11:45:14 p.m., Gryffindor Tower.
Ethan, who had been feigning sleep in bed, opened his eyes.
He sat up quietly and listened carefully to the steady breathing of the other four, confirming once more that they had fallen asleep.
[Good.
They’re all out cold.]
Ethan climbed out of bed, tiptoed into his robe, and tucked his wand into his sleeve.
Before leaving the dormitory, he looked back at the others one last time.
[Your big brother is going out to have some fun.
Ciao~]
Ethan gently closed the door and slowly passed the other dormitory rooms in the tower, then descended the spiral staircase to the Gryffindor common room.
The embers in the fireplace were still giving off a faint glow.
By that dim light, Ethan adjusted his clothes, making sure he would not commit some rookie mistake like tripping over his shoelaces or his robe during the operation ahead.
A little caution never hurt.
[All right.
This is the last save point.
From here on, it’s a one-life clear.]
Ethan looked at the embers in the fireplace and carefully recalled the details the Weasley twins had told him earlier that day.
…
Eleven hours earlier, in the Transfiguration Courtyard.
“If you want to go to the Restricted Section, you’d better do it at night,” Fred said, pulling Ethan down to sit in the corridor.
“Wait until Madam Pince, the librarian, is off duty.”
“But nighttime isn’t completely safe either,” George said.
“The portraits in the corridors are watching everything that happens in this school at all times, not to mention the Prefects and Professors on patrol.
So you’ll need a way to make yourself invisible.”
“The Disillusionment Charm,” the twins said in unison.
…
[Then let’s try the new Charm.]
Ethan raised his wand and made a small circle over his head.
A strange sensation came over him, as if someone had cracked an egg on top of his head and something cold was flowing down from his scalp into his body.
He lowered his head and looked at himself.
Even the color and texture of his clothes had turned exactly like the carpet beneath his feet, making him look like a human-shaped chameleon.
…
“The Professors won’t teach you something like the Disillusionment Charm,” Fred said with a shrug.
“So there’s no choice.
You’ll have to learn it from us.”
“But we haven’t exactly mastered it perfectly either,” George added.
“So just to be safe, you’d better recast it every so often.”
…
[The test this afternoon lasted about an hour.
To be conservative, I’ll recast it every half hour.]
This was not a game where he could reload a save if the infiltration failed.
Once he was discovered, Gryffindor would face a massive point deduction, so there was no need to risk waiting until the spell was about to wear off before refreshing it.
No reason to do that.
In a situation like this, playing it safe was better.
Ethan ducked through the portrait passage, closed the empty portrait of the Fat Lady behind him, and made his way down the Marble Staircase.
…
“You have to be fully prepared when you go out at night.
The Fat Lady often goes visiting at night, so you need to be ready for the possibility that once you leave, you won’t be able to come back all night.” Fred stood up with Ethan and moved to sit somewhere else, avoiding the students passing by.
“Once you leave the Gryffindor common room, you have to watch out for Filch,” George said, leaning one hand against a pillar.
“Mainly his cat, Mrs Norris.”
…
Ethan slowly moved along the staircase.
The constantly shifting stairs wasted quite a bit of his time.
After finally waiting for the last flight to connect to the path leading to the Entrance Hall of Hogwarts Castle, he slipped down the stairs as quickly as he could and arrived in the first-floor corridor.
[Good.
Keep going like this.
The library is almost there.]
Ethan hugged the wall as he walked, silently cheering himself on.
But he could not go any farther.
A dark gray cat was sitting sideways in front of the doorway leading to the Entrance Hall, elegantly licking the fur on her paw and blocking his path.
…
“Mrs Norris?”
“That’s right, Mrs Norris,” Fred said with a nod.
“Filch can’t use Magic.
A little Disillusionment Charm would let you strut right past him.”
“But that cat will report you to Filch.” George sat down and put an arm around Ethan’s shoulders.
“Mrs Norris has an incredibly sharp nose.
Once she catches your scent, you’d better run, as far as you can.”
…
Mrs Norris seemed to notice something all of a sudden.
She lifted her head warily, looking around in alert silence while carefully sniffing the air.
[Not good!]
Ethan silently cursed.
Mrs Norris locked onto his direction, rose to her feet, and began walking toward him one slow step at a time, a low rumble sounding in her throat.
Ethan slowly backed away.
The more things came down to the wire, the less he could afford to panic.
Right now, he had to force himself to stay calm.
If he made some mistake in his panic and Mrs Norris noticed him, all his work would be wasted.
Just like that, one person and one cat slowly moved from the corridor to the side of the Marble Staircase.
Ethan turned and looked behind him at the staircase, which had already shifted elsewhere, and realized he had reached a dead end.
[It’s over.
No way back.]
Ethan watched Mrs Norris draw closer, his breathing growing heavier.
[Calm down, Ethan, calm down.
Use that little brain of yours.
There has to be some way to distract this cat.]
Mrs Norris slowly closed in and began arching her back.
[Got it!]
Ethan tapped his head as the idea came to him.
He stretched his wand forward and silently chanted in his heart.
[Lumos.]
A faint red light appeared at the tip of his wand.
Ethan’s hand gave a light flick, and the speck of light broke away from the wand and shot straight toward Mrs Norris.
[Lumos Locomotor.]
“Meow.”
Mrs Norris let out a displeased cry, but she was quickly drawn in by the red light, her front paws constantly swiping at the moving speck.
Ethan held his breath and continued controlling the light with his wand, leading Mrs Norris onto another staircase that headed toward the basement.
[Finally dealt with.]
As expected, no cat could resist the temptation of a little moving light.
Only after watching that stretch of stairs move away did Ethan finally let out a long breath.
He wiped away nonexistent cold sweat, circled around the stairs, returned to the corridor, and slowly crept toward the doorway of the Entrance Hall.
[What would happen if I used this trick on Professor McGonagall when she turned into a cat?]
The thought suddenly popped into Ethan’s mind for no reason.
He shuddered, then immediately shook his head and dismissed it.
Forget it.
Better not tempt fate.
It was hard to say what would happen to Professor McGonagall.
But if he really did that, he would definitely die horribly.
Not even Professor Fig could save him.
Ethan cast the Disillusionment Charm on himself again, took a deep breath, and gently pulled open the door to the Entrance Hall.