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Chapter 377: The Misty Gem
Chapter 377: The Misty Gem
Having been distracted by playing with a dog, by the time Kyle and Cedric arrived at the Three Broomsticks, the others were already there.
Once they sat down, Fred slid two bottles of butterbeer towards them and asked curiously, "How long did you two take to buy so many things?"
"If you had been a little later, we would have gone looking for you," George added.
"We didn't buy that much," Cedric replied. "But we came across a very interesting large black dog on our way out, which delayed us a bit."
"A black dog..." George frowned and muttered, "Could it be, Grim?"
"It's probably just a stray dog that wandered in from outside unintentionally," Cedric suggested. "Or maybe it was brought in by one of the Hogsmeade patrons; Dervish & Banges is right next to the pub."
"That's probably it," Fred nodded in agreement. "You get all sorts there. George and I once saw someone smuggle a five-foot-long bone into their robe."
"We guessed it might be a giant's..."
"...and the stench was horrible."
Fred set down his cup. "We've been wanting to go in and have a look, but after that incident, we temporarily dropped the idea."
"Because of the giant's bone?" Autumn asked.
"No, because we were kicked out by the pub owner," George shrugged. "That old guy has a terrible temper..."
As they chatted, they enjoyed their butterbeers.
The next time Kyle passed by Dervish & Banges, the black dog was nowhere to be seen, and it didn't reappear for the rest of the day.
At the designated time, they followed Professor McGonagall back to the castle.
Without even stopping by the common room, Kyle headed straight for the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor, with the others following suit.
Since Cedric had mentioned the Misty Gem, everyone was curious to see its effects.
As it turned out, Kyle also intended to test it, so they had come along.
"I need a large room with a strong wind blowing inside," Kyle requested as he paced back and forth in the corridor three times.
A door appeared, and when they stepped through it, they were immediately buffeted by a powerful gust of wind.
Conna almost got blown away, but Kyle managed to grab her in time.
"The wind is too strong here..." Fred shouted, his voice barely audible over the howling gale, "...you should've been more specific!"
Only by yelling could he make himself heard.
"Since we're here...let's just go with it...and a stronger wind might be good..."
Kyle didn't plan to move forward anyway, so he reached into his pocket, took out a Misty Gem, and crushed it in his hand.
The fragments began to disintegrate, transforming into thick mist that spread throughout the room.
In just a few seconds, they found themselves enveloped in a hazy white world.
The howling wind seemed to have been blocked out by the dense fog.
Fred rubbed his eyes. He could now only see George, who was closest to him, and a faint shadow of Cedric.
"Twenty galleons well spent..." George's voice reached his ears, "...Kyle, where are you?"
"Here," replied Kyle, walking over with Conna, followed by Autumn and Cedric.
"Amazing..." Cedric marveled, "The wind that almost blew me away is now blocked by this mist..."
"You get what you pay for," Fred said with a laugh. "This cost twenty galleons...if a little wind could disperse it, Kyle could've gone back to Dervish & Banges for a refund."
"Let me try something," Kyle said, brandishing his wand.
"Blazing Fire!"
...
Kyle continuously cast a variety of different spells, but the thick fog around them remained unchanged. Even if there were slight alterations, they quickly reverted, keeping the visibility at less than a meter.
George tried out a few spells as well and asked curiously, "Kyle, do you have any idea how large this area is?"
"No idea," Kyle shook his head. "The shop owner didn't mention it."
"Why don't we test it out?" Fred suggested, an idea that was quickly agreed upon by the group.
Without hesitation, Kyle conjured a long rope and tied it to the doorknob. They then proceeded to follow the pattern on the floor, walking forward.
Half an hour later, they came to a halt in front of a wall.
"Is this it?"
Kyle felt along the wall and then changed directions.
But this time, it was quicker. After walking for just over ten minutes, they stopped again.
Kyle felt a bit embarrassed as he realized he might have underestimated the extent of the mist.
He had only requested a large room, but even the largest room would have its limits.
"I should've asked for something even bigger, like a forest or something..." Kyle slapped his forehead.
With no other choice, they turned around and began retracing their steps along the rope.
"At least now we know that the Misty Gem's range is quite substantial."
"Yeah, even though we walked slowly, half an hour is enough to cross five Quidditch pitches, maybe even more," Fred commented.
"Eight, I'm sure of it," Cedric added.
George chuckled, "Imagine if someone threw one of these gems onto the pitch during a Quidditch match. That would be something!"
"That would be quite the spectacle," Fred laughed. "The players would be flying around, unable to see each other or the goals, and before they know it, they'd end up in Hogsmeade!"
"Maybe we should check Honeyduke's for raspberry-flavored Golden Snitches," George suggested.
"Kyle, you should definitely give it a shot..."
The two of them burst into louder laughter.
"I don't know about raspberry-flavored Snitches, but I do know I'd be out twenty Galleons," Kyle said, glancing back at them. "Not to mention, Professor McGonagall might lock me up in the dungeons."
"Good point..."
Fred sighed, "Being locked up is one thing, but twenty Galleons is just too expensive."
He reached out as if to touch the mist.
As they returned to the door and waited a while longer, a gentle breeze suddenly caressed their bodies. The wind gradually picked up, and the mist began to dissipate.
"It should be about time," Kyle said as he opened the door and stepped out, his robes billowing in the wind.
"Exactly two hours," Conna checked the time.
"Two hours and twenty Galleons... That's quite the expensive toy," Fred remarked.
"I feel a twinge of pain just thinking about it," George said. "Twenty Galleons could buy us ten boxes of Stink Pellets, enough to last us an entire year."
"Ten boxes in a year? If we used that many, I'm sure Filch would kill us," Fred exaggerated.
"Then we'll make them last for two years..."
"Wait!" Autumn suddenly interrupted, as if she had just remembered something. "What time is it now? Has the Halloween feast already..."
"Oh no! You're right!" Conna exclaimed, her eyes widening. "It's 7:10... The feast started ten minutes ago!"
...
(End of Chapter)
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