Chapter 132: Healing Spell? Killing Spell!
The next day, the twins excitedly told Ethan about their success promoting the game to Gryffindor.
"I had similar luck. The Slytherins seem to be enjoying the card game quite a bit," Ethan remarked with a smile.
They were both clearly thrilled. "We're planning to contact our friends in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tonight and teach them how to play."
"Go ahead." Ethan decided to leave them to it. He didn't care much about the details of earning Galleons.
Saturday arrived in a flash. Since the match was between Slytherin and Gryffindor, Ethan's Potions class was, unfortunately, canceled again.
It had rained several more times that week. Despite the groundskeepers' efforts, the water on the Quidditch pitch hadn't completely dried.
Fortunately, aside from takeoff, the players rarely had to land.
At Madam Hooch's whistle, the players from both sides launched into the sky on their broomsticks.
Thanks to their superior broomsticks, Slytherin quickly took a forty-point lead over Gryffindor.
The Slytherin students cheered, waving green banners emblazoned with silver serpents.
"Go Gryffindor!" Gryffindors in the opposite stands waved gold and red banners for their house, cheering for their team.
Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs mostly supported Gryffindor, but a small group cheered for Slytherin.
A few Ravenclaw students sat next to Ethan.
"Another splendid goal," a boy whispered to his companion. "Slytherin's new brooms are far too fast. Look at Gryffindor. They can't keep up at all!"
"If only our house could have brooms like that, too. It's a pity. I heard a Pureblood family donated them to their team. The school would never spend that much money replacing brooms for us."
"Wasn't Harry Potter's broom good, too? Did he buy it himself?"
"I heard it was privately purchased by Professor McGonagall and given to Potter."
"If only Professor Flitwick would buy a batch of brooms and give them to our players."
"Dream on."
"Look, quick! What's wrong over there?"
An exclamation cut through their conversation, and Ethan, who'd been listening with interest, instinctively looked toward where someone was pointing. A Bludger was flying erratically near Harry Potter.
"Dobby," Ethan mouthed.
Ethan was curious about this anomaly, a house-elf unlike the others, one who didn't strictly follow the rules.
He'd seen house-elves like Coco and Lala serve their families wholeheartedly for generations, so Ethan knew how difficult it would be to change their mindset.
Of course, as someone who benefited from house-elf service, Ethan wouldn't actively push for change either. But if they wanted to leave, he wouldn't stop them.
He stood up, scanning the massive stadium for any sign of the house-elf.
He searched from one stand to another, but couldn't find Dobby.
"There!" Ethan finally spotted the elf wrapped in a dirty tea towel, huddled in an inconspicuous corner.
Just then, it began to rain. The rain blurred his vision, forcing him to pull up his hood and cast an Impervius Charm on himself.
Spectators with umbrellas quickly opened them. Those without hurried to find shelter. The stands were in chaos.
By the time Ethan finished casting the spell and started making his way through the crowd toward Dobby, the alert elf had already slipped away.
"Forget it. Too much trouble." Ethan sat down again and cast Impervius Charms on several students around him who had neither shelter nor umbrellas.
"Pull up your hoods to keep the water out of your clothes," Ethan urged the students who were witnessing the spell for the first time.
"Right, thanks." Several students who were about to leave thanked him. As they chatted about the spell, they turned their attention back to the players on the field.
To be honest, the players on both sides were performing exceptionally well despite the sudden downpour.
No one's movement seemed hindered. Harry was the exception, of course. The rain had soaked his glasses, leaving his vision much blurrier than anyone else's.
He swore under his breath, dodged a Bludger hurtling toward him, and squinted through the rain in search of the Snitch.
A glance at the scoreboard showed Slytherin leading 60-0. It was a significant margin, but Gryffindor still had a chance to turn the tide. Neither side dared to slack off.
Draco was marking Harry even more tightly than usual. He shadowed Harry's every move. Even if he couldn't catch the Snitch himself, he certainly wasn't going to let Harry catch it.
After all, as long as they kept playing like this, Slytherin could keep widening the gap. Even if Gryffindor caught the Snitch, they wouldn't be able to overcome the point deficit.
Draco had certainly noticed that one Bludger had gone mad, but it wasn't targeting him. They were opponents, after all, so why would it interfere?
Before the Gryffindors paused the game, Slytherin was already leading ninety to zero.
The whistle blew, and both teams paused to rest.
The rain was still coming down hard. Students on both teams who knew the Impervius Charm quickly cast it on their teammates. Though it couldn't keep the rain from soaking their clothes, they hoped to make the game a bit more bearable.
Ethan cast the spell on Draco.
"Don't worry, we'll definitely win!" Draco said, full of confidence.
The Slytherin players gathered to discuss tactics. Really, just one word: stall. Let the two Beaters and Draco, the Seeker, mark Harry Potter. Let the Chasers and the Keeper handle the rest.
The timeout ended quickly. Both teams got back on their brooms.
The rogue Bludger had briefly returned to normal during the timeout, which kept the Gryffindors on edge.
They had requested the timeout specifically so Madam Hooch would notice the problem and swap out the ball.
Yet the moment play resumed, the Bludger went wild again, continuing to hound Harry.
The two Seekers raced after the Snitch, each trying to catch it and end the match.
Ethan spotted a golden glint hovering just behind Draco.
Harry made a sudden dive, accelerating as he closed in on Draco.
Draco wasn't sure what Harry was doing and thought he was trying to ram him. He shifted his broom to dodge.
Ethan and several other Slytherins shouted, "Draco, behind you!"
They weren't far from the Slytherin stands. Draco heard the warning, looked back, and spotted the Snitch.
Harry heard it too. Panic flared. He ignored the Bludger attacking him, pushed his broom faster, and reached past Draco's ear.
"Don't even think about it!" Draco lunged sideways on his broom, reaching for the Snitch.
Slytherin led 120 to 10. But if Harry caught the Snitch, Gryffindor could turn the tables and win.
The other players noticed the battle for the Snitch that would decide the match. The Chasers faltered, the Quaffle forgotten.
The Beaters from both teams desperately chased the remaining Bludger, trying to disrupt the Seekers.
Just as the rogue Bludger hit Harry and sent him plummeting toward the ground, Madam Hooch's whistle blew, ending the game.
Draco held the Snitch high, announcing Slytherin's victory with a final score of 270 to 10.
The Slytherins cheered, celebrating their house's win in the first Quidditch match. The Gryffindors were crowded around Harry, who had fallen to the ground.
A group of people surrounded Harry. Heavy rain poured down.
A short distance away, Fred and George wrestled with the rogue Bludger, trying to get it back to Madam Hooch.
"Madam Hooch, you must have seen it too. There's something wrong with that Bludger. It kept going straight for Harry."
"Wood, what do you have to say?" Madam Hooch looked at Wood, who stood nearby, casting anxious glances toward Harry.
"Madam, please find out who tampered with that Bludger!"
Wood hesitated. If it hadn't been for that Bludger hounding Harry the whole time, they might have had a chance of winning.
However, he was also certain that the culprit was not a Slytherin. The ball had been locked in the crate before the match, untouched by anyone, and the Slytherins, with their faster brooms, had no need to resort to such a dirty tactic.
He simply wanted to know who had jinxed the Bludger.
"Make way!" someone shouted, forcing their way through the crowd to reach the unconscious Harry.
It was Lockhart, wearing emerald-green robes. He had hurried over from the stands the moment he saw Harry land.
He crouched down, checking on Harry, who had blacked out from the impact. He gently moved the boy's limbs to assess the damage. "His arm is broken. I can handle this."
Just then, Harry came to, only to find himself staring at a row of blindingly white teeth.
"No," he whispered, the sound nearly a moan, as he realized who was standing over him.
Seconds later, a flood of Gryffindors rushed over from the stands.
Lockhart looked up and addressed the crowd. "Don't worry. I've used this spell countless times. It's quite simple."
"Your arm will be as good as new." Lockhart whipped out his wand.
Ethan squeezed his way forward, straining to catch every syllable of the incantation.
The spell was nothing like the standard healing charms he knew.
That was a Bone-Removing Charm, but certainly not an ordinary one. Ethan listened as Lockhart finished his incantation, observed Harry's rubbery arm, and made a judgment.
The spell Lockhart cast was vastly different from the version Ethan had seen in The Standard Book of Spells. The effect was dramatic.
According to the book, the charm was meant for deboning food and could only be cast on inanimate objects. Wizards typically used it to remove bones from fish or poultry.
However, the spell Lockhart had cast was clearly no longer just a simple kitchen charm. It was an offensive spell capable of killing.
This time, it had only removed the bones from Harry's arm. Had the target been his head, the Savior's survival would have been another matter entirely.
Harry's shoulders twitched, and his limp arm swung loosely in response.
"Ha, well, these things happen sometimes. But you're not in pain anymore, are you? You should head over to the Hospital Wing and see Madam Pomfrey. I'm sure she can, er, clean it up again."
Lockhart flashed an awkward smile to cover his embarrassment.
"My bones weren't just left unhealed. They were completely removed!"
With help from the others, Harry trudged across the muddy grass toward the Hospital Wing.
Ethan supported Harry's shoulder, holding his boneless arm steady to keep him upright, and asked what it felt like to have his bones removed.
As far as Ethan understood it, without bones, the remaining muscle and tissue would simply collapse. He'd expected it to be excruciating, but judging by Harry's reaction, that didn't seem to be the case.
"It doesn't hurt. I just can't control my arm at all. My fingers won't move, and I keep losing my balance. I feel like I'm tilting to one side."
Harry sounded anxious as he answered. He didn't know if Madam Pomfrey would be able to fix it.
"Don't worry, it's treatable. I know there's a potion called Skele-Gro that makes bones grow back. It just isn't used very often. I don't know if the hospital wing has any in stock."
"I hope so. I don't want to be like this forever." Harry tried to lift his hand but failed again, only managing to move his shoulder.
"You should have come straight to me!" Madam Pomfrey looked at the arm, furious.
"I could have mended it instantly, but now that the bones need to grow back, it won't be as easy."
"Skele-Gro can fix it, right?" Harry asked, sounding miserable.
The matron looked at him in surprise. "It can, but you're going to be in a lot of pain, and you'll have to stay the night."
"That's good, that's good." Harry patted his chest with his uninjured arm and let out a long sigh of relief.
"All right, boys, help him into his pajamas. I'll go get the medicine," Madam Pomfrey said, looking at the group of students.
They drew the curtains around the hospital bed. Ron helped him into his pajama pants, and Ethan guided his arm into the sleeve of his shirt.
The curtains parted. Madam Pomfrey held a large, opaque bottle, filled a cup, and handed it to Harry.
"Regrowing bone is painful business," she said. "Tonight will likely be rather trying. If you need it, I can give you a cup of Draught of Living Death."
Harry shook his head, took the cup, and drank it in one gulp. "I'll be fine for now. Thank you, Madam."
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Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;
1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 290
2.Marvel: Cosmic Forger of Infinity = CHAPTER 203
3.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 292
4.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 130
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