"What did you say... the trapdoor leads to an empty room?"
The next morning, when Fred and George heard about it from Kael, their expressions were identical to Cedric's.
Shock, doubt, disbelief.
Because of the trapdoor situation, they couldn't sleep well last night; every time they closed their eyes, the terrifying image of the Three-Headed Dog would appear in their minds.
They were extremely curious, what could possibly be valuable enough to be guarded by the Three-Headed Dog?
Final exam papers?
Or perhaps the Gryffindor Sword!
The two of them guessed all night, and it wasn't until dawn that they managed to get a little sleep.
Now, Kael was actually telling them that the trapdoor just led to a few empty rooms?
Fred and George found it hard to accept.
What about the adventure... what about the challenge... so Dumbledore just found a place in the castle to keep a dog?
This is too perfunctory; you can't fool people like this.
"Those rooms can't always be empty." Kael patted Fred on the shoulder and comforted him, "I think maybe it's just the start of the term, and the professors are too busy to set it up yet.
We can come back later, maybe on Halloween or during the Christmas holidays."
"You're right." Fred sighed, "It seems like we won't need to go there for a while, which gives us time to find the last word of the password."
"I think it's pointless." Cedric put down his pumpkin juice and said, "Hogwarts is so big, even if you searched until graduation, you'd never finish."
"No way."
George shook his head, "The creators of the Marauder's Map wouldn't hide the password clue in insignificant places."
"We found the first password clue on the door of Filch's office... that's a place only people in detention would go."
"And on the wall pillar in the trophy room..."
"The common rooms of all four houses..."
"The highest tower of the castle..."
...
"In short, all are places with significance or distinction." George rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "And we can vaguely feel we're very close to the final answer, but there's this thin layer of parchment in between."
"Is that so..." Cedric shrugged, neither affirming nor denying.
He thought that this last password clue might not even exist, or it was just a prank.
But Fred and George didn't believe that at all.
Soon, the messenger arrived.
A large group of owls flew into the auditorium, among which six robust long-eared owls drew everyone's attention.
They were carrying a long, thin parcel, which they brought to a student in Slytherin.
Without hesitation, the student opened the parcel on the spot, revealing a brand-new Nimbus 2000 inside.
"That's right, the new Nimbus 2000, the same as the professional Quidditch team uses!"
Under the envious gaze of many young wizards, he said loudly with obvious pride on his face, "My father sent it specially to celebrate my joining the Slytherin team this year.
But in my opinion, it's not necessary at all, even without this best broom in the wizarding world, I could still beat everyone."
His voice was loud, almost half the auditorium could hear it.
Kael turned to look at him.
Didn't recognize him.
"Hey, look at Marcus Flint."
Prompted by Fred, Kael noticed Marcus's face looked very unpleasant, or rather, all the Slytherin Quidditch team members had unpleasant expressions.
Perhaps the name Nimbus 2000 brought up some unpleasant memories for them, as everyone stopped what they were doing, glaring at the boy who received the parcel, not even eating.
There was also a commotion on the Gryffindor side.
Neville received a Memory Ball, which is considered a valuable alchemy item and quite rare.
The main issue is that this thing is notoriously useless in the wizarding world; it only reminds you that you've forgotten something but doesn't show the specifics... which is quite frustrating.
Adding to that, the Memory Ball isn't cheap, costing over a hundred Galleons, deterring most curious wizards.
Kael also received a parcel.
It was a palm-sized small box, wrapped in a layer of parchment.
After delivering the parcel, the owl also dropped a letter.
"As per our previous agreement, I have sent what you need, I hope it's not too late.
May you achieve glorious success in potions.
(Your Merlin Order Medal is under reevaluation, but it will take some more time)
—Pegasus Saxia."
Professor Cecily from St Mungo's sent the potion?
Kael's eyes lit up.
"What's that?" Fred asked curiously, seeing Kael's excitement, "What did you buy?"
"No, it's a potion from someone else."
"Potion?"
"Yeah." Kael hesitated for a moment and then said, "I got into some trouble at St Mungo's... these potions are compensation from the head of St Mungo's."
Due to the Ministry of Magic's interference, the Daily Prophet didn't mention werewolves, only saying someone caused a scene at St Mungo's.
So neither Cedric, the Weasley Brothers, nor Conna knew that he had encountered a werewolf directly during summer vacation.
To avoid worrying them, Kael didn't mention it either.
"I see..." Fred, not particularly interested in potions, casually picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet.
Cedric and Conna, however, leaned in with interest.
By this time, Kael had already opened the parchment, revealing the wooden box inside.
For ease of transport, the box had been charmed with the Undetectable Extension Charm, appearing palm-sized from the outside but with a surprisingly large space when opened.
Various sized bottles were neatly arranged inside, around fifty or sixty, and a portion on the side of the box was separated off, containing ingredients needed for brewing potions.
"That's Ashwinder eggshell... and Deer Horn Flower petals..." Conna exclaimed.
She had seen these items in Professor Snape's office, all tightly sealed and stored on the top shelf, considered extremely precious potion materials.
Any one of them could be sold in Diagon Alley for several hundred Galleons.
Kael merely glanced at the materials before turning his attention back to the potions.
He found there was something off about the quantity of these potions.
Too many.
Besides the ones initially agreed upon, Professor Cecily had given extra items.
For some unknown reason, Kael even spotted Veritaserum in the corner of the box.