Butterfly Effect ; H. Potter

101. jinxes and curses.

There was another flash of light and Ron fell in a heap on to his mattress.

"Sorry," repeated Harry weakly, while Dean and Seamus continued to roar with laughter.

"Tomorrow," said Ron in a muffled voice, "I'd rather you set the alarm clock."

By the time they had got dressed, padding themselves out with several of Mrs. Weasley's hand-knitted sweaters and carrying cloaks, scarves, and gloves, Ron's shock had subsided and he had decided that Harry's new spell was highly amusing; so amusing, in fact, that he lost no time in regaling Hermione and Antheia with the story as they sat down for breakfast.

"... and then there was another flash of light and I landed on the bed again!" grinned Ron, helping himself to sausages.

"That's brilliant!" remarked Antheia, laughing at the thought of Ron floating over his bed by his feet. "Thank Merlin there was a counter-jinx, though."

Hermione had not cracked a smile during this anecdote, and now turned an expression of wintry disapproval upon Harry.

"Was this spell, by any chance, another one from that potion book of yours?" she asked. Harry frowned at her.

"Always jump to the worst conclusion, don't you?"

"Was it?"

"Well ... yeah, it was, but so what?"

"So you just decided to try out an unknown, handwritten incantation and see what would happen?"

"Why does it matter if it's handwritten?" said Harry, preferring not to answer the rest of the question.

"Because it's probably not Ministry of Magic-approved," said Hermione.

"Right, because the Ministry's always correct, are they?" retorted Antheia.

"And also," Hermione added, ignoring Antheia, "because I'm starting to think this Prince character was a bit dodgy."

Both Harry and Ron shouted her down at once.

"It was a laugh!" said Ron, up-ending a ketchup bottle over his sausages. "Just a laugh, Hermione, that's all!"

"Dangling people upside-down by the ankle?" said Hermione. "Who puts their time and energy into making up spells like that?"

"Fred and George," said Ron, shrugging, "it's their kind of thing. And, er -"

"My dad," said Harry. He had only just remembered.

"What?" said Antheia, Ron, and Hermione together.

"My dad used this spell," said Harry. "I - Remus told me."

This last part was not true; in fact, Harry had seen his father use the spell on Snape, but he had never told Antheia, Ron, and Hermione about that particular excursion into the Pensieve. Now, however, a wonderful possibility occurred to him. Could the Half-Blood Prince possibly be -?

"Maybe your dad did use it, Harry," said Hermione, "but he's not the only one. We've seen a whole bunch of people use it, in case you've forgotten. Dangling people in the air. Making them float along, asleep, helpless."

Harry stared at her. With a sinking feeling he, too, remembered the behavior of the Death Eaters at the Quidditch World Cup. Antheia quickly came to his defense.

"Harry's not acting like a Death Eater if that's what you're saying," said Antheia. "He didn't know what was going to happen, and the Prince's been a big help to him so far.

"You just don't like the Prince, Hermione," Ron added, pointing a sausage at her sternly, "because he's better than you at Potions -"

"It's got nothing to do with that!" said Hermione, her cheeks reddening. "I just think it's very irresponsible to start performing spells when you don't even know what they're for, and stop talking about 'the Prince' as if it's his title, I bet it's just a stupid nickname and it doesn't seem as though he was a very nice person to me!"