Chapter 16

The sequence of events that followed Headmaster Hopkins' departure into the Void had all been quite a blur. They had been met by Professor Honeywell (the real one), who had opened up the door to the Moulding Room, revealing Harry, Hermione, and a very triumphant-looking frog.

The frog was promptly taken over to the Medical Ward for re-transfiguring, and he was accompanied by a drowsy Blake Hopkins, who Honeywell had found locked in one of the nearby rooms. After the frog turned back into Ron, Professor Banjeev had handed him a hot Cinnamon Melt, and they had all laughed heartily when Ron croaked a mouthful of it onto his dinner tray.

With the help of Harry and Hermione, news had spread about the identity of the Wailing Bride — although this information was dismissed by many students as mere gossip and rumour.

'Disappointing,' Harry heard someone sigh.

'— A little hard to believe, don't you think?'

Harry, Ron and Hermione had made a point to lie low next morning, however, because a set of rumours were going around the school that weren't far from the truth — rumours about a so-called 'Hall of Echoes'.

'It'll blow over soon, trust me,' Blake had assured them at lunchtime. 'We're smart here at Dartford… but we don't have much of an imagination. It'll be hard to convince anyone there's a room of clones in the East Hall…' He smiled wryly. 'Professor Honeywell sealed off the entrance right after everything happened, and the Aurors have already come around to — you know…'

He paused awkwardly.

'Take away your dad,' said Ron.

'Ron!' whispered Hermione.

'It's all right,' said Blake grimly. 'I should've known something was going on. I mean, I knew about dad's Dragon Pox… and the six months to live, and all that… but the last few months have been a bit weird: like my thoughts were all muddy and cloudy…'

'Your dad used the Imperius Curse,' Harry said tensely. 'It's used to control people against their will. That's why you were doing things you didn't know about…'

Blake thought for a moment, then he looked at Hermione. 'I met you in a bookstore?' he said to her, unsure.

'You gave me a rose,' said Hermione quietly.

'I did?' replied Blake, scratching his head. 'You know, that does kinda sound familiar…'

'Miss Granger,' said a sudden voice: it was Professor Honeywell, standing behind them. She noticed that Harry and Ron had both instinctively stood up. 'You can back down, boys,' she assured them. 'It's the real me… see?' — she rolled up a sleeve and held it out —'No glass.'

After Hermione had gone off with Professor Honeywell, Blake looked towards Ron, shaking his head and smiling. 'You've got some bottle, Weasley,' he admitted. 'Hermione told me what went down in the Hall… you know, with the frog stuff and all that… but honestly, I feel like I should get some credit.'

'Credit?' said Ron, confused.

Harry, however, had clued in to what Blake was on about. 'That was you, wasn't it?' he realised. 'You turned him into a frog.'

'Well, the box did,' Blake shrugged. 'All I did was say the right words. The magic usually wears off after a couple of hours, you see, so it's more of a party trick than anything else… but it's still a one-way ticket to a detention…'

'I was a frog for ages!' Ron bemoaned. 'I spent an eternity in that Void place — I can speak frog now, you know…'

But Blake wasn't listening; he reached into his pocket, and pulled out what looked like a scrap piece of paper.

'What's this?' asked Ron, as Blake handed it to him.

'It's called a "telephone number",' Blake explained. 'It's a Muggle thing — you can use it to talk to people. I've heard that your dad works for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, and well — I'd really love to ask him a few questions. I've got an idea for a kind of diary, but where the pages can be all sorts of things… did you guys both get the Guide for Exchange Students?'

Harry and Ron glanced at each other at the same time — based on the events of last year, they weren't quite sure a magic diary was a good idea.

'The Guide,' Harry replied. 'That moving piece of parchment, you mean? It told me to touch a can of beans in Bethrow Park.'

'Well, that's my invention,' said Blake proudly. 'The magic's a little tricky, but you can get it to connect to other "Mirrors": that's what I've named them. Anyway, I'm going to submit it to the Welsh Wizards' Patent Office — only adults can do it, though, so Honeywell said she'll help me make the application.'

Blake then reached into his pocket and pulled something out — it was a small, squarish case, made out of purple velvet. He unfastened the clasps of the case, revealing two pieces of black glass; the edges of the glass were white and rounded.

'These are for you,' he said, as he handed one to each of them. 'It's a pair of two-way Mirrors: this design's a new prototype of mine — a little more robust than your average piece of parchment. Just as a thank you for, you know… saving the school.'

Blake let out a laugh, but Harry could only manage a weak and ingenuine smile. He remembered the hollow, fearful look on Headmaster Hopkins' face as he had descended into the Void; and he thought about all that had happened, and how Blake would no longer be able to see his father…

'Hey,' said Blake, as if he had read Harry's mind. 'Don't worry about me. They're keeping dad in a hospital… it's just over in St Davids, which isn't too far. So he won't have to go to Azkaban, or anything like that.'

Before Harry could ask what 'Azkaban' was, Blake had stood up to leave. 'You'll still be playing, won't you?' he asked them. 'We'll be starting at three, I think.'

'Playing?' said Ron.

'Quidditch!' Blake explained. 'The All-Stars game is happening this afternoon. The Exchangers are going to need a captain,' he said, looking at Ron, 'so you better turn up. And I've told some of your team about the frog incident, so they're going to be expecting big things.'

'Me?' said Ron. 'Captain?'

Ron seemed lost for words at being handed this honour, but Harry grinned. 'Go on,' he urged. 'You've recovered now, haven't you? From the re-transfiguration? We could do with some Quidditch to end the Program.'

'Just go easy on us,' said Blake. 'As I said, we're awful.'