"Even Muggles can fly now, you lazy wizards... face up to the power of Muggles..."
Brian muttered under his breath and concentrated, using the Summoning Charm to pull out another stone brick from the Owlery. Once the firefly glow in his field of vision dropped down a level, he put the brick back with the Mending Charm. It was a time-consuming method, but practical.
That was what Brian thought, at least, until the glow suddenly dropped into a rather large rocky hollow and vanished.
"Hoot?!" A fluffy Great Snowy Owl angrily poked its head out of the hollow, searching for the culprit who had dismantled its roof and hit it on the head with something invisible. It soon spotted Brian with his wand raised and glared at him.
Brian, who had been wondering where the stone food had gone, quietly put away his wand and took out what little Rabbit Meat he had left. With an apologetic smile, he said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to... perhaps you'd like something to eat?"
The Great Snowy Owl's gaze grew considerably clearer. It flapped its wings twice and flew over. While it tucked into its meal, Brian retrieved the stone food from its fluffy feathers, then used the Mending Charm to repair the unfortunate owl's roof.
Looking at the familiar Firefly Stone fragment in his hand and feeling its faint warmth, Brian knew he was another step closer to opening the door to the Chamber of Secrets. Gratefully, he rubbed the owl's chin, making it narrow its eyes in pleasure and let out a string of hoots. Without this owl, he would have had to remove at least fifteen more stone bricks.
Perhaps I could keep an owl, too, Brian thought as he carried the empty little bucket back to the library.
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