Patrick Stump and the Flying Car Brigade

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I found an empty spot right next to Miss Jackson, and I was just about to sit down when Gabe Saporta came over and slid right into the seat behind mine. "Hey Patrick," he said. "Are you a Snitch? Because you're by far the greatest catch here."

"Stop it, Gabe," I said. "I have a boyfriend."

"Oh fine," Gabe said. "How about you, Miss Jackson? Are you nasty?"

"No," Miss Jackson said. "Leave me alone."

I looked around the classroom briefly. Brendon and Ryan were goofing off on the other side of the room, Mikey was drawing a picture of a unicorn a few seats away from me, and Professor Howell was wearing a llama hat and snacking on Maltesers. After a few more awkward minutes, Professor Howell finally stepped up to the front of the room. "Hello internet...uh, I mean class!" he exclaimed. "Today we will be learning about yet another Dark creature that you will hopefully never, ever have to deal with. Please turn your textbooks to page 948...oh wait, that's wrong! Turn your textbooks to page 958!" Professor Howell sighed. "That's another one for Reasons Why Dan's a Fail."

Everyone in the class flipped their textbooks to page 958. As I did so, I started skimming through the section. It appeared to be on Inferi, which I had never heard of in my life. Looking around the classroom, it seemed that nobody else knew what we were learning about. Ryan whispered something to Brendon right before Professor Howell asked, "Can anyone tell me what an Inferius is?"

Brendon raised his hand, and Professor Howell called on him. "It's a dead body!"

"That's correct, but can anyone elaborate on that?" Professor Howell said. I raised my hand. "Yes Patrick?"

"An Inferius is a corpse reanimated by a Dark Wizard using Necromancy," I stated.

"Very nice," Professor Howell said. "Five points for Hufflepuff. Does anyone know what the difference is between an Inferius and a zombie?"

Mikey raised his hand, and Professor Howell called on him. "A zombie is a living dead creature, while an Inferius is an already dead corpse that has been reawakened. Additionally, zombies are found almost exclusively in the Americas."

"That's exactly what I was looking for," Professor Howell said. "Five points for Slytherin."

Ryan Ross then raised his hand. "How do you get rid of Inferi?"

"That's a very good question," Professor Howell said. "No spell has been found to make dead flesh impervious to burning, so the simplest way to defeat an Inferius is to use the Fire-Making Spell. Can everyone try that for me?"

I picked up my wand, which was set down on my desk, and waved it. "Incendio," I said, and the parchment I had been taking notes on burned. I then did a Water-Making Spell to put out the fire. Suddenly, I felt my fedora heat up and I screamed, "I'M ON FIRE!"

"Aguamenti!" Gabe exclaimed, and the fire went out, although I still knew that I would need to buy a new hat. "Sorry about that, Patrick, but you should be careful making wishes in the dark."

"It's your fault that my hat's burnt now," I said.

"I'm sorry!" Gabe exclaimed.

"Smooth moves, Dan," I heard Professor Howell say to himself. "You just indirectly burned Patrick's hat." He then turned to the whole class and shouted, "Everyone stop! All of you have to write an essay on Inferi for homework. You have the rest of class to complete it, while I eat Maltesers and contemplate the meaning of life."

I pulled out another sheet on parchment and began to work on the essay, but I found it very hard to focus. Ryan and Brendon were still goofing off, and I was still thinking about the incident with the mirror. How was all of that even possible? The mirror was letting me talk to people who had been long dead, which seemed impossible, but nevertheless, I had done it. I still didn't know who Sirius Black was, so I made myself a mental note to go to the library and do some research. I had so many questions, and those questions needed answers.

I spotted a paper airplane soaring over the room and watched as it landed on my desk. I opened it up, and I read what was written on it.

PASS THIS TO MISS JACKSON! THANKS! - RYAN

There was some writing below that too, but I ignored that, knowing that Ryan wouldn't want me reading whatever he had written for Miss Jackson. I passed the note to her, and she read it. She then promptly glared at Ryan, who was laughing. "I was just kidding," he mouthed to Miss Jackson. Brendon then began to make another paper airplane as Ryan looked over his shoulder.

"Mr Urie and Mr Ross!" Professor Howell exclaimed. "Please stop making those annoying paper airplanes. Ten points from Slytherin."

Brendon grumbled something about how he was taking back the crown before he took out a piece of parchment and started working on his essay. Ryan did the same, and finally, we all had a little bit of peace.

Class was dismissed a few minutes later, but I had a strange urge to return to the mirror. I ignored it and went to Care of Magical Creatures as usual. Already, this day had been mad as rabbits, and I just wanted it all to end.