Conspiracy and Preparation

At this point, the smiles on Fred and George's faces vanished instantly.

Fred covered his face and said, "Let's not talk about this, we're still friends."

"Oliver Wood seems to have lent his brain to the Troll," George said, shaking his head. "He actually thinks our little brother Ron has the same Quidditch talent as Charlie and wants to recruit him into the team."

"Merlin, let Ron be the Seeker ..." Fred seemed to have thought of something terrible, and shuddered as he said, "If that's the case, we might as well just surrender. That way, at least we won't embarrass ourselves in front of everyone."

"Fortunately, Professor McGonagall did not agree."

"Even Harry Potter is more reliable than him."

Kyle glanced at them thoughtfully... Could these two really have some kind of Prophecy talent?

"Let's not talk about that." Fred stuffed a chicken leg into his mouth and mumbled, "We're planning to explore the fourth floor. Do you want to join us?"

Cedric frowned and said, "You're not talking about the room in the corner of the Third Floor Corridor, are you?"

Fred blinked.

"Besides that place, is there anywhere else on the fourth floor worth exploring?"

"But..." Cedric hesitated, "Didn't Headmaster Dumbledore say we weren't allowed to go there?"

"Don't be silly." George shook his finger, as if to say, "You don't know anything."

"Only forbidden places are truly worth exploring, just like no one would sneak into the Transfiguration Class Classroom at night."

"The Potions Classroom might be a possibility."

"We went there when we were in first grade..."

"They threw two Dungbomb there..."

"Unfortunately, the flavor had all dissipated by the next day."

Kyle's eyes lit up, and he said thoughtfully, "A nighttime stroll to the Potions Classroom? That's a great idea!"

"No, Kyle," Fred shook his head. "We've already confirmed it; there's no point in going there."

"The fourth floor is still the best," George said with a smile. "Headmaster Dumbledore is simply amazing; he gave us such a wonderful surprise on the first day of school."

"Have you thought it through? Do you want to come with us?" Fred asked again.

"But..."

Cedric still hesitated, "It's dangerous there, aren't you afraid...?"

"You know Dumbledore too little."

Fred said with a serious expression, "If it were really dangerous, he would never have let us know."

"This..."

Seeing Cedric hesitate, Fred and George exchanged a glance and continued:

"Actually, we had already been there before the first day of school."

Fred lowered his voice and said, "There's just a door there, not even a portrait."

"I think it's a test for us," George said, trying to be persuasive. "If we pass the test, we can get a hundred points for our academy."

"It might even be better—to receive Special Award for Services to the School!"

Cedric was somewhat intrigued; he felt the Weasley brothers made a lot of sense.

The Forbidden Forest is guarded by Hagrid, who doesn't allow young wizards to enter, but the equally dangerous fourth floor is completely empty... This is definitely not right.

"Alright... I'll join!" Cedric thought for a moment, then added, "But I'll just keep an eye on you guys, in case you cause any serious trouble."

"I see..." Fred said solemnly, "Then I'll have to trouble Mr. Diggory."

Then they looked at Kyle.

"Don't look at me..." Kyle blinked, neither agreeing nor refusing, and asked directly, "When are you planning to go?"

"Anytime is fine, but before that, there are two issues that need to be resolved."

Fred said, "First of all, we tried the Unlocking Charm before, it didn't work on that door... Kyle, I remember you have a master key, right?"

"Hmm." Kyle nodded.

The master key was sent along with the Invisibility Cloak, but he hadn't used it much.

"Then there shouldn't be any problem."

George continued, "Now we only need to deal with Filch. He's been loitering around the fourth floor these past few nights; we need to find a way to lure him away."

How about diverting his attention?

Cedric suggested, "For example, before going to the fourth floor, let's throw a few Dungbomb somewhere else."

"That's what we thought too... but it won't work."

Fred shook his head and said, "Doing this will only allow us to enter the room on the fourth floor, but it won't allow us to come out."

"If Filch stays at the door, and there are no other exits or secret passages in that room, we'll be trapped inside."

"Filch can't possibly stay there all night," Cedric said dismissively.

"He really will," Fred and George said in unison.

For the past few nights, they've been using Marauder's Map to observe Filch, but no matter when they check, his location is always on the fourth floor.

"How about we ask someone else for help?" Cedric continued, "Let's agree on a time, an hour or two, and use the Dungbomb to distract Filch again."

"Are you sure... they'll be awake by then?" Fred said quietly.

Cedric was taken aback; he really couldn't be sure.

And if you think about it carefully, even if that person wakes up and does as agreed, it's still useless if they don't manage their time well or get trapped by something and can't get out in time.

"Let's go check on Zonko's."

At that moment, Kyle suddenly said, "There should be something there that can distract Filch at any time."

"Haha, you're thinking the same thing as us."

After finishing their meal, Fred and George traveled to Hogsmeade through a secret passage.

When they returned, they had a book in their hands that everyone was familiar with.

Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Defense?

Cedric, puzzled, asked, "Why would you buy it?"

"This isn't an ordinary book," Fred said, leading them outside the castle. Then he took out a quill pen and said mysteriously, "Take a good look."

With a snap, the quill pen broke in two.

At the same time, the book began to shake violently, its pages flying everywhere and making a series of crackling and popping sounds.

"Zonko's's latest prank product."

Fred chuckled and said, "It's specially designed for little wizards who don't want to go to class, and it's practically the perfect solution for our Skiving Snackboxes."

"With this, we can cause trouble for Filch anytime." George then pulled two more identical books out of his pocket.

"What about the controllable distance?" Kyle asked.

"It's not very far, but it's enough to lead Filch to another floor."