A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts C.366: Starry Night

Ron and Draco stared at each other, caught in an eerie silence.

"You went night wandering, Malfoy!" Ron accused, taking the lead.

"Are you talking about yourself, Weasley?" Draco responded casually.

Another brief silence followed. Then Draco spoke up, his eyes shining, "Stop pretending, Weasley. We're both after the same thing. Let's not snitch on each other, shall we? You don't want trouble, do you?"

Ron touched the vial of potion in his pocket and fell silent.

"Meow~"

A cat appeared out of nowhere, perched on the windowsill, basking in the moonlight, its yellow eyes fixed on them.

"Get awayshoo, you daft cat!" Ron exclaimed in a hurry, waving his hands at it.

But Lady Lestrange, the cat, merely glanced at him haughtily. Her smooth grey fur glistened in the moonlight, and her gaze shifted past Ron to Draco Malfoy behind him.

A wand emerged, its tip shimmering with red light.

Ron pushed Draco aside, diverting his wand, and the spell hit the wall.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked angrily.

"I just wanted it to rest a bit. Don't tell me you want to summon Filch?" Draco said calmly. "Unlike youfoolish WeasleyI don't want it to run off."

"You're the fool!" Ron muttered, then turned to the window. It was empty. He looked towards the corridor and barely made out a silvery-grey figure disappearing around the corner.

Ron's heart raced, and the half-filled vial of potion in his pocket rattled. Sweat broke out on his forehead.

"What do we do?" he groaned. He regretted not bringing Harry's invisibility cloak tonight. He could've scared Malfoy a bit, or used the Marauder's Map. But both items were under Harry's trunk now.

It was too late to say anything now.

"What else can we do?" Draco glanced at Ron coldly and said, "Of course, we run and wait to be caught? Just so you know, if we get caught, don't you dare rat me out"

"Go away!" Ron snapped.

"What?"

"Go away," Ron repeated in a hushed voice, once again waving Draco off impatiently, just as he had done to Lady Lestrange. With one hand, Ron clutched the vial tightly in his pocket. "Hurry up, what are you waiting for?"

Draco had taken a few steps away, but he stopped, looking at him in surprise. His grey eyes darted around, a strange thought crossing his mind.

"You want to stay," he said, casting a sidelong glance at the door to Classroom Seven behind them. Then he turned back, seemingly pondering something. Slowly, he continued, "You want to stay, hidden in Classroom Seven. Filch can't unlock that old fool's room."

"You're imagining things, I'm leaving," Ron replied, though his feet didn't move.

Draco chuckled and took a few steps closer. Leaning against the windowsill where Lady Lestrange had been, he said in a leisurely tone, "Then let's wait like this. Wait for Filch to show up. How about that?"

Ron glared at him with frustration.

"Why are you staring, Weasley? Want me to curse you?" Draco remarked.

"You wouldn't dare, Malfoy," Ron said, casting a nervous glance down the dark corridor. It was silent, but he knew Filch would arrive within three minutes at most. Maybe he was already awake, clutching an oil lamp, making his way over, huffing and puffing.

How long had passed? Ten seconds? Thirty?

He had to decide

"Damn it, Ferret!" Ron cursed, his voice furious. He turned around and strode towards the door of Classroom Seven. Behind him, Draco grinned triumphantly, dragging out his words in a taunting manner, "Hurry up, Weasley! Do you think you're attending Potions class?"

Ron was trembling with anger, tempted to hex Malfoy's face regardless of the consequences. But he held back. He gestured with his wand, attempting to sketch a spell. Yet, he couldn't focus, failing twice in a row.

After a while, Draco grew impatient. He leaned in, urging Ron, "What trick are you playing? Waiting for Filch or the patrolling professors to catch us?"

"Don't bother me, you've messed up my concentration!" Ron muttered, his brow furrowed. He tried again to draw the rune, and this time, a half-formed magical symbol shimmered before vanishing.

Draco, impatient, stood by, glancing around and straining his ears.

After nearly two minutes, they heard footsteps approaching from a distance. Someone spoke with an excited, trembling tone, "Are we close, my dear? They won't have time to escape, I promise you."

Fear crept onto Draco's face. He stepped back, retreating into the shadows. The voices drew nearer. He looked at the corridor, then back at Ron, who was absorbed in carving runes. Draco contemplated whether to make a run for it on his own

"Weas"

"It's done!" Ron exclaimed, excitement in his voice. He pressed a shining rune onto the door, and it swung open soundlessly, spilling light from within. He turned around, anger burning in his eyes. "Malfoy, if you speak to me in that commanding tone one more time, I'll"

Draco kicked Ron in the behind, sending him stumbling through the door. He followed suit, quickly closing the door behind them.

The bright light inside Classroom Seven momentarily dazzled him. He pressed his ear against the cold door, straining to hear any sounds outside. Perhaps due to the spell, he couldn't hear a thing.

On the other side, Ron carefully placed the vial of potion on the ground and pounced on Draco.

"Damn you, Malfoy! Kicking me! I've had enough of your nonsense!"

Draco turned back with disdain and was met with a fist in his face. "Are you crazy!?" he shouted, raising his wand, but Ron was quicker. He charged and tackled Draco, bringing him to the ground and leaving Draco seeing stars. Ron took the opportunity to land a couple more punches on his detested face. Draco cried out in pain, kicking Ron away.

"That's for Malfoy!" Ron spat out.

Ron charged again, and the two began to wrestle. Their wands were discarded.

Soon, Ron's larger build gave him the upper hand. He locked his arms around Draco's neck. Their faces turned equally red, but Draco was struggling for breath. Ron roared, "Malfoy, let me tell you, I have a temper too!"

Draco rolled his eyes, struggling desperately. "It wasn't on purpose... it's FilFelix coming..."

"Felix?" Ron hesitated, and his grip unintentionally loosened. Draco used the chance to break free, breathing heavily.

A few minutes later

The two of them separated at a distance, cautiously pointing their wands at each other, both with black eyes and swollen faces. Ron grinned; both of Draco's eyes were blackened, his meticulously combed hair was a mess, and his splendid robe had several long gashes, leaving him looking disheveled.

Although Ron himself looked equally disheveled, he felt unusually satisfied.

"According to club rules, we can't trip each other up while cooperating."

"Just you wait, Weasley!"

Draco glared at Ron with hatred and ascended the black steps. He took a few deep breaths, reached out and touched the black, floating door. The next moment, his figure disappeared.

Ron chuckled. In an amused tone, he said, "That robe suits you perfectly, Malfoy."

...

Inside the black, floating door.

Ron spat out a green, sticky liquid, pushing aside the spider legs clinging to his shoulders. He grumbled incessantly, "Seventeenth batch... I really want to see how many more... Why are there spiders with twelve legs... I bet Professor Harp's Care of Magical Creatures class is a fail..."

After experiencing two more spider-infested areas, Ron could now accurately judge the locations. He stepped on raised rocks, choosing the optimal path, leaving before the spiders could crawl onto him.

"I wonder if breakfast has chicken legs. I don't want porridge..."

He muttered randomly. Finally, he crossed the chaotic rocky terrain. On a platform, a golden light circle shimmered.

Ron gazed at the golden radiance on the platform, seemingly concealing something. He couldn't resist reaching out. The moment he touched the card, he became dumbfounded

His vision soared infinitely, as if he had turned into a ghost. He first saw the black, floating door, then Malfoy, and finally, the spacious Classroom Seven. But that wasn't the end; he saw the maze-like corridors of Hogwarts Castle, followed by passing through layers of ceilings, ascending higher and higher. Soon, the entire Hogwarts Castle shrank into the size of a matchbox.

And he found himself in the black night sky, ascending with chilling winds and clouds.

Hogwarts had become as small as a fingernail. Even the Black Lake looked tiny, as if he could gulp it down. The endless black mountains filled his vision.

He saw the dwindling Hogsmeade village, a few scattered lights twinklingperhaps Hagrid's magical lanterns? Ron pondered. However, they vanished immediately as he continued to rise. The world below turned into blocks of color. He strained to distinguish them; the emerald green was the forest, deep brown were the hills, and blue... was the ocean!

He was actually seeing the ocean. Ron widened his eyes, feeling as though he was dreaming, yet the dream was vivid and unforgettable. He also saw brightly lit clusters, speculating they might be Muggle cities. Harry had mentioned that cities like London had numerous lights even at night...

"Is that Britain?"

Ron furrowed his brow, spotting a small piece of landor an island, separated by a narrow strait from the vast expanse of land. Some thought within him was touched, though he couldn't pinpoint it. He continued to rise

For a long while, all he saw was ocean and land.

Then, he passed through thick clouds, worrying he might freeze. Suddenly, there was a flash of light, golden rays illuminating the white clouds, casting a golden halo. Was it sunrise?

Ron surveyed the world beneath him for the first time, contemplating... a blue-dominated spherical object, half shrouded in shadownight, while the other half was brightly lit, revealing land, oceans, and wispy cloudsa day. He extended his hand, attempting to grab something, but he kept drifting away.

The blue sphere became a tiny dot, more celestial bodies appearing"moon, Mars, Venus, Jupiter... Merlin's beard!" Ron's mouth fell open. He saw the entire solar system, much like the constellation models sold at Diagon Alley. He felt he would never forget the positions of these planets in his lifetime.

He also saw constellations. He had never understood the names of those constellations, thinking names like "Canis Major" were nonsense. But he truly saw the Great Dog in the deep space, composed of countless stars. He even identified the brightest star in Canis MajorSirius.

What followed went beyond his understanding. He saw luminous whirlpools, a vast network composed of dots of light... then he fell. He fell much faster than when he came, and everything he had seen earlier played in reversewhirlpools, nebulae, constellations, the blue planet, land, oceans, and his view gradually drew near until he tumbled back into Hogwarts' ancient castle.

"Ah"

Ron exclaimed, panting heavily, holding a golden card in his hand.

>

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