Boom!
When the black pagoda that had appeared out of nowhere slammed back onto the lawn of Hogwarts' front courtyard with crushing force, the entire ground trembled.
That thunderous crash was the signal that the trap had closed.
And also... the signal for him to make his entrance.
A figure draped in an Invisibility Cloak slowly emerged from the shadows. It was none other than "Douglas Professor Holmes."
Bill Weasley maintained that signature impassive expression, as though everything were under control, but deep inside, his thoughts were already stampeding.
Merlin's beard! That bastard Douglas!
He roared inwardly.
Making such a huge racket! Is he afraid Dumbledore won't notice us stirring up trouble right under his nose?!
While inwardly grumbling about his best friend, who always made everything outrageously complicated, he walked steadily toward the Demon-Suppression Tower, which radiated an ominous red glow.
The lanterns beneath its eaves illuminated the dragons and phoenixes carved into the tower, making them look alive, as though mocking the spectacle about to unfold.
"All right, my turn. Cleanup duty," Bill told himself. "Recover the stolen goods, and while I'm at it... provide a little psychological counseling."
He approached the enormous, tightly shut wooden doors. The intricate spatial runes on them flickered faintly, proving that the confinement Magic Array inside the tower had already activated.
Bill did not recite any spells.
He simply began tracing in the air before the doors, following the outrageously complicated procedure Douglas had rehearsed beforehand.
His fingertips left a string of barely visible ripples in the rules, as though he were picking an invisible lock made of space itself.
"What a show-off bastard," he cursed under his breath again.
A moment later, the heavy wooden doors silently opened inward a crack.
Bill slipped sideways through the gap. The instant he entered,