That afternoon, having just finished her meal, Kate came to the lawn as agreed.
There was still a while before the appointed time, so she simply found a tree to sit under, leisurely leafing through an alchemy-related book she'd brought from home.
These were presumably materials left behind by her ancestor Ariel, cut from the very same cloth as Nicolas Flamel's body of knowledge, which could help her better digest the knowledge in her head.
Yes—even after several months had passed, the alchemical knowledge she'd studied from what Nicolas Flamel had left behind still amounted to less than one-thirtieth of the whole.
Still, she was young yet; she had all the time in the world to read it slowly.
So absorbed was she in her reading that she gradually lost track of time, until a faintly cool breeze drifted past and roused Kate from the world inside the book.
Lifting her head to glance around, she found that Cho Chang had, at some unknown point, already sat down beside her, likewise holding up a book and reading.
"When did you get here?" Kate stood up in surprise, hurriedly tucking the book in her hand into her pouch.
Cho Chang shrugged. "About ten minutes ago. You seemed pretty engrossed, so I didn't disturb you."
"I…" She scratched her head, a little embarrassed. "I'm the one who asked you out here, and then I got lost in a book myself. Sorry."
"It's all right. Even in Ravenclaw it's rare to see a student get as absorbed in a book as you do. Sitting beside you, even I caught the bug."
Cho Chang gave a soft smile and casually picked up a fallen red maple leaf at her feet, pressing it between the pages of her book. "Using this as a bookmark seems rather nice, actually."
"An ordinary maple leaf is too plain," Kate said, glancing at the fallen leaves carpeting the ground. "Tell you what—one of these days I'll make you a bookmark myself, and I guarantee you'll love it!"
"Really?" Cho Chang asked, delighted. "Then I'll count that as my Christmas present!"
Kate nodded with a laugh. "All right, then I'll be sure to do a good job of it."
The two of them chatted for a while before each drew out a wand.
Kate had originally wanted her to try the Protego, but on asking she discovered that, although Cho Chang was something of a top student in Ravenclaw, she hadn't yet learned the Protego either.
In the original works, it was likewise within the D.A. (Dumbledore's Army), with the help of the Golden Trio, that Cho Chang had learned all sorts of practical Defence Against the Dark Arts alongside a whole crowd of students.
At present, the attack-type magic she was best at probably amounted only to relatively simple, easy-to-learn spells like the Impediment Jinx or the Blazing Fire Charm.
In peacetime, so long as one wasn't a Wizard specializing in Defence Against the Dark Arts, this kind of everyday spell would be enough for most young wizards to learn.
But only a small handful of people, like Kate and Dumbledore, knew that Voldemort was still secretly stirring in the shadows, and these ordinary spells alone certainly wouldn't cut it.
It seemed she'd have to find an opportunity to make the whole school—teachers and students alike—realize the necessity of protective spells.
"So just do as I taught you a moment ago—only use the Blazing Fire Charm, and if you can't hold out, you must tell me."
Kate repeated the rules aloud, and only after seeing Cho Chang give her an OK gesture did she carefully release her blue flames.
"Blazing Inferno!"
The instant the flames came surging in, Cho Chang successfully cast the Blazing Fire Charm, and it formed a standoff against Kate's blue flames, the two pitted against each other.
At the same time, Kate was gingerly adjusting the amount of Mana she was releasing.
Her Wand Output Power had already been boosted to 200%, which meant that under normal circumstances she could cast a spell using half as much Mana as other Wizards.
In actual combat, this naturally extended her staying power on the battlefield by a great deal.
Now, however, she had to loosen the restraints a little and strengthen her Mana output in order to achieve the effect she wanted.
At fifty percent Mana, the flames remained just as usual, without any change.
Sixty percent, seventy percent, eighty percent…
As the Mana output kept rising, Kate finally got her wish and watched the once-quiet blue flames gradually stretch out into a shape like grasping tentacles.
No longer merely contending head-on with Cho Chang's flames, they grew steadily more nimble, as though alive—still burning, yet beginning to gradually wrap themselves around the red flames.
Cho Chang was still gritting her teeth and holding on; perhaps because she was so close, she could already hear the "crackle" of burning coming from within the blue flames mere inches away.
Wait—that sound...
Realizing something was wrong, she immediately cried out, "It's devouring them! It's devouring my flames!"
Kate's heart jolted; all she could do was draw in her Mana bit by bit while tightening her control over the flames, reining in the already-formed blue fire-tendrils just in time, before the blue flames could lunge at Cho Chang herself.
"What extraordinary flames! I've never seen a spell like this before!"
Cho Chang backed away a few steps, bit by bit, then quickly ran to Kate's side. "Kate, is this a spell you've improved? Why is it that when I used the same spell before, I never got this kind of effect?"
She'd like to know why herself.
Maintaining the flames that had once again begun baring fangs and brandishing claws in midair, Kate replied distractedly, "No idea. Maybe when you practice a spell to the utmost, you start discovering phenomena that can't be explained by common sense."
After all, this was the magical world; common sense didn't seem to count for much here.
"So what can it do now?" Cho Chang asked, staring fixedly at the beautiful blue flames.
"Its fiery tendrils are just like vines—does it have a binding function too?"
At her words, Kate immediately turned, pointed her wand, and the flames instantly coiled around the great tree behind her.
In that instant, they heard the sound of the trunk being scorched at once.
Good grief—so it's a fire-version Blue Silver Grass, is it.
Trying to reduce the Mana output a little further, leaving only sixty percent output power, the flames—which had been a bit hard to control—now began to grow obedient.
Kate manipulated them casually with her wand, and they answered as readily as her own arm, easily splitting off into multiple fiery vines, just as on the day she'd dueled with Harry.
"Looks like I've found a new use for this spell." Kate gave a slight smile, and with a stir of thought, the flames dispersed into the air.
Though she couldn't be like a certain sea god and tie this stuff onto her teammates, at the very least using it to restrain an enemy or two was no problem.
Who knew—maybe she'd even get to use it at Christmas.
As of now, her most powerful flames were without question the Chongli Divine Fire and the Dragon Flame, but both came with the drawback of being extremely Mana-draining.
The Dragon Flame was a bit better—at least she could cast it once for free each day. Since last year, relying on this once-a-day practice, she had doggedly raised the Dragon Flame to Level 2; pushing it any higher would take long, painstaking effort.
The Chongli Divine Fire, even more so, could not be brought out for the time being.
Next came the Fierce Fire Charm and the Bluebell Flames.
All her means of attack were flames; she felt that any day now she might just turn into a fire dragon herself.
"Thank you for practicing with me." Kate turned and gave her a slight smile.
"You're welcome. During the Christmas study tour, the two of us can share a room." Cho Chang arched an eyebrow slightly, finally throwing out the little scheme she'd been nursing.
She'd already made inquiries: during the Christmas study tour, students could room together regardless of Academy or year, so long as they were of the same gender.
And what's more, it would be four of them rooming together.
Then she, Kate, Hermione, and Luna—the four of them would be just right.
She couldn't think of any reason why Kate would refuse this proposal.
"The Christmas study tour?" Kate froze for a moment, rubbing her nose a little guiltily. "Why bring that up…"
Cho Chang asked, puzzled, "But lately, apart from Quidditch, this is the thing the whole school's been talking about most. Don't tell me you haven't handed in your registration form yet?"
"I…" Struck right where it hurt, Kate was momentarily lost for words.
"You really haven't handed in the form? Why?" Cho Chang asked in astonishment. "Could it be your family didn't approve? Surely not—as I recall, that Butler of yours is very kind!"
Kate was silent for a while, then could only draw her close and say in a low voice, "There are some matters I need to go home and deal with, so I can't go at Christmas. I haven't told Hermione about this yet, so please—"
"You want me to keep it from her?" Cho Chang put her hands on her hips, a little helpless, and couldn't resist lightly poking her forehead with a finger. "Kate, you do realize how badly that little childhood sweetheart of yours wants to go on the study tour with you, don't you?"
Keeping it from her, keeping it from others—fine; but who'd have thought she was even keeping it from Hermione.
She could just picture the disappointed little look on Hermione's face when she failed to spot Kate on the train.
"Little Cho, please..."
Truly at her wit's end, Kate could only tug at her sleeve, pleading and wheedling in a low voice, "Once registration closes, I'll definitely tell her. I'm only asking you to cover for me a few days—just a few days!"
If she said anything now, Hermione might just drag her off bodily to register with Professor McGonagall, and then all her efforts would have been for nothing.
"…You!" Cho Chang poked her forehead again, harder this time, with the air of someone exasperated at a friend who simply won't shape up.
"But for the sake of our friendship, for these three days I won't bring this up to Hermione of my own accord. However, if Hermione comes and asks me about it, I won't lie to her either. Understood?"
Kate's face lit up at once, and she flung her arms wide to hug her tightly. "That's enough for me! I knew Little Cho was as kind-hearted as she is pretty—there's no way she'd refuse to help me!"
Caught off guard by the full embrace, Cho Chang froze for a moment, then naturally wrapped her arms around Kate's waist, even tightening them a little.
She couldn't quite say whether this counted as forsaking a friend at the sight of a pretty face.
Time soon arrived at the second week of December—the final day of the deadline for handing in consent forms.
Professor McGonagall was rather taken aback when she received Kate's belated going-home intention slip. "Miss Shafiq, aren't you joining the study tour activity?"
As far as she knew, the route for this study tour had been decided by Kate and Dumbledore together, no less.
"That's right—there's a great deal of family business to attend to."
Kate put on the weary smile of a precocious young girl obliged to manage household affairs.
A trace of pity showed in McGonagall's eyes. "You've had it hard—having to run a household so young."
"It's only what I ought to do; it's hardly any hardship."
She gave a smile, bowed to McGonagall, and walked straight out of the office.
Once registration closed for good at eight that evening, she'd be able to go and confess everything to Hermione.
Although keeping it from Hermione like this really was unfair to her, it was already something she'd made up her mind to do; there was no use regretting it now.
However Hermione might scold or hit her then, she'd accept it all.
That, at least, was what Kate had been thinking—only, the moment she stepped out of the office, she ran straight into Snape coming the other way.
"Hello, Head of House!" she called out politely, and saw Snape, in his robes that billowed as though fitted with a bellows, stop in front of her.
That ever-stiff, gloomy face stared at her thoughtfully for a moment. "The intention form has already been handed in."
"Yes—does the Head of House have some instruction?" Kate asked, somewhat at a loss.
Snape bent down slightly, the Potion smell clinging all over him making Kate knit her brows reflexively.
"I've just received a letter from Rand Jones. He wants you to attend the Christmas study tour as well."
"What?" Kate's eyes went wide.
She watched Snape walk into the office and, a moment later, come out holding the very intention form she'd just handed in, which he held out to her.
Kate didn't rush to take it, instead asking in disbelief, "Why? I'd already settled it with Grandpa Rand…"
Before she'd even finished speaking, it suddenly dawned on her.
How could the old butler possibly know her situation at school?
The only one who could have told him everything that went on here was Dumbledore—his former comrade-in-arms.
In other words, this was Old Man Dumbledore's doing.
But why would Dumbledore, without so much as a word to her, have the old butler write a consent form like this, and have Snape bring it over besides?
"Head of House," Kate lifted her head, "may I ask—how many students have registered to attend the Christmas study tour before the deadline?"
Snape narrowed his eyes slightly and reported flatly, "Apart from you, only seven aren't taking part, because each of their families has other matters to attend to."
That many people?
Even Kate hadn't anticipated that, at Christmas of all times, so many parents would actually agree to let their children go off on some study tour activity.
This was Christmas, after all—in Europe and America it carried as much significance as the Spring Festival did in China.
At first, all Kate had had in mind was making it convenient to accommodate students like Harry, who had nowhere to go besides the Academy—who'd have guessed so many would sign up.
Perhaps it was because this was the very first of its kind, an unprecedented event, that it was drawing such a lively turnout.
Looking at it this way, if she failed to attend for no apparent reason, it might really arouse some suspicion.
Although he hadn't given her any notice, there was nothing really wrong with this move of Dumbledore's.
At worst, she'd find some pretext to slip away when the time came.
"I understand. Thank you, Head of House." She took the going-home intention form and casually tore it into several pieces. "I'll board the train on time."
With that, she turned and left amid Snape's faintly surprised gaze.
"Well?" Dumbledore stepped out from the corridor around the corner. "This child trusts me very much—just as I believe in her."
Though she occasionally put on a somewhat deliberately naive air, so long as he knew her heart was in the right place, he was content to let her perform however she liked.
Snape's expression eased a little. "Then let's hope you haven't misjudged the person this time."
"I hope so too." Dumbledore pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose and said with a chuckle, "Come along—it's time to head to the Great Hall and announce the Christmas study tour list."
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