The One-Eyed Witch Passage

"That'll do for today. Honestly, I'm already very surprised that you managed to grasp the path of magical power's flow today. Go back and practice the rest slowly. Remember, nothing can be achieved overnight!"

Professor Green patted Linley's shoulder, signaling for him to stop.

His eyes were filled with appreciation for Linley.

Professor Green said, "After you return, memorize the Ancient Runes recorded in the first three books on the list as soon as possible. Then, I'll lead you into the threshold of alchemy ahead of schedule!"

Linley bowed to Professor Green. "All right, thank you, Professor!"

After leaving the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office, Linley headed toward the library with the book list.

On the way, Linley ran into Fred and George. He returned the books he had borrowed earlier and told them they did not need to borrow any new ones.

"Brother, what's this?" Fred asked in confusion.

Linley showed them the book list he had received from Professor Green. "The professor told me to read the books on this list. I'll copy this list for you, along with my alchemy notes from this afternoon."

At that, Fred and George exchanged a glance, each seeing excitement in the other's eyes.

George hurried forward and threw an arm around Linley's neck, while Fred leaned in and slung an arm over his shoulder as well.

"Just as expected of our good brother!"

"Seriously, I'm crying!"

"Then our alchemy knowledge—"

"—will be entrusted to our dear Linley!"

The two chimed in together, their words brimming with delight.

Linley agreed and arranged a time with them to head to Hogsmeade through the secret passage the next day.

After parting with the Weasley twins, Linley went to the Hogwarts library and borrowed five books at once.

According to Professor Green's requirements, he only needed to memorize the key points from the first three books to truly step across the threshold of alchemy. The latter two would help him familiarize himself with and practice basic alchemy.

Books in the wizarding world were generally crammed with nonsense. Truly useful content made up less than a tenth of the whole book. Even though the books Linley had borrowed had been carefully selected by Professor Green, at most about a third of each book contained knowledge that could help him.

That was also why most Defense Against the Dark Arts professors throughout Hogwarts' history chose to teach practical lessons. At worst, they combined textbooks with practice. Even the useless Gilderoy Lockhart had taught a practical lesson for his first class, back when he had not yet clearly recognized himself for what he was.

Of course, that pink piece of trash was another matter entirely.

These rambling textbooks and books were also one of the reasons young wizards generally performed so poorly academically.

However, having studied high school Chinese, Linley naturally possessed some ability to extract information. More than a decade of exam-oriented education had also made him far more efficient at studying than ordinary people.

In just one day, Linley had finished a third of the first book.

It was now time for Linley to head to Hogsmeade as arranged with the Weasley twins.

Linley put down his book, hung a canvas bag enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm at his waist, then quickly left the Slytherin common room and headed for the fourth floor.

Before long, Linley arrived at the One-Eyed Witch on the fourth floor. Behind the One-Eyed Witch, he spotted Fred and George.

"Come on!" George called Linley over, then took out his Wand and tapped the One-Eyed Witch. "Separation Jinx!"

The hunchback of the One-Eyed Witch statue opened, revealing a large hole that could fit a relatively slim person.

"I checked. Filch is still in the broom closet on the first floor. Let's go!" George quickly glanced at the Marauder's Map in his hand, then dove headfirst into the hole and moved forward.

Linley and Fred followed close behind. After entering the passage, Fred turned back and cast a spell to restore the entrance to its original state.

The three made their way through the secret passage and soon came across a stone slide. They slid down it for a long distance before dropping onto the cold, damp earth at the bottom.

Everything around them was pitch-black. They could not see a thing.

"Lumos!"

"Lumos!"

Fred and George cast Lumos at the same time, and two balls of light lit up at the tips of their Wands.

Linley, meanwhile, waved his Wand and conjured a ball of fire that floated beside him. The crimson flames blazed brilliantly, instantly outshining the Weasley twins' Lumos.

"Come on, you're making the two of us look useless."

Fred muttered softly as he and George extinguished the light at the tips of their Wands.

Linley smiled. "The light from Lumos appears at the tip of the Wand, blocking the outlet through which magical power is discharged. That means we can't cast other spells at the same time. If we run into danger, we'd have to put out Lumos first. But the fire summoned by Incendio is an independent source of light, so we can cast other magic while maintaining Incendio. It's much safer."

Although Linley knew that the passage led to Honeydukes' cellar, his cautious nature still made him leave himself enough room to retreat at all times.

"Cool!"

"You really know your stuff!"

The two gave him thumbs-ups.

Linley observed their surroundings. They were inside a narrow, low earthen passage. The tunnel ahead twisted and turned, while the ground was uneven. Rather than a tunnel, it looked more like a giant rabbit hole.

The three walked along at an unhurried pace. After an unknown amount of time, they arrived beneath a trapdoor.

On the other side of the trapdoor was a cellar filled with crates and other wooden boxes.

The three quickly slipped out of the cellar and climbed the stairs into the Honeydukes shop.

Every Sunday, Honeydukes was packed with countless young wizards from Hogwarts, and today was naturally no exception.

Honeydukes was not a particularly large shop. With the crowd packed so tightly together, Linley and the other two suddenly appearing inside did not attract attention. They blended into the flow of people and made their way to the entrance of Honeydukes.

"We finally got out!"

"Yeah, I was suffocating in there—especially that old lady. She reeked of perfume!"

Fred and George gasped for air.

Linley smiled. "Is there anything you want to eat? My treat!"

Fred and George exchanged a look and said in unison, "Whatever you want. We don't want to go back in there!"

Hearing that, Linley helplessly spread his hands and returned to Honeydukes alone. As he walked deeper into the shop, he examined the treats displayed on each shelf.

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