Chapter 43 - 43: You're a Witch, Hermione!

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He was glad to be back at Hogwarts, for it housed the largest magical library in all of Britain, making the private collections of pure-blood families seem paltry in comparison.

They might hold certain advantages in terms of social status, but even pure-blood families almost entirely relied on school education as their primary means of magical inheritance.

Therefore, the four founders of Hogwarts had accomplished something truly remarkable: they transformed the inheritance of magic from the traditional apprenticeship system into an academic system, which greatly propelled the advancement of the magical world.

Sagres annotated and circled some obscure descriptions in the manuscript, then rose to head toward the Restricted Section, intending to consult the relevant materials.

Suddenly, Sagres halted in his tracks—Peeves's grating, high-pitched voice echoed from around the staircase corner, especially shrill in the silent corridor.

"Who's there?" The troublemaker dragged out the words, circling in the air like a vulture sniffing out decay. "Though I can't see you, Lord Peeves knows perfectly well! Someone's sneaking around here!"

Sagres sighed helplessly, slowly withdrawing the right foot he had already stepped forward with.

Well, he'd run into them again! It seemed these young wizards really loved sneaking out at night.

Sagres tapped his wand lightly against the wall, and the heavy marble instantly transformed into a transparent one-way glass. Through this magical window, he saw Peeves tugging at the tassels of the staircase carpet, making faces at the empty corridor.

"Let me guess—" Peeves suddenly floated upside down in midair. "Is it Myrtle? The crying Myrtle? Or a ghoul stealing food from the kitchens? Or perhaps… a young wizard out after curfew!"

He yanked the carpet open and draped it over his head like a cloak.

Just as Peeves was about to start singing one of his tattletale songs, a hoarse whisper suddenly floated through the air: "The Bloody Baron has his reasons for not wishing to be seen."

The voice made Peeves freeze midair like a rooster with its neck wrung. He performed a comical somersault, his bell-studded hat nearly flying off.

"R-Respected Sir!" Peeves's tone immediately turned sickeningly sweet, dripping with flattery as he performed an exaggerated curtsy. "Your loyal servant Peeves offers his sincerest apologies!"

As he spoke, he pretended to slap himself twice. "It's all the fault of my useless fish-eyes!"

"Scram." The command was concise and cold.

Peeves shot up the staircase like a deflating balloon, knocking over a portrait on the way. The person in the portrait grumbled sleepily, catching only a rainbow-colored blur disappearing around the corner.

Sagres narrowed his eyes. Though he couldn't see the speaker, he already knew who it was—who else but Harry Potter under his Invisibility Cloak? Most likely with his two ever-present companions.

"Interesting." Sagres curved his lips into a slight smile, and with a flick of his wand, dispelled the Homorphus Charm from the marble wall.

This was the staircase leading to the third-floor corridor—the very one Dumbledore had warned against entering during the Welcome Feast.

Combining this with what he knew, it was obvious this corridor was where Dumbledore had hidden the Philosopher's Stone. From overheard snippets of conversation among the Professors, it was clear that several of them had contributed to the defenses, laying down enchantments to protect the Stone, one after another.

As for Harry's purpose in coming here, it was self-evident. Based on what they'd learned from Hagrid earlier that afternoon… was it simple curiosity? Or was it out of genuine concern?

Sagres didn't investigate further. After all, everyone had once been a student, and the minds of Young Wizards were always filled with strange and wonderful ideas.

Sometimes they kept secrets for reasons that seemed ridiculous to adults.

He also didn't bother catching the students out after curfew. Instead, he cast a Disillusionment Charm on Noctis, who was perched on his shoulder, and let it quietly follow them.

Soon, Noctis trailed them to the entrance of the third-floor corridor—the door was already slightly ajar.

Through Noctis's eyes, Sagres saw the door being pushed open a crack, then quickly pulled shut again. The raven darted inside just before it closed.

As soon as Noctis entered, a massive three-headed dog immediately came into view—this must be Fluffy, just as Hagrid had mentioned.

The enormous creature was sprawled on the floor, snoring, with a harp lying nearby.

Clearly, someone had been here before them. Sagres's eyes glinted; he had originally only intended to observe this little night excursion, but unexpectedly stumbled upon something far more interesting.

At that moment, Sagres was seated in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts Library. There was no rush to decipher the manuscript for now. He set the parchment aside on the table and focused his attention on watching this "live broadcast."

Through Noctis's eyes, he saw the sleeping Cerberus twitching its nose as though sensing something, showing faint signs of waking.

Just then, the Invisibility Cloak was pulled off, revealing three figures appearing out of thin air.

Harry Potter quickly took out a flute and began playing. The Cerberus tilted its head, yawned, and soon slumped into an even deeper sleep. Meanwhile, Ron quietly pulled open the trapdoor on the floor, and the three of them knelt at the edge, peering down.

The hole was pitch black; nothing could be seen.

Sagres watched as the group exchanged a few words. Then Harry handed the flute in his hand to Hermione and leapt straight down.

"Ah? That's far too reckless," he couldn't help muttering softly.

The boy jumped without the slightest hesitation—without considering whether the fall was too high and might kill him, or whether there were traps waiting below, like wooden spikes.

To be honest, he admired this kind of courage. Truly worthy of being the so-called Child of Destiny. But for ordinary people, this sort of behavior was inadvisable—otherwise, they wouldn't even know how they died.

Seeing the other two Young Wizards follow suit and jump after Harry, Sagres quickly controlled Noctis to dive into the hole as well.

The pit was pitch black; even through the raven's eyes, he could barely make out the surroundings.

Black vines twisted and slithered everywhere, and upon closer inspection, they turned out to be Devil's Snare. The magical plant had already extended its tendrils like snakes, unconsciously winding around the hands and feet of the trio.

Hermione, who had jumped in last, managed to break free just in time before the vines could fully seize her. She watched in horror as the two boys frantically struggled—yet the more they fought, the faster and tighter the vines coiled around them.

Sagres couldn't help but chuckle slightly. This was the consequence of acting recklessly.

"Don't move!" Hermione suddenly shouted, her voice echoing in the damp cellar. "It's Devil's Snare! The more you struggle, the tighter it grips you!"

Ron's face had already turned purplish-red, a thick vine coiled around his neck like a python.

"Great!" he squeezed out through gritted teeth. "Knowing this thing is called Devil's Snare is a huge help! Otherwise, I wouldn't even know what killed me!"

"Help, Hermione, think of a way to deal with it!" Harry muttered through gritted teeth.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" Hermione bit her lower lip, her curly hair plastered to her face with sweat.

"Please hurry, or you'll only be able to save our corpses in a minute!"

The Little Witch ignored their shouting. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "Professor Sprout said that Devil's Snare likes dark, damp environments—"

Harry was using all his strength to pry open the vines constricting his chest. "Then set it on fire!"

His glasses hung crookedly on his nose, the lenses completely fogged up.

"But... but..." Hermione frantically searched her empty pockets. "I don't have any firewood on me!"

Sagres's vision went dark. Eh..?

And even the raven Noctis nearly tumbled out of the air: (╬▔皿▔)╯

The Professor of Advanced Charms Theory and Practice painfully clutched his forehead, as though struck by a Stupefy.

"Ahh! Merlin's girlfriend's hairy arse! You're a Witch!" Ron suddenly roared, now hanging upside down in mid-air. "—Supposed to be the intelligent one of us three! Use your bloody wand!"

This sentence struck Hermione like lightning.

"Oh, right!"

She abruptly pulled out her wand, her other hand reaching for the crystal vial hanging around her neck—a gift from Harry, containing a pre-prepared spell.

She pulled out the stopper, and a miniature glowing figure, captured during one of Sagres's classes, flew out under her control.

"Lumos!"

A pure white light burst forth from the tiny figure, like a miniature sun illuminating the dark basement.

The two boys entangled by the Devil's Snare immediately felt a wave of warmth. Within a few seconds, all the vines began to recoil from the light, shrinking away and loosening their grip.