Of course, Lorin’s style of patrolling was nothing like Filch’s.
Rather than a caretaker making rounds in the castle, he was more like a noble lord sitting in front of security monitors!
“Eye of Magic.”
“Magic Projection!”
He had learned two highly practical spells from the Beauxbatons library.
One allowed him to cast a spell to place an Eye of Magic in a designated location.
The other was a companion spell that could project a magic screen to view the images reflected by the Eye of Magic, which could be used to monitor…
Oh, no—patrol!
It was absolutely perfect for it!
After all, Lorin had long been fed up with Filch’s extremely inefficient patrolling in the original story.
To get caught by Filch, how reckless did one have to be?
This Eye of Magic wasn’t about being lazy on patrol; it was about increasing efficiency!
It was called optimization!
With Lorin’s level of magic, covering all of Hogwarts with Eyes of Magic was naturally child’s play.
Out of respect, however, Lorin did not place Eyes of Magic in the staff offices or the restrooms on any floor.
Having done all this, Lorin reclined leisurely on a lounge chair in his office, silently training [The Heavenly Scripture].
Every bit of time had to be utilized.
Sure enough, before long, Lorin noticed something amiss.
“The statue of the one-eyed witch.
A familiar crime scene…”
Lorin stopped his training and looked at the feed on one of the magic screens.
Seeing two sneaky figures approaching the statue, Lorin found it highly amusing.
Almost all the teachers and students in the school were in class.
The few students without classes were either on the grounds, in the library, or perhaps in their common rooms.
Of course, there were also some affectionate young couples stealing kisses in certain corridors.
Lorin swore he had no intention of peeping; it was just a chance sighting by the Eye of Magic.
The freckle-faced Weasley twins seemed to think they were executing their plan flawlessly.
Even the sound of their conversation traveled to Lorin’s ears through the Eye of Magic.
“Fred, are you crazy?
Spending money in Hogsmeade on the very first day of term?!”
George didn’t seem to want to crawl into the opening behind the one-eyed witch’s statue.
“Oh, George, it’s all that stupid Peeves’s fault.”
Fred grumbled, clearly dealing with a bit of a headache as well:
“Peeves used up all our dungbombs.
Oh, damn it, I shouldn’t have believed his lies!”
“He is a ghost, stupid Fred!
And are you shouting so loud because you want to bring Filch here?”
George shook his head in annoyance, only for someone to pat him on the shoulder.
“Oh, George, how many more dungbombs can we buy?”
“Let me see, our funds are running low, we might only…”
George opened a worn-out wallet.
Looking at the loose silver Sickles inside, he couldn’t help but sigh:
“Maybe ten more.
“Fred, why has your voice changed?!”
George looked up and saw Fred standing frozen beside a handsome, white-haired wizard.
Standing at nearly 190 centimeters tall, he made Fred and George feel as if a giant were standing beside them.
His mist-like gray robes added a touch of mysterious charm, though Fred and George were in no mood to appreciate it.
“My cautious Messrs.
Weasley, you won’t draw Argus over.”
Lorin patted Fred and George again with a smile:
“Because you have already drawn Mr.
Montmorency.”
“Ahem…
Mr.
Montmorency, this is just a misunderstanding.”
Fred took an awkward step back.
“Yes, a tiny, interesting misunderstanding.”
George also nervously took a step to the left, trying to block the opening behind the statue that led to Hogsmeade.
Merlin’s beard, this was the first time they had been caught red-handed by a caretaker while up to mischief.
“Oh?
Is that so?”
Lorin noncommittally continued:
“Is Hogsmeade really that much fun?
Enough to keep you lingering when you only have five silver Sickles and a dozen bronze Knuts to your name?”
Hearing this, Fred and George blushed furiously, not knowing how to answer.
From their observations, Mr.
Montmorency did not seem to live nearly as frugally as Filch.
When it came to wealth, they really couldn’t argue…
Besides, their meager balance had always been a source of embarrassment.
“Oh, Mr.
Montmorency, you don’t know, Hogsmeade…”
George stared intently at Fred while humoring Lorin.
“Right, Mr.
Montmorency, Hogsmeade is…”
“Fred!” “George!” “Run!”
The Weasley twins let out a strange cry and split up, running in opposite directions with perfect coordination.
Had it been Filch, he could only have grumbled and cursed in exasperation.
But the Weasley twins were facing the greatest graduate in the history of Beauxbatons…
“Messrs.
Weasley, actually, for a first offense against school rules, I wasn’t planning on punishing you.”
Lorin flicked his wand.
Instantly, two ropes shot from the tip, wrapping around Fred and George’s wrists and pulling them back.
“But since you tried to run and resist punishment, well…”
“Twenty points from Gryffindor.”
Lorin was still smiling, but that smile made Fred and George feel deeply uneasy.
“M-Mr.
Fred rubbed his red wrist, offering a sheepish grin.
“Could we go back now, please?”
“Merlin will surely praise your mercy!”
“Is that so?
Then what is that in your hand, Mr.
Weasley?”
“And you, the other Mr.
Weasley?”
With a gentle flick of Lorin’s wand, the crude bomb in George’s hand and a poorly made miniature swamp prop flew into Lorin’s grasp.
“Very creative, Messrs.
Weasley.”
Lorin marveled at the two prank items in his hands.
Instead of scolding the twins, he critiqued them with great interest:
“But this decoy bomb needs better stability.
Perhaps you could try incorporating a balancing charm…”
“And as for this swamp, if I may be blunt, Messrs.
Weasley, you really need to work on your Transfiguration…”
Having the flaws of their prank products pointed out so precisely by Lorin, Fred and George weren’t upset at all.
Instead, they forgot about escaping.
“Oh, kind Mr.
Caretaker.”
“Please tell us.”
Fred and George fawned over Lorin, chiming in like a double act:
“How exactly should we improve them?”
“We promise we’ll never do it again!”
Amused by the comedic duo, Lorin tapped both of them lightly with his wand.
“Did you two forget that you were planning to prank me just a moment ago?”
“Oh, kind Mr.
Caretaker.”
“You must have mistaken us!”
“Yes, exactly!”
Fred and George exchanged a glance, nodding with absolute conviction written all over their faces.
Had he not known the twins’ character from the original story, Lorin might have actually believed them.
“A third mistake.
Another twenty points from Gryffindor.”
Lorin showed no mercy, pointing his wand at Fred and George.
“Immobilize.”
This was an immobilization spell Lorin had developed by improving upon the principles of the Body-Bind Curse, Binding Curse, and Stupefy.
“As far as I know, you don’t seem to have classes this morning,” Lorin said in a light tone, looking with satisfaction at the two “statues” who could only move their eyes.
His footsteps faded as he walked away:
“So, this spell will automatically wear off at eleven thirty.”
“As for in the meantime, you two…”
The rest of his words were lost to Fred and George, as Lorin had already walked out of earshot.