Invisibility Cloak

News that Colin Creevey had been attacked and was now lying like a dead man in the hospital wing did not spread until Monday morning.

Suddenly, every young witch and wizard in the school feared for their own safety, and no one dared go anywhere alone.

During this time, everyone secretly exchanged amulets, wards against evil, and other protective trinkets behind the teachers' backs, chattering away as they did. The practice quickly swept through the school. Neville Longbottom bought a large, foul-smelling green onion, a pointed piece of amethyst, and a rotting salamander tail.

As a result, a lingering stench filled the common room, and even Cyrus could no longer stand it.

"Neville, you don't need these things. You're a pure-blood. You won't be attacked." Cyrus fanned the air in front of his nose, trying to get some fresh air.

"But he went after Filch first. Everyone knows I'm practically a Squib," Neville said fearfully.

Unable to bear the smell, Cyrus simply returned the body to Ginny and went back into the Diary to continue studying alchemy and spells.

"Mmm-"

"Hello, Mr. Riddle-has the Quidditch match ended?" Ginny asked groggily.

Her question reminded Cyrus that he had not returned her body to her for several days. Fortunately, he had remembered everything that happened during the Quidditch match. Although his mind had wandered for a little while, his eyes had not missed a single detail.

"It ended two days ago, Ginny. It's Monday now," Cyrus said gravely.

"Monday?" Ginny froze for a moment. She had not expected Mr. Riddle to use her body for so long this time. "Did something happen, Mr. Riddle?"

"Colin Creevey was attacked-" Cyrus tried to make his expression look even graver.

"Colin?" Ginny's eyes widened, and she looked deeply unsettled. She shared a desk with Colin Creevey in Charms, and the two were good friends who could talk comfortably with each other. But now Colin had been attacked!

"Yes, and it's all my fault! When that cat was attacked before, I thought it was a prank and didn't pay much attention. And I was the one who suggested he sneak out at night to see Harry. If I hadn't, he probably wouldn't have been attacked." Cyrus spoke as though the responsibility rested squarely on his shoulders. "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened again. I want to find out who's behind it, so I'm planning to infiltrate Slytherin with Harry and the others and see whether we can find any clues."

"This isn't your fault, Mr. Riddle!" Ginny said emphatically. "Who knows how deranged that Heir of Slytherin is? Even if it hadn't been Colin, it would have been someone else. His goal is to get rid of Muggles!"

He also told Ginny about the Polyjuice Potion to keep his cover from being blown.

"I'm sorry, Ginny. I may need to borrow your body quite often for a while."

"It's all right, Mr. Riddle. I just hope we can find the Heir of Slytherin soon," Ginny said, shaking her head.

Ginny fully understood the guilt "Mr. Riddle" was feeling, so she agreed to Cyrus's request without hesitation. Besides, she had all but forgotten about Quidditch.

And so, over the days that followed, Ginny's consciousness spent even less time awake.

In December, heavy snow began to fall over Hogwarts.

Professor McGonagall brought in a large stack of forms for anyone planning to stay at school to fill out.

"Malfoy's planning to stay over Christmas!" Harry said in surprise.

"That's far too suspicious."

"But the Polyjuice Potion isn't ready yet," Hermione said urgently. "We have to steal the potion ingredients during Potions class this Thursday, or we won't make it in time. Our best bet is a diversion!"

Harry and Ron both looked grim. Rather than steal potion ingredients, Harry would have preferred to face Voldemort.

"I'll steal them," Cyrus volunteered. "You cause a little chaos in class, and I'll sneak in."

"What? No! I can't let you get expelled!" Ron said with grim resolve. "I'll do it!"

Hermione hurriedly objected. "I can go. I don't have a record."

"It would be hard for Snape not to notice a student missing from class, wouldn't it?" Cyrus countered.

"But Snape's office is right behind the classroom. How could you possibly sneak in while we're having our lesson?"

"There is a way..." Cyrus looked at Harry, determined to get into Snape's office. "Lend me your Invisibility Cloak."

"I completely forgot I had an Invisibility Cloak," Harry said in sudden realization.

Every time he finished using the Invisibility Cloak, he tossed it wherever he pleased, as though it were some shabby old coat rather than one of the Deathly Hallows.

That evening, Cyrus got Harry's Invisibility Cloak and began wandering around the castle wearing it.

What exactly is so special about this legendary Deathly Hallow?

To him, the magic of this Invisibility Cloak seemed no more powerful than a well-executed Disillusionment Charm. Compared with the unbeatable Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone, which could bring back the dead, it really did seem rather unremarkable.

If it can't evade Moody's magical eye, how could it evade Death's gaze?

Or perhaps a legend is only a legend. As Dumbledore said, the Peverell brothers were merely powerful, dangerous wizards who successfully created these immensely powerful objects. The story of the Deathly Hallows was simply a legend that grew up around their inventions.

That possibility was certainly more likely. If Nicolas Flamel could create the Philosopher's Stone, which turned things into gold and granted immortality, then it was not so hard to accept that the three brothers could create a Resurrection Stone capable of bringing people back from the dead.

The Elder Wand's power also seemed closely tied to its curse.

But whether the legend of the Deathly Hallows was true or false, all three objects certainly had something special about them.

Cyrus ran his fingers over the cold cloak as he slowly made his way to the Seventh Floor.

I need a room where I can study magical objects.

I need a room where I can study magical objects.

I need a room where I can study magical objects.

As he repeated those words in his mind and turned beneath the portrait of the troll for the third time, a door appeared in the blank wall.

Cyrus took off the cloak, pushed the door open, and went inside. The door vanished at once.

The room was somewhat like the Potions Classroom, but not quite the same. Besides all sorts of cauldrons, it contained a multitude of mechanical devices-or rather, objects that looked like mechanical devices. In fact, they were all products of alchemy.

In the wizarding world, alchemy and potions were not entirely separate disciplines; they overlapped.