Chapter 103 - Complications! (Patreon)

{First Year Dorm, Gryffindor Tower}

{18th Sep 1991}

{3rd Person's POV}

Rigel watched Pettigrew grow still as the stupefy charm took effect. On top of that the Impedimenta Jinx he had used ensured that he kept floating mid-air in his rat form, slowly falling, slow enough that he looked like he was floating. Rigel looked around, making sure that nothing was amiss as he suppressed the urge to push Pettigrew into Pandora's box and bolt away from here.

His heart was beating as adrenaline flowed through his body, the rush ensured that he had hit the falling Pettigrew but now his eyes were flying around the room. There were several things he noticed as he cataloged everything.

The poster of the Chudley Cannons that was hanging above the bed that was on the opposite corner to the door led Rigel to tag that area as Ron's. So by his assumptions, Harry's bed should be on either side of Ron's. And Dean's and Finnigan's should be close together. They were kind of best friends in the book and looked like good friends here.

'Not that I need to search for much, Neville's bed would most likely be in one of the corners. Farthest away from anyone else's...' Rigel thought as he took a step forward and his right hand curled around Pttigrew's animagus form. His grip was apparently too tight as he noticed his form shift, the magic of the Impedimenta Jinx breaking as the rat slumped in his hand, his head and tail pulled toward the ground as gravity suddenly realized that he existed.

With his left hand, he pulled out the Pandora's box into his inventory and with a swift, very light throw, pushed Pettigrew into it. His eyes trailed on the falling drawer and his mind wandered on which degree of momentum the drawer would have when it finally collided against the floor. Would it have the supposed momentum from falling from such a height, or would the Impedimenta Jinx make sure that it followed lightly onto the ground?

'No need to make it so complicated, I just need a bedsheet to cover the Pandora's box.' Rigel concluded. As the adrenaline pumping through his body finally calmed down, he looked at the box and went through the plan once again.

The Pandora's box was a complicated magical artifact that could isolate and contain all kinds of magic, but it still couldn't help any living thing stay alive in his inventory. Rigel had done some experiments and no living thing would remain alive once he pushed them into his inventory.

So he had no choice but to walk out of the Gryffindor common room with a shiny box with gems adorned onto it, and things like that would demand attention, especially if someone reclusive like Neville did it.

Rigel rushed to the only well-maintained bed in the room and with a sharp tug pulled off the plain white bedsheet from the bed. He quickly wrapped it around the box and then rushed out of the room.

'If I had done this after Christmas could I have stolen the Invisibility cloak?' Rigel thought. The thought was quickly pushed aside as he concentrated, keeping a blank look he focused on sensing all the magic around him. The wooden runes interfered with his sensing of magical signatures, this was something that he had noticed on the very first day in the castle, so only after he was past the threshold to the common room did he take a little sigh of relief.

The common room was almost as deserted as it was before, comfy still, but it wasn't something he had any time to notice as with hurried footsteps he walked toward the common room entrance with the box wrapped in a plain white cloth.

"Hey, Neville-" Rigel heard someone ask from behind him and as he turned around to look at the confused look on Finnigan's face, a loud crash sounded throughout the room.

*Bang* *Snap*

Rigel froze but Finnigan turned to look back at the source of that sound.

'Huh... so at least if no one interferes with the object, the Impedimenta Jinx doesn't affect the momentum. They should write this down in the book no? In case someone tries to save someone falling from a height with this Jinx...'

"Skittledash" Rigel spoke as he walked closer to the entrance and the entrance swung open, His senses snapped at the wards again and with careful probing steps Rigel walked out of the room.

"What the fuc-"

"Who was th-"

"-uck's sake, did someone kill any-"

All sounds of commotion and his senses cut off as soon as the door closed behind him. Rigel didn't hesitate this time, but he also didn't run. He was pretty sure that Finnigan wouldn't remember, and even if he did, as long as he wasn't caught. No one can connect him with the commotion.

The hidden corridor that he had used wasn't too far away and with a carefully placed burst of raw mana from his wand at a seemingly solid wall, a crevice in the solid walls of the castle emerged. Rigel rushed into the small passageway and used his wand to close the hidden corridor.

Before he could take a sigh of relief though, he could sense two magical signatures approaching him, two familiar magical signatures to whom it would be very difficult to fool. Rigel didn't have to pull out the map to know who it was as two boys with ginger hair that looked like carbon copies of each other arrived in front of him.

An identical smirk plastered onto each of their faces as they shared a look and spoke with their unique bland comical dual speech.

"Well if isn't ickle Longbottom-"

"-exploring dark hidden corridors-"

"-all alone..."

The words lingered around the corridor for a moment before the twin's smirks turned a little grim as Fred spoke, "Or was that something you expected us to say, Mr. Black? This is one of the most important hidden corridors, one that no one has ever been able to find, even we only know about it thanks to the map-"

George continued, and the longer sentences made Rigel's think that their twin speak and twin bond would have a little more credibility,"-so what magic is this? A Glamor charm? If it is one then it is quite sophisticated?"

"But why Neville Longbottom, and what is in there?"

...

'I jinxed myself didn't I?'

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AN- Sorry about that, the vacation took longer than expected. A regular schedule and uploads back on Webnovel and Patreon beginning today!