Xiao Ying's Hidden Talent

Ron let go and said sheepishly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to!"

Harry smiled, rubbed his arm, and shook his head to show he didn't mind.

Before long, the four of them passed through the end of the corridor and entered a space as bright as day. An ornate vaulted ceiling rose overhead, while countless small birds, dazzling and colorful as gemstones, flitted through the air. Directly opposite them stood a heavy wooden door.

"Do you think those birds will attack intruders?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Hard to say. They don't look very dangerous, but if they swarm one person all at once, that person's in trouble!" Harry said, watching the birds overhead.

"Only one way to find out!"

Luo Bin took the lead again. He pulled up his hood, wrapped his hand in the Wizard Sleeve to shield his face, and sprinted forward with all his might. When he reached the wooden door, he lowered his sleeve and looked up. The birds kept flying about, paying him no attention at all.

"No danger so far. Hurry over!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione soon ran over too. The four gathered around the door to work out how to open it.

Turning the handle didn't work. Neither did Alohomora. Even pulling with all their strength got them nowhere!

Hermione, whose mind was as sharp as ever, turned toward the birds. "There has to be a reason they're here. They can't just be decoration."

Suddenly, Harry adjusted his glasses and exclaimed, "Wait, those aren't birds. They're keys—keys with wings! Oh my God, there must be thousands of them. Which one fits the door?"

"That one, half a meter to the right of center. It beats its wings less often than the others, and one wing droops a little, so it flies crookedly. Someone must have grabbed it pretty hard not long ago," Luo Bin said, pointing to a key.

"Yes, I see it too. But it's flying up there. How are we supposed to catch it? Wait, there's something in the corner."

Harry spotted the Broomsticks in the corner and hurried over. The moment his hand touched a handle, the Broomstick crumbled to ash. He tried three of them, with the same result each time.

"Looks like someone doesn't want us getting through that door. Let's keep thinking. There must be another way!" Hermione encouraged them.

The Broomsticks never turned to ash in the original story. Was this the butterfly effect?

But Luo Bin hadn't brought all that equipment for nothing.

"Don't give up. I have a way to get the key!"

"What way?" the other three asked in unison.

Luo Bin shook his wrist and raised an eyebrow. "There's a helpful little someone living inside the Black Obsidian on my Bracelet!"

Under their puzzled gazes, Luo Bin took out the Little Spray Bottle, sprayed three times, and twisted open the mechanism.

With a click, the Black Obsidian sprang open down the middle. Xiao Ying, the Flower Fairy with green hair, green eyes, a green dress, and green wings, stamped her little foot and huffed, "Hey! If I don't get enough beauty sleep, my skin will suffer. I was going to find you and... Huh? Who are these three?"

"Hello! I'm Harry, Harry Potter. Nice to meet you!"

Her emerald wings shimmered. Harry felt their chances of getting the key had improved considerably.

"Hermione. Miss Hermione Granger. Is there anything you especially like? Once this is over, I could buy you a gift!" Hermione showed a rare tenderness toward this child of nature.

"Ron. Ron Weasley. Could I... touch your wings?"

As he raised his hand, Xiao Ying fluttered onto Luo Bin's shoulder and declared haughtily, "These are a fairy's wings! You can't just touch them whenever you please!"

"Cool! Luo Bin, you've actually got a Flower Fairy. You're my hero!"

Ron's eyes shone as he spoke.

"Xiao Ying, look. There—yes, that one. The old-fashioned silver key with one drooping wing. It's worth ten boxes of honey as a treat!"

After months together, Luo Bin had learned that getting the Flower Fairy to work meant paying her at least a fair amount of honey.

Honey! Ten whole boxes! Xiao Ying's mouth watered just thinking about it. She glanced at the tips of her wings and said greedily, "Twenty boxes of honey as a treat, or no deal!"

"Deal!"

My limit was thirty boxes. She really hasn't met many people. She's got a lot to learn about bargaining!

"Wait, Luo Bin. Xiao Ying's only the size of a mung bean, and those keys are each as big as a little bird. Are you sure she can catch one without getting hurt?"

"Hermione, don't forget I have Swelling Potion!"

Luo Bin took out a slender vial of pale pink potion. "Xiao Ying, with your build, a quarter of a drop should do it. Don't worry, it's sweet, and you won't feel any pain while you grow."

"As long as it's sweet!"

Xiao Ying, who adored sweets, flew to the vial. An arrow appeared in her empty hand, and she used it to pry out the stopper. Then she lifted the vial to her lips and drank. Two seconds later, she looked at her little empty hand and grumbled, "Stingy! You wouldn't even let me have my fill of sweet water."

"That's medicine, not sweet water. Have your fill? What, do you want to turn into a Mountain Troll?"

Luo Bin stoppered the vial and tucked it into his cloth pouch. Then he waited quietly with the other three for the Swelling Potion to take effect.

A few minutes later, Xiao Ying began to change. Unlike the prelude to the little rat's "Resident Evil" transformation during the Potions practical exam, the Flower Fairy's transformation began with a spectacle so beautiful they couldn't look away.

She broke into a lively dance, every step accompanied by a different gesture.

At times she was like a white swan, holding up her skirt as she spun through the air on one foot. At others, she was like a camellia on a mountainside, her movements light and graceful. Then she became a rebellious girl, fiery yet still touched with innocence!

When the dance ended, Xiao Ying began to grow before their eyes. Two minutes later, she had gone from the size of a mung bean to the size of a golf ball.

She fluttered her wings excitedly. The smile she couldn't quite suppress made it clear she was delighted with her new size.

"That's amazing. I've got to try it on Scabbers later!" Ron said.

It probably wouldn't work. Scabbers wasn't a rat, but Peter Pettigrew in his Animagus form. Still, it wasn't time to reveal that yet.

"Xiao Ying, pick your target before you go!"

"I picked it ages ago!"

With that, Xiao Ying beat her wings and plunged into the dense swarm of keys. With a whoosh, the keys seemed to sense that someone was after them. They darted about wildly, far faster than before.

Flower Fairies were called children of nature for good reason. Xiao Ying possessed intelligence and judgment beyond that of other Magical Creatures. A minute later, her green eyes cut through the confusion, and she locked onto the silver key with the slightly drooping wing once more.

A bow and arrow appeared in Xiao Ying's hands. She drew the bowstring taut, closed one eye to aim, and released. The arrow whistled through the air and lodged precisely in the little ring connecting the key to its wing.

Clatter!

The arrow and key fell to the floor together. Luo Bin ran forward and pinned down the key as it struggled to break free. "Xiao Ying, I had no idea you were so good with a bow!"