WEEKLY POWER GOALS đ
đ„ 30â2ch | 60â5ch | 100â8ch | 200â15ch | 400â25ch
â° Resets Monday!
~~~~ââ~~~~~~~~ââ~~~~
They say you owe people when they help you. After getting the Disillusionment Charm, Hofa didn't rush to explore the school. Indor had given him the lead. Now he had to go to Hogsmeadeâhonor the invitation.
Fresh off mastering the charm and completing his first major school goal, he couldn't wait to test the new spell properly.
What better place than Hogsmeade?
His spell fragments sat at (2/3).
He still didn't know what the system's upgrade ability actually did.
With luck and time, he'd hit 50% exploration in Hogsmeade and grab that last fragment.
Great plan.
One problem.
He got lost.
He remembered Harry's third yearâno guardian signature meant no Hogsmeade visit. Harry had snuck in using the Invisibility Cloak and a secret passage.
Hofa had invisibility now. He vaguely remembered the passage location.
Behind a one-eyed witch statue. Fourth floor corridor.
When Hofa reached the fourth floor, his jaw dropped.
Dozens of staircases. Eight or nine branching paths. Several staircases shifting constantly.
Harry had the Marauder's Map. Hofa didn't. Facing the massive fourth floor, he had no direction.
Lucky break.
A pearl-white figure drifted past. Helena Ravenclawâthe house ghost.
Hofa rushed ahead. "Miss Helena."
Helena floated through his body to the railing, then slowly turned. Hofa felt dunked in ice water.
"Bach..."
Her misty eyes blinked. She recognized him. Probably because he was Ravenclaw.
Hofa bent forward. "Miss Helena, I'm looking for a hunchbacked witch statue. Do you know where it is?"
Helena thought for a moment. "Oh, the one with the passage to Honeydukesâ"
"Shh!"
Hofa nearly jumped. He pressed his finger to his lips. With Hogwarts this strict, who knew what would happen if someone overheard.
Helena's mouth twitched. "Follow me, child."
She floated off.
Hofa sighed. Maybe ghosts stopped caring about rules after existing so long.
Helena led him through seven turns. Sometimes she passed through walls while Hofa sprinted around classrooms to keep up.
Finally, she stopped at the hunchbacked witch.
"I won't tell you the password. Just happened to pass through." She vanished through a wall.
Ghosts favored their own house, Hofa thought.
No password, but that didn't stop someone who'd read the books.
Hofa tapped the statue. "Dissendium."
The hump opened. Big enough to slip through. He glanced around. Nobody. He dove in.
BOOM!
The statue closed. Before he could reactâhis feet slipped. He shot forward on his butt.
A long slide. After forever, Hofa hit cold earth. He stood and looked around. Pitch black. "Lumos."
Silver light blazed from his wand.
A narrow, twisting passage. Like a rabbit warren. Hofa hurried along the uneven ground, stumbling constantly.
The oppressive darkness weighed on him. His second time in the castle's secret passages. Last time, he'd followed Miranda.
After maybe an hour, the passage sloped upward.
Ten minutes later, broken stone stairs stretched into darkness.
At the topâa trapdoor. Hofa pushed it open. A cellar. Wooden chairs and crates everywhere. He climbed out and closed the doorâit blended perfectly with the dusty floor.
The moment he closed itâ
The system chimed.
Wizard Secret Realm Discovered
[Current RealmâHogsmeade]
50% explorationâ[One-Third Spell Fragment]
100% explorationâ[Knowledge of the Great God]
Same as always.
100% was probably impossible. He'd try for 50%. Hogsmeade wasn't as big as Diagon Alley. Maybe he'd get another fragment before heading back. He didn't know what three fragments together would do, but he was dying to find out.
He exited his mental space.
Upstairsâlaughter and chatter.
Just in case, Hofa cast the charm. "Disillusionment."
Cold liquid wrapped around him.
Stealth mode.
He climbed the wooden stairs. Voices, bells, doors. At the top, he slipped out behind Honeydukes' counter. Crouched, crawled sideways, straightened up.
Nobody noticed. The charm worked like the Invisibility Cloak. Betterâa cloak could get stepped on. A spell couldn't.
Honeydukes was packed. Shelf after shelf of candy. Peanut brittle, glowing coconut ice, rows of chocolates, barrels of Bertie Bott's beans, buckets of Fizzing Whizzbees.
People browsed and laughed.
Stealth-Hofa edged along the walls, avoiding older students.
A pretty older girl stood by the door, laughing with boys. Feeling playful, Hofa ran his finger across her waist, then slipped out behind a leaving boy.
The girl whirled and slapped a passing boy.
The boy looked shocked and confused.
Small chaos erupted.
Hofa laughed silently. His brain supplied ten thousand uses for this spell.
Girls' bathroom. Dormitory. Shower...
Real wizardry...
A sharp pain stabbed his brain.
He felt weird. Something wrong with his body. The feeling vanished quickly.
He focused on exploration.
The system rapidly increased the rate. Not as fast as King's Cross, but way faster than Hogwarts' snail pace.
After two streetsâ5% exploration.
Zonko's existed this early?
The post office. Wizards had those too.
Hofa wanted to see the Shrieking Shack. But then rememberedâit only became famous during Harry's father's time. Because of a werewolf.
Remus Lupin hadn't been born yet. No Shrieking Shack.
Behind the post office, Hofa learned wizard mail used owls. Public owls.
Below the owl cagesâwanted posters caught his attention.
[Wizard Conflict Never Ends. Kill All German Dark Wizards.]
Moving photos. Snarling heads. Small text below.
(500 Galleons per head.)
Another dizzy wave hit. Hofa froze.
Wizard conflict never ends. 500 Galleons per head. Official Ministry stamp. Hofa smelled blood beneath the village's peace.
He thought of WWII recruitment posters in London.
Same thing here.
These posters were new. Maybe two days old.
Had war reached the wizarding world? Or had wizard wars between countries never stopped?
After reading, Hofa's playful mood sobered. Indor had called him for something urgent.
What, though?
Minutes later, Hofa followed a tall wizard into the Two Broomsticks.
Worth notingâlater it'd be called Three Broomsticks. After Madam Rosmerta took over.
Crowded and noisy, but better than the Leaky Cauldron.
Warm and smoky. Pipe smoke hazed around wall candles. Paintings argued loudly, most alcohol-stained.
A burly, bearded man tended rowdy wizards at the bar.
The sign displayed brews: Forgetfulness Potion, Canyon Water, Nettle Wine, Sherry, Mead, Elderflower Wine, Cherry Syrup, Licorice Beer... Butterbeer.
But in stealth mode, he couldn't stop for drinks.
Hofa tiptoed through the crowd.
The dizzy feeling surged again.
Something was wrong. He quickened his search.
Laughter erupted, almost lifting the roof.
"Two Forgetfulness Potions. On my tab." Familiar voice.
"Most generous goblin I've met."
"Goblins don't lack money. Another round."
Hofa turned. A crowd gathered. Cards slapped in the center. He found a chair and stood on it.
That guy. Gambling again.
Indor sprawled at the table in his suit.
Coins scattered. Big men gulped licorice beer, faces flushed.
Hofa was annoyed. This was urgent?
Dragging him from Hogwarts to gamble. What was this guy thinking?
He jumped off the stool and struggled through robes.
When he entered the circle, the dizziness worsened. He grabbed a chair to stay standing.
Deep breath. Stabilized himself.
Hofa grabbed the goblin's ear. Whispered, "Better give me a good explanation, or I'll test the curses I just learned on you."
~~~~ââ~~~~~~~~ââ~~~~
đ„ Want to read the next 20+ chapters RIGHT NOW?
 đ Patreon members get instant access!Â
⥠Limited-time offer currently running...
 đ [Join on Patreon - patreon.com/DarkGolds]