Magic Paper Crane

Magic Paper Crane

"Ugh! We still have to learn spells?" Ron complained.

Even when they found something fun, they still had to learn spells. When would these days ever end? Couldn't they just eat chicken legs and play Wizard's Chess every day, living comfortably?

The moment George and Fred heard their little brother say something so disgraceful, they hooked their arms around his neck from either side, looking ready to chop his head off with a Lariat if he said one more wrong word! George said, "My foolish little brother~ How could you say something like that?!"

Fred said, "Little Ronny, you're a wizard! If you won't even learn spells, what kind of wizard are you?!"

"Little Ronny?!" Harriett immediately burst out laughing.

Ron flushed bright red. "Don't call me that!"

Little Ronny was his childhood nickname~ Although Ron kept complaining, all his friends were learning a new spell to uncover the secret of that strange mirror. He couldn't exactly "leave the organization" by himself!

Even Neville was working hard to learn the spell. What excuse did Ron have to play chess? Besides, who would play with him? He could only follow along and learn.

That was the principle of being influenced by the people around you~ As the ancients said: living among good people was like entering a room of orchids; after a long time, you no longer noticed their fragrance~ Ted had only needed one night to get a basic grasp of the spell.

At noon the next day, the group wolfed down lunch in a few bites and headed for the secluded corridor.

Ron still had a chicken leg in one hand, gnawing on it as he walked.

Malfoy, who had been keeping an eye on them, quietly followed after them. The bastard still hadn't given up.

However, as soon as Malfoy rounded a corner, he found eight people—including the Weasley Twins—standing before him in a semicircle.

Malfoy immediately looked up at the ceiling. "Damn it! Where am I? I got lost!" Then he turned around and left, never looking at any of them from beginning to end.

If he had been leaning on a cane, people would have thought he was blind!

Ron rubbed his chin. "For the first time, I think Malfoy's actually pretty clever!"

After scaring Malfoy away, everyone finally arrived in front of the mirror.

Ted took out his wand and pointed it at the mirror. "Revelio!"

The "dust" on the mirror's surface suddenly scattered and vanished, leaving it clear and bright.

Yet instead of reflecting their figures, the mirror showed a metal ornament hanging on a wall.

It was a colorful moth made of metal wire, with a simple spell written beneath it: Moth Flight~ "What does that mean?" Ron asked.

Jerry said, "Find something?"

Neville asked, "Is that line below a spell?"

George scratched his red hair. "Fred, doesn't this thing look a little familiar?"

"That's right! We've seen it somewhere before!" Fred slapped his thigh.

Ted carefully studied the moth until it disappeared from the mirror. Then he used Revelio again, and the same image appeared.

"Looks like we're supposed to find this thing. Judging by the style of that wall, it should definitely be somewhere in Hogwarts Castle. There should be a huge potted plant on the right and a staircase on the left..."

Before the second class that afternoon, the Twins found everyone. "We found it! We'll tell you over dinner!"

They really had found it. It was on the first underground floor of the Right Tower in the main building complex, a place people rarely visited. Even if someone passed by, they would never pay attention to a palm-sized ornament on the wall beside the stairs.

"We tried it, but it only moved a little," George said with a shrug.

Hearing that, Ron raised his wand as well. "Moth Flight!" The metal ornament on the wall merely twitched its antennae.

Harriett and Hermione tried separately as well. They did slightly better than Ron; the moth flapped its wings once.

Under the watchful eyes of his friends, Ted raised his wand. "Moth Flight!"

The moth flapped its wings several times, then actually flew down from the wall and circled around Ted's wand.

"Come on, let's take it back!" Ted held up his wand, guiding the moth as it followed him all the way back to the mirror.

Sure enough, once it neared the mirror, the moth left the wand and landed in the blank space beneath it, merging with the mirror.

Then a faint light Blinked across the mirror's surface, and an old piece of Parchment appeared.

"Ding~ You solved a magical puzzle and gained 88 experience!"

Ha! Experience! Ted carefully picked up the Parchment. There was a lot written on it. After briefly scanning the contents, he said, "This Parchment was left behind by an upperclassman many years ago. It records a spell he invented himself."

"A spell!" Everyone was excited.

Only Ron looked disappointed. Damn it, what was I busting my ass for?!

Ted continued, "It looks like a very interesting spell. It can use magic to turn paper into flying paper cranes, which then fly to the target. It's a message-delivery spell, definitely worth studying!"

This adventure and puzzle-solving experience had been incredibly fun for everyone—except Ron.

The Gryffindors loved this sort of adventurous activity. Hermione, meanwhile, loved solving puzzles.

Not to mention that they had obtained a new spell! Although the Paper Crane Messaging Spell could only deliver messages over relatively short distances, such as within Hogwarts or a village, and the recipient had to be someone you knew well, it was still a very interesting spell.

At the very least, the spell drew upon some of the magical Owl's talent for finding people, making it highly valuable as a reference.

And once they learned it, it would be much more convenient for the friends to send messages to one another. They would no longer need an Owl or Anzu flying back and forth.

Ted had also discovered a new way to gain experience.

It was just that such puzzles were uncommon. Finding one was simply a lucky break.

Who knew how many upperclassmen had left behind their precious treasures in this thousand-year-old castle, or how many younger students had stumbled upon them by chance and gained both joy and knowledge.

It was a kind of inheritance, too!

After this, the friends' talent for adventure seemed to be unsealed. They ran all over the Common Room, library, Great Hall, kitchen, corridors, classrooms... everywhere.

Harriett in particular wandered around every night under her Invisibility Cloak. She refused to return and sleep until one in the morning at the earliest. After only a few days, dark circles had formed under her eyes.

Ted gave her an idea: go to the School Hospital and tell Madam Pomfrey that she had been suffering from insomnia lately, then ask for some Dreamless Sleep Potion.

It was a potion that put people into a deep sleep. After drinking it, one slept soundly without dreaming.

The group searched enthusiastically, and they actually found something.

Once, Jerry and Neville forgot to bring their books and went back to get them. On their way back, they got lost again and accidentally discovered a door that would not open.

If it had merely been a door that would not open, it would have been nothing unusual in the castle.

After all, some doors were even just decorations on walls. They weren't doors at all!

But this door was painted with strange numbers and patterns, and it was surrounded by a ring of animal reliefs. That made everyone suspicious!

The Hogwarts Exploration Squad gathered once again, including the Twins. The Twins used an unlocking spell, but Alohomora had no effect.

That proved the door really was unusual. It had been sealed by magic.

The Twins were very invested in it, and they even revealed a secret.

"Ronny was too young, so he doesn't know, but we overheard Mum and Dad talking about it before. When Bill was in school, he and his friends once opened a Cursed Vault in the school! They said it was a mysteriously appearing door!"

"We have to open this door! This is a perfect opportunity! I don't want to graduate with nothing worth mentioning to show for it."

However, the "Cursed Vault" everyone had pinned their hopes on was opened by Ted after just two days of effort.

There was actually a puzzle on the door. The reliefs surrounding it were the clues, and related reliefs could be found in several corridors around the door. They needed to be adjusted to match the puzzle displayed on the door. Then, using an unlocking spell on the door would open it.

Inside was a wooden box, containing something left behind by another former upperclassman.

This time, it was two prank toys and a prank spell—the Leg-Locker Curse.

Ted gained 88 experience.

Those prank toys were products from over thirty years ago. They were practically collector's items.

And learning a nasty curse was far more exciting than learning something like Lumos, especially when they thought about using it on Malfoy and the Slytherins.

Even Ron began studying it voluntarily.

And he was actually rather talented in Dark Magic. He learned it a full hour earlier than Harriett! That was right—Ted used Appraisal Technique on Ron and discovered that his Dark Magic was actually lv2!

It was innate!

Ted: There was a traitor among the Gryffindors~ Ted, Hermione, Harriett, Neville, Ron, and Jerry had already formed a close-knit little group. They were known as the Hogwarts Six, also called Hogwarts Little Friends~ Exploring the castle actually had one benefit: it was safe.

Ted was happy to see that.

If this could occupy his friends' attention, it was a good thing.

Especially the Weasley Twins. Whenever they had nothing to do, they ran into the Forbidden Forest.

This year was different. There was still that person on the back of Professor Quirrell's head! If they happened to run into him while he was catching unicorns, they would have no chance of survival.

It was better to let them mess around in the castle this year.

During this time, Ted also discovered something else. The Mind Power Goodwill Technique permanently active on him did not just work on people—it worked on animals as well! It was even more effective on animals with less developed minds.

No wonder working at the Magical Menagerie had gone so smoothly back then.

Ted had run into Filch's Cat, Mrs. Norris, several times. After feeding her a few snacks, he was already able to pet her.

Yesterday, Filch caught him doing it and was so furious he nearly stamped his feet. He scooped up Mrs. Norris and left. Yet Mrs. Norris lay on his shoulder, gazing at Ted "affectionately."

Petting Mrs. Norris right in front of Filch—wasn't that a form of NTR?!

Thanks to reader "Shang Lin Yuan Dao Qiong" for the 1,500 tip! Thank you~