LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 33: The Witch's
The dim interior of the Screaming Shack was pierced by a faint beam of light streaming through a crack in the corner of the wall, illuminating a spot in the room that had already been cleaned. Before it was tidied, that spot bore a smudged trail left by clothing—likely from when the Weasley twins crawled in through there.
Fred Weasley's eyes darted mischievously, and with a grin, he swiftly changed the subject.
"Professor, did your shoes just glint? Was that some sort of magical effect? I've never seen anything like it!"
"Yeah, yeah!" George chimed in with his trademark cheeky grin. "What kind of rare magical effect is that? Do you think it'll be on the History of Magic exam?"
Victor's expression remained impassive as he glanced at the two of them, but he didn't dismiss their attempt at conversation.
"It's modified from a damaged magical artifact—originally a pair of silver shoes belonging to a witch."
"A witch?"
"Silver shoes?"
"A long time ago, in a place called the Land of Oz, there was an evil witch of the East. With those shoes, she ruled over everyone there. Legend says the shoes were the source of her power and could take anyone to any place they desired."
"But her reign didn't last. One day, she was crushed to death by a house that fell from the sky, and the shoes were taken by someone else."
Victor stopped speaking, letting the silence linger. Fred and George exchanged confused glances before one of them finally asked, "That's it?"
"That's it."
"A witch powerful enough to rule a region gets killed by a falling house? That's kind of… anticlimactic, isn't it?"
"Life is unpredictable," Victor concluded tersely. Then, with a subtle smirk, he countered, "After all, even your own Dark Lord was defeated by a baby. Is it so strange for an evil witch to be done in by a house?"
"...You have a point."
"So, do the silver shoes really let you go anywhere?"
"More or less. With the original shoes intact, three steps would suffice to take you anywhere in the world—crossing nations, continents, whatever you wished."
"But the witch's magic wasn't strong enough to harness their full potential. The shoes were also prone to being lost—if they slipped off while someone was flying, retrieving them was no small ordeal."
"Cool! So leaving school would be a piece of cake, then?" Fred's eyes gleamed with excitement.
"If a pair of shoes that could take you anywhere in the world were placed before you, and all you thought about was escaping school, your future would be bleak indeed, Mr. Weasley," Victor said flatly.
"Fair enough—at least go to Gringotts," George muttered.
"Don't bother. After the evil witch's death, her successor accidentally damaged the shoes and abandoned them in a desert for years. I had to put in considerable effort to recover them. And as a result, their function has been altered," Victor explained.
Fred and George looked as though they wanted to press further about what the new effects might be, but Victor had grown tired of the topic. He cut them off and steered the conversation back to the matter at hand.
Of course, Victor had noticed the twins were trying to distract him. During their chatter, they had been exchanging glances and covert gestures behind his back.
Not that it mattered.
Victor, towering over the two teenagers, shifted his tone. "Enough chit-chat. Now, let's talk. What are these 'Marauder's Map' and 'passages connecting Hogwarts' you were just mentioning?"
"I'm fairly certain Professor McGonagall wouldn't approve of students possessing such items. And unauthorized departures from the school have long been strictly forbidden."
"We don't have them!" Fred immediately protested, waving his hands defensively. "We were just looking for the passages. We didn't plan on leaving the school!"
"Exactly, Professor, this is unfair!" George added.
Victor didn't argue. He simply fixed them with his cold, dark eyes. The twins began sweating nervously; the longer he stared, the guiltier they felt.
They hadn't been entirely honest. Ever since acquiring the map, they had snuck out of Hogwarts countless times, even venturing into Hogsmeade—how else would they have gotten their infamous dungbombs in earlier years? Their mother certainly wouldn't have bought them.
Today, they'd thought they could explore a new passageway in broad daylight. But they'd been caught red-handed by Victor.
Fred's defiant posture wilted, and he realized with dismay that there was no escaping today.
Victor simply extended a hand. "Hand it over."
Reluctantly, Fred pulled out an old square piece of parchment from his robes and handed it to Victor. The corners of the parchment were frayed, and nothing was written on it.
Without hesitation, Victor asked, "How does it open?"
The twins exchanged a glance, then slumped further in resignation.
"Point your wand at it and say, 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,'" George mumbled.
Victor seemed amused by the incantation, raising an eyebrow before tapping the parchment with his wand and reciting, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Instantly, fine lines of ink spread like a spiderweb from the point where his wand touched the parchment, intertwining and expanding to fill its surface. A detailed map began to appear.
At the top, elegant green script emerged:
Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers, are proud to present: The Marauder's Map.
The map illustrated the intricate layout of Hogwarts, with numerous lines extending to their current location, labeled "Hogsmeade." Within Hogwarts, countless dots moved about, each accompanied by a name. For instance, Professor Snape was pacing in his potions lab, while "Albus Dumbledore" was stationary in the Headmaster's office.
As Victor studied the map, another line of script appeared at the top:
Mr. Prongs would like to remind you that the activation phrase is "up to no good," not "no good." We suggest this dubious professor maintain the bare minimum of deception, rather than blurting out the truth.
Victor: "..."
And it wasn't done yet.
Mr. Moony expresses condolences for Hogwarts' professor selection process. Though the silver shoes story is intriguing, it reveals the eccentricity of this professor. Truly a tragedy, truly regrettable—pureblood arrogance and quirky dark wizards seem to have overtaken Hogwarts.
Mr. Padfoot advises the others not to judge solely by appearance. At least allow for exceptions. Failure to do so may result in yet another internal dispute—the 23rd one—among the Marauder's Map's creators.
This map... was unbelievably cheeky.
Victor couldn't help but raise an eyebrow again. Yet instead of irritation, he felt a spark of curiosity.
Could the map hear its surroundings?
Fred and George, intrigued by Victor's expression, craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the parchment. Before they could see, Victor rolled it up and tucked it into his cloak.
"Where did you find this map?" he asked.
"Uh… we kind of stumbled upon it, you know? We like exploring Hogwarts and tend to find cool stuff along the way," Fred said evasively.
Victor could tell they were lying, but since the map only displayed Hogwarts, it was likely found there. He chose not to press further. Asking more would probably reveal which professor they had stolen it from.
The magic in the map itself, however, was fascinating.
Victor had spent some time in the wizarding world but had never encountered such a precise combination of tracking and naming magic. The creators even managed to interact with external stimuli.
If he could decipher its workings, it might elevate the magical devices in his own home. At the very least, the enchanted mirror would likely find it "interesting."
With that thought, Victor decided to take the Marauder's Map for further study.
"I'm confiscating this. Any tool enabling unauthorized departures is a banned item. And as for the passage to Hogsmeade, I suggest you stop searching for it."
Fred and George groaned in unison, their usual playful defiance completely absent.
Still, seeing potential in the twins, Victor didn't leave them completely empty-handed. Instead, he added:
"But in exchange, I can grant you a small blessing."
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