Chapter 23: A Narrow Escape

“Oh no!” Siwen cried out in alarm.

There was no time to explain to his two roommates why—he mounted his broom and sped off in the direction where Mobley was plummeting.

Abu and Gomez stood stunned, not understanding what Siwen was talking about. But in just a few seconds, they and the other young wizards realized the gravity of the situation.

The black speck in the sky was hurtling downward!

They could vaguely see Professor Plenton changing course as well, diving toward the ground at a nearly vertical angle. But Siwen didn’t dare gamble that the professor would be able to catch Mobley, who was falling so fast—this was a life hanging by a thread!

As he closed the distance, Siwen could clearly see Mobley’s flailing figure plummeting, accompanied by his terrified screams.

“Wingardium Leviosa!” he shouted the spell for levitation, but Mobley’s speed was too great—the slowing effect of the charm was painfully limited.

“Damn it! What’s the incantation for the Slowing Charm?” Siwen’s mind went completely blank; he couldn’t recall the spell he’d once thought useless and practiced only once.

Clenching his teeth, he acted on instinct. A golden ring inscribed with intricate patterns appeared, circling his wand.

As Siwen swept his wand, a circular shield composed of several golden hexagrams slowly formed beneath the spot where Mobley was about to crash.

At that moment, Professor Plenton’s voice drew rapidly closer—

“Arresto Momentum!”

Mobley instantly halted in midair, suspended less than a person’s height above the ground!

Seeing him narrowly rescued, a collective sigh of relief swept through the crowd.

However, Professor Plenton, who had made a vertical dive, seemed unable to slow himself in time and was about to crash into the ground!

The young wizards running over from afar were so anxious they couldn’t bear to watch and squeezed their eyes shut…

But decades of experience as a professional Seeker made Professor Plenton’s flying skills truly extraordinary. As he neared the ground, he yanked the broom handle sharply, making a ninety-degree turn at a height that seemed sure to end in disaster. He hugged the ground, riding the inertia, and skidded to a halt beside the flock of young wizards hurrying over.

“Whew! Made it just in time.” He flicked a lock of hair from his brow and, with a roguish charm, asked the new students before him, “Well? Did you see my recent Wronski Feint? Not bad for the old days, eh?”

Unfortunately, fearing to witness the flying professor and former Quidditch star crash horribly, all the young wizards had their eyes tightly shut. Now they could only shake their heads in confusion.

Professor Plenton: “…”

Would a little confidence in me be too much to ask?

Siwen noticed the professor hadn’t seen him. Seizing the opportunity, he quietly dismissed the Laggardor’s Ring from his hand and the Seraphin’s Shield beneath Mobley, then gently lowered his poor roommate to the ground with the Levitation Charm.

At that moment, Mobley’s face was ashen, tears glistening in his eyes, his golden hair an utter mess. The moment his feet touched the ground, he collapsed in exhaustion and began sobbing uncontrollably.

“Don’t be upset—it’s all over now! With the professor here, you were never in real danger,” Siwen consoled him.

Abu and Gomez hurried over and helped Mobley to his feet.

Professor Plenton, his impressive maneuver having gone unappreciated, regained his composure and came over to check on Mobley. “You three are his roommates, aren’t you? He’s had quite a shock—he needs some rest. Please take him to the infirmary for a checkup.”

The three nodded and supported Mobley on their way to the hospital on the fourth floor.

After such an incident, the flying lesson was hastily ended. The remaining young wizards, shaken and somewhat reluctant, returned their brooms and left the lawn.

…

In the school infirmary, Head Nurse Dalair gave Mobley a vial of potion.

The draught was effective—his nerves quickly steadied, and at least now he could speak coherently.

Once calm, Mobley’s first glance was at Siwen. “Thank you, Siwen! I saw you flying over to save me. You might not know this, but in that moment, you were my only hope!”

Not wanting to reveal anything about Kamar-Taj’s magic, Siwen simply smiled and replied, “You should thank Professor Plenton most of all—he took a great risk to save you. Besides, it was his Slowing Charm that caught you in the end. I completely forgot the incantation for it at the time.”

Mobley nodded. “I know, but without your initial Levitation Charm, even Professor Plenton’s flying skills might not have been enough to save me.”

Siwen merely shook his head modestly, gesturing for him to rest, and left the infirmary with Abu and Gomez.

“I can’t believe that just happened,” Abu said in disbelief as they walked toward the Great Hall. “Is that really how our flying lesson ended?”

“Who could have guessed?” Siwen smiled. “Don’t dwell on it—let’s get some food and tidy up. We’ve got Astronomy tonight!”

…

Because Astronomy involved stargazing, classes were held after nightfall, before curfew, usually from seven to nine o’clock.

Poor Mobley, still confined to his hospital bed, had to miss the lesson.

Professor Vancourt, who taught Astronomy, was an intellectual witch with glasses. Her teaching style made her fondness for lunar phases obvious. With her gentle voice and kind demeanor, she was well liked by students—except for her habit of mentioning the moon at every turn.

After class, as they walked back to their dorms, the young wizards were still animatedly debating which star in the night sky was the most beautiful and which galaxy the most magnificent.

But Siwen, already familiar with human astronomical progress in the twenty-first century, found little interest—he thought Muggles had already surpassed wizards in stargazing.

As the Slytherin students were laughing and chatting their way to the spiral staircase leading to their common room, Professor Lore suddenly appeared from below.

Wolburga, at the front of the group, was startled by the sudden figure. When she realized it was Professor Lore, she grumbled with some annoyance, “Professor Lore, you nearly scared me to death! What are you doing coming out of the Slytherin common room?”

Professor Lore seemed surprised to see such a crowd of Slytherins. He paused, but quickly recovered. “Astronomy class just let out, I see? I needed some potion ingredients from the storeroom near the dungeons. Sorry to startle you.”

With that, he hurried off toward the main tower.

The little Slytherin snakes didn’t give it much thought and continued down the spiral staircase, joking as they went to the common room.

Only Siwen, recalling his previous encounter with Professor Lore during a nighttime wander, frowned slightly.

“Siwen, keep up!” Abu called from ahead.

“Coming!” Siwen shook off the thought and hurried after the group.

…