Chapter 178. I Learnt a Powerful Spell
Malfoy leaned against a tree trunk and craned his neck to look out. The confident expression on his face melted away, leaving him embarrassed. At the same time, he felt a bit baffled.
They had clearly been about to succeed just now. That pixie's hand had almost reached the cage, but at the last moment, it stopped and moved away.
Merlin's pants, could those blasted pixies actually have the ability to sense danger?
Malfoy racked his brains for a long time, searching his head for knowledge he'd read in books before. Only, unfortunately, he wasn't Miss Know-It-All, and he didn't have the superpower to stuff books into his head like eating bread. As expected, he didn't come up with an answer, and he didn't even retrieve any information related to pixies.
But seeing that they were on the verge of catching those hateful pixies, he didn't want to give up either. Malfoy screwed up his courage and, with a snap, drew his wand. He tiptoed around a muddy patch, then strode forward aggressively.
"Goyle, Crabbe, let's go. Get your wands out. Even without the cage, we can catch them!"
Hesitation flickered in the eyes of Crabbe and Goyle. Other people might not know their magical ability, but did they themselves not know? If they knew even a little, it wouldn't be that they didn't know at all!
But looking at Malfoy's imposing manner, they didn't dare voice any objections and could only grit their teeth and follow in his footsteps.
"You two don't need to worry. I learnt a very powerful spell from my father over the Christmas holidays. I'll test it on them!" Malfoy pulled his mouth into a wide grin and spoke in an exaggerated way, as if soothing the nerves of his two lackeys beside him—and also as if persuading himself.
Hearing this, Crabbe relaxed a great deal. He opened his mouth to reveal filthy, worm-eaten teeth. "Draco, you even studied during the holidays. Who at Hogwarts could be more outstanding than you!"
Malfoy basked in Crabbe's flattery. A satisfied smile spread across his face and he chuckled foolishly. He wanted to say more, but out of the corner of his eye, through a drooping branch of the tree ahead, he glimpsed some delightful little creatures.
He hastily gestured for Goyle and Crabbe to crouch and slow their movements. "Shh, I see them!"
Beneath a large, leafy tree not far away, sunlight struggled to fall through gaps between the branches, leaving bright patches scattered on the ground. One after another of the small creatures, some twenty-odd centimeters tall with iron-blue skin, were either sitting on branches swinging their legs or chasing each other in the air.
They were like a group of primary-school pupils on an outing to the countryside, focused only on playing, seemingly entirely unaware of the danger lurking around them.
"They really are a pack of idiots!" Malfoy said smugly. He raised his wand and squinted, taking aim at those frolicking pixies. He racked his brains for the spell he'd learnt from Mr. Malfoy and said with confidence, "Mokeli kachacha!"
Under Goyle and Crabbe's expectant gazes, the tip of Malfoy's wand gave off a speck of brownish light. Seeing that the spell was about to work, Malfoy thrust out his chest and, in a full, proper voice, shouted the incantation again: "Mokeli kachacha!"
The glow at the tip of his wand brightened a little.
"Something's about to come out!" Goyle whispered, eyes wide, unconsciously holding his breath.
Then the wand-tip light brightened again, and when the glow faded... a few crystal-clear droplets slid down and splashed like flowers on the dead leaves.
A light breeze brushed past, lifting Malfoy's fringe. His expression froze, and the wand he held aloft did not move. Goyle and Crabbe pursed their lips in a silent whistle, their eyes wandering aside. The atmosphere was a little awkward.
"Perhaps I accidentally said the spell wrong," Malfoy coughed lightly and said stiffly. "I did it at home. You remember that disused wall behind my house, don't you? When I was practicing, one spell blast blew it to smithereens. You'll be able to see it next time you come round—unless my father's repaired it..."
Goyle and Crabbe nodded solemnly, afraid Malfoy would notice the twitch at the corners of their mouths.
"Let me think. The incantation should be 'Kemoli kachacha'!" Malfoy exhaled, then raised his wand to wave it again.
This time he succeeded!
The jet of water from his wand-tip was much larger, almost like the torrent from a fully opened tap! Goyle and Crabbe's faces went slate-colored. Their hands, hidden by their sleeves, pinched their thighs hard as they tried their best to hold back the urge to burst out laughing.
From another angle, Malfoy could be said to have succeeded as well. At least he'd amused Goyle and Crabbe and dispelled their fear. Malfoy noticed this too and glared at them, annoyed.
"Draco, w-we didn't..." Seeing Malfoy's expression turning sour, Goyle's throat went dry and he hurried to explain.
"Say no more," Malfoy said in a low voice. "Even without magic, their bodies are so small. They can't possibly be our match! Goyle, Crabbe, get moving and grab them. I'll cover you from behind!" Malfoy swept his arm grandly and gave the order.
"Eh?" Goyle and Crabbe's eyes went wide, full of dread. They had not forgotten the scene of being chased by pixies, running with their heads in their hands, the last time.
Seeing their reaction, Malfoy narrowed his eyes in displeasure. "What, are you unwilling?"
Goyle whimpered, "N-no, that's not it... Draco, you must watch our backsides this time!"
"Go on, rest easy," Malfoy said, holding his wand across his chest like a battle-hardened warrior. "I've been ready for ages."
Goyle and Crabbe exchanged a look, bent over, pushed aside two hanging vines, and crept towards the area where the pixies were. Passing a huge banyan that would take three people to encircle, it seemed the pixies ahead still hadn't noticed them and were romping about with abandon.
Crabbe let out a breath, turned quietly, a simple smile appearing on his face, and made a reassuring gesture to Malfoy.
"You to the left, me to the right," Goyle whispered. He slid down a muddy slope into a low spot, feet on rain-soaked dead leaves. Half-crouched, using dense shrubs as cover, he inched forward. A pixie was hopping about a few meters away from him.
Goyle grinned, excited, rubbing his hands together like a fly, then took a few sudden steps and sprang at that pixie. His hulking body bore down like a boulder. His fingers curled hard, talon-like, to seize the pixie and grab it tight.
But things didn't go quite the way he imagined.
The pixie that had been crouched on the ground fiddling with a twig suddenly turned its head. It grinned, revealing saw-toothed teeth.
"Mum!" Goyle was so frightened the fat on his face trembled. The ferocious expression vanished, and a bad premonition welled up in his heart. He wanted to run, but it was already too late.
A pixie sitting on a branch crotch of the banyan ahead reached out and grabbed one of the hanging vines, then gave it a hard yank. A vine as thick as an arm sprang up from the leaf-littered ground and wound tightly round Goyle's ankle like a python.
With panicked shrieks, Goyle's world turned upside down. He was left dangling head-down in mid-air.
Several pixies stood before him, their terrifying faces close to his. The teeth in their mouths glinted coldly. Sharp fingers kept slowly sliding across his face, as if looking at a piece of meat on a chopping board and pondering how to eat it.
"Draco, Crabbe, save me!" Tears gushed from Goyle's eyes, ran through his bushy eyebrows, and soaked into his messy hair.
Seeing this, Malfoy turned as white as a sheet. His lips trembled, and he turned tail and fled, stumbling and scrambling into the distance. Crabbe also chose to retreat decisively. Abandoning the shrieking Goyle, he hurried to follow in Malfoy's wake.
But after they had run only a few steps, they felt a sudden tightness at their ankles. They, too, had stepped into traps and were left hanging in mid-air.
Enjoyed the story? Support me and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at: Patr*eon*.com/Resium
Free members can read 10+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Paid member can read 150+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Stories Available
Honkai? No, This Is Daily Life
Hogwarts Pet Master
Pokémon: Who Let Him Leave Pallet Town!
Scrolling Yu-Gi-Oh! Shorts