War Machine Turned into a BabyBus

"I never expected the Chamber of Secrets to have been left behind by Slytherin. I wonder what kind of monster he left inside," Hermione said as she walked out of the classroom with a book in her arms.

"I always knew that old lunatic Slytherin was a pervert," Ron said. "If I'd been sorted into Slytherin, I would've taken the train straight home."

Harry asked, "What do you think, Oren?"

"You know me, Harry. I've always slept very well in History of Magic."

The trio...

"Want to go to the Library, everyone? It's already been renovated. Trust me, it'll leave you speechless."

The trio exchanged looks and said in unison, "Sure." ×3

"Wow!" ×3

A magical holographic display showed information on every book, along with a search engine. It was overflowing with sci-fi vibes.

This strange equipment was utterly mind-blowing in 1992, whether for young wizards from wizarding families or those from Muggle families.

"Wow." Hermione poked at the screen. "With this, I could finish every book I want to read before Christmas."

The young witch looked like a hamster that had fallen into a rice bin, making the other three's mouths twitch wildly.

"This isn't even the complete version." Oren proudly put his hands on his hips. "The original version could retrieve and shelve books without anyone doing it, but Dumbledore thought that would make Madam Pince seem rather unnecessary."

"Of course, the Headmaster probably just didn't want to replace her."

Ron stared at the screen. "This is so convenient. With this, I feel like I could easily pad out my History of Magic essay."

The two of them...

"There are really a lot of people in the Library today," Harry remarked. "They've all come to see the new Library."

"Yeah, Malfoy and the others are there too. Oh, he seems to be studying dark curses. He must be preparing to deal with someone. What a rotten little bastard."

"I honestly never thought his two lackeys, Goyle and Crabbe, could read," Oren said in surprise.

The four of them stayed in the Library for half the day before leaving. Mainly because Oren, Harry, and Ron practically talked themselves hoarse before they finally persuaded Hermione to step away from the screen. It scared Oren so much that he gave up on the idea of storing the contents of every book in the display.

Even after leaving the Library, the young witch was still complaining that they did not love studying. If not for them, she would have wanted to sleep in the Library that night.

The moment they stepped out of the Library doors, they ran into Peeves. The trio immediately took three steps back upon seeing him.

Oren quietly handed him a bag filled with trackers and Dungbombs.

Peeves gave the trio an evil grin. "Do you know where Filch is right now?"

Looking at the ink bottle in Peeves's hand, the trio decisively chose to sacrifice their fellow man rather than themselves.

"Whenever he hasn't been chasing you around and beating you these past few days, he's been lurking around a puddle in that corridor." ×3

After Peeves left, Oren said to the trio, "You saw that too. I suggest you stay away from Peeves. His prank skills have improved greatly lately."

The trio...

After walking only a few steps, Oren stopped. "Ron, what's wrong with your sister Ginny? When she ran into us earlier, she looked like she wanted to say something but stopped, then stopped but wanted to say something, and in the end, she seemed to forget what she wanted to say."

"I don't know. Maybe she just hasn't adjusted to life at Hogwarts yet."

"And what's with that kid?" Oren asked in confusion. "Why did he look like he'd seen Peeves when he saw Harry?"

"That was Justin... forget it, I doubt you'd remember his name anyway," Harry said helplessly. "He must think I'm the heir of the Chamber of Secrets."

Oren...

"Huh? Then why don't you believe I'm Qin Shi Huang? Sponsor me with a few Galleons now, and when I reclaim my throne, I'll make you Grand Marshal of All Under Heaven, grant you the Nine Bestowments, and let you wear your sword into the palace. How does that sound?"

Ron seemed a little tempted and began feeling around for the copper coins on him. Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes at the two of them.

Hermione suggested, "I think whoever petrified Mrs Norris isn't human. That puddle is right ahead. Why don't we go look for clues?"

"You go ahead. I'm not going." Oren hurriedly refused. "I remember that some criminals return to the scene of the crime. Make sure nobody sees you, or you won't be able to clear your names even if you jumped into the Thames River."

The trio...

Gryffindor Common Room.

"What's wrong with you, Ron? Why are you so red in the face?" Oren asked listlessly as he leaned against the sofa.

"He had an argument with Percy and got five points deducted," Harry said helplessly.

"Did you find any clues?"

"No. We only found a few dead spiders," Hermione said.

Ron said angrily, "Who would want to drive Squibs and Muggle-born wizards out? Malfoy! It has to be him! The key to the Chamber of Secrets must have been passed down through his family for generations!"

"I have a plan," Hermione said quietly. "We'll spend a month preparing Polyjuice Potion, then sneak into Slytherin and ask Malfoy a few questions. We'll probably have to break more than fifty school rules."

"Pfft, what kind of brain-dead plan is that?" Oren burst out laughing.

Hermione's expression darkened. "Oren, what did you just say?"

"Ahem. I said Miss Granger has excellent insight!"

"Now there's only one problem," Hermione said. "How do we borrow the Polyjuice Potion recipe from the Restricted Section?"

The trio all looked at Oren.

"Don't look at me. Dumbledore told me at the start of this term that I could read it myself, but I couldn't show it to anyone else!"

"Can't you just..."

Before the young witch could finish, Oren pulled out a phoenix feather, looking ready to call Dumbledore.

"No. This is a matter of principle!"

"Fine, then we'll figure something out ourselves..." Hermione said.

"Don't lose heart. I have a plan." Oren Black, the dog-headed strategist, went online. "Harry can go flatter Lockhart a little. That idiot will definitely give Harry permission to enter the Restricted Section."

Harry, Ron, and Oren exchanged looks. Lockhart was nothing but a fraud. The plan was a go.

Like a beaver whose tail had been stepped on, Hermione snapped furiously, "You! How can you slander Professor Lockhart like that?!"

Ron whispered, though everyone could hear him, "Hermione drew hearts around Lockhart's classes on her timetable."

"Pfft." ×3

The young witch's face turned crimson as she shouted, "Don't laugh!"

The three of them immediately stopped laughing, provided one ignored their flushed faces and trembling shoulders.

"What are these?" Hermione asked, pointing at the three pieces of parchment on the table.

"Blueprints," Oren said.

The trio picked up the blueprints and examined them. One showed a metal spider, while the other two were designs for Jerusalem and Aunt Wang. The trio looked at Oren strangely.

"Why are you looking at me? I had no choice, okay?" Oren explained. "The metal ingots I bought have been confiscated."

"I need to pull off something big to get the Headmaster to agree to let me build the metal spider."

The young witch punched Oren a few times in embarrassment and annoyance. "You'd better not go down the wrong path."

Harry and Ron nodded in agreement, but their eyes were telling Oren: Good brother, hurry up and go down the wrong path.

Oren...

Headmaster's Office. Dumbledore stared at the two blueprints before him with a deep frown. "Child, you're still young. This is not something you can handle."

Oren put on an expression of sudden enlightenment. "You're right, Headmaster." Then he handed Dumbledore another blueprint.

"Then let's make this one instead. It just needs a few more materials."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. So this is what you were waiting for. Still, it was not impossible. This giant metal spider was much better than the first two.

"Fine. You can retrieve those copper ingots from the storeroom."

Oren nodded, thinking, Just as expected. Wizards are generally willing to compromise too.

"Time is of the essence. How about we start work right away?"

Dumbledore: Huh? We?

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Dumbledore twisted his old waist, making it creak. He had never expected that at his age, he would still have to do heavy labor with a student.

"All right, Headmaster, step back a little." Oren jumped down from the three-meter-tall metal spider to stand beside Dumbledore, then took out a remote control and fiddled with it.

"Activate!" Oren pressed the remote, and the giant spider began walking around.

"Doesn't seem that great," Oren said as he watched the wobbling spider.

"Isn't it quite good? It can move, can't it?" Dumbledore asked in confusion.

Oren...

"Let me test the new function." Upon receiving the command, the giant spider immediately transformed into an emotionless logging machine.

"The inspiration came from that toaster—pfft, pfft, pfft—from that car going berserk," Oren explained. "Last time, the soul wasn't cleaned up properly, and I successfully made use of that."

"So this metal spider is the same?" Dumbledore asked. "Was the soul not cleaned up properly this time on purpose or by accident?"

"Uh... accidentally on purpose."

Dumbledore...

"Forget it. As long as you can control it. Child, what do you plan to call it?"

"Don't worry, Headmaster. I thought of it long ago," Oren said confidently. "Demon Engine!"

Dumbledore!!!

"This thing still retains some intelligence and combat techniques. Isn't my name perfectly fitting?" Oren continued enthusiastically. "Press the red button, and it starts burning the soul, sending it into a berserk state. You know, Headmaster, berserk mode multiplies combat strength a hundredfold. Of course, there's a certain chance it won't recognize friend from foe."

Dumbledore's eyelids twitched wildly. It was time to restart ideological education classes.

With a wave of his wand, he shrank the giant spider down to the size of a palm, then grabbed Oren and carried him back to the Headmaster's Office.

When Oren emerged from the Headmaster's Office, he held the Demon Engine, censored edition, with a speechless expression. Its crude, ferocious armor had turned into a chibi design, and its once terrifying spider face had become adorable.

Not a single combat-related function remained. It had become nothing more than an oversized figurine.

Gryffindor Common Room. Oren sprawled lifelessly across the sofa beside the trio.

"What's wrong with you?" Harry asked curiously.

Oren tossed the metal spider onto the table. "It was once a powerful war machine, a genuine heavy battle tank, until Headmaster Dumbledore came along and turned it into a BabyBus."

The trio...

"Um... isn't this pretty good?" Hermione pointed at the spider. "It even seems kind of cute."

Pale-faced Ron gave Hermione a disapproving look.