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BS - Chapter 39: The Trap
🕑 Added 2025-07-30 11:52:44 +0000 UTCDisclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
“Dialogue”
‘Thoughts’
-Author notes-
Chapter 39: The Trap
“The tea is ready,” Hermione said as she poured it into a cup.
“Excellent.” Harry was resting his head on Luna’s lap while Hermione had been preparing his afternoon snack.
“Why didn’t you let me make the tea?” Luna pouted.
“Because I would not trust you with anything fire-related,” Harry responded. “And besides, Hermione is improving quickly,” he said as he took the cup from her hands.
“Thank you.” Hermione smiled, feeling good about being complimented. “Here are the scones you asked for.” She had placed them inside a basket and moved it closer to him.
“Everyone seems sad about Cho’s death,” Luna commented.
“Yes, well, that is normal, isn't it?. They didn't know she was a thief and a bully. ” Hermione said. “By the way, what did the Aurors ask you?”
“They wanted to know when the last time I saw her, if she looked sad, and… mmm…” Luna tilted her head. “I forgot… they were very boring and Gulping Plimpies surrounded their heads. It was very distracting.”
“Gulping… what?” Hermione turned to Harry for answers.
“Luna has a special gift. She can see magic in ways that are impossible for the rest. She interprets this as strange creatures and has even given them names,” Harry explained.
“An ability that lets her see magic?... Strange creatures?” Hermione seemed like she wanted nothing more than to visit the library and do some research right now.
“Some Wrackspurts are flying around you right now,” Luna pointed out.
“Mmm… not bad.” Harry took a sip from the cup. “What kind of tea is this? I’m not familiar with it.”
“Are we going to ignore what she said?, Okay...it’s just Darjeeling tea. You never had it before?” Hermione looked confused. “We have it at home all the time.”
Harry savored the sweet liquid. The reason he had never had it before was that it simply didn’t exist during his time as Ekrizdis.
“I can see that tea has improved a lot over the years.” He took one of the scones. “And pastries as well.”
“Improved, what do you mean?.” Once again, Hermione had no idea what Harry was talking about.
“Master…” Luna tugged at his robes.
Harry’s expression changed to a more serious one. “I know.” He placed the cup down and sighed. “Apparently, my tea time is going to be ruined by some foolish child...again.”
“What do you mean?” Hermione asked.
Harry took out his ancient heartstring wand and gave it a whisk, forming a layer of protection around them, just in time to stop several sparks of light that came from between the trees of the Black Forest that lay behind them.
“Store our things and return to the castle. I have something to do.”
Harry stood up, and, without saying another word to them, began to walk into the forest.
Hermione and Luna exchanged a look before storing all the utensils they had brought for their improvised picnic and walked away from there, just like Harry had told them to do.
Harry took a few more steps among the trees before stopping. The forest shrubbery was thick enough to block most of the sunlight, leaving it in an almost perpetual state of darkness.
“Do you have some business with me?”
He got no response from his attacker.
Despite knowing exactly where this person was, Harry continued to pretend to be oblivious to their position and spoke again.
“I don’t appreciate being interrupted when I’m relaxing and drinking my tea. If you come from the Slytherin House, you should have learned this already.”
Another quick spell was sent from between the trees, this time aimed directly at his face.
Harry used his wand to deflect it, making the magical spark impact a tree behind him, breaking off a large chunk of bark in the process.
“That was just a warning shot.”
Harry heard the voice of his attacker for the first time. It sounded like it came from somewhere ahead of him.
However, in the next instant, Harry felt some movement behind him.
A figure cloaked in black jumped at him from behind a tree and attempted to grab him by the neck.
“Got you!” the attacker said. The voice from before had been a trap he had prepared, a simple enchantment that could reproduce sounds stored in its array. This one could be placed anywhere and activated from a long distance, creating a distraction.
Ignatius Mulciber had used this trick many times before to get close to his victims. His body was big and strong, much stronger than the average wizard, and this gave him an advantage when the fight turned to close quarters.
It wasn’t a very wizard-like or dignified manner of fighting. But for Mulciber, this was the most effective way to take down any opponent.
As long as he could grab them with his large, muscular arms, it was all over, as he would no longer allow them to move or use any type of magic.
Mulciber already saw the end of this encounter the moment he lured Potter exactly where he wanted him and got the jump on him.
Harry Potter was much younger and smaller than him. As soon as he grabbed him by the neck, there would be nothing Harry could do.
At least, that’s what Mulciber thought as he attacked Harry.
However, his confidence did not last long, because as soon as his arms tried to wrap around Harry’s neck and his skin made contact with Harry’s robes, he felt an excruciating pain invade his body.
“Ahhh!” Mulciber let out a bloodcurdling scream and lost control of his limbs. It was as if he had been hit by a bolt of lightning.
He fell down on the grass and began to tremble uncontrollably.
Harry watched this with a smirk on his face.
“You thought it was going to be that easy? Weaving protections on one’s clothes is one of the first things any decent wizard will do. What a naive boy… Today you are going to learn a painful lesson.”
