Chapter 134: Rescue!

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"Which honor do you have, sir?" I ask.

Dumbledore smiles genially. "I am Commandeur d'Orleansfor my part in defeating Grindelwald. It is the highest magical honor for a foreigner, though there are two levels above that. The current French Minister is a Grand Officier, the fourth level, and Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel were both awarded the final two Grand Croix after many great deeds over the years, including mentoring Joan of Arc herself."

"I am a third level, by the way. Mme. Maxine and Fleur's maternal grandfather are both Officier, the second level, for their accomplishments integrating half-giants and Veela, respectively, into French magical society. Guillaume and Apolline Delacour are both Chevalier from Voldemort's first rise, so you can imagine what high expectations they all have for their daughter."

"You are rambling again, Albus," Professor McGonagall says lightly.

"Oh dear, my sincerest apologies! I had not planned on the French magical history lesson."

"It's quite alright, Professor," Hermione says quickly, getting a laugh from Harry and I.

"If you would hide some of the relevant books from the library, we'd appreciate not losing Hermione to it for the next week or two," Harry teases.

Hermione mock glares at him, and I laugh. We're both going to get it later.

"Actually, Mr. Lerner, I wanted to speak with you about the magic you performed at the Second Task," the headmaster says, maintaining his jovial tone. "It seems you've been holding out on us."

All my feelings of mirth end abruptly.

"You aren't in trouble, Mr. Lerner," Professor McGonagall says quickly upon seeing my face.

"Indeed," Dumbledore agrees. "Whether you realize it or not, what you did for Ms. Delacour shows you have some ability with wandless magic."

My mouth drops open in shock. He didn't see all the wandless levitation! Maybe this isn't as bad as I thought...

The headmaster chuckles. "Yes, it's a skill normally limited to very powerful wizards and witches, so you understand how unusual it is for you to apparently have such a natural grasp of it."

"I...but I don't even know how I did it," I say. As far as the glowing part went, that is an entirely true statement. "I just felt so...I don't know...and then I started glowing..."

"It's okay, my boy, I would not have expected you to do that consciously," Dumbledore says.

"In fact I would not be surprised if you can not do it intentionally for several more years, even with training. A few witnesses claimed to have seen you performing wandless magic earlier, but obviously, from your reaction, we were right to dismiss these reports."

I start coughing then, hoping to cover the act of my blood draining out of my face. How could I have been so stupid?

"I have taken the liberty of redirecting your owls while you were unconscious, and I can continue to do that if you'd like. You have received quite a bit of attention this past week."

I grimace at that. "I would appreciate it if you continued doing that...I'd prefer to avoid the attention at the moment."

He smiles and nods. "Very well, Mr. Lerner, I will do so until you change your mind. Returning to our previous topic, I am not surprised to learn you did not consciously use wandless magic...even powerful wizards usually only manage a few wandless spells: Summoning, Banishing, and a few others. The rest are generally more powerful with a wand."

"And it clearly drained you of your magic very quickly," Professor McGonagall adds. "I would not recommend trying at all until your Seventh Year, let alone training in it."

I nod in extreme relief that I apparently dodged a bullet. "Believe me, magical exhaustion is not something I have enjoyed experiencing."

"Very good, Mr. Lerner," the deputy headmistress says with a firm nod. "I believe we've monopolized enough of your time by now; there are several more students waiting to see you."

"Enjoy the rest of your day, Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger. I hope to see you in Transfiguration on Thursday, Mr. Lerner." With that, Professor McGonagall sweeps out of the room, with a loud "you may enter," to whomever is waiting outside.

The headmaster chuckles. "It seems that is my cue as well. Good day, and may I say again, congratulations, all three of you."

After he pats Harry on the shoulder and turns to leave he is nearly bowled over by Astoria, who is followed by Daphne and Tracey.

The youngest Greengrass, face lit up with happy violet eyes and a wide smile, bounds up on to the bed for a hug. "Will!"

"Hey, Stori," I say, smiling back. She lays her head back down on my chest and makes herself comfortable.

"You just had to go and save the princess, didn't you?" Daphne says crossly with her arms folded. The slight curls at her edges of her lips ruin the stern facade.

I let out a raspy chuckle. "You didn't think I'd pass up an opportunity for hugs and kisses from the sixth or seventh prettiest girl in the school, did you?"

That gets a laugh from Harry, a giggle from Astoria, and groans from the rest. "Hey, I'm just working my way down the line. It's a good thing Harry's here or else I would think I've died and gone to Elysium."

"Hey!"

"No offense, Harry," I say, "but seriously, where's Colin and his camera when you need them?"

"Only you could try to flirt with four girls at the same time, William," Daphne says, shaking her head and smiling. Apparently she has given up on pretending to be annoyed. "It seems your personality is back to normal, unfortunately."

"I'm sorry I missed you getting rescued, Daph."

She snorts. "After you saved the princess, hardly anybody cared about the rest of us. My father said half the reporters left as soon as they took the two of you away, and the other half were too busy interrogating everybody about you to notice us."

"I didn't tell them anything about your magic," Astoria says softly. "Father said not to." I sag in relief at that, thanking my lucky stars for Mr. Greengrass's foresight.

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