Because they'd been so absorbed in teasing the dog, Kyle and Cedric arrived at The Three Broomsticks just as everyone else had settled in. Once they found their seats, Fred slid two bottles of Butterbeer in front of them, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
"How much did you two buy, and what took you so long?" he asked. "If you'd been any later, we were about to come looking for you."
"Not much," Cedric replied, taking a sip. "But on the way back, we came across a really interesting big black dog. That's what held us up."
"Big black dog…" George muttered, frowning. "Could be bad luck, don't you think?"
"It's probably just a stray that wandered in," Cedric said with a shrug. "Or maybe someone from The Hog's Head brought it in. The shop is right next door, after all."
"Yeah, that sounds likely," Fred agreed. "The people at The Hog's Head are always bringing in strange stuff. Last time we were there, George and I saw someone hide a five-foot bone in their robes."
"We figured it might've been for a Troll…" George added with a grimace. "And the smell was revolting."
Fred wrinkled his nose at the memory, setting his Butterbeer down. "We were planning to check out The Hog's Head one of these days, but we dropped that idea after seeing that."
"Because of the Troll bone?" Cho asked, looking amused.
"No, because the landlord threw us out," George said with a shrug. "He's got a terrible temper, that one."
They continued chatting over Butterbeer, the warmth of the pub and the lively conversation driving away the chill from outside. Later, when Kyle passed Dervish & Banges again, the black dog was nowhere to be seen, and it didn't reappear throughout the rest of the visit.
When it was time to head back, everyone followed Professor McGonagall up to the castle. Kyle went straight to the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor rather than returning to the common room, and his friends joined him, eager to see the Mist Gem in action.
"I need a very large room with strong wind," Kyle said, pacing back and forth three times in front of the wall until a door appeared. When they stepped inside, they were immediately hit by gusts of intense wind.
Kanna was nearly blown back, but Kyle managed to grab her in time. "A little warning would've been nice," Fred yelled over the roar of the wind, straining to be heard.
"We're here now… it's fine!" Kyle called back, not planning to go any further into the room. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out one of the Mist Gems and crushed it in his hand.
Immediately, thick fog billowed out from the fragments, filling the space around them. Within seconds, they were enveloped in a dense, swirling haze. The raging wind that had almost blown them away seemed to disappear, muffled by the layers of fog that now cloaked the room.
Fred blinked, rubbing his eyes. All he could make out were George standing nearby and a faint shadow of Cedric in the foggy distance.
"It's definitely worth twenty Galleons…" George's voice echoed from somewhere behind him. "Kyle, where'd you go?"
"Over here!" Kyle replied, stepping closer with Kanna by his side, followed by Cho and Cedric.
"Incredible…" Cedric muttered. "The wind that nearly swept us off our feet was stopped by this fog."
"You get what you pay for," Fred said with a grin. "If a little wind could scatter it, Kyle could go demand a refund from Dervish & Banges."
"Let's test it a bit more," Kyle said, drawing his wand.
"Ventus!"
"Aguamenti!"
"Incendio!"
...
Kyle kept testing different Charms, but the dense fog stubbornly held its shape. Even when there were slight changes, the mist quickly returned to normal, maintaining visibility at less than a meter.
George tried a few spells of his own and asked, "Kyle, how big do you reckon this area actually is?"
"No idea," Kyle replied, shaking his head. "The shop owner didn't mention anything about the range."
"Why don't we find out?" Fred suggested, and everyone quickly agreed.
Kyle conjured a long piece of rope with his wand, tying one end to the doorknob as a guide. Following the lines on the floor, they started exploring. Half an hour later, they reached a wall.
"Is this the end?" Kyle said, touching the wall and turning back in another direction.
This time, it took only ten minutes before they hit another boundary. Kyle began to realize he'd underestimated the room's size and the fog's reach.
"Should've been more specific," he sighed, giving his forehead a tap. "Something massive… like a forest."
With no other option, they began following the rope back toward the entrance.
"Well, we can confirm the Mist Gem covers a huge area," Fred remarked. "Even walking slowly, we covered what felt like five Quidditch pitches in half an hour."
"More like eight," Cedric said confidently.
George chuckled. "Imagine throwing one of these onto the Quidditch pitch in the middle of a match," he said.
"That would be brilliant," Fred laughed. "Players wouldn't see the goalposts and would fly all the way to Hogsmeade!"
"Maybe stop by Honeydukes to find a Raspberry Flavored Golden Snitch," George added.
"Why don't you try it, Kyle?" Fred suggested with a mischievous grin, and the two burst into laughter.
Kyle rolled his eyes. "Honeydukes might have rare sweets, but I know I'd be out twenty Galleons. And probably in detention, thanks to Professor McGonagall."
"True…" Fred sighed. "Detention's one thing, but twenty Galleons… that's painful."
He reached out to touch the thick fog, watching as it clung to his fingers.
When they finally returned to the entrance, they waited for the fog to clear. A gentle breeze began to flow, steadily growing stronger until the mist started to dissipate.
"Right on time," Kyle said, stepping out as the breeze ruffled their robes.
"Exactly two hours," Kanna confirmed, checking her watch.
"Two hours for twenty Galleons… what a luxury," Fred whistled. "Makes me ache just thinking about it."
"Twenty Galleons could buy us ten boxes of Stink Pellets," George said wistfully. "Enough to last the school year."
"Ten boxes for one year?" Fred laughed. "Filch would actually hunt us down."
"Then we could stretch it to two years…"
"Wait!" Cho suddenly gasped. "What time is it? Has the Halloween feast already started?"
"Oh no!" Kanna checked her watch, her eyes widening. "It's ten past seven… the feast started ten minutes ago!"