With the Maxim Shield in front of him, Harry stared fixedly at the pitch-black staircase gallery above.
But there was not a sound from it.
"Who's there? Come out, or I'll attack!" Harry said again.
Still, there was no response.
"Hah!" Harry gave a savage grin and flicked his wand, sending a Stunning Spell flying.
With a bang, the red light of the spell cut through the darkness, briefly illuminating the gallery. There was nothing there. Then the spell struck the wall behind it.
"What are you doing!" A portrait on the wall, apparently asleep until Harry's spell startled it awake, shouted at him.
Harry ignored it completely. His detection magic had already spread out without a sound, but there was no feedback from the gallery before him. No one was there. There was nothing at all.
"Harry?" Qiu called tentatively.
"They seem to have left," Harry said. With a flick of his wand, a blue-green point of light floated above his head, illuminating their surroundings. Compared with Lumos, which required him to hold up his wand, the Starlight Spell was much more convenient.
"Could you be being too sensitive?" Qiu asked uncertainly. When Harry had stepped in front of her, she had immediately used magic too.
Knowing that there might be someone in the Castle carrying the Hand of Glory, Qiu and the others had become quite proficient with detection magic lately. So she had cast her detection magic even before Harry cast his Stunning Spell.
Yet he still had not found anything.
The gallery ahead was empty.
"No, I felt it. There really was something there just now." Harry shook his head.
His Maxim Shield had indeed been attacked, but its defensive power was so strong that anything striking it caused only a slight tremor, making it impossible