It was a scene that could send any arachnophobe into instant shock.
The moment Louis saw it, he nearly lost control and was about to blast the thing to bits with the Dragon Talisman. Why not use the faster Pig Talisman? That one had too small a range—it wouldn't vaporize the spider on the spot, and that would be even more frustrating!
Thankfully, Louis had mentally prepared himself in advance and managed to suppress his instinct.
"An Acromantula… now that's a valuable magical creature. I just don't know why wizards are after its venom," Louis muttered as he stared at the struggling beast. He didn't extract the venom right away but instead controlled the Volumen Hydrargyrum to split off a blob and wrap the spider securely.
"Fafnir, go back to sleep," he said, opening the password door. Once the little dragon flew inside, Louis, along with the two floating blobs of Volumen Hydrargyrum—one large and one small—headed toward the Room of Requirement.
It was already past curfew, and the dark corridors of the castle felt a bit more eerie than usual.
Squib Argus Filch was wandering the halls with his oil lamp, resembling an untiring specter haunting the corridors in search of poor souls to drag into suffering.
At least that's how most students saw him. Given that Filch always seemed to appear out of nowhere—knowing secret passages no one else did—he was more terrifying than any ghost.
But Louis thought to himself, this squib might not be much better off than those sneaky students.
Hidden by the Snake Talisman's invisibility near a massive portrait, Louis noticed Filch's hand trembling ever so slightly.
He must be afraid too. As a Muggle in all but name, being around students was like being surrounded by armed toddlers. Sure, the school rules held them back, but who knew if someone might decide to "accidentally" hex him?
As a squib, he had no way to fight back. Even a single Stupefy could shatter a few of his ribs.
"A squib forcing himself to live among wizards in Hogwarts, eaten away by jealousy day in and day out, looking at young wizards learning magic like they're his enemies... What is he even trying to gain from this?" Louis sighed inwardly.
If he didn't have the Trickster System, as a Muggle, he would've never had a chance to step foot in Hogwarts. And yet, just the thought of being a transmigrator denied access to Hogwarts… that alone might've driven him mad—maybe even more than Filch.
As Louis was lost in thought, Filch, who had been about to walk past him, suddenly stopped. Raising his oil lamp, he looked directly in Louis's direction and began walking toward him.
Louis raised an eyebrow but didn't panic.
He didn't believe for a second that Filch could see through the Snake Talisman's invisibility.
So the reason Filch was approaching had to be something else.
Louis turned to glance at the enormous painting beside him. Just as Filch reached out, Louis quickly sidestepped out of the way.
The painting didn't depict any characters—only a tireless horse grazing. Filch's hand brushed over the horse's back, and it let out a satisfied snort, then trotted lazily into the adjacent painting of a grassy plain to join a group of zebras.
With a soft sound, the portrait swung open, revealing a hidden passageway to an unknown destination.
It was a secret passage, one Louis had stood right beside without noticing.
Of course, that was partly because he hadn't used his spiritual sense to scan the area. If used on living people, spiritual force would trigger a clear reaction—and all the portraits in Hogwarts were "alive," capable of communication, and even known to report back to Dumbledore's office.
To avoid suspicion, Louis usually refrained from probing the portraits. As a result, he'd failed to notice the hidden passage.
Watching Filch vanish into the passage and the grazing horse calmly return, Louis couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of Hogwarts.
How was such an intelligent horse even painted? And this seemed to be a commonly used kind of magic, considering Hogwarts was filled with paintings like these.
Shaking his head, Louis let the thought go and headed toward the moving staircases with his two blobs of Volumen Hydrargyrum.
It was the easiest place to get lost—but also the quickest route to any floor. The downside was the staircases didn't always take you where you wanted to go, often forcing you to detour across half the castle.
Missing your destination was par for the course. As Louis watched the long staircase shift midway, he looked at the two sluggish mercury-like blobs at his feet with irritation.
The Volumen Hydrargyrum was just so slow.
Louis had no intention of taking a detour.
The image of the Rooster Talisman shimmered in his eyes, and a buoyant force lifted him and the two fluid blobs straight up to the eighth floor.
Just as he landed, a flash of light zipped past his peripheral vision.
Louis frowned and activated the Snake Talisman again, cloaking himself and the Volumen Hydrargyrum in invisibility.
It was Filch—he was back, lantern in hand, heading in Louis's direction.
So that secret passage must have led directly to the eighth floor.
Louis stroked his chin thoughtfully as he watched Filch walk ahead.
That direction led to the Room of Requirement—but it didn't matter. Filch could be easily dealt with using illusions.
Louis followed behind, floating along quietly, until they reached the tapestry depicting the troll clubbing the dimwit Barnabas.
At the same time, a white glow emerged from the opposite corridor.
It was Professor Flitwick, the Head of Ravenclaw House and Charms professor, walking over with his lit wand.
"Mr. Filch, I haven't seen any students around here," said Professor Flitwick in his distinctively high-pitched goblin-like voice. "Perhaps you misheard."
"No, Professor, I swear I heard them—those damned twins! They're right here in the area. Maybe they're using a Disillusionment Charm! You could reveal them with magic!" Filch replied, voice trembling with excitement.
Ah, so the earlier tremors weren't fear—they were anticipation. Judging by his words, Filch had been targeting someone specifically and had managed to corner them into an ambush.
And that someone was likely the Weasley twins? Were they nearby right now?
Louis looked around carefully, but the corridor was empty—there were no [threads].
His Eye of Fate allowed him to see the fate-threads of any being not protected by a higher power. If there were no threads, then there were no people hiding here.
Professor Flitwick furrowed his brows in a theatrically exaggerated way. He was a kind professor who usually turned a blind eye to night-wandering students and couldn't understand why Filch was so obsessed with catching them.
Still, Filch's request was within the school's rules, and he couldn't refuse.
"Very well then. Aparecium!"
With a wave of his wand, a revealing spell designed to expose disillusionment magic spread across the area.
Filch eagerly scanned every corner, his eyes sharp as a hawk.
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