Chapter 199: Unforeseen Circumstances
Chapter 199: Unforeseen Circumstances
Late into the night, lights still shone from the windows of Gryffindor Tower. Instead of resting, a few students in the dormitory were gathered together, playing a game of Wizarding Cards.
As the variety of cards increased, so too did the number of ways to play, allowing for more creative and diverse gameplay.
"It's about time," Albert said as he finished his cup of tea and glanced at the pocket watch beside him.
"Are we really going through with this?" Lee Jordan still hesitated, even though he was aware of Fred and George's capabilities. He just didn't have much confidence in their endeavor.
"You're not coming?" Fred countered.
"Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I?" Lee Jordan mumbled. He knew that Albert and the others often wandered the castle at night without ever getting caught by Filch.
"Come here, let me give you some confidence," George said with a smile.
"What kind of confidence?" Lee Jordan asked suspiciously as he leaned in. George pulled out a piece of old parchment and waved it in front of him. "This is one of our secret weapons."
"Alright, that's enough fooling around. Let's get going," Albert said as he picked up his wand and gently tapped George on the head. An invisible film enveloped George's body, and in the blink of an eye, George Weasley had disappeared from view.
"And this is our second secret weapon," Fred explained with a grin.
"What about the third secret weapon?" Lee Jordan asked curiously.
"We're not telling you," Fred and George replied in unison.
"So, there is a third secret weapon?"
Albert cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself, and as his body also vanished from sight, he said to the others, "The Disillusionment Charm should last for a few hours, which should be more than enough time."
"Aren't you excited and pumped up?" Fred nudged Lee Jordan with his elbow.
"I'm George, and Lee Jordan is over here," George's voice chimed in.
"Yeah, I am a bit excited. By the way, where are we going?" Lee Jordan asked, feeling a surge of adrenaline as this was his first time sneaking out at night.
Well, that wasn't entirely true. The last time he snuck out was also with Albert.
But that time, they were looking for those two troublemakers, Fred and George.
"I'm heading to the library. You can let Fred and George show you around, and we'll meet up in that room on the eighth floor. Enter through the common room," Albert instructed.
"What's so special about that room on the eighth floor?" Lee Jordan felt like these three were keeping a lot of things from him.
"You'll see soon enough," Albert replied.
"Don't you need help finding that book related to brains?" George asked.
"No, I plan to use the Summoning Charm directly," Albert explained. He had just realized that previously, he couldn't use the Summoning Charm, but now that he had learned it, finding the book shouldn't be difficult.
In the novel, Hermione had used the Summoning Charm to locate books related to Horcruxes, which meant that the books in the library could indeed be summoned. Although they were chained down, as long as he knew which book he wanted, breaking the chain wouldn't be a problem.
"I thought you didn't know how to use the Summoning Charm?" Fred looked at Albert with a confused expression, remembering how Albert had used his inability to cast the charm as an excuse just a month ago! "I can learn, can't I?" Albert said with a mischievous smile. "This spell is actually quite useful and practical."
"Practical?" Fred muttered under his breath as he extinguished the oil lamp in the dormitory and followed Albert out.
The four of them made their way through the common room and as they reached the entrance, George, who was trailing behind, suddenly spoke up, "Filch is patrolling on the fifth floor."
"How did you know that?" Lee Jordan asked, his suspicion rising.
"Who's there?" The Fat Lady asked, looking at the empty corridor in front of her.
"Let's get out of here first," Albert mumbled as he strode forward toward the secret passage leading to other floors.
"We'll distract Filch for you," Fred said eagerly, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "I've got a Dung Bomb with me."
"I've got some super-strong glue here," George added, equally eager to cause some mischief.
"You two are asking for trouble," Lee Jordan muttered.
"Here, take this." Albert handed Lee Jordan an object and reminded them, "Don't go too overboard."
"We know our limits," George assured him.
"We won't let Filch bother you while you're looking for the book," Fred said, his tone reflecting his enthusiasm. During the start of the term, Filch had been giving them a hard time because of the incidents from the previous semester.
"I have a feeling the castle will be quite lively tonight," Lee Jordan commented. Despite his misgivings, he accepted Albert's offer and stuffed the Inflatable Screaming Skull into his pocket.
On the sixth floor, Albert and the others parted ways at the secret passage entrance. Albert headed to the library alone, while the Weasley brothers took Lee Jordan to the fourth floor, preparing to play a game of hide-and-seek with Filch.
...
At this moment, Filch, who was patrolling the corridors of the fifth floor, had no idea that he had just become the target of their scheme.
Recently, Filch had been in a rather pleasant mood, especially after catching a Gryffindor student wandering around the castle late at night a while back. The terrified look on the student's face when they were caught, and the subsequent detention, had put Filch in a good mood that lasted until now.
However, since that incident, students daring to sneak out at night had almost disappeared.
"I wonder when I'll be able to catch another one."
Just as Filch was thinking this, he suddenly heard the sound of something falling to the floor below. He immediately became alert and hurried in the direction of the noise.
In fact, George, who had just made his way to the fourth floor through the secret passage, had "accidentally" knocked the helmet off a suit of armor, creating the noise that was meant to attract Filch's attention.
This trick was actually quite effective and had always worked.
As expected, Filch heard the noise and quickly rushed to the fourth floor. Albert, who was standing in the corridor outside the library, watched as Filch hurried away, then turned and pushed open the wooden door to the library.
Filch, holding an oil lamp, arrived at the corridor with the suits of armor. His gaze fell on the helmet on the floor, and then he looked around. He bent down to pick up the helmet and muttered, "Hiding, are you? I'll catch you, Peeves!"
The next second, Filch froze as he realized that the helmet was somehow stuck to the floor. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't lift it.
"Is it Peeves, or..." Filch looked around with the lamp, and suddenly he heard the sound of running footsteps.
"Those little rascals." Filch muttered a curse and threw down the helmet. He stood up and chased after the sound of the footsteps, knowing that someone was deliberately messing with him.
However, Filch wasn't angry; instead, he was thrilled. He didn't mind students wandering around the castle at night as long as they gave him a chance to catch them.
"I'll get you," Filch said, his eyes gleaming with dangerous intent. He couldn't wait to see the terrified expressions on the students' faces when he caught them.
However, Filch didn't know that the footsteps he heard were actually created by Fred to draw his attention.
The game of cat and mouse had officially begun.
Outsmarting Filch was undoubtedly one of Fred and George's greatest pleasures at Hogwarts. With the Marauder's Map and the Disillusionment Charm, they had two foolproof methods to ensure that they were never caught wandering the castle at night.
"This is exciting. Do you think Filch will figure out the shortcut?" Lee Jordan whispered as he followed Fred.
"Of course, he'll take the shortcut. He'll probably use the secret passage to cut us off. Let's take the stairs and lead him further away," Fred said, throwing Dung Bombs down the corridor as he spoke. "Don't worry, he won't be able to stop us."
Fifth floor, library.
Albert had already crossed the rope in front of the restricted section and was walking among the shelves. He raised his wand and whispered, "'Advanced Guide to Brain Sealing Charms', come to me."
In an instant, there was a creaking sound, and one of the large bookcases began to tilt, pulled by the chain that secured it.
Albert, who had been about to walk over, was stunned and stood there with his mouth hanging open.
The next moment, he realized that something had gone terribly wrong.
"Spell Lock!"
He had already spotted the 'Advanced Guide to Brain Sealing Charms' that had been summoned by the Summoning Charm. However, because the bookcase had completely tilted, it had also knocked over the one in front of it, creating a domino effect.
With a loud bang, Albert felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest. The sound echoed throughout the entire castle.
Albert never expected that the Summoning Charm would cause the book to pull on its chain and knock over the bookcase. The Summoning Charm was truly troublesome! "Reparo!" Albert waved his wand, attempting to restore the bookcases and books to their original state. Indeed, his magic worked, and the fallen books and shelves began to right themselves.
However, Albert didn't dare linger in the library and immediately fled, forgetting all about finding the 'Advanced Guide to Brain Sealing Charms'.
(End of Chapter)
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