professor' is capable of helping you resolve the Selwyn family's affairs."
Karen felt a warmth in his heart. He knew Ernesto probably already guessed something, but he didn't press the matter further.
"Alright, alright!" Wesley bounced around the room like an excited sniffer. "Let's go have breakfast first, then head to the Eagle's Nest! I'm going to try out that new teleportation spell I learned today; maybe it'll give us an advantage in Quidditch!"
Fabian raised an eyebrow: "You mean the 'trick' of letting the ball fly towards the opponent on its own? That clearly violates the rules of the game."
"No, that's not it!" Wesley protested, blushing. "I wanted to use it to adjust the goal position during training!"
Karen couldn't help but smile as he watched the two bicker. This everyday noise made him feel at ease; no matter how many conspiracies and dangers lurked outside, at least in this dormitory, he still had this group of sincere friends.
As the four walked through the castle corridors, the morning sunlight streamed through the high windows, bathing the stone walls in a golden glow. Wesley mimicked Professor Flitwick's spellcasting as they walked, making Fabian shake his head in amusement.
As they passed the abandoned washroom on the fifth floor, Karen unconsciously slowed her pace.
"This is it," he said softly, "the place where Selwyn and his men ambushed me yesterday."
Wesley rushed to the door, looking around like a sniffing for gold coins: "There's absolutely no sign of a struggle! Where are those tables and chairs you mentioned? Where are the charred marks from the spell?"
Indeed, the entire bathroom was brand new. The wood chips and twisted metal frames scattered all over the floor yesterday were gone, the tiled floor was gleaming, and even the stains on the walls had been cleaned. If Karen hadn't experienced it herself, she would have almost doubted whether yesterday's conflict had actually happened.
"The house-elves are incredibly efficient," Fabian said, adjusting his glasses and carefully examining the ground. "They didn't even leave a scratch."
Ernesto tapped the doorframe lightly with his wand and chanted, "Show yourself!" A beam of blue light swept across the space, but there was no reaction. "Even the magical remnants have been cleared away; this isn't something ordinary cleaning can do."
Thinking of this, Karen suddenly burst out laughing. Her three roommates looked at her, puzzled.
"Sorry," Karen explained, a smile still playing on his lips, "I just remembered those discarded tables and chairs that saved my life yesterday. They were the junk we left here when we were cleaning up the Eagle's Nest. If those things had been cleared away sooner, I would have been in serious trouble yesterday." He gestured to the scene of yesterday's battle, "Those two fat guys were knocked down by those tables and chairs, and then I used a disarming charm..."
"Wait a minute!" Wesley's eyes widened like Galleons. "You mean those old, broken tables and chairs we moved out last month? Those things we just had nowhere to put?"
"It was those things that helped me take care of those guys at minimal cost." Karen nodded, a thoughtful glint in her eyes. "Without those 'trash,' even if we had won, the price we paid wouldn't have been small."
Fabian suddenly slapped his forehead: "Merlin! I remember those things! We even argued about whether to fix it and keep using it because it was made of the finest oak."
Ernesto chuckled softly, a slight smile playing on his lips. "So, even discarded items can become weapons; it all depends on how you use them."
Wesley rushed forward impatiently: "Come quick! I want to see if the remains of those tables and chairs from those legendary battles are still in the junkyard!"
"Wesley!" Fabian exclaimed helplessly, "The house-elves cleaned up all the trash in the castle with magic, there's no such thing as a garbage dump..."