It was September first and all the students were excited. They had changed into their black robes and were chatting elatedly. The first years had to cross the lake to reach the castle, their new home- Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry. Eddy and Brett climbed in a boat along with Henry and Michael. They all kept quiet except Brett who was pointing towards the castle shouting, “Ohh- look, look!”
“You seem to be too excited”, Henry smiled. “Oh yeah. I mean this is the birthplace of so many famous musicians and composers. I didn’t know until I received the letter”, “my parents didn’t know that too. They thought that all the geniuses were born and not created, you know.” “Same here, dude”, Eddy added, his cheeks flushed. “I just want to be sorted into Gryffindor,” Michael sighed.
“What about you guys?”
“Well, I don’t know much about the houses at Hogwarts.”
Henry and Michael exchanged a glance. “You don’t kno-. Oh, so you both must be muggle-born. Well, there are four houses- Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slythe-.” But he couldn’t complete the sentence because they had reached the underground arbour.
They silently walked up to the oak door and waited. The entrance door opened and they were ushered in front of everyone by Professor McGonagall. The sorting ceremony began with the sorting hat singing a song that changed every year. “I like Gryffindor though, it sounds cool,” Brett whispered in Eddy’s ear. Eddy nodded.
The sorting ceremony began and the first years were called up in the front and had to sit on a stool while they put the hat on their head. The line thinned and finally, Professor called “Brett Yang”. Brett sat on the tool and wore the hat. The hat started to mumble, “Hmm, sensitive and loyal but daring…Hmm…Oh and hunger for music…Slytherin? But no…not c-….RAVENCLAW!” And the students sitting on the second table towards the left of the Great Hall burst into applause.
It was Eddy’s turn now. He walked nervously to the stool and his cheeks turned red. And the hat mumbled again “Hmm…very loyal and loving…. passionate about music…hmm…where should I put him… maybe in Hufflepuff?” “No…” he closed his eyes. “Why? Hufflepuff has had many good wizards…Why?? Because I put your frie- RAVENCLAW!!”
Eddy sighed in relief and joined Brett among thunderous applause.
After the sorting ceremony was over, the headmaster allowed the feast to begin. Eddy and Brett began to eat. Eddy was upset because there was no Asian food on the table. Brett understood and he said, “You got to eat something bro.” Eddy forced down a piece of roast chicken, which tasted good.
A tall blonde boy approached them and his badge gleamed on his cloak. “Hi boys, my name Is Robert and I’m the prefect of the Ravenclaw house. If you have any problems just let me know.” Eddy nodded. “Well I wanted to ask you something”, Brett said. “Uhh, I mean. Why were we sorted into Ravenclaw?” Robert smiled. “The sorting hat might have sensed potential within you. You might be wise or clever or musicall-”.
“Music?”
“Well yes. All the greatest composers in the world were Ravenclaws. Like Tchaikovsky, Beethoven…Even Bach.” “Really?” Eddy asked. “Yes except for one composer. Paganini. Well, he was sorted into Slytherin, but he….” “Well boys better eat fast or else you will be going to bed hungry”, Robert said and left.
At around midnight, Eddy woke up with a familiar sound. Someone was playing the violin. “Brett…Brett wake up.” Brett fumbled for his glasses and listened carefully.
“Can you hear that?” Eddy enquired.
“Is that Paganini’s Caprice no. 5?” Brett was breathing heavily now.
“But who is playing the violin, that too at this time?”
“Should we go and check?”
“No, we shouldn’t. It will become suspicious. We will ask Robert tomorrow, okay?” Eddy replied. But Brett didn’t say anything. Both couldn’t sleep peacefully that night.
In the morning they entered the Great Hall for the breakfast and found out that Robert was talking to the Gryffindor prefect. So, they went up to Henry and Michael who were sitting at the Gryffindor table. They exchanged greetings and Brett told them about the sound of the violin and asked if they knew anything about it.
“Oh, don’t you worry,” Henry said “My elder brother studied here before and he told me that strange things keep happening at Hogwarts. And many great musicians and composers have died here and have had uncertain deaths. Don’t worry.” But the information didn’t relax them a bit.
“Oh, and did you know”, Michael looked around nervously then in a quiet voice he continued, “Mozart, you know one of the greatest composers died here without leaving a clue. He was the headmaster. Nobody knows exactly why he died. Many people think that Salieri killed him and others think that he suffered from the Miliary fever. But nobody knows exactly why”, his voice faded into a stone-cold silence.
While eating their breakfast, Brett and Eddy’s owls flew in and dropped one parcel each.
“Oh look! My mom sent bubble teas for both of us,” Eddy exclaimed.
Brett had received a letter along with two steaming hot pots. Brett read.
“I hope you are having an amazing time at Hogwarts. But remember to study. STUDY FIRST. Excel in all your subjects And DON’T FORGET TO PRACTICE VIOLIN OR ELSE I WILL BRING YOU BACK HOME. I met Ling Ling’s father yesterday and he told me that she is a year senior to you and she practices violin 40 HOURS A DAY. Learn something from her and keep practicing. Send my love to Eddy too.”
After they finished their hotpots and bubble teas, which had filled them with new vigour, they both attended their classes. They didn’t have much problems in the Transfiguration and Charms classes but they feared Professor Snape who looked like Franz Liszt but they didn’t dare tell him.
At dinner-time, they went looking around for Ling Ling but nobody had heard her name before. Finally, they went to the Slytherin’s table. Eddy found Esther who he had remembered from the Transfiguration class. “Hey, I am sorry to bother you but do you know anyone called Ling Ling?”
“I’m afraid. No.”
“Boys, is everything okay?” the Slytherin prefect who was sitting at the far side of the table asked. Brett and Eddy went up to him and enquired.
“Hmm…Ling Ling. I haven’t heard of anybody named Ling Ling here before…”
“She plays the violin and is in her second year,” Brett said.
The Slytherin prefect stood up and looked for the second-year girls and asked them.
“Hey Li Mei, do you know anybody who’s called Ling Ling?”
“No. But why?”
“These two boys have been looking for someone named Ling Ling.”
“She plays the violin. Well, do you know?” Eddy asked.
“Ling Ling. Never heard before. Oh, Li, don’t you play the violin?” a girl with a ponytail asked her. Li blushed a little and said, “No. I play the viola.” “But then why aren’t you in the Ravenclaw? Aren’t all the musicians supposed to be in Ravenclaw?” Eddy flushed after having asked an uncomfortable question. Li blushed some more and said in a soft voice, “Only those who are truly musically gifted are sorted into Ravenclaw.” Jack, the Slytherin prefect who sensed the tension in air said, “But wasn’t a composer…uh…what was his name? Pa-ga…Paganini (Paganyni) in Slytherin?” Brett flinched at the mispronunciation.
Two weeks had passed and they didn’t hear the mysterious violin sound anymore. On September seventeenth, Professor Flitwick announced that there was going to be an orchestral performance on the fifth of November and the audition was going to be held on the thirtieth. Eddy and Brett were both excited and started practicing hard. Brett was going to perform Mozart’s String Quartet no. 21 and Eddy, La Mer by Debussy. After a week of practicing intensely, they both felt relieved that they were going to get through the audition.
It was the day before the audition and Eddy looked upset.
“Why do you look so pale?” Brett asked.
“I think I ate too much spicy food today. I think I will skip the afternoon classes. Don’t worry, you go and attend the classes. I will try to take some rest in the dorm.”
“Well if you say so,” Brett said.
After the classes got over, Brett quickly went inside the common room to look for Eddy but he wasn’t there. So, he went inside the dorm-room but he wasn’t there either. Then he found a torn parchment near Eddy’s bed. It read,
“Feeling ill. Madam Pomfrey. Hospital.”
Brett went hurrying up to the fourth floor, towards the matron’s office. He looked inside and found Eddy lying in a bed unconsciously. Before he could enter, Madam Pomfrey stopped him into a halt and put her finger on her lips.
“I have cast a healing charm on him, *Lenio.* He is recovering. You can go now,” she whispered.
Dismayed, Brett went inside his room. He couldn’t think of dinner now, his best friend was sick and he had his audition tomorrow. He tried to practice but he immediately dropped the bow down on the table, when he looked at the empty bed towards his left.
So, he left his room and went to the Great Hall which was nearly empty. He thought about bubble tea and hotpot. He was feeling hungry now. He looked around and found that Li Mei, the only person who he could recognize in the hall was sitting by herself and looking up towards the ceiling. He looked up too and amid thousands of floating candles, he could see billions of stars. He couldn’t name them but out of all the constellations, he could easily spot The Orion.
“Where’s your friend?”
“Oh hi, Li Mei. Umm, Eddy is in the hospital. He is ill,” Brett replied looking at his palms. “Why were you looking for Ling Ling?” Li asked.
“Oh, well our parents know each other and my mom told me that she was here at Hogwarts so, well I thought it would be nice to meet her,” Brett said slightly flushed. He added, “She practices 40 hours a day! And she can play all the instruments and excels in all her subjects!!”
Alarmed, Li replied “But I haven’t heard of anybody here who can play all the instruments and excels in all the subjects. Hmm…Interesting.”
“I know it’s quite bizarre knowing that someone practices forty hours a day. Well do you think that someone can practice for that long? I mean there’s only 24 hours. Isn’t it?” Brett asked nonchalantly.
“In the muggle world, yes,” she smiled.
“What do you mean?”
“Well,” she straightened her back, “Time is just an illusion, a mere vessel that people like you and me fill it up for our own purpose. Time is a concept created by humans and nothing in this world created by us is everlasting. But time, as it appears, is never-ending, it is immortal. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow is but a perception. There’s nothing as such but what we do have is…Now,” she smiled at him. “If Ling Ling can practice 40 hours a day, so can you.”
…………………………………………………………
After two days, Eddy returned to his usual routine. Brett hugged Eddy and smiled jubilantly. Eddy was surprised when Brett told him that he didn’t audition for the orchestra. “I thought I would mess up,” he said, “I had never felt so ominous about performing before but overall, it’s okay with me.”
Many days passed and everything went well. Li had managed to bring them bubble tea every evening, Eddy and Brett were excelling in all their subjects and Professor Flitwick was very pleased with them.
What if the forests and hills were a limitless mirror and reflected the infinite cover above? What if there was no disparity between the auburn skies and the russet terrains? Since when did sunsets become this beautiful that it was difficult to discern the limits? There was a thin silver thread that lined the horizon and divided the two realms: for otherworldly immortals and conscientious mortals. Eddy and Brett were watching the sunset with immense admiration. When suddenly, the silence was broken by someone’s scream.
All the students ran towards the sound which came from the third floor. Students and teachers had gathered around a body that was lying on the floor. Everybody gasped for it was Professor Flitwick who lay dead. Professor Dumbledore commanded the prefects to take the students to their respective common rooms. It was then when a fifth-year student screamed that he was writing his 9th symphony. Students whispered and exchanged terrified looks.
Eddy and Brett were conversing with Danny and Lucas in their dorm room. Lucas was on the verge of crying. Brett’s owl Bubbles, flew in and dropped a letter on his lap chirping delightfully.
“I have brought bubble teas for both of you. Meet me on the third floor.”
Eddy and Brett sneaked out of their common room and met li in the corridor of the third floor. They drank their bubble tea in silence and finally, Eddy spoke, “So, it is true that people die while composing their 9th symphony.” None of them spoke. Then Brett asked after having finished his bubble tea, “Hey Li, did you audition for the orchestra. I mean you play the viola, don’t you?”
“Oh, no I didn’t. I am busy with my school-work and besides, I’m learning new things.”
“How do you manage to get bubble tea for us?” Eddy asked.
“Oh, that’s easy. There’s a magic spell but I cannot tell you which.”
“But why????”
“It’s a secret. No more questions. You two better go to bed or Mr. Filch will give you detention.”
Although Eddy and Brett slept soundly but they woke up with a bad headache. This occurred every day and they both didn’t have a clue. The only thing that mattered was the bubble tea that waited for them on the third floor at the end of the day.
Halloween arrived and the Great Hall was decorated with yellow and black streamers and pumpkin lanterns. Hufflepuffs were extremely happy for they triumphed over other houses with 457 points. Everybody was looking forward to the feast. But Eddy and Brett looked like they hadn’t slept for years. Anxious, they both thought it’d be better to talk to Dumbledore for he knew everything.
They went to Dumbledore’s office without telling anybody but before they could figure out the password, he called them from behind.
“Oh Professor, umm…We…” Eddy stuttered.
“You both look unwell,” Dumbledore said calmly.
“Uh Dumbledore, we wake up almost every day with a headache. It’s like someone has been screaming shrilly in our ears,” Brett said.
“And sometimes I hear someone playing the violin too,” eddy added.
“Shall we go inside?”
Dumbledore’s office was interesting. He had collected very strange objects and paintings. Brett saw an eccentric violin at the corner, it had the shape of a violin but there were seven strings instead of four and the neck of the violin was extremely long.
“That,” Dumbledore pointed, “Was given to me by my colleague, Mr. Flamel. It’s a sacrilegious piece of art that I haven’t been able to play,” he frowned. “So, about the headache, why don’t you boys go to Madam Pomfrey’s office? She will surely know the cure.”
Eddy and Brett were both silent.
“Is anything bothering you these days?”
They both looked at each other and Brett said, “Well the first day we arrived, we heard someone playing the violin at midnight and we had no idea who was it. We even tried looking for my acquaintance, Ling Ling but we couldn’t find her and how Professor Flitwick died due to the curse-”.
“He is not dead,” Dumbledore said.
“But-”
“He was petrified. Someone had cast a spell on him and we are trying to find the person. And with the help of Madam Pomfrey, he is all right now. I have sent him home so he could gain back his strength.”
Eddy and Brett gaped at each other, bereft with words.
“And there’s no such thing as the curse of the 9th symphony boys. People invented this so the generations that followed were already prepared for their inopportune death. Once you have embedded in your mind that you are going to die then even the higher forms of magic will be of no use. If there is no will, there is no way and if there is no hope,” he trailed off “There is no another day.”
“But in the wizarding world, we never know who is getting weaker and who stronger,” he continued “All we know is that Magic and Music are the greatest mysteries in the world. And people who believe in music, believe in the existence of magic but they are unaware of it.”
“There is but one difference between Magic and Music…That is, Magic can transfer Soul into something which is often unheeded and seldom understood whereas, Music is itself the Soul which speaks in many different languages but understood by all.”
Eddy and Brett had never felt so at ease before, as now. They could feel the strings of burden loosen its grip from their head. Brett noticed something hiding behind Dumbledore’s table.
Dumbledore said, “Oh. These are known as Bubble Tea and is made by muggles. I often visit the muggle world to get these. Helps me pacify my mind. And, to quench my thirst.” Eddy and Brett gulped. “Want some?”
Eddy swiftly grabbed one from the pile and as Brett went for his, the bubble tea disappeared. Much to their surprise, two more bubble teas vanished into thin air. “Oh, it has been happening for a long time, I wonder who’s up to such mischief. I hope it is not a student,” Dumbledore sighed. “Here”, he gave one to Brett.
Back in the corridor, they met Li Mei who was searching for them, hugging three bubble teas in her arms. Li was shocked to see them holding one each.
“Where did you get these?” She demanded.
“Oh,” Eddy said, “We learned the spell ourselves.”
Li looked at them with disbelief.
All the students descended from the scarlet Hogwarts Express. Eddy and Brett carrying their luggage made their way through the silver fog, the train produced. They saw their parents at a far distance and there was a man standing beside Brett’s father. They made their way through the crowd, hustling, and bustling. In between hugs and kisses, Brett asked “Who was the man standing beside you?” Brett’s mom ruffling his hair said, “Oh, he is Ling Ling’s father.” Brett swiftly turned back but all he could see was white smoke and somewhere inside him, he knew that the answers were waiting for him at Hogwarts.
To be continued…