"Yes, he treated us, his two older brothers, like errand boys. He even said our progress was too slow and wanted to cut our funding. And do you know what was in his package? Equipment for the Ether Voyage ritual! Merlin, our greedy, wicked little brother was actually preparing to abandon us and become an alchemist himself. This was the ultimate humiliation!"
"That's right, George. That's why we firmly overruled Wood and Harry's objections and unanimously refused to use the tactics that guy developed."
The twins' banter successfully made McGonagall laugh despite herself, easing the heavy atmosphere of self-reproach in the changing room.
What had happened was already over. Who exactly was at fault did not matter. What mattered was recognizing the mistake and correcting it in time.
McGonagall was quite satisfied on that point. As captain, Wood had not continued wallowing in despair. Instead, he had bravely stepped forward to take responsibility.
As the team's core player, Harry had not shifted the blame onto others and absolved himself entirely either. He had chosen to share the responsibility with Wood.
The twins might have been criticizing their younger brother, calling him wicked and saying he was preparing an Ether ritual—
Wait!
McGonagall suddenly caught on. Narrowing her eyes at the twins, she pressed her thin lips together. "You said Vaughn is preparing an Ether Voyage ritual?"
The twins nodded. "That's right!"
"You're not joking?"
"Of course not."
"—When did he start?"
The twins craned their heads to look at the sky outside the window and calculated for a moment. "Hmm, the sun has set, the moon has yet to rise, and the stars are obscured. It's the darkest hour, when reality and mystery blur at their boundaries and overlap amid darkness and secrecy—so, probably right about now."
McGonagall frowned. "Where