Nina hadn't yet figured out why it wasn't three strategies—upper, middle, and lower—when Karl had already pulled her out of the Great Hall.
After arriving at a secluded spot in the first-floor corridor, Karl pulled a piece of parchment from his robes.
" This is one of the props needed for the lower strategy: the marauders map. "
" May I ask how this looks like a map? "
" Don't be hasty, " Karl flicked his wand and tapped it lightly on the center of the parchment, " I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. "
Amidst Nina's confusion, thin ink lines like a spiderweb spread out from where the wand tip touched.
They dispersed and gathered, connected and intertwined, twisting and crossing to draw Hogwarts Castle and the surrounding grounds on the parchment.
" This is? "
Nina widened her eyes in surprise; she saw a multitude of little black dots labeled with names gathering and moving across various areas on the map.
" Here, look, Cho Chang is climbing the stairs right now. "
Following Karl's indication, Nina saw the little black dot representing Cho Chang at the Ravenclaw rotating tower.
" Amazing magic! These four... er... strangely named gentlemen are quite remarkable. "
" This map utilizes several types of magic: homing, tracking, revealing... is it just for pranks? "
Nina expressed that she felt very amazed, but could not understand the purpose of the creators.
" Er... no need to worry about that; the main thing is that the map has many secret passages of the Castle. "
In Karl's view, the marauders map could be roughly understood as a mobile phone, while the magical Castle was the monitor and the cloud.
After all, this thing could remotely monitor Hogwarts even after leaving the Castle.
" Are you planning to turn the entire Castle upside down? "
" That's why I said it's a lower strategy! But fortunately, I have two good friends who should also be very interested in this. "
" Why 'also'? "
" Because another one of their interests is monitoring the Professor while they are wandering at night. "
" You... are sure? "
" Of course! "
Karl recited the words to end the mischief, put away the marauders map, and continued telling Nina about another strategy.
" We can seek help from those who experienced it back then, such as Professor Binns of History of Magic; he was also invited to join Hogwarts by Salazar Slytherin. "
" There is also the Slytherin house ghost, The Bloody Baron. Although he didn't enter the school as early as Professor Binns, he was, after all, a student of Slytherin and must certainly have an impression of that Merlin. "
Nina's eyes lit up; she felt this was more reliable.
However, before she could speak, Karl was already shaking his head.
" Unfortunately, both of these are difficult to communicate with. I think the hope is a bit slim, but if we run into them, we can ask. "
Professor Binns didn't even know about the Chamber of Secrets of Slytherin, so this kind of thing was even more uncertain.
And even when he was lucid, The Bloody Baron would hardly pay attention to Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students.
Understanding all this, Nina sighed, " Alright, tell me the final lower strategy. "
" The ghost of your house. "
" The Grey Lady? "
" She has another name: Helena Ravenclaw. "
" This surname... could it be... "
" That's right, she is the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw. "
" Alright, but is there any difference between The Grey Lady and Professor Binns or The Bloody Baron? "
Nina felt that these two lower strategies could clearly be combined into one, as The Grey Lady was also very cold to Little wizards.
" You first try to communicate with her and get familiar, so it will be easier to make contact later. I am confident I can make her tell us everything she knows, but we need to learn a charm. "
We just need to destroy the Ravenclaw's Diadem along with Lord Voldemort's remnant soul right in front of The Grey Lady.
After all, the diadem has already been tainted; rather than existing in a broken state, it is better for it to disappear completely.
" What charm? "
" Fiendfyre Curse. "
" This... "
Nina hesitated for a moment, then grabbed Karl's sleeve and met his eyes.
" Karl, we are friends, right? "
" Of course! "
" Then I must tell you that Dark Arts are extremely dangerous, especially the three Unforgivable Curses. They will corrode the caster's soul, causing them to gradually become crazy, evil, and unreasonable. "
Karl nodded silently; looking at those Death Eaters, one would find that they were all somewhat mentally unstable.
Lord Voldemort's temperament was indeed compatible with Dark Arts, but after creating Horcruxes, his sanity and style of action also changed significantly.
He felt that if it were the Tom Riddle from his student days, even if he believed the prophecy, he would have sent his Death Eaters to kill Harry, rather than doing it himself.
" So, can you please not touch Dark Arts? I don't want my friend to become a strange and terrifying person. "
Karl raised his hand and patted Nina's head, then grabbed Fire Treasure to show her.
" Rest assured, I have absolutely no interest in the three Unforgivable Curses, and you don't need to worry about the Fiendfyre Curse either; I have Fire Treasure to help me. "
" Cheep! "
" But... alright then... "
Nina saw the confidence and determination in Karl's eyes and could only stop trying to persuade him.
Her aversion to the Fiendfyre Curse came from Gellert Grindelwald; her grandmother had mentioned the danger of that man more than once.
Even though so many years had passed, whenever Grindelwald was mentioned, her grandmother would still feel lingering fear.
However... she should trust her friend.
And, she could help him, just like...
Just as Karl was preparing to discuss with Nina how to go to the Restricted Section of the library, a harsh creaking sound suddenly came from above.
He looked up and saw Peeves floating in the air, carrying a bucket.
Upon noticing that Karl had discovered him, Peeves let out a shrill, strange shriek.
" Annoying first-year brats! What are you plotting? Naughty! Naughty! I'm going to teach you a lesson! "
Amidst Peeves's harsh screeching, a bucket of sewage mixed with dye was splashed toward the two.
" Whoosh! "
Karl breathed out a stream of raging flames; the scorching heat instantly evaporated the splashed sewage.
" Huh? You're done for, brat! How dare you cast magic in the corridor! Filch will teach you a lesson! "
" Cold Moon Frost. "
Nina's wand flicked out a flash of white light, accurately hitting the shouting Peeves.
(Some Charms can have an effect on Peeves; Harry once used Langlock to make Peeves shut up.)
In Karl's surprised gaze, a thin layer of white frost appeared on Peeves's body.
" Damn it! Damn it! Peeves is freezing to death! "
Seizing this opportunity, Karl decisively threw out Fire Treasure.
" Cheep! "
─ = ≡ Σ ( ( ( つ • ̀ ω • ́ ) つ
Fire Treasure punched Peeves into the wall, where he disappeared, then flew back onto Karl's head, showing a smug little expression.
" Well done! "
After praising it, Karl grabbed Nina and ran.
Breaking school rules at Hogwarts was no big deal, as long as you didn't get caught.
" Karl, do you know the origin of Peeves? "
" I only know that it's not a ghost; perhaps some kind of chaotic, disordered spirit? "
" Rowena believed that it was formed by the gathering of negative emotions, such as the naughtiness and wilfulness of all Hogwarts students. "
" That makes sense! "
" So Helga Hufflepuff was always puzzled as to why the positive emotions of kindness and friendship among students didn't form a Moaning Myrtle. "
" Good question! Maybe we will know the answer in the future. "
The two ran and chatted, but just as they turned a corner, they ran headlong into a greasy-haired black bat.
" Hello, Professor! " × 2
" You two! Really... "
Snape had just wanted to reprimand them for running and making noise, and then deduct a large number of house points, but as soon as he looked up, he saw Fire Treasure perched on top of Karl's head.
" Cheep~ "
Looking at Fire Treasure's enthusiastic smiling face and the little hands waving constantly, he was suddenly choked for words.
" Really... let this be the last time! "
After saying this in a muffled voice, Snape turned and walked away.