The twins left, and William and Cho followed them out.
Harry hesitated before speaking, "Ron, you shouldn't have talked to Fred and George like that. They didn't do anything wrong…"
Ron didn't reply and merely stared blankly at the twins' retreating figures.
In his pocket were a map and a new wand—the map was a gift from George, and the wand came from Fred. But none of it mattered anymore; he felt like a complete fool.
Harry sighed, still gazing at the disappearing group. He hadn't even managed to introduce himself to Cho Chang. A pitiable missed opportunity.
Noticing Ron's sour expression, Harry decided to drop the topic for now, planning to find a way to make Ron apologize later.
To change the subject, Harry asked, "Ron, what exactly is a wizard's duel? And what did you mean when you said you'd be my second?"
"It's a one-on-one fight between wizards," Ron finally replied. "If you die, the second steps in."
Harry gasped audibly.
Seeing Harry's alarmed expression, Ron quickly added, "But, you know, people only die in formal duels with real wizards.
"With you and Malfoy? At most, you'll shoot sparks at each other. Don't worry about all those things Malfoy's bought from William—they're just everyday items, nothing that can be dangerous.
"You both know so little magic that it's impossible for either of you to seriously harm the other."
"But I don't know any magic at all," Harry said, scratching his head in frustration. He was seriously considering finding Fred to teach him a thing or two.
And, of course, talking to Cho in the meantime wouldn't hurt either.
"It doesn't matter oif you don't know any magic, just ditch your wand and punch him in the nose," Ron said, clenching his fist. "Don't worry; I've got your back!"
Despite Ron's reassurances, Harry felt even more uneasy. Crabbe was a massive brute, probably the only person who could rival Dudley in a fight.
For the first time in his life, Harry found himself missing Dudley.
"So, you've decided to cause trouble again?" came an angry voice from behind them.
The two spun around to see Hermione standing there.
"I accidentally overheard you," Hermione said, crossing her arms. "You're going to duel Malfoy tonight, aren't you?"
"You absolutely cannot go out for a duel at night! Think about how many points Gryffindor would lose if you get caught!" Hermione said, clearly distressed.
"This has nothing to do with you," Harry said firmly.
"Yeah, we're busy," Ron added impatiently. "If you leave us alone, we'd be much happier."
"I'll tell Fred and George…" Hermione threatened.
Ron's expression darkened. "They already know, satisfied? Now stop meddling. This is none of your business."
Hermione bit her lip angrily and ran off.
In the corridor, Cho quietly offered tissues to Fred and George.
"If tissues don't work, my shoulder's available for you to lean on," William said. "Though we'll have to find a private spot—otherwise, strange rumors might start spreading tomorrow."
"Oh, don't worry about it," Fred said, flashing his usual grin. "We won't get upset over something so trivial."
"Exactly," George added, pretending to be nonchalant. "Ron's an idiot. He's the dumbest one in the family—everyone knows it, even Ginny."
That much was true. From what William had seen of the Weasley family, Ron didn't seem very "Weasley-like."
Charlie and Percy were excellent in their own ways, and the twins were brilliant pranksters.
Compared to them, Ron stood out for his sheer ordinariness.
"So, are you planning to head out tonight?" William suddenly asked.
Fred played dumb. "Go where?"
"Don't try to fool me," William said with a smile. "Malfoy's clearly setting those two up. You know it, and everyone where knows it. But you're going to help anyway, aren't you?"
"Of course," George shrugged. "Ron's a fool, and we're even bigger fools for going out tonight to help. Someone has to keep them from getting caught and losing Gryffindor points."
"And we can't let Ron find out," Fred said with a sigh. "Otherwise, he'd think we're apologizing."
"Exactly," George agreed. "As if!"
"Helping two newbies sneak around at night," Cho said, clapping her hands in amusement. "Now, that's quite the challenge."
"Challenge yourself everyday! That's my motto," Fred said, clearly pleased. He had finally found a justification for his actions.
It wasn't just a justification; it was more like brotherly devotion.
William had seen plenty of people bending over backward for their siblings but rarely encountered such devoted brothers.
"If you could take our place tonight…" Fred draped an arm around William's shoulders.
"Babysit?" William raised an eyebrow. "Not a chance. I've got other things to do, millions of Galleons can go up and down with my every move. I'm busy."
"Besides, you've got the map. Even if you can't Apparate, there's no way you'll get caught."
The Marauder's Map, the most iconic magical map of Hogwarts, was no longer in use.
It had been stored away. Instead, the group now used an upgraded version, showing secret passages and the locations of others.
Naturally, their names were all removed from the map.
"What are you doing tonight?" Cho asked curiously.
"I need to visit the fourth-floor restricted area again."
"What for?" the twins asked, interested.
"I've been going there every day," William said with a grin. "Professor Snape's potions are too complex to analyze. The samples I took earlier weren't nearly enough.
"Every night, I sneak in and take another bottle. By the next day, Snape always replaces it with a new one."
Of course, the dragon fire he used for experimentation was depleting quickly.
Snape called it a fair trade—a silent agreement between them.
Silent agreement, my foot. William was already plotting to raid Snape's entire potion storage room to make up for his losses.
…
That Night, 11:40 PM
When his roommates were asleep, William donned his cloak and left the Ravenclaw common room.
Recently, Boba Tea had been busy seducing Mrs. Norris, and William was sure this would lead to trouble sooner or later.
The castle was eerily empty as William navigated the familiar halls. He had roamed the castle so many times at night that he often bumped into other students.
More than once, he had caught Prefect Penelope sneaking to the kitchens with her roommates, faces covered, like burrowing rodents hunting for snacks.
If it weren't for the map, William wouldn't have recognized them.
The first rule of nighttime escapades was anonymity.
In the dim moonlight, students exchanged hand signals to confirm there were no snitches before dispersing silently.
Soon, William reached the restricted area on the fourth floor. He was about to open the door when a loud commotion erupted.
CRASH! Clang! Thud!
"Run!" A shout echoed from the distance—Harry's voice, by the sound of it.
William sighed. This was the twins' idea of "protection"?
Pulling out his map, he quickly located Harry and Ron moving rapidly on the third floor, heading towards the fourth.
Wait… he spotted Hermione and Neville, too.
William groaned as the group's path clearly led to his location.
Worse, Filch was tailing them.
What could he say? He could only sigh and ask, "Did you lead the enemy I distracted by sacrificing my cat to me?"
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