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. Is there something you need?"

"Sir, do you have time to let me take a photograph?" 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 on my way, then!" Nick quickly floated away.

Angelina leaned closer, wanting to see what Albert had taken pictures of, but there was nothing in the photograph.

"Looks like Muggle cameras can't capture ghosts. Maybe a wizarding camera could." Albert wrote Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington on the back of the photograph.

"I can't believe you remembered his name." Angelina greatly admired Albert's memory; she certainly would not have been able to remember that string of names.

"It's not a problem with the camera." A voice rang out.

Albert turned and saw a pretty red-haired girl entering the Great Hall. When she noticed that they were all looking at her, she explained, "Once photographs are developed with the right Developing Potion, the people in them can move. Also, ghosts are spirits. Cameras cannot capture them."

With that, the girl walked toward the Ravenclaw table.

"Wow, just what you'd expect from a Ravenclaw student. She knows so much," George said exaggeratedly.

"She really was 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, chewing as he considered how to get some Developing Potion.

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

After saying goodbye to Angelina, the four of them strolled out of the Great Hall, chatting idly. As they passed through the Entrance Hall, all four noticed Filch holding his cat and staring at them.

Albert stopped walking and found that his panel had displayed a new quest prompt: Malice from the Caretaker.

You have caught the attention of 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 an eye on you, he will not be able to find any Clues.

Reward: 1000 experience.

After reading the quest, Albert's mouth twitched. He had noticed that ever since arriving at Hogwarts, he seemed to be triggering panel quests rather frequently.

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

"Nothing." Albert quickened his pace to catch up with the others. 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 invisibility spell can make the person or object it disguises blend in like a chameleon."

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

"That was what I was thinking too. At least we wouldn't have to worry about Filch." Albert nodded. He planned to sneak out at night only after mastering the Disillusionment Charm.

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

"What 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 could ask the Charms professor. But I doubt he would be willing to teach us that spell, since he might connect it with sneaking out at night."

They exchanged looks and sighed helplessly. If they could master that magic, doing a lot of things in the future would become much more convenient.

Albert stopped beside the viaduct, resting both hands on the railing as he 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.

That wasteful idiot.

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.

It was the true divine artifact of 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 anytime soon," Lee said somewhat dejectedly. He had not forgotten that he had yet to master even the simplest magic.

"Don't talk like that." Albert shot Lee a disdainful look. "How do you think I mastered the other spells?"

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

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

The four chatted about the Disillusionment Charm as they walked. They wandered around the first floor of the castle for a long time and found several Empty Classrooms piled with clutter, as well as a place that seemed to be a secret passage. But they could not open any of them, leaving all four frustrated.

"Most secret passages need a specific Password, or you have to knock in a particular rhythm to open them." Albert explained as they walked. "If we want to find them, we can only rely on luck or ask someone else who knows about them. But I can guarantee they won't tell us easily."

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

Lee Jordan said softly, "I heard that subject is incredibly difficult."

"It really is somewhat difficult." Albert had discovered as much while studying on his own. Match into a Needle had taken him the longest to learn, but after he had mastered it, most Transfiguration spells no longer seemed so difficult.

Of course, that might also have had something to do with his Panel Skill.

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

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

"It looks 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 passwords are usually like?" Lee Jordan asked in return.

"How would I 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. It comes from the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves."

As he spoke, Albert's wand happened to tap the wooden door.

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

All four of them stared with their mouths wide open, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. None of them had any idea what had just happened.