A new chapter is up.
Come in, get comfortable, and let’s see what kind of trouble waits this time ❤️ ✦ After leaving Professor Flitwick’s office, Edmund headed for the library, thinking over their conversation as he walked.
It had helped him more than he expected.
More importantly, it had pointed him toward a direction.
Magic was never as simple as speaking an incantation and waving a wand.
Magic was mysterious.
Many wizards knew how to use spells without understanding why they worked.
They could cast, but they did not understand the nature of what they were doing.
Of course, Hogwarts was not built only to cultivate a small group of elite wizards.
It served the entire British magical world.
Most professors would not teach deeper principles unless a student actually asked.
For most students, practical use was enough.
Edmund, however, had decided to study the nature of magic and search for its deeper secrets.
That meant Ancient Runes.
When he reached the library, he found Madam Pince, the librarian, presiding over the room with the severity of someone guarding a national treasure.
Books were her life.
Her sharp gaze swept back and forth through the library like a blade.
Anyone who handled a book roughly or spoke too loudly earned an immediate, freezing stare.
Edmund entered quietly and found a copy of An Introduction to Ancient Runes by Victor Silvis in the general section.
It was a third-year textbook, and students used it all the way to fifth year.
For Edmund’s current level, it was more than enough.
“Looks like I should buy a copy,” he murmured.
“Coming to the library every time is going to slow me down.” “But I cannot use Aurea.
Too conspicuous.
I will borrow an owl from the Owlery instead.
For now, though, I should not waste the night.
I may have to come back after curfew.” As for school rules?
Edmund’s creed was simple.
If no one saw him breaking a rule, then the night walk had been flawless.
At dinner in the Great Hall, he found Cho already there.
She had saved him a seat.
Edmund sat down, and before long, his plate was loaded with food.
It was three or four times more than Cho had taken, piled up like a small hill.
Cho let out a soft laugh.
“Edmund, why are you so hungry?” “Reading takes energy,” Edmund said around a mouthful of food.
“I just came from the library.” “As expected of Ravenclaw’s little genius,” Cho teased.
“You earned Ravenclaw its first points of the year.” Even while teasing him, she thoughtfully handed him a glass of juice so he would not choke.
Edmund rolled his eyes and ignored the teasing, focusing instead on dinner.
Afterward, Cho had no evening class, so she returned to the common room with a few girls to play wizard chess.
Edmund, less fortunate, had Astronomy.
Astronomy in the magical world was not very different from Astronomy in the Muggle world.
Students used telescopes, observed the stars, and learned their movements.
It did not feel particularly magical.
By nine that night, Edmund had stared at the sky until his head ached.
He returned to his dormitory and dropped straight onto his bed.
“No.
I cannot waste the evening like this.
I still need the library.” He sat up abruptly, shook his head, and forced himself awake.
The sooner he learned wandless magic, the sooner he would have another card to play.
Most wizards without a wand were helpless.
Whether an enemy sliced them apart or roasted them whole would be a matter of taste.
Edmund had no intention of leaving himself with such an obvious weakness.
At midnight, he decided it was time.
The common room should be empty by now.
He straightened his robes, cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, and slipped out of the dormitory.
As expected, the common room was deserted.
Edmund let out a quiet breath.
Ravenclaw had many students who liked to read late into the night.
He left the common room and stepped into the corridor, moving silently toward the library.
He had no desire to run into Filch or his cat.
Those two haunted the castle after dark like a pair of curses with legs, hunting for students out of bed.
At the library, Edmund took up the book he had been reading that afternoon.
After a moment’s hesitation, he moved into the Restricted Section.
It was deeper inside, and if someone came to inspect the library, he would have more time to hide.
In a shadowed corner of the Restricted Section, Edmund cast the Wand-Lighting Charm, set his wand upright nearby, and began reading with interest.
The book suited him perfectly.
Ancient runes were magical symbols, and every single rune could support an entire book of explanation.
This text offered only an introduction to the use and structure of several basic runes, but that was exactly what Edmund needed.
He needed books that explained the foundations of magic, not just spells to memorize.
At the same time, elsewhere in the castle, a pair of red-haired twins were sprinting through the corridor.
“Move faster, you idiot, George.
If Filch catches us because of you, I am laughing at you for the rest of term.” They were running from Filch, but there was not a trace of panic on their faces.
They wore the wicked grins of boys whose prank had succeeded, laughing and shoving each other even as they fled.
Gradually, they approached the library.
Edmund’s ears twitched.
He surfaced from his reading.
“Someone is coming?” He tilted his head, already moving.
He extinguished the light on his wand, renewed the Disillusionment Charm, returned the book to its place, and walked toward the library entrance.
Then he saw the Weasley twins racing toward him, laughing and scrambling like two runaway Bludgers.
Behind them came the furious roar of a certain Hogwarts caretaker.
“I know it was you!
I know you are up ahead!
Do not let me catch you!
I will have you in detention for the rest of term!” Edmund stared.
Of all the things he had planned for, he had not accounted for two walking disasters dragging Filch straight to the library.
They had derailed his perfect night study plan.
Still, he had no intention of helping them.
The twins were already third years.
They had enough experience sparring with Filch to survive without him.
Since reading was no longer an option, he might as well stay and watch the show.
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS AuroraVale Thank you for reading.
I hope this chapter pulled you a little deeper into the story.
Stay close, because things are only getting more interesting.