Yes, Cypher did not feel that his thoughts had become more active or his reactions faster.
Thought could also be trained through practicing magic.
Cypher hurriedly spoke to Luna.
"The effect is pretty good, but I have a few questions."
At that, Iris and Luna both turned their gazes toward Cypher, who was frowning.
"I feel that the Awakening Potion doesn't speed up my thinking or improve my reaction time. It just keeps me from getting tired."
"By analogy, does the Stamina Potion only keep you full of energy and free from fatigue, without actually changing your physical abilities?"
"The Berserk Potion changes your physical abilities..."
Luna quietly added.
Cypher paused. "No side effects?"
"There are..."
Luna sounded far less confident.
"From now on, we're going running every morning. Any objections?"
"No..." ×2
Luna and Iris looked at each other, then answered weakly in unison.
From then on, weekends would mean exercise in the morning, and...
After finishing a balanced lunch of meat and vegetables, Cypher pondered what to do that afternoon.
Got it. He would go find Professor Dumbledore.
Maybe he would arrange an empty classroom for them.
However, Cypher's wonderful plan was shattered before he could even voice it.
I'm away on business. I'll return on Monday!
When he knocked on Professor Dumbledore's office door, a line of golden-red words appeared on it.
"Huh?"
Iris let out a surprised sound from the side.
"What are you surprised about? This must be a measure Professor Dumbledore devised specifically for you, after you sneaked in while he was gone and took a letter!"
Luna mercilessly scolded her from the side.
Iris covered her face in shame.
Cypher smiled, then suddenly thought of an excellent location.
Hogwarts Main Castle
Seventh Floor
Besides the Headmaster's office, Gryffindor's common room was also here.
Though it was Saturday afternoon, the entire floor was quiet and deserted.
But with the arrival of the three of them, the motionless scene gained a touch of life.
"Cypher, Gryffindor's common room is this way!"
Watching Cypher head straight for the portrait of the Fat Lady with clear purpose, Iris could not help speaking up.
"I'm just taking a look."
Cypher smiled.
"I'm guessing we can't just go in whenever we want."
"Of course not. You have to say the correct password! Anyone can enter if they know the password!"
The Fat Lady in the portrait, her eyes half-closed as though she were dozing, spoke in a low voice.
However, instead of hearing the correct password or a pleading request,
she suddenly opened her eyes wide and realized that the three before her were not students from her own House.
"Children, you're first-years, aren't you? Students from different Houses aren't allowed to visit each other's common rooms! Of course, we Gryffindors are an exception, as long as you sincerely want to be friends with us... Oh, I nearly forgot. You should leave quickly! War is about to break out, and the school has gone under lockdown this term. The war clearly has nothing directly to do with the little wizards at school, yet they even imposed restrictions on us portraits..."
Having woken from her nap, the Fat Lady was clearly full of energy. She began chattering endlessly about the school's restrictions.
"Um, sorry for disturbing your rest, ma'am. We'll leave now."
Cypher could not stand such enthusiastic conversation. He gave a small bow, then, before the Fat Lady could react, grabbed the other two and fled in disarray.
"Gryffindor is famous for being warm and hospitable! In previous years, everyone knew Gryffindor's common room was on the Seventh Floor. Even so, no one could sneak into their common room. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they could probably pull out any random student from their House, and that person would be able to fluently recite the name of every Gryffindor currently at school."
Gryffindor truly deserved its reputation for warmth and hospitality!
Cypher clicked his tongue. In Gryffindor, friendship knew no age.
"Of course, our House doesn't hide the location of our common room either."
Luna added from the side.
"But very few outsiders can answer the knocker's questions."
"Where are the other two Houses, then? Do you know?"
Iris thought for a moment.
"They should be on the first basement level. I don't know exactly where Slytherin is, but Hufflepuff is beside the kitchen."
"The kitchen?! You know where the kitchen is?!"
"Of course!"
Iris proudly placed a hand over her chest and puffed herself up.
"Heh heh—"
Cypher revealed a strange smile.
Luna and Iris exchanged looks, then hugged each other and pretended to be frightened.
Amid their playful bickering,
the three returned to the Seventh Floor entrance hall.
"Next, I'll need a little help from you two."
Cypher stepped forward, turned around, and held up one finger, waving it at them.
"Here? You want to practice magic here? See that stone gargoyle? The Headmaster's office is behind it!"
"Ahem, no, well, yes, uh..."
"Ahem, of course not here. Last night, I heard an interesting story from an upperclassman."
He beckoned the two closer. Only after confirming there was no one around did Cypher lower his voice.
"He went on a date here with his girlfriend and discovered a magical room. Unfortunately, he only saw it once."
Cypher lied with a straight face.
But Iris and Luna did not hear anything about a secret room or a magical room.
Nor did they care about the obvious expression on Cypher's face that said he was making up a story.
The word "date" alone was enough to make both their heads spin.
The two tacitly chose not to question Cypher.
They silently searched the entire entrance hall.
They even cast detection spells with their wands, poking and tapping nonstop in an attempt to find some hidden mechanism.
Cypher vaguely remembered that it was beside a painting.
Yet even after Cypher passed every portrait, there was not the slightest change.
As the sun gradually sank,
the two girls gave up. They came to Cypher's side and tried to comfort him.
"Cypher, your information might have been a prank. Let's go back first."
"Yeah, this is Gryffindor territory after all. If we get surrounded later, we won't be able to handle it."
He still felt as though he had overlooked something.
Portraits... Could it be that the trigger here was not a portrait?
Cypher desperately searched through his hazy memories, allowing the two girls to lead him away.
Until the three passed the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being beaten by trolls.
Because of his sensitivity to portraits,
Cypher glanced at the tapestry and understood.
He had equated portraits only with framed paintings, overlooking that images did not exist solely in frames, and that the image in his memory did not necessarily have to be in one.
Cypher broke free from their hands.
Under their watchful eyes, he walked back and forth three times in front of the tapestry.
"Found it!"
As expected, a door appeared opposite the tapestry.
Cypher pushed it open without hesitation.
"There really is a Room of Requirement!"
Iris cried out in surprise.
Luna hurriedly covered her mouth. Seeing that no one else was around, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Taking Iris's hand, the two girls also vanished into the corridor.
At the same time, the door to the room vanished as well.
After entering the room and seeing the scene before them,
Iris could not help crying out.
"Cypher! What kind of place is this?"
Before you continue