[124] Fragments of a Killing Curse

They followed Snape silently to an office. Hall knew this place well — the Headmaster's office.

Snape opened the door and went inside. The room was brightly lit, but the view outside the window was still dark, creating an inexplicable sense of oppression. Snape shooed them onto the sofa dismissively, then turned and left, telling them to wait.

Krum and Fleur were uneasy. Hall looked around. Everything here was exactly as he remembered. What was real and what was fake? He was momentarily confused.

But soon, his worries subsided.

Something cold moved against his wrist, hissing. Helena.

Hall tried to translate; Helena was complaining.

"This is all thanks to Helena —" A hoarse yet steady voice drifted from the doorway.

Everyone turned. Dumbledore strode into the room with unhurried steps, his half-moon spectacles gleaming faintly in the lamplight, followed by a sombre-faced Snape.

"Headmaster," Hall stood quickly.

"Headmaster Dumbledore." Krum and Fleur stood as well, greeting him respectfully.

Dumbledore smiled and walked to his desk. "What are you standing there for? Sit down."

The three exchanged glances. After a cold snort from Snape, they cautiously sat back down.

Dumbledore took off his glasses, wiped the lenses with a clean white handkerchief, and sighed. "You don't need to be in such a hurry, Severus. Let them rest."

He turned to the three of them. "You've all had a hard day."

Hall hesitated, then finally asked. "Headmaster. How can you prove you're real?"

Dumbledore showed no surprise, as if he had expected the question. Krum and Fleur stared at Hall in astonishment, then began scrutinising Dumbledore intently.

Dumbledore smiled gently, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes. "You're very perceptive, Hall. You've noticed something amiss. Rest assured — I am real."

He drew his wand and waved it elegantly. In an instant, a beautiful, translucent, silvery-white creature appeared before them. It spread its broad, magnificent wings, soaring freely through the air — a phoenix.

"The Patronus Charm is a very profound spell. Everyone's Patronus takes a different form. The phoenix is my Patronus."

Hall's doubts vanished. He exhaled slowly, his tense body relaxing. "Thank you, Headmaster."

He was genuinely grateful that Dumbledore was willing to prove his identity.

Dumbledore waved his hand. Three cups of warm cocoa appeared before them.

"The centaurs in the Forest asked me to express their gratitude to you," Dumbledore said after they had taken a few sips. "They have been plagued by the Acromantulas for a long time. That section of the Forbidden Forest has been completely overrun by them. Their reproduction rate is incredible, and they are spreading outward at an alarming pace."

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Hall tilted his head. The eight-eyed spider he had fought — was that the only one? And what did this have to do with what they had encountered?

Dumbledore smiled. "After the light appeared in the Forbidden Forest, several professors and I rushed over. When we arrived, all that was left was a large crater and a pile of dead spiderlings."

He placed a bottle on the table. "We found this among them. Perhaps it came from your fight."

Inside the bottle was a tiny white mushroom — so pure and innocent-looking, nestled against the glass.

The moment Hall saw it, his eyes lit up. He turned to Snape, his gaze questioning. Snape, though still wearing a sombre expression, raised an eyebrow in approval and nodded silently, confirming Hall's suspicions.

Dumbledore watched the unspoken exchange between teacher and student with amusement. He thought to himself how angry and jealous Gellert would be if he saw this. That would be quite entertaining.

Hall approached the mushroom slowly, his eyes shining. "My esteemed Headmaster. May I have this little mushroom?"

Dumbledore smiled kindly — then cruelly shook his head. "Oh, my child. You're too late. This little mushroom now belongs to your Headmaster. This old man is merely borrowing it."

Hall stared at him. That was not a kind smile. That was gloating.

Krum and Fleur exchanged bewildered glances. Weren't they just discussing what had happened to them? How had it suddenly turned into a quarrel over a mushroom? That mushroom was not even half the length of Fleur's finger.

Dumbledore noticed their confusion and coughed twice. "Hall. Explain to your classmates."

Hall's eyes were fixed on the small white mushroom, as if trying to examine it from every angle. He tore himself away reluctantly.

"It's true we fell into a hole. But that hole was just a hole. Everything we encountered and saw inside was an illusion — a false impression."

Fleur looked bewildered.

Krum frowned. "If it was an illusion, how could the three of us see the same thing?"

Hall gave Krum an approving look, then nodded at the mushroom on Dumbledore's desk. "Because of this."

"A mushroom?"

"This little thing?"

Fleur and Krum stared at the tiny mushroom in the glass jar. It seemed perfectly harmless.

"This is a hallucinogenic mushroom," Hall explained. "A large patch of them can trap intruders in a collective hallucination from which they can never escape. This little thing attacks indiscriminately — human or animal. But as long as you don't provoke it, it's harmless."

Fleur and Krum still did not understand. The place they remembered visiting did not have large patches of mushrooms.

Seeing their confusion, Dumbledore spoke up. "Hallucinogenic mushrooms can camouflage themselves, changing colour. Their medicinal value is very high, so they disguise themselves to avoid being picked by other creatures."

"So we accidentally damaged them during the fight," Fleur said slowly, working it out. "That released the illusions and dragged us into a hallucination. And those little spiders we saw — that was what happened to us while we were not awakened."

Dumbledore nodded in satisfaction.

Fleur and Krum's expressions changed drastically. Only now did they fully realise how close they had come to dying.

"The mushroom was only protecting itself," Hall said, looking at the small mushroom with pity. Its base had several scratches. "It was my fault."

"Alright, my children." Dumbledore took back the bottle and crossed his hands on the table. "This old man has answered your questions. Now — could you also answer a few of mine?"

Hall had been unhappy about losing the mushroom. He sat up straight.

Fleur and Krum suddenly found the carpet very interesting. Dumbledore was not the Headmaster of their schools, and Hogwarts' own student was here to handle it.

Hall understood. He coughed. "Headmaster. Krum and Fleur were curious about the Forbidden Forest at night. They wanted to hire me as their guide."

He took the ring from his pocket and placed it on Dumbledore's desk, his posture remarkably obedient. In front of two masters of Occlumency, Hall chose to tell the truth. It was the truth — just not the whole story. His expression was perfectly calm.

"A nighttime stroll through the Forbidden Forest," Snape said, his voice like ice. "Mr Weasley. Do you think you're lucky?"

His tone was so cutting that even Fleur and Krum shrank into the sofa.

"Since you have so much free time —" Snape began.

"Then Hall can spend the next month in solitary confinement in the Headmaster's office, keeping this old man company," Dumbledore interrupted.

Hall opened his mouth to protest — then saw the chill behind Dumbledore's smile. A sense of foreboding settled over him.

Headmaster Dumbledore was angry.

"Alright, you can go back now. As for Miss Delacour and Mr Krum —" Dumbledore turned to them. Hearing their names, they snapped to attention. "I will report your punishment to your Headmasters."

Before the three could react, they were ushered out of the Headmaster's office.

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