In the Tunnel

Sometimes, keeping the same secret can unexpectedly bring two people closer.

And that's exactly what Neville and Harry were like at that moment.

They chatted about everything under the sun, occasionally showing each other the wonders of their magic.

Harry tentatively cast a simple Levitation Charm, Neville stood motionless, sword in hand.

Neville grasped Harry's right hand, and Harry was surprised to find that he needed to expend more magic than usual to cast a spell.

After an unknown amount of time, before Harry had told Neville almost everything except Voldemort's secrets and the Moon City and Atlantis bound by the covenant, Neville said, "Harry, you know, lately I've been training whenever I don't have Astronomy Class at night."

"Because I was not being watched due to the influence of the magic circle, I discovered many interesting things."

"Take Lupin, for example, our Defense Against the Dark Arts associate professor. Every night, he disappears into the Whomping Willow."

"Do you think he might know some kind of Celtic magic, like being able to merge with trees, or maybe he's some kind of long-lost Arborsage?" Neville asked, looking at the Whomping Willow.

The tree branches were swaying, as if in a strong wind, swinging back and forth. It must have been some mindless Care of Magical Creatures like a Goblin that had rashly approached her.

"Thank you, Neville, this information is very useful to me." Harry's face was ashen as he took a deep breath.

The next day, on the Astronomy Tower, the grounds were bathed in silvery moonlight, and there was a slight chill in the air.

The Ravenclaw Ravenclaws all set up their telescopes, observed Jupiter, and drew their view of Jupiter on star charts. Harry, however, was looking at something else.

The sky is cloudless and windless tonight, making it perfect for stargazing.

However, for Harry, the small, square, golden spots of light shimmering in the ground below, created by the lights from the castle windows, were far more useful.

Because he was looking in the direction of the Whomping Willow.

After an unknown amount of time, when Ron had already finished filling in Harry's star map, Harry finally caught a glimpse of that fleeting figure through the telescope.

So Harry adjusted the telescope slightly, pretending to be observing Jupiter like the other students.

"You saw it," Ron whispered.

Harry nodded, and at the same time, a paper crane disappeared into the night sky.

Ten minutes later, with the bell ringing to signal the end of class, and at Professor Sinistra's call, the Ravenclaw Ravenclaws, weary from their journey, disappeared down the steep Spiral Staircase into the classroom.

Under the cover of night, two figures stealthily slipped away from the crowd and headed out of the castle.

"Harry!" A figure rushed out of the bushes and clung to the tall, thin figure.

The moonlight shone on their faces, revealing their messy, bird's nest-like hair and fiery red hair.

"Could you guys keep your voices down?" A taller, thinner figure with fiery red hair appeared behind the man with the bird's nest-shaped hair.

"Harry, Lupin in the Shrieking Shack tonight?" Draco Malfoy, with his pale blond hair and pale face, emerged silently from the darkness like a vampire.

Clearly, these four are the prominent figures at Hogwarts today: the Hogwarts Three Musketeers, and Ginny Weasley, the sister of Ron, the leader of the Three Musketeers.

"Hey Ron, can you please stop bringing up that ridiculous Three Musketeers title? And when did you become the leader?" Ginny couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Alright, you all still remember how to get into the secret passage under the Whomping Willow, right?"

"Press the knot on the Whomping Willow, and be quick," Harry said as he walked.

"Didn't we agree that Harry, you would press the buttons? Besides you, none of the three of us can do it, right?" Ron waved his hand.

Ginny squinted.

"Then—then we'll do it ourselves. We're wizards, after all. We can easily control the stone with a Levitation Charm and then an Impact Charm."

"Ginny can also conjure a bat," Ron said hastily, feeling a chill run down his spine.

In the darkness, the four of them crossed the dark greenhouse, vegetable garden, and black lawn outside, and finally arrived at their destination for the day— the Whomping Willow.

Just as Ron raised his wand, about to chant a spell...

A long sigh escaped his lips as Harry approached the thick Whomping Willow.

Sensing the approach of a living creature, the Whomping Willow's branches lashed out at Harry like a storm.

Just as Ginny was about to scream, Harry strolled around, dodging the branches one by one with small movements such as bowing his head, shrugging his shoulders, bending over, stepping back, and taking a small step to the right.

Before Ginny and the others could react, Harry's hand was already on the knot on the thick tree trunk.

Suddenly, the tree seemed to turn into marble, no longer moving, and all the leaves also stopped moving.

"I think we shouldn't waste any more time." Harry shrugged and looked behind him.

"You've ditched me again to steal the spotlight," Ron muttered.

She completely forgot that she initially wanted to be lazy and let Harry do everything.

Draco and Ginny rolled their eyes at Ron after hearing this, and then walked over to the tree trunk.

After Ron and the other two climbed into the tunnel, Harry followed them in.

It was a smooth dirt slope, leading to a low tunnel at the bottom. Ron and his group were just ahead.

"Are we really going to go in?" Ron started to have second thoughts.

He was the tallest of the four; while Harry and the others could jog forward while bending over, he probably had to crawl.

Moreover, this tunnel seems to have no end in sight.

"Since we're already here," Harry said, taking the lead and bending down to enter the tunnel.

Ginny and Draco followed closely behind.

"I really hope I run into Lupin on the way," Ron muttered as he crawled forward in exasperation.

Ten minutes later, Ron said, "Should we turn back?"

But this time, even Harry couldn't help but agree in his heart.

Because this tunnel is just too long.

Moreover, this tunnel is not meant for human use at all.

Even Lupin, who had mastered the Fenrir Greyback and experienced a surge in physical abilities, should have used the wolf form to pass through this tunnel.

The tunnel's height, and the plum blossom-shaped footprints on the ground that Harry had modified and could be vaguely seen in the darkness, all attest to this.

Although his body had been magically altered, Harry couldn't bear the feeling of being constantly bent over in the dark, with no end in sight.

Not to mention Draco and Ginny behind him.

Ron, who had been crawling the whole time, was probably on the verge of collapse.

"Here!" Harry turned around and took out a bottle of potion, which was green and slowly changed from calm to boiling.

"Shrinking Solution?" Ron recognized it at a glance.