Disclaimer: I don't own anything. This is not meant to infringe upon copyrights.
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"What did you say... there are empty rooms under the trapdoor?"
The next morning, when Fred and George learned about this from Kyle, their expressions were exactly the same as Cedric's.
Shock, doubt, disbelief.
Because of the trapdoor, they hadn't slept well all night; every time they closed their eyes, the terrifying image of the three-headed dog would appear in their minds.
They were so curious—what could possibly be worthy of being guarded by a three-headed dog?
The final exam papers?
Or perhaps Gryffindor's sword!
The two speculated all night, only managing to get a short nap as dawn broke.
Now, Kyle was telling them that there were just a few empty rooms under the trapdoor?
Fred and George couldn't accept it.
What happened to the adventure... what happened to the challenges... so Dumbledore just found a place in the castle to keep dogs?
This was too perfunctory; they couldn't be so easily fooled.
"Those rooms can't stay empty forever," Kyle patted Fred on the shoulder, comforting him. "I think it's just that the professors are too busy since it's the beginning of the semester and haven't had time to decorate.
We can go back later, like Halloween or the Christmas holidays."
"You're right," Fred sighed. "It looks like we won't need to go there anytime soon, which is a good opportunity to look for the last word of the password."
"I think we should forget about it," Cedric put down his pumpkin juice. "Hogwarts is so big, you might not even be able to find it all by graduation."
"No way," George shook his head. "The creators of the Marauder's Map wouldn't hide clues to the password in meaningless places."
"The first clue we found was on the door of Filch's office…that's a place only people in solitary confinement go."
"And on the pillars of the Prize Room…"
"The common rooms of the four houses…"
"The highest tower of the castle…"
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"In short, they're all places that are significant or unique." George stroked his chin thoughtfully. "And we can vaguely sense that we're very close to the final answer, only separated by a thin layer of parchment."
"Is that so…" Cedric shrugged, noncommittal.
He thought that the final clue might not even exist, or that it was just a prank.
However, Fred and George didn't believe this at all.
Soon, the messenger arrived.
A large flock of owls flew into the Great Hall, among which six robust long-eared owls attracted everyone's attention.
They carried a long, thin package, crossed the tables, and came to a Slytherin student.
The student didn't hesitate and immediately opened the package; inside was a brand-new Nimbus 2000.
"That's right, a new Nimbus 2000 broom, the same one used by professional Quidditch teams!"
Amidst the envious gazes of a large group of young wizards, he proclaimed with obvious pride, "My dad specially sent it to celebrate my joining the Slytherin team this year.
But in my opinion, it's completely unnecessary. Even without this best broom in the wizarding world, I can still beat everyone to a pulp."
His voice was loud enough to be heard in almost half the Great Hall.
Kyle turned and glanced at him.
He didn't recognize him.
"Hey, look at Marcus Flint."
Fred's reminder made Kyle notice that Marcus's expression was extremely unpleasant, or rather, everyone on the Slytherin Quidditch team looked grim.
Perhaps the name Nimbus 2000 had brought back some unpleasant memories; everyone stopped what they were doing, staring unfriendly at the boy who had received the package, even abandoning their meals.
The commotion in Gryffindor was also considerable.
Neville received a Memory Orb, a valuable alchemical item, and quite rare.
The main problem was that these things were notoriously useless in the wizarding world; they only reminded you of forgotten items, but didn't show any specifics… which was very frustrating.
Plus, Memory Orbs weren't cheap, costing over a hundred Galleons, enough to deter most curious wizards.
Kyle also received a package.
It was a small box, about the size of a palm, wrapped in parchment.
An owl delivered the package and then left a letter.
"As agreed, I've delivered what you needed. Hopefully, it's not too late.
I wish you great success in your potions studies.
(Your Order of Merlin medal is under review, but it will take a little longer.)
— Dean Sassia."
The Dean of St. Mungo's Sassia delivered potions?
Kyle's eyes lit up.
"What is it?" Fred, seeing Kyle's excitement, asked curiously, "What did you buy?"
"No, potions someone gave me."
"Potions?"
"Yes." Kyle hesitated for a moment before saying, "I ran into some trouble at St. Mungo's... these potions are compensation from the Dean of St. Mungo's."
Because of the Ministry of Magic's intervention, the Daily Prophet didn't mention werewolves, only saying that someone had caused trouble at St. Mungo.
So neither Cedric, the Weasley brothers, nor Connor knew that he had encountered a werewolf during the summer.
To avoid worrying them, Kyle didn't mention it himself.
"I see..." Fred wasn't interested in potions and casually picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet to read.
Cedric and Kanna, however, gathered around with interest.
By then, Kyle had unwrapped the parchment, revealing the wooden box inside.
For ease of transport, the box had been enchanted with a seamless expansion spell; from the outside, it appeared only the size of a palm, but once opened, it was surprisingly spacious.
Bottles of various sizes were neatly arranged inside, numbering about fifty or sixty. A section on the side of the box was separately partitioned off, containing materials needed for brewing potions.
"These are fire serpent eggshells… and antler flower petals…" Kanna exclaimed in surprise.
She had seen these items in Professor Snape's office; they were all tightly sealed and placed on the top shelf, belonging to extremely precious potion ingredients.
Any one of them could fetch hundreds of Galleons in Diagon Alley.
Kyle glanced at the materials before turning his attention back to the potions.
He noticed something was off about the quantity.
Too many.
Besides the previously agreed-upon items, Dean Sassia had given him some extra gifts.
For some reason, Kyle even found Veritaserum in the corner of the box.
[End of the chapter]