The Secret in the Attic

In truth, Dumbledore's relationship with his brother was not as bad as he had made it sound.

At the very least, Aberforth had not refused to let the homeless Li Weide and Tom stay.

In Li Weide's eyes, Aberforth was merely sharp-tongued but soft-hearted toward his brother.

He did not spare his brother with his words, but he still did his utmost to carry out everything his brother asked of him...

Li Weide and Tom ultimately stayed.

Aberforth arranged a room for them on the second floor.

Because Aberforth had taken Li Weide in, Toby was now extremely grateful to him.

So, he volunteered to help Aberforth run the tavern.

In his view, as long as he worked hard enough, his master, who was temporarily living under someone else's roof, could live a little better.

Aberforth did not object. With an extra House-elf to help, he could relax a little too.

As a result, his attitude toward Li Weide and the others became somewhat friendlier as well.

"Other than the attic, which you are not allowed to enter, you may go wherever you like. If you want something to drink, you can get it from the cellar yourselves. Oh, and there are plenty of other shops in Hogsmeade too. If you want to buy anything, you can go out and have a look around."

With that, Aberforth turned and left the room with Toby, who had volunteered to work for him.

After Aberforth left, Li Weide turned and lay down on his bed. He had barely rested since last night, and he was feeling a little tired now.

Tom, meanwhile, sat on the other bed, took out a Spellbook, and began reading it with complete focus.

To him, only by studying without pause could he grow stronger and escape from the clutches of that dead pervert Li Weide!

"Tom, what do you think is in the attic? Why won't Mr. Aberforth let us go in?"

"This is someone else's home. People have their privacy. What's strange about that?"

"Fine... Sigh, I'm so bored. Tom, how about we go out for a walk?"

"No! Go by yourself."

Tom immediately refused. He had been researching magic last night when the Wizarding Supremacists interrupted him. Now, he had to make up for the progress he had lost! Li Weide pulled the blanket over himself and tucked it in comfortably. "Studying requires balance too... At the very least, you need proper rest, or you'll get half the results for twice the effort. You should take a nap."

"I don't care if I get half the results for twice the effort. As long as I improve, that's enough. If you want to sleep, sleep by yourself. Don't disturb me," Tom said coldly.

So what if I'm tired? I'm willing! After a while, Li Weide sat up from the bed.

"I'm sleeping, but you're studying... Tom, how can you do something so harmful to our unity? You're making me feel terribly guilty!"

"Mind your own business. I can't sleep, so what's wrong with studying? And your snoring is keeping me awake!"

Li Weide narrowed his eyes. "You said... you can't sleep? That won't do..."

"Y-you... what are you going to do?" Tom immediately sensed trouble and watched Li Weide warily.

"Nothing much. I just want to help you. Insomnia isn't good for you... Stunning Spell!"

"Weide! You're such a bastard..."

Tom fell asleep before he could finish cursing, and he slept especially soundly...

"Ahem, no need to thank me, Tom."

Li Weide clapped his hands, and the blanket on Tom's bed automatically covered him.

Sharing a room with Tom, how could Li Weide sleep if Tom was still awake?

After checking Tom's sleep quality, Li Weide lay down with satisfaction and pulled his own blanket over himself again.

That night had exhausted him. Unlike Tom—while Li Weide had fought the Wizarding Supremacists for however long, Tom had slept for just as long, so he could still be so energetic now! Li Weide slowly closed his eyes, drifting closer and closer to sleep.

Suddenly, a dull sound came from upstairs.

Thud!

Li Weide paid it no mind and continued resting with his eyes closed.

Just as he was about to fall asleep again—

Thud!

The dull sound came again.

After the sound had repeated many times, Li Weide finally could not sleep anymore.

The sound was not loud, but strangely enough, it woke Li Weide from sleep every single time.

Li Weide stared at the ceiling in confusion. This time, he did not try to sleep, quietly waiting for the sound to come again.

He did not have to wait long. About a minute later, the sound came again.

It was like a wooden stick pressing into a thick carpet.

Thud!

Li Weide sat up in bed. At last, he had detected something odd.

The sound actually contained a faint trace of magic.

Moreover, that magic seemed capable of stirring the magic within other wizards, which was why the sound kept waking him up! Li Weide had seen quite a few magical items imbued with magic in Diagon Alley.

But sounds imbued with magic... Aside from the sound of wizards chanting spells, he had never heard anything else like it.

If even this kind of sound could contain magic, then could whatever was making it cast magic simply by producing that knocking sound?

That was quite an interesting idea. If he could figure out the principle behind it, could he create a device that cast magic automatically without needing a wizard to recite a spell?

Just then, the sound rang out again.

This time, Li Weide heard it even more clearly. He also sharply noticed that the magic contained within the sound was much stronger than before! Li Weide looked at the ceiling again. Upstairs... wasn't that the attic Aberforth had forbidden them from entering?

What exactly was up there? Li Weide's curiosity was piqued...

Logically speaking, since Aberforth had said they were not allowed into the attic, he should not go up there, nor should he even ask about it.

But this sound was too unusual. It seemed capable of waking wizards from their sleep.

Tom had not woken up because he had been hit by a Stunning Spell... If he had been sleeping normally, he would inevitably have been startled awake by the sound too.

So... Li Weide decided to ask Aberforth directly.

He was being troubled by the sound, so asking about it was perfectly reasonable.

What if Aberforth was willing to tell him?

Even if he was not, it was still better than sneaking upstairs without a word to pry into someone else's secret.

Li Weide listened for a while longer. Only after noticing that the sound's magic was growing stronger and stronger did he stand up, grab his coat, put it on, and open the door.

Like the Leaky Cauldron, the Hog's Head also had guest rooms available for lodging.

It was simply smaller than the Leaky Cauldron, with only three floors and a few fewer guest rooms, all of them located on the second floor.

Li Weide and Tom occupied one room now, while the other rooms had no guests today.

So, when Li Weide stepped out of his room, he saw a somewhat narrow corridor.

One side of the corridor was a wall, while the other was lined with guest room doors.

At either end of the corridor were staircases, one leading downstairs and the other up to the attic.

Li Weide closed the door, glanced at the staircase leading up, then turned to head toward the stairs going down.

The instant he turned around, he suddenly felt a cold, sinister presence behind him.

Could it be a ghost? Li Weide wondered as he turned his head back again.

"Whoa..."

When he saw what was across from him, Li Weide could not help widening his eyes.

From the staircase leading upstairs, strange black mist was continuously flowing down like water...

And the mist was gradually gathering together, slowly filling the entire enclosed corridor!