Open Sesame

"I thought so too." Albert could not help laughing. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a passing ghost and raised a hand in greeting. "Good morning, Sir Nicholas."

"Good morning, child. What can I do for you?"

"Sir, do you have time to let me take a photograph of you?" Albert asked, raising his camera.

"Oh, all right!" Nick thought for a moment, then asked, "Should I strike a pose?"

"No need. Here, look this way." Albert adjusted his angle and snapped a picture of Nick.

"Is that enough?"

"Yes. Thank you, Sir Nicholas."

"You're welcome. I'll be off, then!" Nick quickly floated away.

Angelina leaned closer, wanting to see what Albert had photographed, but there was nothing in the picture.

"It seems Muggle cameras can't capture ghosts. Maybe wizarding cameras can." Albert wrote Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington on the back of the photograph.

"I'm impressed you can remember his name." Angelina greatly admired Albert's memory. She certainly would not have been able to remember that string of names.

"That's not a problem with the camera." A voice spoke up.

Albert turned and saw a pretty red-haired girl entering the Great Hall. When she noticed them all looking at her, she explained, "Once photographs are developed with the right Developing Potion, the people in them can move. Besides, ghosts are spirits. They can't be photographed by cameras."

After saying that, the girl headed toward the Ravenclaw table.

"Wow, no wonder she's a Ravenclaw student. She knows so much," George said dramatically.

"She really is impressive." Albert sighed, then turned to Angelina with an invitation. "After you finish eating, would you like to explore other parts of the school with us?"

"I'd better not." Angelina hesitated before refusing. "I have plans with someone else."

"That's a shame." Albert picked up a piece of fruit and gnawed on it as he considered how to get some Developing Potion.

More and more students gradually filled the Great Hall, most of them first-years. Perhaps because it was the weekend, the older students had slept later, while the new students were already eager to explore the school.

After saying goodbye to Angelina, the four chatted as they left the Great Hall. As they passed through the entrance hall, all four noticed Filch standing there with his cat in his arms, staring at them.

Albert stopped in his tracks and noticed a new quest prompt on his panel:

Malice from the Caretaker.

You have been targeted by Hogwarts' caretaker, Filch. It is time to strike back. During a nighttime excursion, evade caretaker Filch's pursuit and make him understand that even if he keeps his eye on you, he will never find a single clue.

Reward: 1000 experience.

After reading the quest, Albert's mouth twitched. Since arriving at Hogwarts, he had noticed that panel quests seemed to trigger rather frequently.

"What's wrong?" Fred asked, turning back in confusion.

"Nothing." Albert quickened his pace and caught up with the group. As the four crossed the damp viaduct, he suddenly asked, "Do you know the incantation for the Disillusionment Charm?"

"What's that?" George asked curiously.

"Apparently, it's a type of invisibility magic," Albert explained. "I read about it in a book. This spell can make the person or object it conceals blend in like a chameleon."

"That sounds cool." George became interested in the spell. "If we could master it, we wouldn't have to worry about getting caught when we sneak out at night."

"That's what I was thinking too. At least we wouldn't need to worry about Filch." Albert nodded. He planned to master the Disillusionment Charm before sneaking out at night.

"But how are we supposed to get the incantation?" Fred said gloomily. "Dad might know, but he definitely wouldn't tell us."

"How about asking a professor?" Lee suggested.

"For now, we can only look in the library," Albert said. "Of course, if we can't find it, we can ask the Charms professor. But I doubt he'd be willing to teach us that spell, since he might connect it to sneaking out at night."

They exchanged glances and sighed helplessly. If they could master that magic, many things would become much more convenient in the future.

Albert stopped beside the viaduct, rested both hands on the railing, and looked down. He still remembered that at the end of the novel, Harry Potter had snapped the Elder Wand here and thrown it off the bridge.

What a spendthrift.

The Elder Wand was such a good thing. Even if he did not use it, he could have hidden it somewhere no one would ever find.

It was a true divine artifact from the Harry Potter novels. The other was the Philosopher's Stone, yet both good things had been destroyed.

"Anyway, let's find the library first."

"Even if we find it, we probably won't be able to learn it right away," Lee said dejectedly. He had not forgotten that he had yet to master even the simplest magic.

"Don't say such discouraging things." Albert shot Lee a disdainful glance. "How do you think I mastered the other spells?"

"How did you do it?" the twins asked curiously.

"By spending a lot of time practicing, obviously. Did you expect to learn it the moment you saw it?" Albert said irritably.

The four discussed the Disillusionment Charm as they walked, wandering around the first floor of the castle for quite a while. They found several empty classrooms piled with junk and a place that seemed to be a secret passage, but none of them could open it, leaving all four rather frustrated.

"Most secret passages need a specific password or a special knocking rhythm to open," Albert explained to the other three as they walked. "If we want to find them, we'll have to rely on luck or ask someone else who knows about them. But I can guarantee they won't tell us easily."

"The Transfiguration classroom," George reminded them. "I remember Professor McGonagall teaches Transfiguration."

Lee Jordan said quietly, "I heard that class is incredibly difficult."

"It is somewhat difficult." Albert had discovered that while studying on his own. Turning a match into a needle had taken him the longest, but after he learned it, most Transfiguration spells had not seemed so difficult.

Of course, that might also have had something to do with his panel skills.

The four found the History of Magic classroom on the second floor of the castle. Fortunately, the classrooms were labeled, or they truly would not have known where to look.

"There's a wooden door here. I think it might be a secret passage." Lee Jordan excitedly pointed at an entrance hidden behind a statue.

"It seems to be locked." Albert drew his wand and cast Alohomora on the wooden door before him.

"Your spell didn't work." Fred reached out and twisted the handle, but it still would not open.

"It probably needs some sort of password," Albert muttered.

"What do you think the password usually is?" Lee Jordan asked in return.

"How could I possibly know?" Albert rolled his eyes at Lee, then thought for a moment and added, "The most famous password for a hidden door in the Muggle world is Open Sesame. That story comes from Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves."

As he said that, Albert's wand happened to tap against the wooden door.

The next moment, the wooden planks on the door were actually torn from their hinges, looking as though they were about to break apart into a pile of firewood.

All four of them gaped, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. None of them had any idea what had just happened.