Not a bad trick-Hogwarts will take it

Peter's large head had just squeezed out from between the two men's buttocks when he saw the bronze door at the end of the passage, and he shrank back again. "Let's go find Remus first."

James lifted his leg to take a step forward, his face full of excitement. "Just one look, it won't take long. Remus's busy growing hair tonight, he won't have time to rush us."

Sirius reached out to stop him, his eyes still fixed on the bronze door, his left eye excited, his right eye wary, the two sides locked in a fierce battle.

"Wait a moment."

"We're already here, what are we waiting for?" James didn't want to wait at all. He walked past him, but Sirius grabbed him by the back of the neck and pulled him back.

Caught off guard, James plopped down on the ground, his smile instantly vanishing. He braced himself with one hand, tilted his head back, and yelled, "Are you crazy?"

Sirius ignored it completely, grinned, and then pointed his wand at the pebbles at his feet.

The stone stretched out, its rough surface became smooth, and a long pole rose from the ground and fell into his hand.

James stood up, cursing, and watched Sirius use a long pole to knock into the passageway.

I knocked on the ground, walls, stone arches, and doorways, and used a long pole to probe every possible hiding place for mechanisms, but nothing was triggered.

James rubbed his backside and urged, "Is that enough? Are you planning to knock down every single stone?"

"Shut up," Sirius said without turning his head. "What do you know? Stay in the back."

"You're knocking so lightly, even if there was something there, you'd have lulled it to sleep." James peeked inside and pursed his lips.

Sirius raised his wand again, and a ball of white light spread from the tip, rolling along the ground, followed by a pale blue light that swept across the wall.

He changed a few more times; red, yellow, and green lights spread along the stone slabs in front of him, gradually disappearing only at the end of the passage.

Outside, Regulus raised an eyebrow.

This guy has improved. It seems the underground scene really touched Sirius's soul. If it were before, he would have just charged in headfirst.

A look of satisfaction flashed in McGonagall's eyes, but when she looked at Potter scratching his head beside her, her brows furrowed again.

She glanced at Regulus, knowing that Regulus had a way of making someone like Sirius so cautious.

The situation outside is getting worse every day. Once you leave the school gates, it's hard to even find a chance to correct some mistakes.

McGonagall gazed at the water, lost in thought.

We should ask Regulus how he spent his holidays. If his methods are suitable, we could also organize something for the school. Mr. Potter would definitely need it, and Mr. Black could use it to further solidify his understanding.

Inside the tunnel, Sirius felt there were no problems and it was safe to proceed.

He turned to look at James, raised his chin, his left eye smug, his right eye even more smug. "See? Check first, then go in. If you had stepped on something while rushing forward, who would have rescued you?"

James rubbed his buttocks with one hand, staring at his face. "I'll remember what you did to my butt."

"Damn it, can't you speak properly?" Sirius was getting a little exasperated and shoved James in the chest again, annoyed. "Don't talk like I've done anything to you."

James didn't speak, only looked at him with a resentful gaze.

Sirius felt a chill run down his spine from his gaze and, unable to bear it any longer, lifted his leg and walked into the passageway.

James watched his retreating figure from behind, a victorious smile playing on his lips.

Showing off to me? Do you think casting two detection spells will make you stand out?

He strode after him, quickened his pace, bypassed Sirius, and rushed to the Bronze Door ahead of him, even turning back to wink at him.

Sirius got angry when he saw him like this. "What's wrong with you?"

Peter hesitated for a moment, watching the two figures grow smaller and smaller in the distance, then quickly hunched his shoulders and chased after them.

Upon reaching the door, the dark brown lettering on the seal peeked out from under the rolled-up edges of the paper.

He reached out and tugged at the hem of Sirius's robe, his voice even lower. "It tells us not to go in."

James then noticed the seal, and his eyes lit up even more after reading it. "Sealed something? Which professor left this?"

Sirius was also looking at it; the patterns on the door were intricate, and the threshold was worn low, indicating that people frequently went in and out.

"Let's open it and see." James stuck his wand in the back of his neck, braced his hands against the bronze door, and pushed hard.

The door didn't budge. He gritted his teeth and strained, pushing it with his shoulder and bracing his feet against the ground, but it still wouldn't move.

Sirius watched him struggle for a while before kindly reminding him, "Are you Muggle?"

James turned and glared at him, took a half step back, reached out and raised his wand. "Alohomora!"

The tip of the cane flashed, but no sound came from the crack in the door.

James frowned, tried the other side, and the chanting was even louder. He then went forward and pulled on the brass ring on the door, but the door remained closed.

His face gradually flushed red. The more he couldn't get in, the more he wanted to go in. He took two steps back, pointed his wand at the crack in the door, and said, "Move aside!"

Seeing his posture, Sirius immediately reached out and pressed his wrist, giving him a look that said, "Are you trying to bury us all alive?"

James glanced at the stone arch above him, lowered the tip of his staff slightly, and stubbornly insisted, "I just want to blow the door open."

"Yes, even the dirt on our heads has to listen to you."

After hesitating for a moment, James simply stood aside and said, "Then you come up with a plan."

Sirius glared at him and continued shining his wand through the crack in the door.

Peter, squeezed to the side by the two people, simply squatted down, hugged his knees, and looked up from below.

He wanted to go back, but the two men were locked in a struggle with the door, and neither of them paid any attention to him.

The area close to the ground reveals a hint of bronze, which differs from the pattern above, and the surrounding area is polished to a high shine.

Peter shifted slightly to the side, pointing a short distance away. "There... there's a hole over there."

The two of them lowered their heads together. Peter quickly withdrew his hand, while James crouched down beside him, pointing his wand at the lower right corner.

There was a very small groove there, round in shape, with a ring of fine lines around the edge. If you didn't look closely, it was no different from the intricate patterns on the facade.

James held up the wand and checked it; the diameter of the groove matched the tip of the wand perfectly, allowing him to insert it.

So he poked it in, turned it around, but there was no response. He poked it again, but still no response.

Sirius offered a suggestion. "Try channeling some Magic Power into it."

Upon hearing this, James thought, "Yes, transfer Magic Power." He gripped his wand tightly, and Magic Power flowed into it along the shaft.

The Bronze Door trembled slightly, and the patterns near the small hole lit up with a dark red light, slowly extending upwards.

"Got it!" James continued to send Magic Power into it, grinning widely. Sirius stood up and stared at the red light slowly crawling across the bronze surface.

Two or three minutes passed, and half of the Rune were lit up. The other half was still missing. James gritted his teeth and continued, the veins on his forehead bulging.

Regulus looked at the water, his curled fingers twitched slightly, and the red light continued to advance along the engravings on the door.

The patterns are all decorative; the Magic that receives the Magic Power is placed in the corner of the door, and he decides where it shines and how fast it shines.

McGonagall gazed at the pattern slowly lighting up on the door, then at the two students whose heads were tilting upwards with the light, and a slight smile curved her lips.

Regulus glanced at her; she had already withdrawn the corners of her mouth and continued to watch the door with a serious expression.

Three or four minutes later, James's face turned bright red, his arms began to tremble, he pulled out his wand, plopped down on the ground, and was panting heavily.

"No... you do it."

Peter crouched down beside him and whispered, "How about... we go back first? Remus..."

Ignoring him, James slapped Sirius on the butt and raised his chin. "Go ahead and keep going, I don't believe it."

Sirius didn't care about the heavy blow to his backside or any caution he might be aware of; his mind was completely preoccupied with what was behind the door.

He inserted his wand into the groove and began to channel Magic Power.

The red light started moving again, crossing the center of the doorway. James sat up straight, propping himself up on the ground, and stared up at the pattern.

Three to five minutes later, the Rune on the door finally lit up completely. Sirius let out a sigh of relief, withdrew his wand, and stood up, supporting himself on his knees, stretching his aching arms.

The dark red pattern moved slowly, the previously separated lines converged towards the center, and several pointed symbols changed direction, interlocking with each other to form a double ring connected vertically.

The red light circled the double rings once, then disappeared into the door panel, accompanied by an old, crackling sound.

Another heavy scraping sound came from the stone arch, and the two bronze doors slowly pushed inward. Dust fell from the lintel, and the gap widened little by little, just enough for a person to squeeze in sideways.

James's excitement completely vanished. Without a second thought, he slipped inside, Sirius grinned as he followed.

Peter remained outside the door, looking back at the dark path he had come from. The more he looked, the more panicked he became, so he had no choice but to squeeze through the door.

After James went inside, he took two steps forward. The light from the tip of his wand shone on the other side, and he was startled to see another person holding a wand.

Sirius squeezed in from behind, his white light flashing upwards, illuminating the verdigris frame and his own reflection in the mirror.

He patted James on the shoulder and sneered mercilessly, "So lame."

James ignored him, looking at his reflection in the mirror, his smile widening.

The interior was much wider than it appeared from the outside. Two rows of tall mirrors stood side by side between the pillars, one after another. Further inside, light shone through the mirror frames in front, and the outlines covered by black cloth could still be seen behind them.

The ground was covered in a thick layer of dust, and footsteps kicked up fine dust that drifted into the fluorescent light. James waved his hand in front of his nose, his eyes simply unable to keep up.

"Hogwarts even has places to hide mirrors?" he said as he walked inside.

Sirius followed beside him, glancing at the temples of the mirror held down by the brass clasps. He noticed the Transfiguration and bent marks on the brass strips, and his excitement subsided slightly.

He raised his wand and shone it along the copper bar, revealing the deepest, enclosed circle.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she glanced back towards the doorway and said, "Is it something hidden in the mirror?"

After hearing this, James became even more eager to understand, so he raised his wand to look at the nearest mirror.

"It's written all over the place, it can't see anyone," Peter said, trembling. Peter immediately moved away from the mirror and towards the doorway, his voice shaking as he looked back and forth between the two people, hoping someone would say something first.

James, growing impatient, said, "If it could come out, it would have done so already."

Sirius's eyes were a battle of excitement and wariness. He raised his wand to illuminate the edge of the black cloth, ready to see what was hidden, then stopped.

"Keep the cloth for now; the warning mentions meeting strangers, and the cloth will likely be useful."

Under the tree, McGonagall saw his wand stop, and her eyes showed approval.

Regulus thought it was alright. He was too excited when he opened the door, but he managed to regain his guard after seeing the traces once he was inside. He seemed quite capable.

The next moment, James had already walked to another exposed mirror, and with a look of excitement, Sirius over.

McGonagall frowned, her tone serious. "Mr. Potter is being too reckless. Someone has already warned him, but he's still preoccupied with his own curiosity."

"Indeed," Regulus agreed, raising his finger to lightly tap the water's surface.

James wiped the dust off a piece of the mirror and looked inside.

The man in the mirror raised his hand, mimicking the motion of wiping away dust. James stared at him for a moment, then noticed that the hand in the mirror lowered itself a little later.

He stopped moving, looked at the mirror again, and saw that the reflection was standing perfectly still, with the same expression as him. The hesitation he had just seen seemed to have been just a fleeting moment.

James raised his left hand to his face, fingers spread, stared at the mirror, and then abruptly pulled it back to his chest.

The hand in the mirror lingered on his face for a moment longer than his before it was withdrawn.

He was stunned at first, then laughed, and raised his hand to try again. "Look, it can't keep up!"

He thought he had found the strange use of the mirror, so he deliberately shook his wand from side to side very fast. The reflection in the mirror also shook its wand, but at a noticeably slower pace.

Sirius heard the noise and immediately went to the side, following James's gaze.

"See? He needs to think about it for a while!"

Sirius stood in front of the mirror, raised his hand, and his reflection in the mirror also raised his hand, the movement mirroring his own, in sync, without any abnormality. He then switched hands, and the reflection still moved in sync.

James was a little unconvinced and kept trying. He changed his wand, made faces, moved his shoulders, and the reflection slowly followed. The more he tried, the more excited he became.

Peter stood by the door, watching the two of them fidgeting in front of the mirror, unable to laugh at all.

His eyes turned to a mirror beside him, and he suddenly realized that his reflection was looking into the hall, staring at James and Sirius's backs.

He was standing by the door, his face clearly facing the mirror, and I was immediately so frightened that my throat tightened. "Sirius..."

Sirius turned around with a smile and noticed that Peter was not behaving properly. Following Peter's trembling hand, he looked in the mirror and saw Peter turn his face as well, a slow smile spreading across his lips.

Peter frozen in place, his face almost breaking into tears, but the smile in the mirror gradually widened, his cheeks twitching upwards.

James looked over as well, the excitement on his face gradually fading. He raised his wand in front of him, and Sirius stood beside him, raising his wand as well, his gaze sweeping over the other mirrors.

In the mirror, James and Sirius hung their hands at their sides, neither raising their wands, watching and laughing along with Peter's reflection.

The Bronze Door behind them slammed shut with a loud crash.