The dark, damp tunnel echoed with the occasional drip of water. Drops fell onto the ancient, cracked stones, where faintly glowing fungal threads grew sporadically.
Soft, labored breathing drew closer, causing spider-like creatures in the darkness to scatter hurriedly.
A goblin supporting a boy gradually emerged from the shadows of the secret passage—it was Indor and Hoffa.
Indor accidentally crushed a patch of glowing mushrooms underfoot. He paused to let Hoffa catch his breath before lifting him again to continue forward.
The journey that had taken Hoffa an hour on the way there stretched into nearly two hours on the way back due to his weakened state. They had to stop frequently for breaks.
Finally, they reached the hunchbacked witch statue at Hogwarts. Hoffa collapsed against it, sitting heavily on the ground, his back pressed against the stone as he panted for breath. Weakly, he tore off the mask from his face.
Only now did he feel a sliver of safety. No matter how skilled those German wizards were, they wouldn't dare follow him to Hogwarts. Even if they did, it likely wouldn't end well for them.
While adventure had its thrills, Hoffa preferred the grounded sense of security he felt now.
Indor slumped against the wall of the secret passage, sitting across from Hoffa as he panted heavily.
"Is that... Hogwarts... ahead?"
"What else?"
"I've never been inside. The three great schools in Europe are the most heavily protected places in the world."
"Consider yourself lucky," Hoffa retorted with a cold laugh.
Indor rubbed his hands awkwardly, his smile embarrassed.
Ignoring him, Hoffa sat cross-legged, closing his eyes to begin meditating and restoring his depleted magic. He wasn't truly safe until he returned to his dorm, and sneaking back into the school was still necessary.
I must avoid any possibility of expulsion, he thought firmly.
As he meditated, Hoffa reflected on the invaluable lessons he'd gained from this battle.
This encounter had been an eye-opener. A dark wizard controlling magical creatures. The seamless coordination of spells. The application of transfiguration in combat.
These were all things he'd never known in his previous life. The scope of this world was far greater—and far more dangerous—than he had imagined.
There was no question that he wasn't their match.
Without the system and relying solely on his current 11-year-old magical capabilities, he would've been unquestionably dead by now.
Merely relying on the sparse knowledge from the original story wouldn't allow him to survive in this unpredictable and ever-changing world.
Once he had organized his thoughts about the battle, Hoffa's mind grew heavier.
The world was fascinating and filled him with the desire to explore.
But today, he also recognized his own glaring weaknesses.
Critical weaknesses.
Insufficient magic power.
He recalled an old saying: the amount of water a barrel could hold was determined by its shortest plank. From this perspective, his entire body seemed like a collection of short planks. Apart from his mental strength being above average, he was almost indistinguishable from a Muggle.
Hoffa had never been exceptionally gifted in magic. His only standout trait was his higher-than-average mental acuity. He could pick up ordinary spells quickly and even manage advanced ones like transfiguration with relative ease.
However, he now realized that his magic reserves were sufficient for school exams but woefully inadequate for combat.
No wonder so few people became Aurors or dark wizards—the magical demands of combat far exceeded those of everyday life.
Individuals like Voldemort and Dumbledore wielded inexhaustible magic, using it freely without limitation.
Even Harry in later years cast spells effortlessly, never facing magical depletion.
Unlike Hoffa, who found himself gasping for breath after just a few spells.
Hoffa now possessed two types of invisibility abilities: the basic Disillusionment Charm and the advanced Ghost Walk.
The basic Disillusionment Charm only made him invisible, and his magic could sustain it for over half an hour.
The advanced Ghost Walk, while extremely powerful, allowed him to completely erase his physical presence from the world, making him impervious to any harm.
However, its magic consumption rate was terrifying.
Even when his magic reserves were full, Ghost Walk would only last for less than half a minute—about 20 seconds at most.
In just half a day, he had meditated twice.
He couldn't imagine the consequences if he didn't have his meditation technique to replenish his magic. Perhaps he would have already been a corpse under the dark wizard's wand.
Magic was the foundation of everything. Without magic, even the most powerful skills were useless.
If he had an inexhaustible supply of magic, he could use Ghost Walk freely, paired with combat spells, making him nearly unstoppable.
He had to find a way to solve his magic shortage.
After meditating for nearly three hours, Hoffa gradually regained his strength as his drained magic began to replenish. He was much better now, at least no longer as exhausted as he had been after the battle.
He planned to sneak back to his dorm and rest, but as he stood up, he noticed that Indor, leaning against the wall of the secret passage, had fallen asleep. His head drooped, looking incredibly tired.
Hoffa was startled. He shook Indor's shoulder roughly. "Hey, why are you still here?"
Indor opened his bleary eyes.
"What?"
"Didn't you say you were going to find Headmaster Dipet?"
"It's so late. It's already midnight. Can't I go tomorrow? How am I supposed to find him in this pitch-black place?" Indor mumbled.
Hoffa widened his eyes, feeling that Indor had a point, but he also suspected that the mischievous goblin was up to something.
"Well, go tomorrow then. I'm heading back." Hoffa said.
But as he took two steps, his pant leg was bitten.
Hoffa turned around to find that Indor had transformed into a badger and was pitifully biting his pants.
The badger was black and white, looking like it was wearing a suit, with a distinctive tuft of yellow fur on its forehead. Most strikingly, the badger had an earring on one of its ears.
Hoffa gritted his teeth. "What are you doing?"
Indor replied, "I have nowhere to sleep. You can't expect me to sleep in the tunnel, can you?"
"Go away! Weren't you sleeping soundly just now?"
"That was because you were here. It's so dark and scary in this place." The badger shivered as it spoke.
Hoffa gritted his teeth. This goblin was definitely pretending to be pitiful. From their encounter with the dark wizards, it was clear that Indor was much stronger than him.
Hoffa kicked him away, insisting, "No."
With that, he turned and began walking.
But the goblin transformed into a badger again and scurried in front of Hoffa, blocking his way.
"Just for tonight, I'll leave tomorrow, I promise. You won't see me when you open your eyes in the morning."
Hoffa didn't listen and tried to sidestep him, but the badger clung to his leg with its little paws.
"Just for tonight, please. I beg you."
"Merlin's beard."
Hoffa stopped in his tracks and turned around in frustration. He cursed his bad luck under his breath.
"You promise?"
"I promise."
"Damn it! If you're still here tomorrow, I'll throw you off the Ravenclaw Tower!"
With that, Hoffa picked up Indor and placed him on his shoulder.
He opened the hunchbacked witch statue and entered the Disillusionment Charm state.
It was already midnight at Hogwarts.
If anyone saw him wandering around at this hour, according to Headmaster Dipet's usual disciplinary methods, he would be placed on probation. If he broke the rules again, he would be expelled.
Hoffa didn't want to test the limits.
The school was dark and silent at night.
The wind outside blew through the castle corridors, emitting a low wail, mixed with the distant, faint sound of the midnight bells, which only served to enhance the eerie stillness.
The only source of light came from the moon, which poured through the high windows, casting beams that stretched across the floor.
The shadows of the stone sculptures high above twisted oddly on the ground, giving a bizarre and unsettling feeling.
This place felt like a completely different world from Hogwarts during the day.
Although Hoffa moved quietly, the people in the nearby paintings occasionally stirred awake.
"Who's there?" someone from a painting asked.
Not only that, the suits of armor standing on either side of the corridor seemed to have their own awareness. Whenever Hoffa passed by, their heads would turn, and they would stare at him with the empty, dark gaps in their armor, as though each suit of armor housed a soul.
Hoffa walked nervously. The only benefit for him was that Filch hadn't been born yet, so he didn't have to worry about that annoying squib appearing with his cat.
Click.
Suddenly, a faint sound came from behind him.
It seemed like someone had bumped into a suit of armor.
Hoffa immediately turned around.
In the dim light, he seemed to see an ethereal figure in the corridor, swiftly running past, stepping in the moonlight.
Hoffa was startled.
The goblin whispered, "I feel like there's someone else here."
Hoffa furrowed his brow, staring at the empty corridor behind them. After a long pause, he whispered a soft "Shh" to Indor. "This is a magic school. We don't need to worry about anything."
They walked through the corridor and arrived at the Ravenclaw Tower.
The Ravenclaw Tower loomed high, and Hoffa gripped the castle staircase railing, slowly climbing the tall tower.
The castle stairs seemed to be asleep at midnight. They no longer helped Hoffa ascend, causing him to stop and rest after each climb.
After climbing for several minutes, Indor on his shoulder quietly asked, "Where exactly is the common room?"
Hoffa, breathing heavily, whispered, "Shh, just play your part as the badger."
Indor fell silent.
Finally, Hoffa safely stood at the very top of the towering spire, facing a large portrait of a knight. To enter the common room, he still had to face the final challenge.
Hoffa lifted his invisibility charm, and the knight in the painting tilted his head, silently kneeling on one knee.
Next to him, a metallic eagle slowly spread its wings.
It spoke: "You see me, I see you. You have eyes, I have none. You can speak, I can speak. You have a voice, I have none."
After finishing, the eagle remained still, waiting quietly for Hoffa's response.
On his shoulder, Indor, now in the form of a badger, let out a sharp breath. He had never encountered such a strange question.
"What kind of school is this…"
Hoffa knocked on the badger's head to quiet him.
"You see me, I see you. You have eyes, I have none. You can speak, I can speak. You have a voice, I have none."
Were the nighttime riddles harder than those during the day?
Hoffa spun around in place twice, then frowned and looked up.
"Mirror."
The eagle slowly folded its wings, bowing its head and crossing its chest.
Meanwhile, the knight in the painting stood up, and the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room appeared.
Hoffa let out a sigh of relief and quickly climbed inside.
Back in the common room, the chaotic day finally came to an end.
Indor, on his shoulder, mumbled in his ear, "Do you have to answer that riddle every time you return?"
"Yes..." Hoffa muttered angrily, "Didn't I tell you to be quiet? Stupid."
The silver-black badger fell silent.
Hoffa crossed the dimly lit common room and took Indor back to his dormitory. Whatever had to be done could wait until tomorrow.
The room was pitch black.
Several roommates were already asleep, breathing evenly.
Hoffa breathed a sigh of relief. He was completely exhausted, and he locked Schmidt's large wand in the wardrobe.
Then, before he could even say goodnight to the goblin, he collapsed onto his pillow and fell asleep.
That night, Hoffa had a strange dream. He dreamed of a shadowy figure leading him through a dark, winding passage, with no end in sight.
There was no light, no hope.
Cold, suffocating, and impossible to breathe, as though he were submerged in an endless, bottomless ocean.
The figure floated just out of reach, seemingly facing Hoffa, but its face was impossible to see. He wanted to catch up and see who it was, but as he got closer, he realized the figure's face seemed to be split, smiling and crying at the same time.
(End of Chapter)
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