Hogwarts: Lacus doesn't want to be a witch who destroys nations.

"What?" Malena raised her chin slightly, that familiar, slightly arrogant demeanor returning. "You don't want to?"

"It's not that I don't want to!" Lux quickly waved her hand. "The problem is that Hogsmeade Week is for third-year students and above. I'm only a second-year student. I don't have an autograph form. How am I supposed to get out? Do you have a way to get an autograph?"

She didn't want to be scolded by Dumbledore, who was going through a midlife crisis and wasn't as kind as he would be later.

Malena seemed to have anticipated this question, a faint, almost mocking smile playing on her lips: "Do you think that getting in and out of Hogwarts is only possible with that childish autograph form?"

She lowered her voice slightly, "Disillusionment spell, or to put it more bluntly, I know a few paths that can avoid the administrator's sight."

Lux's eyes lit up instantly: "Illusion Charm? You know it?"

She hasn't learned this magic yet because she's always been delayed by various things, and her progress in learning spells has been slow recently.

"The Rozier family's education is always more comprehensive than some meaningless courses," Malena glanced meaningfully at Lux. "So, are you going or not?"

"Go! Of course I'll go!" Lux nodded immediately.

"However..." She thought of another thorny problem, pointing to her brilliant blonde hair, "Even if I use the Disillusionment Charm, I'll still be recognized when I get to Hogsmeade."

Malena's gaze fell on Lux's blonde hair, her brows furrowing almost imperceptibly, as if she also agreed that it was a problem.

She hesitated for a moment, then said, "I remember you have a comb?"

Lux instantly remembered the prank comb that turned hair fluorescent green, and her face fell. "Seriously? Not again? Can't you choose a different color? What's the difference between walking around Hogsmeade in fluorescent green and holding up a sign that says 'I'm here, come and get me'?"

"It's more understated than your golden hair," Malena retorted mercilessly. "Or, you could choose to stay in the castle and continue your reflections on life."

"...Fluorescent green it is then." Lux gave in.

"So when do we start learning the Disillusionment Charm?"

"Tomorrow afternoon after class," Malena decisively set the time, "the north side of the Astronomy Tower is quieter and less crowded."

"make a deal!"

In the following days, Lux added a new item to her after-school schedule: receiving private spell coaching from Malena Rozier.

The corridor on the north side of the Astronomical Tower was indeed secluded, with only the occasional whistling sound of the wind passing through. Malena taught exceptionally strictly, even harshly.

Lux learns spells very quickly, thanks to the system's support, but further improvement depends on Lux's own understanding.

"Your wrist angle is wrong! Do you want to turn yourself into a puddle of mud?"

"Focus, Lux!"

"Imagine you are a drop of water merging into the ocean, not a stone thrown into the water! Let's start over!"

Lux was thoroughly scolded and felt utterly humiliated. Several times she wanted to throw her wand on the ground and yell, "I'm not learning anymore!"

But seeing Malena's indifferent expression that said, "I knew you couldn't do it," she mustered her strength and buried herself in practice.

Lumi squatted on the windowsill next to him, munching on dried fish that Marlena had brought, supposedly made with a unique French recipe, occasionally making "pop pop" comments, it was hard to tell whether she was cheering him on or mocking him.

Persistence pays off. After nearly turning herself into a semi-transparent, pixelated mess countless times, Lux finally mastered the Illusion Charm.

On Saturday morning, just as dawn was breaking, Lux slipped out of the Gryffindor Tower to meet Malena, who was waiting in the Astronomy Tower corridor.

"A comb," Malena said succinctly, extending her hand.

Lux pulled out the prank comb and started combing her head haphazardly.

In an instant, that dazzling golden hair turned into an extremely eye-catching, vibrant fluorescent green.

Malena's lips seemed to twitch slightly before she quickly looked away, as if even a second glance would hurt her eyes. "...Very good, at least you're special enough. At first glance, no one would associate you with the blonde Lux."

"Thanks," Lux rolled her eyes.

"Follow me." Malena turned around, and with a gentle wave of her wand, her figure quickly blurred and faded, as if melting into the air, leaving only an extremely faint outline.

If Lux hadn't focused and looked closely, she wouldn't have noticed it at all.

Lux took a deep breath, raised her wand, and whispered the incantation: "Shapeshifter!"

Her body gradually became transparent, with only her fluorescent green hair, like a floating will-o'-the-wisp, stubbornly asserting its presence.

Malena: "..."

She seemed to sigh silently, and tapped her wand again. A very subtle magical fluctuation covered Lux's hair, and the green light finally dimmed and disappeared.

"Maintain the spell, control the magic output, and follow me." Malena's voice came softly from ahead.

Lux, wand in hand, followed Malena around to the Gondhilda Corridor on the third floor of Hogwarts Castle.

As the morning light streamed through the stained glass, a life-sized statue of a hunchbacked, one-eyed witch stood at the end of the corridor.

The stone sculpture's skirt was still stained with dirt that hadn't been cleaned, and a dark green glass bead was embedded in its single eye socket, making it look rather frightening at first glance.

"Stand back." Malena stepped aside, pointing the tip of her wand at the statue's hunchback, her voice low. "Remember the spell, 'Separate Left and Right,' or you'll be bounced off the statue."

Lux quickly took two steps back, watching as Malena raised her staff and shouted, "Split left and right!"

A faint blue light flashed from the tip of the staff, landing on the statue's hunched back.

The next second, the stone sculpture's hunchback parted to the sides like two doors, revealing a dark opening from which came the faint sound of wind and the earthy smell of soil.

Hidden below the cave entrance is a narrow stone slide, its surface worn smooth, clearly indicating it has been used for many years.

"Get down first, keep your balance, don't land headfirst." Malena was the first to sit in the cave entrance, pushed off with her feet and slid in, her figure disappearing into the darkness in an instant.

Lux swallowed hard and sat down in her place, gripping the edge of the slide tightly with both hands.

As soon as she settled down, her body slid down the slide, getting faster and faster. The wind made her ears ring, and she couldn't help but shout, her voice echoing in the tunnel.

Occasionally, protruding stones on the slide would bump against her, making her lower back numb, until with a "thud," she landed on her bottom on a soft patch of mud.

"Hiss—" Lux rubbed her butt and looked up. Malena was standing not far away, brushing the dust off her pants, her eyes filled with a hint of schadenfreude.

"I told you to control your body." Malena kicked the dirt at her feet. "This passage is like a rabbit hole. Follow me and don't touch the walls on either side; there's something sticky there."

Lux quickly got up and saw that the soil on both sides of the passage was covered with some transparent slime and a few unknown hairs. She quickly moved closer to Malena. The passage was narrow and low, and the two of them had to bend over slightly to walk. The ground was uneven, and they could occasionally step on round clods of dirt. After walking for only a few minutes, the toes of Lux's shoes were covered with mud.

"How long will it take to walk like this?" Lux asked softly, her nose filled with the smell of damp earth and a hint of mold.

"Ten minutes," Malena said without turning her head, "There are over two hundred steps ahead, so be prepared."

Sure enough, after walking for a while, the passage began to slope upwards, and the soil underfoot gradually turned into stone steps. The steps were steep and narrow, and each step was ridiculously high. Lux held onto the wall as she climbed up, and she started panting after climbing less than fifty steps.

Lumi poked her head out of the wicker basket in her arms, making "boo boo" noises, and tried to grab the stone wall next to her with her little paws.

"Don't move!" Lux pressed Lumi's head down. "If you keep making a fuss, I'll leave you here to feed the rats."

Malena glanced back, took a mint out of her pocket, and tossed it to her: "Suck on it, it'll keep you alert."

Lux caught the candy and popped it into her mouth. The cool taste instantly washed away her fatigue. She continued climbing, still chewing on the candy, and finally, when she reached the last step, she saw the trapdoor above her.

The door panel was made of wood and covered with a layer of dust, which was similar in color to the surrounding soil, so it was almost invisible unless you looked closely.

Malena raised her hand and pushed the trapdoor open. The door creaked open, and a sweet fragrance wafted in through the crack, a mixture of chocolate and fruit. She slipped out first, then turned back and reached out to pull Lux along.

The two stood in a cellar filled with wooden crates labeled "Sizzling Honey Candy," "Sour Pop Candy," and "Chocolate Frog." Several bunches of dried mint branches hung from the wooden beams overhead. In the center of the cellar stood a young man in a beige apron, his blond hair neatly combed, holding a glass jar full of candy. He wasn't surprised to see them emerge from the trapdoor; instead, he smiled and waved.

"Good morning, young wizards." The young man walked over and placed the glass jar on the table next to him. "I am Ambrose Froome. This Honeydukes shop hasn't been open for long. You're from Hogwarts, right? I used to take this secret passage often when I was in school. Now I've taken over the shop."

Lux's eyes lit up: "You also graduated from Hogwarts? Which house?"

"Ravenclaw." Ambrose smiled and pointed to the school crest hanging on the wall. "I just graduated last year, and I wasn't used to the atmosphere of the Ministry of Magic, so I opened this shop. What would you like to buy? We just made chocolate frogs today, the cards are the new Merlin design, and we also have limited edition cream mints that bubble when you put them in your mouth."

Marlena walked to the shelf and picked up a jar of sour popcorn: "This one, and two boxes of chocolate frogs too."

Lux was already captivated by the colorful candies on the shelf. Pointing to a jar of rainbow-colored gummies, she exclaimed, "This one! And that jumping candy! Oh, and the sizzling bee candy, the biggest bag of it!"

Ambrosio helped her pack it up, and even put two extra lemon hard candies in the bag: "Consider it a gift from me, come again next time."

Lux paid the bill, clutching her bulging bag of candy, and followed Malena out of Honey Duke.

The streets of Hogsmeade Village were bustling with activity. A thin layer of frost covered the cobblestones, and sunlight shone brightly on the snow-covered rooftops. Most of the wizards on the street wore heavy cloaks; some lingered in front of Zoco's Joke Shop, while others peered back and forth in front of the window of Elegant Wizarding Clothing Shop.