Since I now had a potential starting point I was eager to get to reading my new book, so I quickly got it checked out by Pince and headed back towards my room to get this thing underway. Though even as I did I was reminded of the charms I use to vent bad air out of my potions lab and I had to mentally kick myself for not thinking of that earlier. It was entirely possible that those charms worked around a similar principle to what was in the book I'd just checked out.
I might even have found a solution to one of the problems I'd been having with one of my other long term projects. I'd have to do some tests to see if I was right or not.
As I passed through an intersection on my way back I spotted something, or someone to be exact, I really could have done without seeing more of. Janus Thickey. He was accompanied by his two bookends whose names I'd already forgotten if I ever leaned them in the first place. Janus was currently in the process of applying his special brand of charm towards his latest target, one Penelope Vablatsky, while the two stooges stood a bit off to each side of him, grinning and nodding to one another about something, while the man of the hour was towering over Nel.
He had her trapped against one of the walls and had placed both his hands on either side of her body, preventing her escape, and even if she did the two idiots were in a position to intercept her should she try. For all of that, she didn't appear to be any less composed than she usually was, her face was still set in that carefully neutral expression she always wore.
I did note that she was clutching her book to her chest with a white-knuckled grip, and there was a slight flush to her face. Since I doubted she was aroused by the guy I assumed it to be fury.
"Come on Penelope, it's just a little kiss." Janus cajoled softly as I moved a bit closer. "You'll like it, I promise. I'll show you how it's done."
"No thank you," Penelope answered firmly.
Janus just smiled and moved closer still. "Just a little kiss. Nothing more."
The minutest of frowns made its way across Nel's forehead and then, just for a moment, her eyes flickered to meet mine and there was a slight twitch in her right eyebrow, something that meant much the same as Spook raising his eyebrow. What are you doing standing there, get over here and get this shit of me it almost said. She'd never say hat of course, but I took that to be the meaning.
I sighed.
I might be a bit of an asshole, but even I couldn't walk away from something like that. Damn morals, life would be so much easier if I was a sociopath.
With a gesture of my hand, I sent the would-be Casanova flying into the opposite wall with a startled yelp, another wave of my hand sends the bookends onto their asses as well. I quickly moved to impose myself between the damsel in distress and her assailants. Heh, look at me, being the hero. What is the world coming to?
"Really Thickey… didn't your mom ever teach you not to inflict yourself on the girls?" I said loudly, catching their attention. The bookend, having had gotten off lightly, were quickly on their feet again and fumbling for their wands. I just looked at them and activated three of my rings, causing my pupils to glow with a bright bluish-white while, erecting a low-level electric field around myself and causing the pressure to drop slightly. I'll admit to a brief sense of satisfaction when I saw Janus two thugs pale as one and back away.
I gave them a flat look before raising my hand. "I think you boys could do with a little nap," I told them before causing my hand to emit a blinding white light, once they were blinded I quickly launched a pair of stunners from my right kneecap, dropping them like two sacks of potatoes. With the distractions dealt with I turned to the main event, who by this time had managed to get to his feet and get his wand out and point it at me. I give him props for not shaking in his booties. Guess he has some bravery in there alongside the stupidity. A combination that was unfortunately all too common in humanity.
I smirked at him. "You gonna use that, Thickey?"
"Don't think I won't." was his confident reply. "This won't be like last time; I'm ready for you now. You'll regret butting into my business."
"Oh?" I glanced over at where Penelope was observing us; I also saw that we had attracted an audience. This changed things a bit. "Is that what you call trying to force yourself onto someone that was clearly unwilling?"
"She could have left any time she wanted." Janus lied easily.
"I'm sure." I sneered lightly before crossing my arms over my chest. I suppressed a smile when I saw him twitch as I moved. "You can't beat me, you know."
"I have a wand and you don't." He countered.
I snorted. "I just dropped your little henchmen with a gesture. I don't need a wand."
After that we kinda just stood there for a few tense moments, just staring each other down. I could hear the looky-lou's around us murmuring to one another quietly while watching us. Janus broke first.
"Flipendo!"
Well, look at that. I guess he didn't want to kill me. Just send me flying, revenge for earlier I suppose. Totally ineffective of course. I did my best Darth Vadar impression by intercepting it with my hand which was covered by a shield. It was something I'd been practicing on with Paddy during our training sessions. It was actually fairly easy to do once you learned what to watch for. For example, to have the most chance to hit your opponent you aim for center mass, the chest essentially. That's what most people aim for when they try to hit something, that and the head, but he was holding his wand was too low for him to be aiming there, knowing that it's easy to get your hand in the way. Janus, while obviously surprised, wasn't deterred though and tried again, and again, and again.
"Locomotor Mortis, Stupefy, Glacius!"
I caught them all, even the last one since he didn't seem to cotton on that going for my chest and face didn't work, catching the last one turned out to be a mistake as some of the energy bled trough and numbed my hand. I hid a wince before going on the offensive using the same spell I'd previously used to knock the Quidditch players off their brooms.
Janus was quick enough to get a shield up in time to block it but my next cracked it and he wasn't fast enough to get a new one up before another blast sent him flying down the hall. I didn't follow him, allowing him time to recover and gather himself again.
A larger crowd had gathered, drawn in by the lightshow. This was a good opportunity. Janus was obviously on the back foot, and thus mostly harmless as long as I didn't get careless. I think it was time to cement my reputation as someone not to be fucked with. In other words; time for some more theater!
I mentally toggled the illusion over my eyes to go into its second stage, causing the blue light in my pupils to pulse briefly in strength before flowing into my irises and fading into a more golden glow, at the same time I turned on a new ring I'd made since the last time, it was a variation of the one that it replaced, but instead of a diffused glow this one produced something like a battle aura, a swirling golden nimbus that lit up the hallway. Just to have it really hit home I serenely floated off the floor using the flight harness I had on under my robes.
"You really thought you are a match for me!?" I rumbled with a sonorous enhanced voice. Before he could respond I transfigured the floor beneath him into a shallow pool of water, which he fell into with a startled yelp. As soon as he got most of his upper body above water I reversed the transfiguration, trapping him in the stone.
I floated down to hover just above him so I could stare down at him contemptuously, making sure to cast a heating charm surreptitious so that my aura seemed to generate heat. It seemed to work as he flinched back, trying to avoid it.
"I don't like what I saw you doing, Janus," I said conversationally.
"Screw off!"
"No, I don't think I will. I think you need to be taught a lesson." I told him with a smile. "A bit of poetic justice." I proclaimed before I started to cast.
Without his wand, Janus was unable to capitalize on the opportunity when I freed him from the stone and suspended him in the air. Nor could he resist when I cast a complex transfiguration spell on him. In the books people had used transfiguration in amazing ways, Crouch had turned Draco into a ferret, Krum had turned himself partway into a shark, there had been many other examples. But I'd never seen it used to change the sex of someone, which is what I was doing now. With a bit of a twist. I made it a curse so it wouldn't be so easy to lift, at least not for others. I would be able to do it, being the caster, but if anyone else tried to reverse it, that would be hard, and painful for the Janus.
I dropped the new she into the shallow pool again, where she flopped around ungracefully for a bit before she got her feet under her.
I would probably get in trouble for this.
I did it anyway.
"Since you like women so much, I think it would be nice for you to walk a bit in their shoes. I think it will be… educational." I told him brightly as I let my illusions fade away. "Wouldn't you say so… Janet?"
The newly christened Janet didn't seem to hear me, being busy staring down at her brand new… endowments in horror. After a few moments, her hand snapped down between her legs, searching, before she looked up at me. "You can't do this."
I gave her a mock comforting look. "Oh don't worry. You'll like it, I promise." I said, aping some of his earlier words back at him. "A week, I think, or a month. If I think you need it."
She gave me another horrified look before she scrambled around in the pool for her wand. But before she could reach it I summoned it to my hand." "Ah ah, naughty, naughty, bad girls don't get any toys."
"Give it back!" She demanded.
"You won't be able to reverse what I've done to you, Janet. That curse will stick to you until I reverse it." I told her, unable to let a bit of glee seep into my tone. "If you try you'll just end up in the hospital wing."
"Shut up!" She screamed. "You can't do this, do you know who I am!? Do you know what my father will do to you when he finds out!?"
"Is that before or after I tell them you assaulted a girl?" I countered easily.
"I didn't do that!" Janet denied hotly. "And you can't prove I did."
I rolled my eyes. "Saying stuff like that doesn't exactly make you look innocent, you idiot. Not that I don't think there are a lot of girls that would mind giving testimony considering your reputation, Penelope and me as well." I said smugly before tossing her wand back to her.
Janet fumbled a bit but managed to prevent it from falling back into the pool she was still standing in. She immediately pointed it at me again. I merely raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? I just smacked you around like a toddler and you want to try again?" I asked before raising my hand over my head and casting another illusion. A sphere of seeming energy gathered in my hand and swiftly ballooned outwards until it was about half a meter in diameter. I heard the audience around me gasp and start to murmur amongst themselves. Perfect. "Well alright, I've been wanting to test this baby out for a while now. You'll do as a test subject. How about it?"
Janet didn't answer, instead just staring at the massive globe of bluish-white energy that was swirling above my head. I'd based the look on the Rasengan, the signature attack of one Naruto, as I'd always liked the look of it. Very intimidating in my mind. Janet seemed to be agreeing with me going by the look of fear on her face. After a few seconds, she lowered her wand before looking away.
I snorted and dispelled the illusion before walking over to where Penelope was standing, still watching the show. I bent in close and whispered into her ear. "You alright?"
She nodded, "Yes."
"Good, now don't freak out. I'll blind everyone and then we'll take a little trip to my rooms with the help of a little friend of mine, okay?"
"Alright." She whispered back.
"Good, one moment." I turned around and faced Janus, and the crowd that had formed, who were staring at me in astonishment. I guess my little performance made an impact. And people said that illusions weren't good for anything. Shows what they know. Like before I raised my hand and cast an overpowered light spell, and while everyone was blinded I summoned Paddy who whisked us away to the safety of my rooms. That should give people something to speculate about.