On Friday morning, Zhang Wen went to see Professor Flitwick.
Flitwick’s office was located next to the Charms classroom on the third floor.
The room wasn’t large, but it was crammed with various magical artifacts and books.
The shelves reached all the way to the ceiling, requiring Flitwick to stand on a stack of books just to reach the top layer.
When Zhang Wen knocked, Flitwick was practicing a charm to make teacups perform a tap dance.
Three teacups were kicking their legs in unison on the desk, showing a rather impressive sense of rhythm.
“Professor Zhang!” Flitwick hopped down from his pile of books, nearly stumbling.
“Do come in!
What can I do for you?”
“Professor Flitwick, I’m researching a defensive spell based on the principle of reflection,” Zhang Wen said.
“I need several mirrors enchanted with Anti-Shattering Charms.
I was wondering if you could help me with that?”
Flitwick’s eyes lit up instantly.
“A defensive spell based on reflection?” His voice rose half an octave.
“You mean bouncing spells back via a reflective surface?
That’s a very intriguing idea!
Theoretically feasible, though controlling the angle of reflection is a massive challenge—”
“Exactly, which is why I need to conduct some foundational experiments first,” Zhang Wen followed his lead.
“It would be a waste if the mirrors weren’t sturdy enough and shattered from the magical shockwaves during the process.”
“Completely understandable!” Flitwick began rummaging through his cabinets.
“I have several teaching mirrors here; the Anti-Shattering Charms are already in place.
What size do you need?”
“About the size of a standard full-length mirror.
As many as you can spare.”
“I have six.
Will that be enough?”
“That’s plenty.”
Flitwick hauled the six mirrors out of a storage cupboard and added an extra layer of reinforced Anti-Shattering Charms to each one.
“With this, they won’t break even if a troll punches them,” Flitwick said proudly.
“Remember to tell me if you make any progress!
I’m quite interested in the subject of reflective defense spells myself—”
“I certainly will.” Zhang Wen shrank the mirrors and tucked them into his pocket.
“Thank you for your help, Professor Flitwick.”
“Not at all, not at all!
Academic exchange, after all!”
Walking out of Flitwick’s office, Zhang Wen marveled silently—the tiny professor was a true genius of Charms.
The Anti-Shattering Charms he had casually applied were comparable in strength to professional-grade protective magic.
Next came finding the right spots to hang them.
He planned to place one at several key corners of the second-floor corridor, the corridor leading to the library on the third floor, and the fourth-floor staircase landing.
These were areas students frequently passed through and were the most likely spots for the Basilisk to emerge from the pipes.
As for his excuse—he planned to tell Filch it was part of a “Corridor Safety Improvement Plan.” The mirrors would help students see around corners to avoid bumping into one another.
A very boring, but perfectly logical reason.
Filch probably wouldn’t care.
He only cared whether the corridors were being dirtied.
***
By Friday afternoon, Zhang Wen had the mirrors installed.
The process was smoother than expected.
Hogwarts’ corridors were already filled with various odd decorations; a few extra mirrors hardly stood out.
The only minor hiccup occurred on the fourth floor, where an old wizard in a portrait next to the mirror spent ages adjusting his hair once it was hung.
“Finally, a decent mirror,” the old wizard said with satisfaction.
Zhang Wen took that as positive feedback.
Artoria helped him hang the two on the second floor. Get faster updates on g.com.
Her height was just right for the desired positions, so she didn’t even need to use Levitation Charms.
“Are you sure the Basilisk will emerge from these locations?” she asked while adjusting the angle of a mirror.
“I’m not certain,” Zhang Wen replied.
“In the original story, the Basilisk didn’t attack exclusively at these spots.
But these are the main corridors with the highest student traffic.
Statistically, placing mirrors here covers the most likely scenarios.”
“It’s not enough,” Artoria said.
“What?”
“Six mirrors aren’t enough.
The castle is too large.”
Zhang Wen knew she was right.
Hogwarts had seven floors plus the dungeons, with miles of corridors.
Six mirrors provided very limited coverage.
“But we can’t exactly line the entire castle with mirrors,” Zhang Wen said.
“That would be too suspicious.”
Artoria thought for a moment.
“We can distribute them to the students.”
“What?”
“Small mirrors.
Have the students carry them.”
Zhang Wen froze for a second, then realized it was a brilliant idea.
In the original story, Hermione survived her encounter with the Basilisk only because she was carrying a small mirror.
She saw the creature’s eyes through the reflection and was only Petrified instead of killed.
If every student carried a mirror—
“But I can’t just hand out mirrors to every student for no reason,” Zhang Wen said.
“I need a plausible excuse.”
“Course supplies,” Artoria suggested.
“Set it as standard equipment for Defense Against the Dark Arts—for practicing reflective defense techniques.”
Zhang Wen stared at her for three seconds.
“Artoria.”
“Yes?”
“Your tactical thinking is occasionally terrifying.”
“Basic common sense,” she said.
“Issuing equipment to soldiers is a commander’s responsibility.”
Zhang Wen decided that in next week’s class, he would officially announce that every student was required to carry a small handheld mirror as a teaching prop for DADA.
The reason: “To practice using reflective surfaces to observe enemies behind you.”
It was a reason that perfectly matched the actual utility.
It was just that the “enemy behind you” wasn’t hypothetical—it was a literal Basilisk.
Perfect.
***
Saturday afternoon, Quidditch tryouts.
Zhang Wen and Artoria arrived at the Quidditch pitch.
The pitch was much larger than Zhang Wen had imagined.
Six golden hoops stood tall at either end, surrounded by stands draped with the banners of the four houses.
Today was Gryffindor’s tryout, and the stands were fairly crowded with spectators.
The Gryffindor side was naturally the loudest, but students from other houses had come to watch the spectacle as well.
In the Slytherin stands, Zhang Wen noticed Malfoy sitting in the front row with Crabbe and Goyle.
He wasn’t there to cheer; he was scouting the competition.
Professor McGonagall was already there, seated on the high platform reserved for staff.
Seeing Zhang Wen, she gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.
“Are you familiar with the rules of Quidditch?” McGonagall asked.
“Roughly,” Zhang Wen said.
“Seven players per team, three types of balls.
The Seeker catches the Golden Snitch to earn one hundred and fifty points and end the game.”
“Essentially correct,” McGonagall said, a hint of approval in her voice.
On the pitch, Gryffindor Captain Oliver Wood was organizing the tryouts.
Wood was a seventh-year Scottish boy whose obsession with Quidditch bordered on pathological.
He held a tactical clipboard covered in dense clusters of arrows and circles.
“We need to find a new Chaser this year!” Wood’s voice echoed across the pitch.
“Everyone trying out, line up!”
About a dozen Gryffindor students formed a line.
Zhang Wen noticed Ginny Weasley wasn’t among them—she was only a first-year and likely didn’t feel brave enough to try out yet.
The tryouts began.
Candidates took turns flying into the air, circling the pitch twice, and then performing passing and shooting drills.
Most of them were mediocre at best.
A few had wobbling flight postures, and one nearly crashed into a goalpost.
Zhang Wen didn’t know much about Quidditch, but Artoria was watching intently.
“The third one has good balance,” she evaluated.
“But his upper body is too stiff; he loses speed during turns.”
Zhang Wen turned to look at her.
“You understand riding?”
“The principles of riding a horse and riding a broom are similar,” Artoria said.
“Center of gravity control, physical coordination, adapting to changes in speed—at their core, they are the same.”
“The King of Knights critiquing Quidditch,” Zhang Wen muttered under his breath.
“This is a surreal sight.”
Artoria ignored him.
The tryouts were more than halfway through, and Wood’s expression was growing increasingly grim.
The candidates clearly weren’t meeting his expectations.
Then, the final candidate stepped up.
A third-year girl with reddish hair—Angelina Johnson.
No, wait, Angelina should be in a higher year.
Zhang Wen looked closer; it was Katie Bell, a third-year.
Katie’s broom work was crisp and clean.
She was the fastest to circle the pitch, her passes were precise, and she made seven out of ten shots.
Wood’s face finally brightened.
“Bell!
You’re on the team!”
Applause broke out from the stands.
After the tryouts, Wood began organizing a full team practice.
The Gryffindor lineup consisted of: Wood as Keeper; Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell as Chasers; Fred and George Weasley as Beaters; and Harry Potter as Seeker.
Harry took to the sky on his Nimbus 2000.
This was the first time Zhang Wen had seen Harry fly in person.
To be honest, he was a bit shaken.
On the ground, Harry was just an ordinary twelve-year-old boy—thin, not very tall, wearing glasses, and somewhat shy.
But on a broom, he became an entirely different person.
His movements were so fluid it didn’t seem possible for a student with only one year of flying experience.
He switched speeds effortlessly, and his body lean during turns was perfect.
He was chasing a practice ball meant to simulate the Golden Snitch.
The ball moved in irregular, high-speed patterns above the pitch, and Harry stayed right on its tail, the distance between them closing steadily.