Chapter 68. Sectumsempra
Severus Snape's Sectumsempra was indeed a very powerful spell.
If it had been an ordinary Cutting Charm, severing those chains would not have been so easy.
Moreover, when Sectumsempra was cast there was almost no warning and no flashy effect; precisely because of that, it was all the more deadly.
Adrian Wesson, who had once secretly learned this spell, understood that all too well.
"Sectumsempra!"
Snape's attack drove straight at Wesson again, with no intention of holding back.
Wesson had been on guard; the instant Snape lifted his hand, he reacted at once.
"Protego!"
At the very moment Snape raised his hand, Wesson pre-emptively cast the Shield Charm.
Snape's curse struck a transparent shield with a crisp clang, then glanced aside
and slammed into the corridor wall.
A deep crack split the stone at once; chips flew and dust billowed.
Wesson let out a slight breath, but he did not relax his vigilance. He knew Snape's offensive would not stop there.
"Stupefy!"
A red bolt shot straight at Wesson. He twisted aside in a flash and flicked his wand back. "Expelliarmus!"
Snape's reactions were lightning-fast. Imitating Wesson's earlier motion, he gave his wand a light upward flick and deflected the spell.
"Useless," he said. "A word of advice, Professor Wesson: put your wand on the floor."
Just then, Wesson retreated at a quick pace—and at the same time, countless vines burst from beneath his robes.
Fortunately, when he had gone out today he had let Devil's Snare parasitise his body; at present, the Devil's Snare was no mean fighting force.
The tendrils spread and spread; in almost an instant they had taken over most of the corridor's walls and floor,
and even the ceiling.
The corridor's appearance turned eerie in a heartbeat.
Though surprised inwardly, Snape's expression stayed calm.
The moment the Devil's Snare appeared, he knew exactly how to deal with the plant.
"Incendio!"
A surge of blazing fire roared from the tip of his wand, straight at the tendrils groping towards him.
At the instant flame met vine, the tendrils hissed and shrivelled to ash; a scorched stink spread through the air.
However, the Devil's Snare seemed inexhaustible. The parts just burned away were quickly filled in again.
Standing within the encircling vines, Wesson remained composed.
With a light sweep of his wand, the tendrils, under his command, rapidly contracted and formed a thick barrier in front of him, planted between himself and Professor Snape.
"It was Professor Dumbledore who sent me," Wesson's voice carried through the wall of vines to Snape's ears. "I have no wish to be your enemy, Professor Snape. But if you insist on attacking, I won't sit here and wait to die."
Snape, however, clearly had no intention of letting the matter drop.
Another invisible blade of rushing air sliced through the Devil's Snare barrier, grazed Wesson's face, and whipped past his ear.
Though Wesson was already moving to evade, a fine cut still opened on his cheek, beading with blood.
Just as Snape prepared to cast again, a great mat of tendrils swept in from the ceiling.
This forced Snape to abandon further use of Sectumsempra and switch to flames to drive the Devil's Snare back.
"Incendio!"
A jet of fire shot at the incoming mass of vines—however, this time Snape miscalculated.
"—!"
To his surprise, several iron chains suddenly sprang from within the Devil's Snare, their surfaces glinting with a cold metallic sheen—apparently unaffected by flame.
Like snakes, the chains whipped round Snape's right hand and bound his wrist tight.
Snape's brow creased; he had clearly not expected chains hidden within the vines.
He tried to move his wand, but the chains were powerful, clamping his motion fast. Veins stood out on his right hand where the links were tight; his wand could barely twitch.
"Professor Wesson!" Snape's warning snapped out.
As he made to act again, Wesson swept his wand, casting a spell with which he was all too familiar.
"Sectumsempra!"
An invisible, razor-edged current of air shot straight for Snape's arm.
Snape twisted aside, but hampered by the chains, the spell skimmed his arm and left a wound neither too deep nor too shallow.
His expression changed; under the pain of Sectumsempra, he involuntarily loosened his right hand.
Clatter.
The sound of the wand striking stone rang out sharp and clear.
Wesson, of course, did not waste the opening. With a thought, the Devil's Snare scooped up Snape's wand
and passed it to Wesson's side.
With his other hand, Wesson picked up Snape's wand lightly and regarded him in silence.
Snape's face was so dark it might have dripped blood. Clutching his wounded right arm with his left hand, he stared at Wesson, his expression grim.
Wesson, meanwhile, recalled all the Devil's Snare from the passageway back onto himself, then walked slowly up to Snape.
He smiled at him, then held the wand out and said sincerely, "Professor Snape, I think there's been some misunderstanding between us. I don't want to be your enemy; I only hope you'll calm down and hear me out."
As it turned out, when you'd won the fight, whatever you said tended to work.
Snape finally listened to Wesson.
However, he did not take the wand at once. Instead, he asked coldly, "Where did you learn that spell?"
Wesson hadn't expected that to be Snape's first question.
"Ah—you mean Sectumsempra?" Wesson blinked at him, then explained, "From an old textbook someone left behind. The Half-Blood Prince… quite the moniker. What do you think of it, Professor Snape?"
Snape was silent for a moment, then took back his wand and put it away.
"Your spellwork is still lacking," he replied coolly. "If it were me, I'd have cut the entire arm off."
Wesson shrugged, entirely unbothered by Snape's manner—he was used to it.
"Can you trust me now, Professor Snape?" Wesson slipped his own wand away and said lightly, "Dumbledore trusts me. You can certainly extend me a little more trust."
"Hmph."
Snape only let out a cold snort.
A moment later—
"Episkey!"
At the sound of the incantation, Wesson was surprised to feel the bleeding cut on his cheek begin to knit itself closed.
Looking up, he saw Snape holding his wand aloft.
So Snape had seen to his wound first.
That let Wesson exhale in relief; he had no wish to start fighting Snape again.
After that, Professor Snape finally began to tend to his own arm.
Like this story Leave a review ; it would really help me out a lot.
Want to Read Ahead in Advance?
Join my Patreon!
+75 Chapters
Support me in
Patreon.com/BestElysium