One night of practice wasn't enough for Seamus to miraculously master five spells like Neville had. Even his Wand-Lighting Charm was still a work in progress.
But exactly like Richie had said, the results didn't matter as much as the process.
Seamus had slowly started to get a feel for that abstract "magical throttle." As long as he kept practicing, he would eventually be able to cast spells consistently. Knowing that finally brought a genuine smile back to his face.
Meanwhile, Richie's theory about the group's unnatural focus was officially confirmed.
There was definitely something weird about this classroom. It genuinely amplified their concentration to an insane degree!
It wasn't just Richie's imagination, either. Hermione and Neville both confirmed that they felt incredibly dialed in. Even with Seamus practicing spells right next to them, it didn't disrupt their focus in the slightest.
"There has to be a secret here!" Hermione declared with absolute certainty. "There is no way we're just naturally this focused for no reason."
"I literally can't stop my mind from wandering when I study in the library, but in here? I haven't lost focus a single time! It's unbelievable!"
"Hermione's right," Neville agreed, nodding seriously. "Even my forgetfulness is completely gone. I can clearly remember every single thing that happened today!"
Seamus looked at them, completely lost, but chimed in anyway. "I... I definitely felt something different when I was practicing..."
Richie raised an eyebrow, thinking it over. "Do you think there's some kind of residual magic in here?"
Hermione shook her head immediately. "If there was a spell that could actively boost concentration, why would this classroom be completely abandoned?"
"Wouldn't it make way more sense to turn this into an official study hall, or just cast the spell in the library and the Great Hall?"
Hermione had a solid point. If a spell like that actually existed, there was no way Hogwarts would just let the room sit here collecting dust.
The classroom fell dead silent.
"S-so... can we keep coming back here?" Neville finally asked, unable to hold it in.
Even though he'd only been here for two nights, he was already entirely attached to the place. It was quiet. It didn't have the chaotic energy of the Gryffindor common room or the sneering glares of the Slytherins. Sitting in this room, Neville finally felt like he actually belonged.
Plus, Richie was here. Whenever Richie was around, Neville felt completely safe and grounded.
Richie paced back and forth for a moment before answering. "If we want to keep using this room to study and practice magic, we need to take some time and properly investigate it."
"At the very least, we need to figure out exactly why our concentration is spiking, and whether or not there are any negative side effects."
The unknown is naturally terrifying, even when it seems to be helping you. Until they knew exactly what they were dealing with, Richie preferred to stay cautious.
Hearing that, Seamus's eyes immediately lit up.
Even though the classroom had a door, the fact that you needed a specific "password" to open it meant it was basically a secret chamber.
"I literally just finished reading Break with a Banshee over the summer," Seamus said, suddenly incredibly animated. "The secret chamber plotline in that book was insane! So... are we basically going on a secret chamber treasure hunt right now?!"
Seamus had completely transformed. His stutter was gone, and his usually anxious face was split into a massive grin.
"Wait, you read Break with a Banshee too?!" Neville gasped, instantly snapping out of his own anxiety. "When Gilderoy Lockhart willingly walked into that chamber to save the Banshee, I literally wanted to jump into the book and go with him!"
"You read it too?!"
Realizing they were massive fans of the same book series, the two boys completely lost their minds. The adrenaline rushed straight to their heads, and they started aggressively geeking out over the plot.
Watching the two kids totally devolve into fanboys, Richie and Hermione exchanged a look and simultaneously shook their heads in exasperation.
"Alright, guys, we don't have time for a book club right now. You can talk about it back in the common room," Richie interrupted. "Let's come back tomorrow when we actually have time and do a proper sweep of the room."
Hearing Richie's warning, Neville and Seamus finally realized how late it was and scrambled to pack up their things.
The Hogwarts bells had already chimed. If they didn't want to get caught and spend the night wandering the corridors, they had to move.
A few minutes later, the group split up at the Grand Staircase.
"See you tomorrow!"
"See you tomorrow."
#### The Investigation
The sun rose and set as usual.
Fueled by sheer anticipation, Neville and Seamus arrived at the third-floor portrait way ahead of schedule. They stood there, buzzing with excitement as they waited for Richie and Hermione.
Before long, Richie walked down the corridor.
"Hey, Richie! You're finally here!" Neville waved enthusiastically. Richie picked up his pace to meet them.
"You guys are early," Richie noted. "Where's Hermione? She didn't come with you?"
Neville and Seamus both shook their heads.
"Well, let's just head inside then." Richie waved them over, delivered another terrible joke to the oil painting, and pushed the door open.
"Woohoo!" The two young lions cheered, practically vibrating with excitement.
As they stepped inside, the wall torches immediately flared to life.
Aside from the three desks Richie had pushed together and the cleared-out space in the center, they hadn't touched anything else in the room. The perimeter was still heavily blanketed in a thick layer of dust.
"Alright, let's split up and look for anything unusual," Richie ordered, adding a strict warning. "If you find something you don't recognize, do not touch it. Just call it out. Got it?"
He honestly wasn't entirely comfortable letting them run loose. Even though nothing dangerous had happened over the past two nights, they were still dealing with an active magical anomaly. If something went wrong, it could get bad incredibly fast.
"Yes, Sir Harland!"
Whether they actually absorbed his warning or not, the two boys immediately scattered, eagerly hunting through the dark corners of the classroom.
Based on every adventure novel they'd ever read, secret chamber treasure was always hidden in chests behind fake walls. Naturally, their first instinct was to aggressively inspect the masonry for hidden switches.
Meanwhile, Richie started systematically checking the perimeter, pulling open the drawers of every single dust-covered desk.
Unfortunately, after checking every single one, he came up completely empty-handed.
Richie stood by their makeshift study table and scanned the room again. That's when his eyes locked onto the three training dummies standing dead center in the open floor.
It was a classic case of hiding in plain sight. Because the dummies were just standing out in the open, the group had completely ignored them.
Richie slowly walked up to them.
The dummies were imposing—easily over six feet tall. They were completely faceless, and their bodies seemed to be cast from some kind of dull metal.
Richie walked around them, carefully inspecting the joints, before tentatively reaching out to touch one.
The material was ice-cold and incredibly smooth.
Richie tapped and prodded different sections of the metal body until he finally struck the center of its chest. It produced a distinct, hollow echo.
Before Richie could investigate further, Neville's panicked shout echoed from the corner of the room.
"Oh, by Merlin's beard!"
"There's a piece of parchment hidden under this floorboard!"