"What's going on?"
Avada raised an eyebrow in surprise—this was something he had never seen in the past two years. But after a brief moment of thought, he more or less understood the situation. "It's probably Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, starting to cause trouble for Peter Pettigrew. In that case… perfect."
"I can use this opportunity to make a move on Pettigrew. Hopefully, Crookshanks and I will work well together."
"That reminds me—Sirius Black probably sneaks into Hogwarts to attack the Fat Lady before the end of the first term. And this time, with no Dementors at the school, he'll only act even earlier. So Pettigrew's situation really can't be delayed. I need to move fast…"
After putting Damocles Belby's research notes back on the shelf, Avada quickly scanned the library. When he failed to find the people he was looking for, he left at once, then went to the Great Hall, the Quidditch pitch, and the kitchens near his common room—but still found nothing.
"Well, figures. Those two are as elusive as ever."
Shaking his head lightly, Avada headed upstairs to the corridor where the Gryffindor common room was located and casually stopped a student wearing red-lined robes.
"Sorry—may I ask if you know where Fred and George are right now?"
"Fred and George?"
The Gryffindor student paused before answering, "They said earlier that they were going to sneak off to Hogsmeade today. I even asked them to bring me back some Fizzing Whizbees. You know how slippery those two are—they know loads of secret passages and always manage to sneak past Filch…"
"…All right, I see. Thanks."
Avada scratched his head. Very much in twin style. Hogsmeade wasn't even open on Saturday mornings anymore, yet they still dared to head there on the very first day of term.
But for him, once he knew their destination was Hogsmeade, things actually became easier.
Last year, before the Chamber of Secrets was found, he had conducted a full-scale inspection of the school one night and, in the process, familiarized himself with almost all of Hogwarts' secret passages. At this point, he was practically a living Marauder's Map—his understanding of the castle even surpassed that of the twins.
There were seven secret passages from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade in total. Four of them were already known to Filch, so the twins wouldn't use those. Of the remaining three, the passage behind the mirror on the fifth floor had completely collapsed for some reason—probably a mix of age and vibrations caused by basilisk activity—and was unusable. As for the passage beneath the Whomping Willow, once frequently used by the Marauders, the twins couldn't access it either—they didn't know the tree's weakness.
That meant only one usable passage remained.
All Avada needed to do was quietly wait by that single passage and lie in wait for the Weasleys. He needed to hurry—if the twins were fast enough to return before he blocked the exit, he'd miss them entirely.
After thanking the Gryffindor student—who had trusted him enough to casually reveal the twins' rule-breaking—Avada immediately went to the location of the passage entrance he remembered. It was behind the statue of a one-eyed old witch near a classroom doorway. He casually cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, then split his focus—pondering Belby's paper while silently watching the passage entrance.
Not long after—
Click.
With a faint sound, a hidden doorway quietly opened behind the one-eyed witch statue. A red-haired head poked out suspiciously, pressing close to the wall as it listened for a long while. After confirming the area was clear, the owner slipped out soundlessly—followed closely by another redhead carrying two large bags.
"Yo."
Avada abruptly dispelled the Disillusionment Charm. He was standing less than a meter away from the twins.
"WAH—!!"
Fred—probably—smashed the back of his head into George, nearly sending both of them tumbling back into the passage. After finally steadying themselves, they instinctively lowered their heads and hunched their shoulders, adopting a pitiful tone.
"Professor, we were just—"
"Ahem. That's me."
Avada calmly took two steps back, out of the twins' striking range, before reminding them quietly.
"…Huh? Ken?!"
The two of them jerked their heads up, staring at him in disbelief rather than immediately pouncing. "How did you know we'd come out here?"
"Someone told me you went to Hogsmeade," Avada said with a grin. "And since I also know where all seven passages to Hogsmeade are—and that only one of them still works—it was only natural to wait for you here…"
"Oh, right—after all, you've seen the Marauder's Map—"
George—probably—casually sealed the passage entrance and put on a world-weary expression, the pitiful act from earlier completely gone. "Memorizing passage locations so thoroughly… you've got real potential as a rule-breaker yourself. So—what does a junior like you want with two veteran offenders like us?"
"I want to borrow the Marauder's Map again."
Once the topic turned serious, Avada dropped his playful demeanor.
"The Marauder's Map?"The twins blinked. "Going to catch someone again like last term? Who is it this time?"
"Don't tell me the rumors are true—Sirius Black has infiltrated the school, and you and Dumbledore are secretly preparing to capture him?!"
"Nothing that dramatic," Avada shuddered slightly and rolled his eyes deliberately. "This time it's for personal use… let's just say it's for setting up a prank."
"I see."
The twins completely ignored the highly unconvincing "prank" excuse. They were already used to Avada's many mysteries. Flanking him on either side, they hooked their arms over his shoulders. The head on the left drawled lazily, "But since this is just a personal loan, not official business… shouldn't you show a little sincerity?"
"Exactly. You can't just scare people half to death and then ask to borrow something," the head on the right nodded in agreement.
"…What kind of sincerity do you want?"
The twins nodded in unison, eyes lighting up. "That invisibility spell just now—what was it? Teach us!"
"…Pick something else."
This time, Avada really did roll his eyes. "That spell is restricted by the Ministry of Magic. I only learned it because it was necessary for dealing with Voldemort before. This isn't about school rules—it's the law."
He had no doubt that if the twins learned the Disillusionment Charm from him, they'd use it ten times more recklessly than he ever would—doing things they wouldn't even dare imagine otherwise, getting caught by Snape or McGonagall, being interrogated about where they learned the spell… and then the whole thing would inevitably reach the ears of a certain white-bearded headmaster who already knew Avada could cast it.
It probably wouldn't cause serious trouble—but a lengthy lecture would be unavoidable.
"As for something else… we haven't decided yet. We'll tell you once we think of it."
Fred—probably—cheerfully pulled out a folded piece of parchment and slapped it into Avada's hand. "Make sure you return it early. We're planning to give this to Harry—he didn't get permission to go to Hogsmeade this year. He needs it more than we do."
"Got it. Thanks, Fred."
"You're welcome—I'm George."
(End of Chapter)