Edward raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying undisguised contempt: "Malicious intent? If I had malicious intent, I should have just watched you get suffocated by the vines just now; why bother with the extra effort?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ron couldn't help but draw his wand, the tip pointing directly at Edward: "Don't be so arrogant! This isn't Slytherin territory! One more step forward, and I won't be polite to you!"
"Ron, put down your wand!" Hermione gripped his arm tightly, lowering her voice, "Can you beat him? He could easily break free from the Devils Snare. If we fight him now, we're just asking for trouble!"
Hermione took a deep breath and looked at Edward, her tone serious: "Black, I don't care what purpose you're here for, but the matter here really has nothing to do with you. We are going to stop a conspiracy, a conspiracy that will endanger Hogwarts. If you're sensible, leave on your own."
"A conspiracy?" Edward raised an eyebrow, becoming slightly interested. He could see genuine anxiety in Hermione's eyes, "Oh? What kind of conspiracy? Worth you three first-year kids running here in the middle of the night to break into such a deadly place?"
Hermione was just about to speak, but was stopped by Harry. Harry shook his head, signaling her not to say more; the secret of the Philosopher's Stone must not be leaked to outsiders. He looked at Edward, his tone firm: "In any case, you cannot follow us. This is our business."
Edward ignored his words and simply walked straight toward the door. His pace was not fast, but it carried an unquestionable aura. The hem of his Black robes swept over the rotting leaves on the ground, making a rustling sound.
"Stop!" Harry rushed up, blocking his path, his wand pointing straight at his chest, the silver light at the tip flickering, "I'll say it again, you cannot pass!"
Edward's gaze fell on Harry's wand, his eyes chilling slightly. He could feel the magic contained within Harry's wand; it wasn't strong, but it was very pure. He slowly raised his hand, a faint thread of fire condensing at his fingertips. The fire thread danced on his fingertips, emitting a faint crackling sound.
"Are you sure you want to fight me?"
The smell of gunpowder in the air instantly became intense to the extreme, as if even the air had frozen. Ron's hand holding the wand was trembling, yet he still refused to back down; Hermione's brows were tightly locked, her eyes darting quickly between the two, clearly weighing the pros and cons; Harry's palms were full of cold sweat, yet he stared fixedly at Edward, refusing to show weakness.
After a moment of stalemate, Hermione finally spoke, her voice carrying a hint of helplessness: "Harry, let him follow."
"Hermione?!" Harry and Ron both widened their eyes, looking at her in disbelief.
"We are short-handed right now; Ron was almost suffocated just now, and you have to deal with the levels ahead." Hermione lowered her voice, explaining quickly, "Black's fire can deal with the Devils Snare; perhaps there will be places ahead where he can be useful. And... we really can't stop him. Rather than having a conflict with him, it's better to cooperate temporarily."
Harry gritted his teeth, looking at Edward's indifferent face, then back at the worried Hermione. Finally, he slowly lowered his wand and stepped aside to make way.
"Remember," Harry's voice carried a hint of warning, "don't try any tricks. If you dare to mess around, even if we have to risk our lives, we won't let you off."
Edward didn't speak, just cast an indifferent glance at him before pushing the door open and walking in.
The room behind the door was spacious and bright; moonlight spilled through the glass dome of the ceiling, illuminating the entire room. Dozens of old, dusty brooms hung from the ceiling, clearly abandoned here; at the other end of the room, a tall wooden door was tightly closed, its lock shining with a golden light, as if made of pure gold.
Most strikingly, that golden lock actually had a pair of wings! It flapped its wings, circling and flying in mid-air, its speed astonishingly fast, occasionally emitting a crisp jingling sound, as if in provocation.
"Flying Keys!" Hermione recognized it at a glance. She walked quickly to the center of the room, looking up at the flying key, "It seems that only by getting that key can we open the next door."
Ron looked at the key flying like lightning and couldn't help but click his tongue: "It flies too fast, we can't catch it at all! What do we do?"
Edward didn't waste words, directly taking out his wand, aiming at the golden key, and chanting in a deep voice: "Accio!"
"Accio!"
An invisible pulling force, like a large net, attacked the key. But the key was extremely agile; its wings flapped violently, and like a golden light, it narrowly dodged the attack of the spell, even playfully circling in mid-air, emitting a jingling sound of mockery.
Edward frowned slightly; he hadn't expected the magic of this key to be so strong. He switched to another spell, his wand slightly swaying at his fingertips: "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The Levitation Charm took effect; an invisible force supported the key, attempting to fix it in mid-air. But the key flapped its wings, forcefully breaking free from the gaps in the force, flying even higher, and even provocatively swooped down toward Edward, flying past his head.
"It's useless." Hermione shook her head, staring at the brooms hanging from the ceiling, her eyes lighting up, "These brooms aren't decorations! The Flying Key's speed is too fast; only by riding a broom can we catch up to it!"
Edward put down his wand, looking at the keys flying in mid-air, a flash of impatience in his eyes. He turned to look at Harry, his tone flat: "It seems we have to rely on you, Potter."
Harry didn't speak; his gaze had long been attracted by those brooms. Flying was what he was best at; without even needing to think, he walked quickly toward the hanging brooms, picked the lightest one, and swung himself onto it.
The broom took off, carrying him like a red lightning bolt, chasing toward the golden key.
The golden key seemed to sense the threat; its wings flapped even faster. It circled, swooped, and made sharp turns on the ceiling, trying to shake off Harry. But Harry's flying skills were extremely superb; he crouched on the broom like an agile falcon, following closely behind the key, the distance closing in more and more.
Edward leaned against the wall, arms crossed, watching with great interest as Harry chased the key in mid-air. It had to be said, this Potter was indeed gifted in flying; those tricky turns - if it were any other first-year student, they would have likely fallen off long ago.
Ron watched with boiling blood, unable to help but clench his fists and shout: "Come on! Harry! Catch it!"
Hermione also clenched her hands, her gaze following Harry's figure tightly, afraid that something might happen to him.
Finally, at the moment the golden key made a sharp turn, Harry accelerated violently, reached out, and grabbed the key!
The key struggled desperately in his hand, its wings flapping, emitting a jingling sound, but it couldn't break free. Harry rode the broom and landed steadily on the ground, a smile appearing on his face.
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