Reborn As A Squib In Harry potter

It took Justin a couple tries to get the magic flowing through the paper. Understandable, of course, the slips of paper hadn't been treated specially and were purely mundane, unlike the Ofuda charms I used myself, whose ink was basically a potion and the tags themselves made from magically treated ink, paper or parchment.

This was also a bit of an experiment of my own to see if Ofuda made with completely ordinary ink and paper could still be used by a magical person. The magic was in the symbols, not the materials. Or at least, it should be.

'Only one way to find out,' I thought, watching Justin closely.

After a couple of failed attempts, he finally managed to get the charm working.

"WHOA!" he suddenly exclaimed as the Ofuda in his hands suddenly started burning with bright red flames at the top.

"That's new," I muttered, before shouting, "Throw it at me, Justin!"

"What?!" he asked in disbelief.

"Do it! Throw the charm!" I told him, and after a moment of indecision, he did so, flicking the talisman like it was a playing card.

And it immediately zipped over to me, flashing through the air like a red streak before sticking to my chest.

I instantly felt the effects of the Stunner on my body, muscles stiffening and feeling my back get slammed into the fence behind me from the sudden pushing sensation that accompanied the Ofuda touching me. I remained standing, though only barely. My awareness immediately faded to black as I slumped weakly against the fence.

I knew the difference between Stunners and the Petrification spell. I'd experienced both at the wand of my father in his 'better' moods.

The first was a magical taser that stunned a person by forcing them into unconsciousness. Simple, effective, no mess!

Petrification, on the other hand, was the body locking up completely, being rendered utterly immobile with next to no control over any part of the body, not even the eyelids! There was no pain, either, and it lasted for minutes up to hours defending on which version was being cast. You were also awake and aware while Petrified, at least with the spell version.

"Whoo, that was something!" I wheezed out as I snapped back to consciousness a moment later.

"How long was I out?" I wondered.

"A couple seconds, only. Are you alright?" Justin asked nervously, and I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm good. Not the first time I've been stunned, and it probably won't be the last," I chuckled reassuringly. "Though I think you may have overpowered the Ofuda a bit. It's not supposed to burst into flames like that, just glow a little."

"Oh… oops?"

"Don't apologize! You've just got to get the hang of it! Come on, let's try it again!" I urged him. He smiled weakly, and raised another Ofuda, his eagerness to see and learn more about magic sparkling in his eyes.

Two more Ofuda later, and we were out of the ones I'd made for that short lesson. I didn't feel like making new ones either on account of my body feeling jittery, like I'd drank six cups of coffee and then been punched in the gut repeated.

Luckily, Justin was willing to let me go. In exchange for more magical knowledge and tidbits, which I supplied him.

We were taking a short break for tea – the Finch-Fletchley maids brewing an excellent cup – and chatting in the garden, when I recalled another matter I'd wanted to bring up with him.

"Do you think I could ask you something, Justin?" I inquired, and he looked at me in surprise but nodded all the same.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Was Harry… did Harry seem happy at Hogwarts?" I asked, feeling a bit silly to be asking that.

"Harry Potter? Well, I didn't see him all that often outside of Charms and Astronomy, but he looked to be having fun with his friends," Justin said. "I mean, he did fight a troll, but he was okay afterwards."

"A troll?" I asked, pretending I didn't already know about this.

"Oh, yeah! It happened during Halloween! Professor Quirrell ran in, shouting about a troll in the dungeon, and then the headmaster told everyone to stop panicking and head back to their dorms."

"Wait, you're saying Dumbledore sent students back to their dorms instead of keeping them safe inside the Great Hall?" I asked, feeling a bit angry, even though I knew this was going to happen.

"Um, yes?"

"So he sent the Slytherins to the dungeon. The same dungeons a troll was sighted at?" I demanded, and Justin blinked, before realization hit home.

"Oh… oh!" he gasped.

"That could have been a potentially fatal mistake on Dumbledore's part," I grumbled.

Justin then frowned. "Um, I don't mean to be rude, but isn't your younger brother in Slytherin?"

"He is. Just because Rudy and I don't get along doesn't mean I want him dead," I told Justin truthfully. I then frowned. "Wait, but if the troll was in the dungeons, how did Harry and his friends run into it?"

"I, uh, huh, that's… a good question," Justin admitted. "I heard they fought it on the first floor, near one of the bathrooms."

"So the troll wasn't even in the dungeons by the time Quirrell managed to warn everybody," I groaned, and hearing it first hand from somebody else really drove home how poorly Dumbledore had handled the troll incident.

"Come to think of it, I don't think Harry and his friends were even in the Great Hall when the announcement happened," Justin said thoughtfully.

"Then where were they?" I asked.

"I don't know… I first thought they got separated from the other Gryffindors when they were heading back to the dorms, and I know some people were saying they went looking for the troll to show off," Justin said with a shrug.

"Well, that's something I'll have to ask Harry when I see him next," I said with a heavy sigh.

I then looked at Justin. "Do you think you could try and be friends with him when you return to Hogwarts?"

"I can try," Justin said with a slow nod, and I smiled gratefully at him.

"Wonderful. I hope you and he can get along. Harry needs a lot of good friends," I said. Then, I tapped the desk. "Now, let's get back to our lessons, shall we?"

Justin groaned, much to my amusement.

'Ah, well, he'll thank me later for it,' I thought to myself. I had a job to do, and it was time to get back to work!

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