Art! Is Explosion!

Hermione was dragged back to the entrance of the Gryffindor common room by her two roommates.

A portrait hung there, depicting a plump woman in pink robes. The students all called her the Fat Lady.

To enter the Gryffindor common room, they had to give her the password.

"Password?" the Fat Lady asked.

"Dragon dung."

Upon hearing the correct password, the portrait swung forward, revealing a round hole in the wall.

Hermione and her two roommates climbed through one after another.

"Brilliant!"

The moment he saw them, Lee Jordan, the Quidditch commentator, shouted, "And now entering the field is Miss Granger, who boldly won six points from Snape! This is clearly a victory!"

Lee Jordan continued in the style he used for Quidditch commentary.

"This Gryffindor hero is walking toward us! Incredible! What a magnificent lesson!" Lee Jordan exclaimed dramatically, as if he had witnessed the Potions class himself.

"Miss Granger has broken Snape's blockade against Gryffindor! I'd say this lesson will be talked about for years!"

"That's amazing!" shouted a student who had never spoken to Hermione before.

Parvati patted Hermione on the shoulder, then lowered her head and planted a kiss on her forehead.

As if Hermione had just won the Quidditch World Cup.

"Tell us what happened today!" someone shouted.

Lavender gave Hermione an encouraging look. "Everyone's been waiting. Come on."

Hermione was somewhat at a loss in the face of their exaggerated reactions.

She had not expected that merely gaining a few points from Snape—points that would soon be deducted again—would cause such a stir.

Many students had even deliberately skipped a class and returned early to wait for her.

Some sat, some stood, all of them watching Hermione with bright eyes. A few were even clapping loudly.

It was no wonder they were so excited.

After all, Snape was famous for one thing: "Not one point for Gryffindor, not one point deducted from Slytherin."

Yet today, he had not only awarded Gryffindor points, he had given them six at once!

Merlin's stinking socks! Six points!

It was so abnormal that they could hardly believe it.

Students were the same everywhere, in every era. Even students at a magical school found life boring most of the time.

At a time like this, if gossip spread about a teacher they both hated and feared, they would probably stay awake all night just to join in.

Not to mention these energetic little lions of Gryffindor.

They crowded around Hermione and asked impatiently.

"Please, tell us, Miss Granger."

"I'm not really sure why either. I think it was probably Silan's doing..."

Ron, sitting in the corner, looked up at the surrounded Hermione and curled his lip. "Why don't they ask us? Weren't we in the same class?"

"We were, but Gryffindor getting points deducted isn't exactly unusual..."

Harry looked somewhat helpless.

He did not want to recall what had happened in class at all.

It was bad enough that Snape disliked him, but he always liked staring at Harry's eyes.

It was terrifying.

Hermione was pulled around by her classmates and made to recount what had happened in Potions several times. She had nearly described the shape of Snape's teeth before the others finally let her go, satisfied.

The Gryffindors here gradually dispersed.

Over there, Silan was only just beginning his work.

With a flick of his wand, two Dungbombs flew into the dormitory.

"Dungbomb Explosion!"

Silan recited the secret spell the Weasley twins had taught him.

The two Dungbombs floating in the dormitory immediately burst apart, spraying everything everywhere. By sheer coincidence, Noah and Oliver's mouths and noses were both covered.

The poor pair suddenly caught an indescribable stench in their sleep.

The smell shot straight into their skulls. After only a few breaths, their throats burned fiercely, jolting them awake.

Only after waking did they discover that the entire dormitory reeked.

It made them retch uncontrollably.

Whenever they opened their mouths to gag, the Dungbomb residue stuck to their faces slid into their mouths.

So the more disgusted they felt, the more they retched; the more they retched, the more they opened their mouths; and the more they opened their mouths, the more Dungbomb residue slid inside...

The sensation was simply too awful to describe.

Fortunately, before the smell could escape the dormitory, Silan shut the door. To keep it from leaking out and affecting the other students, he even thoughtfully used a locking charm.

"Colloportus."

The dormitory door was sealed shut.

After finishing all that, Silan stretched and glanced at the clock on the wall.

It was not even midnight yet.

Nice. Nothing left overnight. That felt good.

"I really am a merciful person," Silan said with a shake of his head. "We're all classmates. A small punishment is enough. There's no need for violence."

He was quite generous toward his classmates.

Silan strode off, swaying leisurely back to his own dormitory, completely at ease as he prepared for a good night's sleep.

But the moment he lay down on his bed, a small screen popped up before his eyes.

[Art! Is Explosion!]

[What? You think Dungbomb explosions count too? Of course they do! If you ask me, Dungbomb explosions are true art. Besides the visual effects, they also come with an incredibly powerful smell, don't they?]

[You really are a prank expert. So, let's do it again.]

[Choose one person to prank. Once completed, you may exchange for traits based on the prank's effect and target.]

[Note: Choose your prank target carefully. You only have one chance.]

"Oh? An unexpected reward too?"

It was already too late, so Silan was in no hurry to study it.

After climbing into bed, he fell soundly asleep.

Generous Silan had no idea what kind of torture Noah and Oliver were enduring.

Only when they leaped from their beds did they discover that the floor was also covered in exploded Dungbomb residue.

Thick and watery filth mixed together, seeping between their toes and rising over the tops of their feet.

Both the color and the smell were intensely overwhelming.

Noah tried to stand and open the door, but his foot slipped, and he fell flat on his face again.

"Urgh... What is this stuff? It stinks so badly, urgh..."

"Oliver, hurry up and open the door!" Noah braced himself against the floor, trying to keep his face as far away from the Dungbomb residue as possible.

"Urgh!" Oliver gagged as he made his way toward the dormitory door.

Walking through that stuff was an utterly horrifying experience.

Oliver moved forward slowly, taking uneven steps. He was terrified of falling like Noah had.

When he finally reached the door after immense effort, his heart filled with joy.

Open the door.

As long as he opened it, he could leave this hellhole.

Though he was a half-blood wizard, his family was rather wealthy. He had always lived in comfort and luxury. When had he ever suffered like this?

He felt deeply wronged.

But thankfully, he would be out soon.

Thinking that, he reached out and pulled the door.

The door did not budge.

"What's going on?" Oliver's expression froze. He pulled the door again with more force.

There was still no response.

The hope in his heart shattered.

The door had been locked from the outside.

"How is that possible? Who did this?!"

Seeing Oliver dawdling without opening the door, Noah could no longer hold back. He cursed, "Oliver, you idiot! What are you doing? Open the door already!"

"The door's locked!" Oliver shouted back.

"Move aside, you fool!"

Noah shoved him away and tried pulling the door himself. He found that it truly was locked, and he began breathing heavily in fury.

That breath went straight into his lungs in legendary fashion. The skull-piercing stench nearly knocked him unconscious.

"Damn it! Go get your wand and use Scourgify!"

"But..." Oliver looked miserable. "We don't know how!"

Just moments ago, they had been smugly showing off to Silan, saying they had servants and house-elves at home, and that chores like cleaning dirt were beneath them.

Now karma had arrived.

"What about the window?"

"Did you forget? The Black Lake is outside our dormitory. The windows can't be opened at all!"

Those words were like a massive hammer, easily smashing Noah's hopes to pieces and making him stagger.

Having already fallen face-first once, Noah hurriedly grabbed the wall. He steadied himself, but his hand became covered in Dungbomb residue.

Looking at the indescribable substance all over his hand, Noah finally broke down and screamed without regard for his dignity.

"Help!"

"Help!"

Oliver beside him glared fiercely and growled, "Shut up! Do you want people to come laugh at us?"

Noah was startled by him and immediately stopped crying.

He came from an ancient pure-blood wizarding family, while Oliver was merely a half-blood wizard.

So Noah had always treated Oliver as his little lackey.

And Oliver had been sensible enough to follow his lead in everything.

Noah had never imagined that Oliver would dare speak to him like that. But seeing the savage look on Oliver's face, Noah obediently shut his mouth.

"Find the spellbook. I remember Scourgify being recorded in it."

As Oliver spoke, he waded through the thick and watery Dungbomb residue covering the floor to search for their spellbook.

Noah followed obediently behind him.

As for Silan...

He was sleeping quite well.

He could think about the prank target tomorrow.