At midnight, they finally left the Devil's Snare, half an hour later than planned.
If not for being woken by Fluffy's thunderous snores, they might have slept there all night.
It had to be said: Fluffy's snores were deafening, like a thunderstorm shaking the very walls.
Professor Sprout had planted the Devil's Snare in large flowerpots, so William didn't even need to dig a hole. He simply packed up the plants and took them all—effortlessly.
He didn't leave even one for the professor.
As they were leaving, the twins used their wands to scrawl on the wall:
"Guess who we are?"
They even added a small Slytherin snake emblem beside it.
William left behind the most iconic graffiti of all:
"Snape was here."
Cedric snuck to a corner and drew a heart containing the letters D and Z.
Cho, meanwhile, wrote a line in Chinese:
"Do good deeds without leaving your name!"
Hermione, however, took things much more seriously. She found a large blank spot on the wall and carefully wrote her suggestions:
She advised Professor Sprout not to plant such dangerous flora like the Devil's Snare in areas accessible to students. She urged adherence to Hogwarts regulations to ensure the safety of the young witches and wizards.
Her tone resembled Professor McGonagall's.
She also left advice for Professor Snape, suggesting he not show so much favoritism towards Harry and give other students a chance to answer questions.
Finally, she addressed Professor Quirrell, urging him to bathe more frequently to avoid spreading diseases. She even listed several examples to persuade him to reconsider his hygiene practices.
At the bottom, she signed her name:
A perfectly ordinary, unremarkable first-year wizard.
If William hadn't hurried her along, Hermione might have filled the entire wall with writing.
Child, did you think this was the Headmaster's notice board? Would Dumbledore even look at it?
After leaving the Devil's Snare, they followed a stone corridor, the only path forward.
The sound of their footsteps echoed alongside the soft drip of water sliding down the walls.
"Do you hear that?" Fred asked in a whisper.
William nodded. Ahead, there was a faint rustling noise mixed with metallic clinking.
"Could it be a ghost lurking up ahead?" Cho wondered. "It sounds like the Bloody Baron of Slytherin."
"It doesn't sound like him… more like flapping wings," Cedric said after listening intently.
They quickly reached the end of the corridor and found themselves in a brightly lit room with a high vaulted ceiling.
Countless small, jewel-like birds fluttered about, their wings glinting as they flew.
But these weren't birds. Upon closer inspection, they were winged keys—hundreds of them darting through the air.
On the far side of the room stood a heavy wooden door. They walked over, and Hermione tried the handle, but it was locked.
Cedric attempted an Alohomora, but to no avail.
"It looks like the key must be one of these," Fred mused.
"Leave it to Professor Dumbledore to set up such whimsical obstacles. Such peculiar taste," George said with a shrug.
"But there are hundreds of keys!" Cedric said, looking up at the swarm.
"We need to find an ornate, vintage key—likely silver, shaped like a door handle," Hermione deduced, scrutinizing the keyhole.
Cho scanned the corners of the room but found nothing.
"There has to be a tool for catching the keys. It wouldn't make sense otherwise," she said, puzzled.
"That just means the challenge isn't fully set up yet," William suggested.
"What now?" Cedric frowned. "With so many keys flying around, I could catch it if I had a broomstick."
As Hufflepuff's Seeker, Cedric was confident in his abilities.
Hermione thought for a moment before grinning. "I've got it! We can use the Devil's Snare. Its vines are strong enough to knock all the keys down!"
William nodded calmly. "Good idea, but no need for all that trouble. We're wizards, after all."
Since they were wizards, they would use magic to solve magical problems.
William's wand swirled, his magical energy surging as he softly chanted an incantation.
Water droplets materialized and coalesced into a massive water tornado around him. With a flick of his wand, the tornado shot upward like a cascading river into the sky.
Hermione's eyes widened.
William's spell bore a striking resemblance to the attack the dark-robed wizard had used to fell the dragon at Gringotts—but while that wizard had used stalactites, William used water.
Of course, it was only a superficial resemblance. To a true master of magic, the differences were worlds apart.
The dark wizard had used powerful dark magic capable of killing a dragon in one strike.
William, on the other hand, had simply drawn inspiration from that attack to invent his own spell—a minor one, really.
The sudden onslaught startled the sapphire-winged keys, which clustered together and collided with the tornado. The deluge paused momentarily in mid-air.
William intensified his magic, causing the tornado to rebound upward, smashing into the flock of keys.
Water droplets struck the keys repeatedly, knocking several of them out of the air.
With a twist of his wand, the water tornado exploded, thoroughly scattering the tightly packed keys.
The young wizards stared, slack-jawed.
William put away his wand, frowning slightly.
The spell's attack power wasn't quite up to par. Perhaps he could refine it by turning the water droplets into water blades—it would surely improve its effectiveness.
But then again, the spell's original purpose had been far simpler: to replace a showerhead and help Boba Tea bathe.
Bathing was a daily battle for Boba Tea, who behaved as though it were life-threatening. William used the spell to chase it around for a wash without soaking himself in the process.
Hermione walked over with a calm expression and quickly found the key they needed from the pile.
She had seen William perform much more impressive magic before and considered this spell rather ordinary, just aesthetically pleasing.
Cedric and the others, however, were thoroughly impressed.
Cedric had already resolved to learn dueling techniques from William, just as William had learned from Professor Flitwick.
"William, you have to teach me that," Fred grumbled. "It'd be the perfect prank spell! I could drench everyone's clothes with ease.
"If I knew this spell, I'd use it in Defense Against the Dark Arts to wash Professor Quirrell's head. His turban reeks."
William agreed it was a good idea. Professor Quirrell certainly needed to pay more attention to his hygiene.
"But… is it really okay for us to knock down all the keys?" Cho asked, worriedly eyeing the now-empty room.
"Don't worry. Professor Flitwick can easily re-enchant them," William reassured her with a smile.
He was certain the obstacle had been Flitwick's handiwork. Having dueled the professor numerous times, William knew his style well.
"But the professor's challenge is too easy. He should have added Fiendfyre or duplication curses to the keys," William suggested.
That way, touching the wrong key would result in burns or multiplication, making the real key harder to find.
If Flitwick hadn't thought of it, William didn't mind sneaking back later to add some extra difficulty.
After all, any wizard who got past Fluffy would surely be up to the challenge.
William's face broke into a kind smile.
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