Although Snape's opening attempt at targeting someone had fizzled out before it even began, he still found chances throughout the lesson to quiz Harry on textbook material.
Even if Harry had taken Louis's advice and studied hard, he still couldn't answer most of it.
The result? Snape deducted points without mercy. By the end of class, Gryffindor had lost at least thirty points, and both Harry and Ron looked absolutely sick.
Fortunately, the first-year Gryffindors had already been warned about Snape's behavior, or they might've started blaming Harry for everything.
It seemed Professor Snape held a serious grudge against the so-called Savior—who just so happened to look like his old rival and had the eyes of his first love.
After class, Louis packed his things and headed to the library. There was still time before dinner, and he had plans to meet Hermione there.
Campus life at Hogwarts was relatively laid-back. Since each subject was taught by a single professor, students didn't have too packed a schedule and had plenty of free time to explore the castle.
On his way to the library, Louis noticed a group of older students sneaking up toward the fourth floor. Leading the pack were a pair of red-haired twins.
Looks like they were curious about the corridor Dumbledore had specifically warned everyone not to visit—unless they wanted to "meet with great pain."
Louis quickly did the math and figured he still had time. So he decided to follow along and enjoy the show.
The group included students from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff—but not a single Slytherin.
That's because most of the Slytherin boys were still shaken up and, true to their house's cautious nature, had no interest in participating in a clearly risky venture.
So Louis, wearing his Slytherin robes, stood out like a sore thumb.
But it didn't take long for the others to recognize just who this particular Slytherin was. The twins at the front squeezed over and greeted him.
"Good afternoon, Wilson,"
they said in unison.
"I'm George Weasley."
"And I'm Fred Weasley."
"Hello," Louis nodded. "Seems like you all know who I am."
"You're the guy who took down half the boys in one house overnight. Who doesn't know you?"
The twins were unusually friendly—so much so that if they weren't worried about how Louis might react, they probably would've thrown an arm around his shoulders already.
"You don't seem hard to get along with," said George. "So, how about it? Want to come explore the fourth-floor corridor with us?"
"Are you sure?" Louis replied. "Headmaster Dumbledore did warn that it's dangerous."
"Yeah, but this is Hogwarts—safest place in all of Britain," Fred said with a wink. "Doesn't it sound more like he was daring us to go?"
"Sounds pretty fun." Louis gave a nod of approval. "But I'm just passing by to take a look."
"Fair enough—just passing by." George shrugged. "Let's go then."
With Louis tagging along, the group seemed noticeably more confident. After all, based on what they'd heard, Louis was the strongest first-year student around.
And they were absolutely right—he was stronger than they could even imagine.
The fourth-floor corridor covered quite a bit of space, and the group combed through it like they were sweeping a street, checking every nook and cranny. But they found nothing—until they reached a door at the far end. That's when they knew they'd found something.
"This must be it. The door's been sealed with a spell," said a Ravenclaw student, attempting to unlock it. But even though it looked like a simple latch, it wouldn't budge an inch.
"Leave it to us!" the Weasley twins said in unison, then turned to look at each other.
"I'll do it!"
"No way, I should do it!"
The two of them immediately got into a standoff, almost ready to brawl. The rest of the students didn't seem fazed at all, clearly used to watching the twins bicker.
Suddenly, the two Weasleys made up as if nothing had happened. Whatever method they used to resolve their dispute, Fred Weasley stepped forward to cast the spell.
He walked up to the door, drew his wand, pointed it at the latch, and chanted, "Alohomora."
With a click, the latch came loose, and the old but sturdy wooden door slowly creaked open.
The students let out a cheer and eagerly rushed to push the door open and head inside.
Louis, standing at the back, wore an odd expression as he watched several wizards cheerfully charge in.
He, of course, knew what was insideFluffy, a massive three-headed dog, guarding the trapdoor that led below.
So… which floor was the Philosopher's Stone actually stored on?
Louis's thoughts drifted again.
In contrast, the Weasley twins seemed more cautious—perhaps thanks to their experience in skirting danger. But even they couldn't stop the other overexcited students. Almost everyone had crowded at the narrow entrance, eager to be the first to see the mysterious place Dumbledore had warned them not to enter.
Then, a terrified scream came from inside.
The scream startled everyone outside. Before anyone could even ask what happened, a rank, fetid gust of wind—accompanied by a terrifying growl—gushed from the crack in the door.
"It's the three-headed dog! Run!"
"Don't block the door! Get out of the way!"
"Ow—you stepped on my foot!"
Chaos broke out. The students were scrambling everywhere, and the more they panicked, the harder it became to escape. From inside came cries of pain and the muffled snarls of Fluffy tearing into his prey. Yet, some students were so paralyzed with fear that they blocked the doorway, preventing those inside from getting out.
Unbelievable. Truly elite-level stupidity.
Even Louis began to pity these clueless teammates.
To prevent them from getting themselves killed by sheer idiocy, Louis casually waved his hand. The invisible floating power of the Chicken Talisman picked up the students blocking the door and tossed them aside like garbage, clearing a path for the bitten-but-not-yet-dead students to escape.
George and Fred charged in, wands at the ready—Louis wasn't sure if they were brave or just dumb, or maybe they really did trust their own skills.
He strolled in leisurely afterward and caught sight of the twins rescuing two poor souls who were being mauled by Fluffy.
Turns out, the Weasley twins weren't completely useless. After all, they were geniuses who could invent joke shop magic items on their own. If they couldn't even cast the appropriate spells, how could they possibly make those tools?
"Stupefy!"
They shouted the Stunning Spell in unison, aiming at two of the dog's heads that were clamped onto the unfortunate students' legs.
The glowing orbs hit their targets but only managed to knock the heads aside a little—there was no real stunning effect. That was due to Fluffy's high magical resistance. For example, Louis himself had 50% resistance to dark magic, meaning all such spells used on him would be weakened.
Similarly, magical beasts like Fluffy typically had fixed resistance thresholds. Only magic that exceeded those thresholds would have any effect. Unfortunately, George and Fred didn't seem to have that level of power.
Still, their spells did manage to grab Fluffy's attention. The massive dog dropped the two nearly unconscious students and turned to lunge at the twins instead.
"Wilson! Get them out of here!" George shouted as he and Fred deftly dodged to either side, narrowly avoiding Fluffy's strike. Then they flung two more Stunning Spells straight into the beast's snarling face.
The twins were only in their third year, and the attack spells they knew were pitifully few. Aside from some gag spells like Tooth-Size Growing Jinx and the Tarantella Dance, only Stupefy had any real bite.
Seeing this, Louis casually used the Chicken Talisman's power to float the two mauled students out to safety. Then, from his sleeve, he pulled out a long balloon and started inflating it.
Sure, he could've just used the Chicken Talisman's floating power to grab the twins and flee—or even give Fluffy a solid beating while he was at it—but where was the challenge in that? Where was the showmanship?
He could easily claim that he saved the others with a simple Levitation Charm—but how was he supposed to explain beating up a Cerberus with levitation?
More importantly, a magician should avoid brute force whenever possible. Escaping danger with elegance and flair—that was far more interesting.
That was the true principle of a magician.
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