The Fool in Hogwarts

"Look at how smug Potter is," Draco complained indignantly. "It was bad enough that McGonagall let a first year become Seeker, but she even gave him a brand-new Nimbus 2000."

"I could almost hear envy and jealousy in your voice," Vade teased.

"Me, jealous of him? Don’t be ridiculous.

"I simply think it’s unfair. Don’t you agree that this is unfair to Slytherin?"

"Gryffindor took advantage of a loophole, but there’s no rule preventing Quidditch players from providing their own broomsticks," Daphne said, shaking her head.

"Hmph! I’ll join the House team next year, and I’ll get a Nimbus 2000 as well."

"When does the match begin?" Vade asked.

"Eleven o’clock, but everyone will probably head to the pitch after breakfast," Daphne said. "If we go early, we can find good seats."

"I’m not going. I enjoy the feeling of flying, but I’m not interested in Quidditch."

"If you’re not watching the match, what are you going to do?"

"Go back to the dormitory and sleep, of course," Vade said as though it were obvious, then stood and walked away.

"Is Quidditch really that unappealing?" Draco asked in confusion. Then he looked at Daphne. "What about you? You aren’t skipping the match too, are you?"

"I’m going. I already arranged to meet Pansy and the others."

After leaving the Great Hall, Vade did not return to the common room. Instead, he went to the eighth floor of the castle in search of the mysterious place.

This was the perfect opportunity. The Quidditch match had drawn almost everyone at Hogwarts away, including Dumbledore, Quirrell, and the twins, Fred and George.

They were Gryffindor’s Beaters. Surely they would not examine the Marauder’s Map just before taking part in a match, which meant no one would notice him.

Vade reached the eighth floor without incident and found the tapestry depicting a troll clubbing Barnabas the Barmy.

Recalling the scene from his dream divination, he took a sheet of parchment from his pocket and Transfigured it into a wooden walking stick.

He balanced the stick upright on the floor and silently repeated his request for a hidden place where he could practise magic.

After repeating it seven times, he released the stick.

It fell directly towards the wall opposite the tapestry.

Vade approached and knocked on the perfectly ordinary wall. The corner of his mouth twitched.

Even if there was a secret room here, how was he meant to enter it? Surely he was not expected to say, "Open sesame."

"Fortunately, I still have plenty of time." Vade sighed, transformed the stick back into parchment, and wrote down the subject of his divination: The method of entering the secret room.

He quickly entered a meditative state and slipped into a hazy dream.

Time seemed to move backwards by more than ten years. A witch whose face he could not see, dressed in robes bearing the Ravenclaw emblem, approached the wall.

She paced back and forth in front of it while repeatedly thinking the same phrase. Then a door appeared in the wall, and the dream shattered.

Vade briefly interpreted the dream and roughly understood how to enter the secret room.

He also paced back and forth before the wall, silently repeating, I need a room where I can practise magic.

After three or four passes, a door appeared.

Vade exhaled slowly, opened it, and stepped inside.

Beyond it was a spacious, brightly lit training area. Ten dummies with targets were arranged from left to right.

"Just as I thought." A smile tugged at Vade’s lips. The room could sense a person’s thoughts, and its interior changed automatically according to their needs.

Vade cleared his mind, drew his silver-grey wand, and aimed at the dummy on the far left.

"Incendio!"

A fireball the size of a fist shot from the tip of his wand and struck the target on the dummy.

This was the full spellcasting power of a Sequence 9 Beyonder, comparable to an ordinary first-year wizard.

Next, he turned towards the second dummy and cast the same spell.

This time, the flames were the size of a basketball. The dummy was knocked over, and most of the target on its body was burnt away.

This was the full spellcasting power of a Sequence 8 Beyonder, comparable to an ordinary upper-year student.

Vade took a deep breath and looked towards the third dummy. He intended to test the full power of a Sequence 7 Beyonder, or in other words, an average adult wizard.

The flames were as wide as a well. The dummy slammed violently into the wall, its shattered body burning fiercely.

Vade cast Aguamenti to extinguish the fire, then raised an eyebrow thoughtfully as he watched the small damaged section of wall slowly repair itself.

This was certainly a magical room, but it was still only a room.

Even Sequence 8, never mind Sequence 7, could cause a certain amount of damage to it. It could not be used to test the power of magic without restraint, at least not beyond the limits of what it could withstand.

Vade was somewhat disappointed, but after thinking it over carefully, he accepted it.

This room had not been created to test the destructive power of magic. Its true purpose was probably to support study and everyday needs.

To confirm this, he cleared his mind and focused on a new request: I need a room where I can study divination.

All the dummies disappeared, and the empty room transformed.

The ceiling became a vast starry sky. Cabinets appeared, filled with crystal balls, teacups, tea leaves, various divination tools, and books.

"Wow!" Vade’s eyes widened in amazement. Then he made another request: I need a room where I can practise brewing potions.

The ceiling returned to normal, and all the divination tools and books vanished.

In their place appeared cauldrons of various kinds, knives for cutting ingredients, pipettes for drawing up liquids, and other potion-brewing equipment.

However, only tools appeared. There were no ingredients at all.

That made sense. If the room could create ingredients as well, it would be a wishing chamber.

Vade shook his head in amusement and continued experimenting. The room became a greenhouse, then a kitchen, then a swimming pool, before finally returning to its original state.

He seemed to understand the correct way to use the room. He silently repeated: I need a room where I can practise the Wand-Lighting Charm.

After more than ten seconds, darkness covered the entire room. Only five candles remained, one in the centre and one in each corner, providing just enough faint light to keep the room from becoming completely black.

"Just as I thought. The simpler the request, the easier it is to fulfil."

"Lumos!"

Vade raised his wand and restricted his magic to the level of a first-year wizard.

White light appeared at the tip of his wand, illuminating several metres around him.

Then he released his full magic and lightly flicked his wand towards the ceiling.

The light at the tip flew away and became a glowing sphere that floated quietly in mid-air, like an enormous lamp illuminating most of the room.

(To be continued.)