"I can't believe it, you're actually willing to join me for detention!"
Cedric's eyes lit up, a genuine smile spreading across his face, so touched he was about to give Adam a bear hug.
Adam dodged his outstretched arms with a nimble sidestep and spoke flatly without looking up.
"Don't get your hopes up. I'm just coming with you to see what Snape's really up to."
He pulled out the replica Marauder's Map from his small pouch. Only two names were on it.
One red dot appeared behind the marble staircase in the castle's Entrance Hall—that was Filch's office. The dot was slowly moving inside the room, seemingly about to cross the door and start patrolling the corridor.
The other red dot was marked in the third-floor office area. Adam had specifically marked the name "Huo・Langste" in bright red and made the font bold, making it particularly noticeable.
This special marking method wasn't as convenient as the original Marauder's Map, as it required a hair or a drop of blood from the person to be tracked. But once marked, it could record their movements and trace their whereabouts for up to a week.
Even though Huo was exceptionally cautious, always keeping his distance from others even in a crowded Great Hall, Adam had found his chance during the last Defence Against the Dark Arts class.
Professor Huo had just finished teaching the students a Banishing Charm and was about to have them put on their earmuffs to deal with an Erkling that had jumped out of its cage.
But even with all his preparations, he hadn't accounted for the students' boundless curiosity.
A certain round-faced student, wanting to relive the memory of seeing a Veela in the forest not long ago, couldn't resist taking off his earmuffs.
This caused the other students nearby to mistakenly think the practice was over, and they all followed suit.
The joke the Weasley twins made last month nearly came true, as the Erkling almost turned the classroom into an all-you-can-eat buffet.
While Huo was dealing with the Erkling, Adam "accidentally" aimed a Banishing Charm at his back. In the ensuing chaos, he picked up a hair the professor had dropped on the floor.
Cedric's smile instantly froze. He stared blankly at Adam, his voice filled with disappointment.
"I always thought our friendship was unbreakable. I never thought…"
Adam rolled his eyes and said in an exasperated tone, "The fact that I didn't immediately throw you into the Black Lake to feed the fish when you secretly filled out a Quidditch team application for me, which almost got me detention, is already a testament to our friendship."
He then glanced at the clock on the Common Room wall and checked the red dots on the map before continuing.
"It's almost ten... I'll give you a signal when you get to the dungeons. When you get it, try to cause a little trouble for Snape."
Cedric, looking bewildered, scratched his head and asked, "Why? What's the point of that?"
"'Stirring the cauldron to catch a Niffler,' haven't you heard that before?" Adam shot back.
"You mean 'stirring the water to catch a fish,' right?"
Cedric's expression grew even more puzzled, his eyebrows furrowing.
"Ugh…" Adam slapped his forehead and muttered to himself, his voice full of helplessness.
"I knew Newt must have gotten that from a book… I'm going to burn that blasted copy of How to Talk to Your Students when I get back!"
"Alright," Cedric nodded, following Adam toward the Entrance Hall. "How are you going to signal me?"
"Tapping on the dungeon windows is definitely out," Adam scoffed. "Ever since that Ministry hitman broke in, Snape has sealed them up tight."
"No wonder it's been so stuffy during Potions class lately…"
Cedric suddenly stopped. He turned around and, finding himself alone, his face instantly grew serious. He called out loudly, "Adam?"
"Hurry up and get to the dungeons for your detention. I'll be following you nearby."
A pair of hands appeared from thin air and turned Cedric back around. His eyes widened in surprise. "You're invisible? Is that an Invisibility Cloak? I saw one in a shop in Diagon Alley, made from Demiguise hair…"
"It's a Disillusionment Charm. Now be quiet, Filch is in the Entrance Hall, just ahead."
Adam gave him a shove and continued in a low whisper, "If you don't want to learn this charm, don't go to the Restricted Section of the library, and definitely don't look at the fifth shelf in the third row on the right, and whatever you do, don't pick up the seventh book on that shelf."
Cedric was stunned. He walked forward in a daze, trying to figure out if Adam's words were a warning or a signpost.
When he reached the Entrance Hall, Filch was holding his dim lantern, lecturing the Weasley twins in his usual menacing tone.
Turning to see Cedric, his eyes lit up, and he cackled in a high-pitched voice.
"Ha! Another student out after hours! My whips and chains in my office will finally…"
Cedric silently pulled out the note with Snape's signature.
Filch's face fell instantly, and he waved his hand impatiently, telling him to get going.
The Weasley twins cast sympathetic looks at Cedric.
In their minds, detention with Filch was easy, like polishing trophies, but with Snape, it was torture.
Once, Snape had even demanded they pick rotten Floberworms out of a bucket without gloves.
The slightest pressure on the worm would cause a greenish, acidic goo to spray out, mixed with a foul, cabbage-like stench.
Add to that the slimy, squishy, and limp feeling of the worms, and just thinking about it now made their stomachs turn.
Just as Filch turned to look at the Weasley twins, they suddenly felt their robe pockets get lighter.
The next second, a strange sound erupted from the direction of Filch's office.
A few streaks of Fawkes's Fireworks shot out from under the door, the brilliant sparks crackling and popping.
Following close behind, two large Dungbombs quietly burst, splattering a dark brown, herbal liquid all over the walls. A nasty, sour smell wafted out.
George and Fred excitedly exchanged glances, both recognizing the special fireworks. They frantically looked around for Adam.
Just as Filch was turning red with anger and muttering curses, Snape emerged from another corridor, clearly drawn by the noise.
"It's nothing, Professor Snape, just these two little troublemakers—"
Filch pointed at the Weasley twins, his eyelid twitching with fury.
"Oh, esteemed Mr. Filch," George drawled, and Fred immediately chimed in, "we've been standing right under your nose this whole time."
"That's right, who would throw something into your office while you're right there?"
The two of them teased him, their faces beaming with schadenfreude.
Snape didn't even raise an eyebrow. He looked straight at Cedric, his face grim. "Why are you alone?"
Cedric frantically waved his hands, almost hitting his chin.
"Adam just got a note from Professor Dumbledore saying he didn't have to come to detention…"
"Hah… clever."
Snape sneered and turned to walk down the corridor. Cedric quickly followed.
Passing the dungeons, Snape didn't stop but went directly to his office next door.
He pointed to a few grimy cauldrons and said in a cold voice, "Clean these cauldrons, and you can go."
As Cedric waited for the next instruction, Snape had already turned to the door. He glared back at him.
"What are you standing there for? If you're not finished when I get back, you'll be staying to scoop up slug mucus!"
There were no instructions about not wearing gloves or any other difficult conditions.
Cedric was a bit puzzled. This wasn't nearly as awful as everyone had made it out to be.
Only after Snape's footsteps faded did Adam lift the Disillusionment Charm. He raised a hand, interrupting Cedric's cauldron-cleaning.
He leaned over the cauldron, carefully observing it, and used a glass cup to scoop up the remaining drops of the potion.
"What are you doing? Don't stop me from cleaning! I don't want to scoop up that stuff."
Cedric said anxiously in a low voice.
Adam ignored him. He walked over to the table where the potion ingredients were processed, picked up a feather, and turned to ask, "Is this a Jobberknoll feather?"
"I think so. Blue spots, regularly distributed about two inches below the tip."
Cedric watched Adam wander back and forth at the long table, wondering, "Are you reverse-engineering the potion? I thought that was part of Advanced Potion-Making, for at least sixth-year students."
Adam held up a cup of viscous liquid to the light and murmured, "If you don't want to learn about potions not in textbooks, don't go to the Restricted Section…"
"Stop, stop, stop!" Cedric immediately covered his ears, but left a wide gap between his fingers. "Just tell me what potion it is."
"This is purified Belladonna oil, that thing in the shape of an inverted cone is Aconite root, and there are powdered beetle eyes…"
Adam mumbled, carefully recalling the contents of the book he'd read in the Restricted Section.
He turned to Cedric and said gravely, "If I remember correctly, this is the recipe for Veritaserum."
Cedric's eyes widened, and he suddenly stopped cleaning the cauldron. The water he was splashing nearly dripped into his mouth.
He was so startled he covered his mouth and rinsed it out several times before saying in disbelief, "What does a Potions Professor need with Veritaserum!?"
Adam frowned and quickly bent down to search the floor. Before long, he found a few greasy strands of hair in a crack in the wall.
He placed the hair on the replica Marauder's Map, wiped his hands in disgust, and muttered, "Next time, I'm sending him a case of Potter-brand shampoo. This guy is balding way too fast."
Cedric, curious, leaned closer to Adam, his eyes fixed on the map.
Snape's name gradually appeared in the castle area. A red dot followed, with a dotted line trailing behind it, clearly marking his path.
"Snape went straight upstairs, but where is he going?" Cedric couldn't help but ask.
Adam remained silent, his full attention on the red dot.
The dot moved through the Entrance Hall, up the marble staircase, and finally stopped in the second-floor corridor.
Just as Adam held his breath, waiting for Snape's next move, the red dot representing Snape and another person's red dot vanished without a sound.