A Web Of Magic

"Alright. Let me put a stop to your worries. They do not expel students easily. Definitely not for something as simple as breaking the curfew. You might still want to stick to the rules if you do not want detention. Detention isn't so bad with some professors like Prof. McGonagall and Prof. Flitwick but if someone like Prof. Snape catches you then it'll be bad. So, no you won't be expelled. And don't tell anyone else that you broke any rules," Magnus advised her. Hermione finally put down some of her worries. But it somehow felt like Magnus was telling her not to get caught rather than not to break the rules. "I must be overthinking," she thought.

"There's no such thing as a wizard's duel for honor, not anymore. It was probably last followed few centuries ago. Don't listen to Ron about such things. He's not the brightest of people. And definitely do not get provoked by Malfoy. From what I heard, he isn't much better than Ron," Magnus continued. Hermione very much agreed about Ron. For someone who grew up in a wizarding family, he doesn't know much magic.

"Now tell me more about this third-floor corridor," Magnus asked her. It's hard to believe that a corridor declared forbidden by the headmaster can be entered so easily by a couple of first-year students. And all that's inside is a dog?

"Yes, we didn't know how we ended up there. I definitely thought we were on the staircase for the other end of the third floor. But we somehow ended up near the forbidden corridor. It's strange now that I think about it. Maybe I'm recalling it wrong. The door didn't open first but I used the unlocking charm Alohomora and it worked. I just learned the charm. I didn't think it was that effective," Hermione said excited in the end. It's always nice to know that her reading didn't go to waste.

'Very effective indeed. A forbidden corridor door that gets unlocked by the simplest of the unlocking spells that even a first-year student can perform. There's nothing suspicious at all,' Magnus thought sarcastically. The whole thing felt like a set-up. By who he didn't know.

Hermione continued, "We quickly went into the room once the door opened. Filch couldn't get the door to open so he soon went away. That's when we noticed the dog behind us. It was very big and intimidating. Luckily, we quickly escaped. But before we escaped, I think I saw a trapdoor underneath the dog. It looked like it was guarding something."

"That sounds like a Cerberus. But they don't live in Britain. They are only found in Greece and even then, they are pretty rare. I wonder who brough it in?" a certain half-giant came to Magnus's mind. 'It's probably him. I heard Cerberus's make good guardians. But if there is something to hide, why go through all of this trouble? You can just place it in a vault at Gringotts. Wait, I saw in the Daily Prophet that there was a break-in at Gringotts but nothing was stolen. Is that the reason why Headmaster Dumbledore is safe-guarding it here at Hogwarts? But isn't it safer if he just kept it in his office? I don't think anyone is bold enough to break in there. All of this doesn't sound right. Maybe it's better for me if I just mind my business. I should still keep a look out for the forbidden corridor in my map,' Magnus decided.

"Whatever it is Hermione, you better stay away from that corridor. Cerberuses are very strong and dangerous. They can shrug off most spells with their magic resistance. While they do have their weaknesses, it's not something first-year students should worry about. So just stay clear of it and nothing bad will happen," Magnus advised. Hermione is very rational so the chances of her breaking the rules again are very slim. The last time was just due to other circ.u.mstances.

"Okay I'll remember that. Thank you for listening to me Magnus," Hermione thanked him wholeheartedly. The two then started talking about other topics and Hermione asked him about some of the doubts she has had in her studies. She was cut from the same cloth as him and has read ahead of her class so it wasn't very easy for her to ask her doubts during the class. Magnus saved her a lot of time searching for answers in the library. Sometimes he would just point out a book to her instead of giving the answer directly, but that was more than enough for her. She liked reading anyway so she preferred that.

Soon a month passed away. The third year and above students had their first Hogsmeade trip during this time. All of them were very excited for this outing. Magnus had his permission slip signed by Mrs. Weasley as despite losing her monetary benefits, she was still his Guardian. It's just that it's for free this time. But neither her nor her husband seemed to mind. Magnus decided to let it be as he won't be depending much on them anyway. Besides, it was nice to have someone to sign for occasions like this one.

Magnus and the Weasley twins weren't as excited as the rest of their year-mates. They could go to Hogsmeade at any time using their maps. It was just that they could now do it officially. It was still nice not to sneak around all the time. Magnus made a good use of this visit and purchased plenty of ingredients that he needed both for brewing potions and enchanting. He had enough money to spare now so he was generous in his purchase. Fred and George could only look on enviously. In the end Magnus loaned them some money so they could buy the ingredients required for making their joke products. They are getting ready to sell some of their stuff in the castle this year. Magnus also decided to sell some of his own items through them later.

It was almost time for Halloween and Magnus was in the common room of the Ravenclaw tower. There weren't many students around as they went to watch the Ravenclaw quidditch team practice. Roger and Noah were both in the quidditch team so they were off too. Eva just went wherever Noah was so she too was out of the castle. Magnus thought it was the perfect opportunity he had been waiting for.

He moved towards the empty bookshelf which was near the entrance to Helena's room. When he saw that no one was paying attention, he took out a badge and stuck it to the back of the bookshelf. 'Now this should prevent people from paying attention to this corner of the room,' he thought. He could have cast the Notice-me-not charm that he had recently learned, but it wouldn't last long as he wasn't quite proficient in it yet. Thus, he chose the alternative and used a badge he had enchanted. This should last for the rest of the year. He can just replace it next year.

Magnus then phased through the wall as he entered Helena's room. Helena was there waiting for him looking curiously. He already told her in advance and took her permission for what he was about to do. Under her curious eyes, Magnus removed a matchstick sized object from his pocket. He looked for a good position and waved his wand. The object immediately returned to its original size. It was the vanishing cabinet that he had repaired during the holidays. He finally found the time to test it out. Once he placed it in position against the far wall, he did a quick divination to check for safety.

"Alright, Helena. Her I go," he said as he opened the door of the cabinet and entered inside. He soon vanished from view as the door closed behind him. In the end, only the curious Helena and the cabinet were left in the room.