Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 288 The Door Key

After leaving the Magical Transportation Department, Xilun went straight back to the Sphinx Bar.

About an hour later, Lu Ping, who had deliberately lost the game, also rushed back.

"So, did anyone notice you were holding back?" Xilun asked with a smile.

“No. My points have always been near the bottom, so most people would consider my elimination inevitable.” Lu Ping shook his head and said, “By the way, I haven’t missed anything, have I? Did you get the door key?”

“Of course.” Siren took a striped tie out of his pocket.

"This is the door key, the time is three o'clock in the afternoon."

Lupin glanced at the time.

At 2:10, there were still fifty minutes before the Portkey would activate, which was enough time for them to arrive at the Ministry of Magic on time.

The two set off again and came to the Sphinx.

The downside of obtaining a Portkey from the Ministry of Magic is that it must be activated in a designated place, even if it has been approved.

If Siron and Lupin hadn't arrived at the Ministry of Magic by 3 PM, but instead returned to England with the Portkey at the Sphinx Inn, they could have gone straight to Azkaban the moment they landed.

In this respect alone, it's not as good as an illegal key... at least an illegal key can't be traced back to its specific landing location.

Fortunately, the Sphinx Inn wasn't far from the Ministry of Magic, and the two arrived quickly. A wizard who looked like he had just graduated led them to the hall where the Portkeys were kept.

There are quite a few people here, and almost every ten minutes someone disappears in a blue light.

The waiting process was somewhat boring, so the two started chatting.

"Speaking of which, do you really enjoy watching duels?" Lupin asked.

“It was very interesting the first time I watched it, but after that it just felt so-so,” Siron said. “Maybe it’s because the skill level of the people participating in the duels varies. Some of the matches were not as good as the dueling club event held at Hogwarts last year.”

"If that's the case, then why do you go every day?" Lupin couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering him for a long time.

The duel was held twice a day, and the ticket cost one Galleon. They stayed there for about half a month. Xiren went every day, watched the match, and left without staying a minute longer than necessary.

He thought that Siron, like Professor Flitwick of Charms class, particularly enjoyed dueling.

“Of course, it’s to observe hand gesture magic,” Siron said.

"Gesture magic?"

“Of course,” Siron said. “I’ve noticed that most of the participants in the dueling are Egyptian sorcerers around thirty years old, and they all use hand gesture magic.”

“But didn’t you already see it before?” Lu Ping frowned.

He remembered clearly that when Siren took one look, he understood the principle of gesture magic, which even surprised Bill.

“It’s different,” Siren explained. “Unlike wands, I’ve noticed that every wizard who has mastered gesture magic has slightly different casting motions.”

"Correspondingly, the spells they cast also have obvious differences."

"Really?" Lupin blinked in confusion, beginning to recall the opponents he had encountered a few days ago who used gesture magic.

But he felt nothing was different. Apart from the element of surprise, the power of the spell and their own demonstrated strength were basically the same.

“Professor Lupin, you’re too close to the situation to see clearly,” Siren said. “When you’re on stage, you’ll only notice your opponent and the magic they’re using.”

"But if you sit in the audience and observe carefully, you'll find that although they all use gesture magic, there are still differences."

"What's the difference?" Lupin asked, puzzled. "The direction and amplitude of the gesture," Siron said. "For the same spell, some people make an upward flick, while others make a horizontal movement, and this change will be reflected in the spell."

"The upward flick of the hand is more powerful, while the horizontal flick is less powerful but faster to form the shape."

Lupin thought for a while longer, but still didn't quite understand what Xilun meant.

In his view, even the same spell will have different effects when cast by different people, which is a perfectly normal thing.

However, Lupin overlooked the most crucial point.

Unlike wands, hand gestures can be changed, but a wand cannot have its core changed mid-use... Well, okay, it's not impossible, but most wizards simply can't do it.

"Did you discover all of this in the last few days?" Lu Ping asked in surprise.

"Having spent so many Galleons, we should at least get something in return," Xiren said with a smile.

Lupin scratched his head. Although he didn't quite understand why Xilun did this, he was indeed quite surprised.

At least this kind of keen observation is something that ordinary junior wizards don't possess.

After chatting for a while, before 3 o'clock, the two of them arrived at an open space and stood down, guided by the staff.

"Ten seconds left..." The man stared at the pocket watch in his hand and muttered, "Three...two...one..."

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of blue light suddenly appeared from the half of the tie in Xiren's hand, and in an instant, he and Lupin disappeared from the spot.

This door key travel method isn't exactly gentle; it feels like holding onto something incredibly fast and being carried through the air. And because the speed is so great, everything around you turns into some kind of blurred, colored lines.

When Xilun felt the ground again, he heard a familiar voice.

"3:09, from the Egyptian Ministry of Magic."

Xilun rubbed his face before noticing his surroundings.

"Mr. Weasley?" Looking at the familiar, slightly thinning middle-aged wizard before him, he was momentarily puzzled. "Wait, isn't this the Department of Magical Transportation?"

No wonder the voice sounded familiar, but if he remembered correctly, Mr. Weasley should work in the Department for the Prevention of the Abuse of Muggle Items, a position that doesn't handle door keys.

“This is the Department of Magical Transportation, of course,” Mr. Weasley said with a smile. “It’s Bill. He wrote in his letter that you were coming back today, and I happened to have nothing to do, so I came to check on you.”

As he said this, his eyes were fixed on Lupin, who was standing next to Xiren.

"Remus, how's Egypt?"

"It's not bad, everyone I met was very welcoming," Lu Ping said.

That's true. Egyptian wizards seem to have a particular fondness for fire magic, which can be seen from Lupin's hair and eyebrows.

Although he always throws the game to lose when he encounters a troublesome opponent, he is always affected by magic unless he directly concedes defeat.

During the duel three days ago, he was caught off guard by his opponent's self-created fire magic.

Fortunately, Lupin was experienced and managed to dodge at the last moment, but his hair was not spared, forcing him to get a new hairstyle.

Her previously messy, short, gray-white hair has been transformed into gray-white curly hair.

……

(End of this chapter)