Chapter 17
After some experimentation, Aisen discovered that a suitcase already enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm could not be further expanded using the same charm. This meant that Aisen could only cast the spell once to enlarge the internal space of the suitcase, and there was no way to continuously inflate it over time through repeated casting.
Of course, Newt's magical suitcase was said to have been created by all the students and professors of Hufflepuff House at Hogwarts working together to cast the Undetectable Extension Charm.
In other words, if Aisen wanted to create a magical suitcase with such an enormous space, it would require an extraordinarily exaggerated amount of magical power. But clearly, Aisen was currently incapable of achieving that.
After stopping his practice with the Undetectable Extension Charm, Aisen gazed at the suitcase in front of him with a thoughtful expression.
He suddenly realized that once this suitcase had been enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm, it had become a magical item. In that case, could he replicate its magical properties?
But no sooner had the thought crossed his mind than Aisen reached out and touched the magically enlarged suitcase.
[Discovered extraordinary property — Fine-grade Storage Space Property]
Consume one Miracle Property to replicate?"
Seeing this result, Aisen was instantly overjoyed. Because he could exploit a bug in his system to stack and fuse Space Properties, potentially even fusing them into a small personal domain.
However, upon second thought, he remembered how few Miracle Properties he had and quickly deflated. Even if he didn't fuse other properties and specialised in fusing Space Properties, creating a small domain would require at least several hundred—or even a thousand—portions.
But he only gained one Miracle Property per year, which was quite frustrating. So, Aisen's goal would likely have to be shelved for now.
That said, since he had now learned the Undetectable Extension Charm, he could create Storage Space Properties whenever he needed them in the future, so there was no need to dwell on it too much.
However, although the suitcase could now hold far more items after being enchanted, it wasn't particularly suitable for Aisen.
Because the suitcase was still too large for him—carrying it around wherever he went would be inconvenient. Then, Aisen thought of Hermione's beaded handbag from the original story, and he suddenly felt that a small bag of that style would be very portable. Or perhaps he could custom-order a hollow metal ring from the Muggle world and cast the Undetectable Extension Charm on the hollow part, turning it into a storage ring?
...
When he emerged from the Room of Requirement, it was already 11:30 at night; although nighttime wandering wasn't a big deal for Aisen, he still cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself.
As Aisen passed the trophy room on the fourth floor, he suddenly heard voices.
"He's late—maybe he's scared and doesn't dare show up!" It was Ron's voice. Though he spoke softly enough, the Hogwarts corridors were dead silent at night, so Aisen heard it clearly.
"This is... the midnight duel?" Encountering such a classic scene, Aisen couldn't help but find it amusing. Anyway, he had nothing better to do—following along to watch wouldn't hurt.
"Have a good sniff around, my sweet—they might be hiding in a corner." Filch's voice came at just the right moment, startling Harry and the others. Clearly, Filch was directing his cat to track them by scent.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione hurriedly ran toward the door farthest from Filch. After dashing through corridor after corridor, they emerged near the Charms classroom.
After running for so long, all three were out of breath. "I—told—you—not to go out. Now we're done for!" Hermione scolded Harry and Ron.
"We have to get back to Gryffindor Tower," Ron said to Harry, ignoring Hermione's nagging.
"Malfoy tricked you—he had no intention of meeting you in the trophy room. He must have tipped off Filch." Hermione caught her breath and looked at Harry.
However, before they could sneak back, the school ghost Peeves emerged from a classroom. Upon spotting Harry and the others, he began shouting loudly.
"Oh, naughty first-years not asleep, wandering the Charms corridor!" The trio, who had just escaped, immediately fled in despair down the corridor to the right.
They completely failed to notice that, in their panic, they had entered the right-hand corridor on the fourth floor, which Professor Dumbledore had expressly forbidden young wizards from entering.
At the end of the corridor, Harry and the others were blocked by a locked door "The door's locked!" Harry fiddled with it a few times before pounding on it in frustration.
"We're done for—this time we're completely done for!" Ron whimpered beside them, looking like he was about to cry.
"Move aside—Alohomora!" At the critical moment, Hermione stayed calm. She pulled out her wand, pushed Harry and Ron out of the way, and cast the Unlocking Charm, opening the lock.
Then, they rushed inside and closed the door again. Watching this scene from the shadows, Aisen shook his head. After all, behind this door was a three-headed dog. For a few young wizards to run in there in a panic was not a wise choice.
In the distance, Filch and Peeves gradually moved away after failing to catch the young wizards. Suddenly, several screams came from behind the door in front of Aisen, followed by Harry and the others frantically fleeing out, about to slam the door shut again.
Aisen shook his head once more, then released his Disillusionment Charm to reveal himself. With a wave of his wand, the door seemed to be infused with another force—it slammed shut and locked itself.
"What are you lot doing here instead of sleeping at night?" Seeing the three young wizards stiffly turn around, Aisen found it somewhat amusing inside but kept his expression stern.
He had no choice—as a Hogwarts professor, discovering young wizards wandering the corridors at night, he couldn't just ignore it.
"Professor Aisen, Harry was supposed to have a midnight duel with Malfoy, but Malfoy didn't show up!" Harry glanced at Ron, whose face was twisted, then at Hermione, who was trembling slightly. He opened his mouth but didn't know how to explain. In the end, Hermione gathered her courage and told the "truth."
"A midnight duel? Well, young wizards are always impulsive—I can understand that." As soon as he spoke, the three visibly relaxed. Then Aisen continued, "But do you know where this is? This is the right-hand corridor on the fourth floor, the area Professor Dumbledore has forbidden young wizards from entering."
In an instant, not only Hermione but Harry and Ron turned pale. At that moment, they suddenly recalled Dumbledore's words about suffering a painful and gruesome death if they entered the right-hand corridor on the fourth floor.
Then, as if realizing something, they exchanged glances and showed expressions of having narrowly escaped disaster. Clearly, they had also thought of the three-headed dog behind the door—if not for their good luck, they really might have died horribly.
"So, Professor Aisen, will we be expelled?" Ron asked with a twisted face, looking aggrieved and on the verge of tears.
"Oh, no, it won't come to that." Aisen shook his head. Come on—this was the Savior Trio. Expelling them would throw the entire plot into chaos.
"However, given that you not only stayed up at night wandering the corridors but also entered a forbidden area, I have to deduct 30 points from Gryffindor." Still, Aisen imposed a punishment on the young wizards. After all, it was just 30 points—Hermione, the top student, could probably earn them back by answering a few questions in class.
Hearing this punishment, Hermione's expression suddenly fell, while Ron and Harry looked relieved. After all, top students think differently from ordinary people. Losing so many points didn't bother Harry and Ron much.
"Alright, hurry back to bed! You have classes tomorrow!" He considered giving them detention but decided it was too much trouble and let it go.
The three ran off like wild horses toward the Gryffindor common room on the eighth floor. Aisen returned to the staff quarters on the first floor.
When they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the eighth floor, they finally stopped.
"Pig snout!" With Harry's password, the portrait swung forward and opened. The three stumbled into the common room and collapsed onto the sofas.
"What exactly did they mean by that? Why keep something like that in the school?" After resting a bit, Ron couldn't help muttering. Clearly, the three-headed dog had terrified him.
Then, they headed toward the dormitories.
"Didn't you notice? What was it standing on?" Hermione looked at Harry and Ron as if questioning their eyesight.
"Its heads were enough for me to look at!" Clearly, for Harry and Ron, in such a dangerous situation, they had only focused on the three massive heads.
"It was standing on a trapdoor—that means it's guarding something." The observant Hermione drew her conclusion.
TL/N: Want to read more of this and support me, do join: Patreon.com/DawnOfBlood