An Iron Gate

Li Mu and the others redoubled their efforts, running through two corridors. They couldn't care less about the fatigue surging from every part of their bodies.

Then they stopped, again with Hinata in the lead, in front of an iron gate.

This situation was truly terrible.

Yes, this was clearly a corridor, but who would have thought that an iron gate would appear halfway down, completely blocking the way?

Some light spots gathered on Hermione's wand, then formed a beam and shot out, hitting the bolt of the iron gate. Nothing changed. The iron gate still stood before them, and the lock was intact. Li Mu frowned, trying to push and then pull the door.

It didn't budge. He suddenly thought of something, and his heart sank as if into the sea.

"What floor have we run to?" he asked his friends, but no one paid attention to him at this moment.

Ron only cared about complaining to Hermione, "Come on, aren't you 'Miss Know-It-All'? Are you sure you cast the spell correctly?"

Hermione was so angry that her head of bushy hair almost stood on end. The hand holding her wand trembled slightly, and she spoke through gritted teeth, "I clearly—told—you!"

"Keep it down..." Li Mu helplessly advised. He faintly heard Filch's footsteps, and then he asked, "Hinata, have we run back to the fourth floor?"

From the beginning, he hadn't expected anything from the others—Harry, Ron, and even Hermione had just been following Hinata, running wildly forward in a panic. He didn't expect them to notice their escape route. He kept asking Hinata because he guessed a certain possibility... The place they were in now might be the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor, the one where the Philosopher's Stone was hidden, where no teachers or students were allowed to approach...

"Probably," Hinata replied perfunctorily, looking at the iron gate in front of her.

Oh my god... Li Mu almost wanted to facepalm and sigh—the Trophy Room was clearly on the left-hand side of the fourth floor... In other words, they had run around in circles and come back... But so what? There were no other forks in this corridor, and going back now would only mean getting caught.

Filch's footsteps were getting closer and closer.

"That guy is really persistent. Is Gryffindor going to lose points again?" Even Harry Potter lost his composure and sighed.

"No, maybe it's more than that. Filch will definitely try to increase our punishment..." Ron also seemed very depressed. "So many people sneaking out at the same time, we might really have to prepare our train tickets home."

A night breeze happened to blow into the corridor, and the cold air made the companions look even more downcast and bleak. Li Mu shook his head and sighed. He had no solution for the iron gate. The only methods he could think of, apart from the Wall-Passing Spell, were physical ways to break the door down.

He hadn't learned the Wall-Passing Spell yet, and breaking the door down... Did they really think Filch was a fool? However, he wasn't worried about being expelled—to say nothing else, Dumbledore would never expel Harry Potter. At most, they would be punished to clean the Trophy Room again.

Just then, Hinata suddenly spoke, "Don't worry, this door is just sealed by a spell."

Her voice was still very soft, but compared to her usual shy appearance, she was much calmer and more composed. Then, she began to issue orders, "Li Mu, go cast an Obscuring Charm and buy me some time."

Li Mu was stunned. How did Hinata know that he had drawn a few Obscuring Charms to keep on hand?

"Anything you want to ask, ask later." Hinata's faint tone revealed an unquestionable authority. "Hermione, be prepared. When I say okay, you use the unlocking spell again."

At this moment, although her face was still a little flushed, the aura and pressure of her whole person had changed, even surpassing Hermione when she was giving instructions.

Then, without waiting for a reply, Hinata stretched out her hands, her ten fingers constantly changing, making various hand shapes. Gradually, a faint white light appeared on her left hand.

It was naturally better not to be caught. Li Mu had already taken out five yellow talismans from his pocket. The talismans were also painted with incantations in Cinnabar, but the patterns of the incantations were different from the previous talismans. Next, he threw the five talismans into the air, pinched his fingers into Sword Fingers, and chanted, "Spirits of Heaven and Earth, heed my command, a leaf before the eyes, reversing the five elements."

As he spoke, the five talismans fluttered in the night wind, suddenly falling into five corners, vaguely forming a five-pointed star-shaped wall in the air. Then, a dim blue flame ignited, and the five talismans disappeared into the air.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all stared intently at this magical scene.

"It's done. Filch can't see us for the time being, but don't make any noise." Li Mu gasped. The principle of the Obscuring Charm was actually similar to the Disillusionment Charm in Western magic. Both used camouflage to blend in with the surrounding environment, making it difficult for others to detect.

But now he had to cover such a large group of people in an emergency, and the Obscuring Charm was almost being cast as an Obscuring magic array, making him feel a little tired.

At this time, Hinata had already pressed her left hand on the lock of the iron gate. A faint silver five-pointed star pattern flashed on the lock. The five-pointed star was only fleeting, the light lit up, and gradually faded.

Li Mu and the others watched Hinata's movements with great interest, when suddenly, their expressions changed.

The sound of footsteps was already very loud, as if it were right next to their ears.

Harry and Ron turned their heads to look, almost crying out in fright.

Mrs. Norris, leading Filch, was at the front of the corridor, searching along the path they had come from. They were really close now; with the help of the starlight and moonlight, Harry and the others could even see the long whiskers on either side of Mrs. Norris's nose.

The group of five, and Filch with his cat, were now no more than a hundred meters apart, with absolutely no barriers in between.

Had Filch also seen them? Harry wasn't sure. He turned back to look at Li Mu's expression, but almost jumped up in frustration. Li Mu had already tightly prostrated himself on the ground, shrinking into a ball as if trying to disguise himself as a carpet, clearly lacking confidence in the Obscuring Charm.

Filch and Mrs. Norris were still approaching, and now they could almost see Mr. Filch's dark, long nose hairs sticking out.

"Strange..." Filch said as he walked, looking around, "My dear, are you sure it's this way? There doesn't seem to be anything here..."

Li Mu and his group of five were clearly right in front of him, but he was blind to them. The scene was as if Filch were a blind old man.

(End of this chapter)