Wednesday 2nd
October
Don’t get me started on Flying. I’m never going to get it.
I know I said that I wasn’t bothered anymore and that I’d just use some other
method of transportation, but I lied. I just said that so not being able to fly
didn’t upset me as much. Well that was an epic fail. Standing there in the
middle of the practice field, my shoulders drooped as I gazed around at the
rest of my class. Okay, so not everyone was zooming around on their brooms, but
Neville and I were pretty much the only two that didn’t get very far. Blondie
and Potter were whizzing off in all directions, whilst Jed seemed to be playing
tag with Crabbe and Goyle.
Well I was definitely
glad when the lesson was over and to be walking with Jed from the Slytherin
Common Room towards the library to meet up with Josie. As we reached the top of
the winding staircase that led up from the Slytherin Common Room, Jed groaned.
“Forgot my Charms book,” he said with a sigh. “I’m gonna go back.”
“Want me to come too?” I asked.
“Nah,” said Jed. “It’s fine. You go
find José an’ I’ll meet you there in a sec’.” Part of me wondered whether this
was on purpose, so that he didn’t have to hear me and Josie catching up on our
week, being as we hadn’t seen much of her since the weekend. Jed probably
didn’t want to hear me moaning about our Flying lesson again either.
All thoughts of my
(once again) terrible flying lesson vanished from my mind as I bumped into
Professor Quirrell. It wasn’t a hard bump, but I staggered back a little. “Ow,
ow, s-s-sorry Miss Frost,” the professor stuttered. “I, I didn’t s-see you
there.”
“That’s okay Professor,” I said with a
smile – no matter how much he annoys me as a teacher, I can’t help but feel
sorry for him and like him as a person. “I’m sorry too,” I admitted. I hadn’t
exactly been looking where I was going. I gave him my biggest smile in hopes of
easing his nerves. He fiddled with a loose hanging piece of fabric from his
turban, jangling a huge ring of keys in his hand all the while. I think that he
must have caught me staring at the mass of keys in his hand, because he started
shaking a little.
“Oh my!” he muttered. “I m-must get
going… I… I… you see I borrowed Filch’s set of keys. I got l, l, locked out of
my office, you see.”
“Oh,” was all I could manage in reply.
Seriously, what was wrong with me? I had the opportunity to make a difference
to Professor Quirrell. I could have comforted him or sympathised with him. I
could have even offered to help him out. But no… all I could do was stand there
staring at him and say the word, “Oh.”
“And I, I needed to
b-b, borrow Filche’s k-k-keys to get back inside,” Professor Quirrell went on.
“Professor…” I hesitated a little,
trying to hide a frown. “Isn’t there some kind of spell that you could use to
get back into your office again?” I pulled my sleeves tight around my wrists as
I bit my bottom lip. I hope that I hadn’t offended him.
“Erm… I’m a-afraid not m, Miss Frost,”
he muttered. “D-d, doors are the one th-th-thing that cannot be opened with a
s-spell, uh-uh, unless it’s been ench-ench-enchanted to do so. Yuh-you wouldn’t
want s-s-someone t, to break into your house simply by a-asking the door to
open now, w-would you?”
“I guess I’ve never thought of it like
that before, Professor,” I beamed at him. It’s true; I hadn’t. I just assumed
that every problem in the wizarding world had magic as a solution. Professor
Quirrell really was useful. I’d read about Alohomora and Colloportus that
unlock and lock doors, but I never thought that you could only use a spell to open
a door if a locked spell was used to close it and not if it was locked by a
key. I also recall Professor Snape using another spell to close his classroom
door on our first lesson (I think it was Closportus), but I think that only
made the door swing to, because Potter and Weasley came through it moments
later and I doubt that they used a spell to open it. Also, I definitely
wouldn’t want people being able to just enter my house whenever they felt like
it, just because they knew the spell to do so.
“W, well it was… a
p-pleasure speaking with you, m, m, Miss Frost,” said Professor Quirrell with a
smile and a low bow. “B, b-but I really must get going.”
“Bye Professor Quirrell,” I called as
he scooted past me and went down the staircase that I had just come from.
*
Meeting up with Josie in the library, I waited until Jed
joined us before I told them about the interesting thing Professor Quirrell had
just taught me about magical spells, keys and locking/unlocking doors. “Well
duh,” said Jed with a smile. “You wouldn’t want some stranger t’ come int’ your
house just by sayin’ Colloportus, would ya?”
“I know,” I told him. “I realised that
after Quirrell said it. I just never thought about it before.”
“I like Professor
Quirrell,” Josie said with a smile as she looked up from her book.
“You would,” Jed muttered, his eyes
looked over his work at Josie, but he kept his head down.
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” she
retorted, thumping her quill against the desk.
“Well he’s obviously got a screw
loose,” said Jed. “Anyone can tell he’s a Ravenclaw.” Snarling her nose, Josie
glared at him. “What?” he exclaimed throwing his hands up. “I’m only sayin’
it’s natural that you’d like him, being a Ravenclaw an’ all.”
As Josie mumbled an,
“Okay,” I let out a breath. That was another close call. Trying to avert
Josie’s attention from the almost-argument, I nudged my Herbology homework in
her direction.
“D’you think you could help me on
question three?” I asked. “I’m a little stuck.” Pulling her chair around
towards me, Josie started looking through what I’d already written, before
going on to help me answer the rest of Professor Sprout’s questions. Lucky
save, I think.
- Josie -
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