Hogwarts' Golden Glory

At this critical moment.

A blinding white light exploded like lightning, instantly illuminating the entire underground space as if it were midday.

Harry reflexively closed his eyes, but could still feel the burning sensation of the light penetrating his eyelids.

The light was so intense that the Devil Vines emitted a piercing shriek, and all the vines retreated frantically as if they were being burned.

"Hold on tight—" Hermione's warning was cut short as the vines binding them loosened completely.

The three of them instantly lost their balance and plummeted.

Harry's heart was in his throat.

He saw Ron's unconscious body fall straight down like a rag doll.

Hermione's long hair shone like burning brown flames in the bright light. Just as they were about to crash onto the hard stone ground—

"Cushioning Charm!"

Kane's wand flashed three silver streaks, striking the three falling figures with pinpoint accuracy.

Harry felt himself suddenly land on an invisible, soft cushion of air, bouncing a few times before coming to a stop.

Hermione, still shaken, scrambled to her feet, while Ron remained motionless like a corpse.

"Ron!" Harry struggled to his feet and lunged at his friend.

Kane had already arrived at Ron's side.

He knelt on one knee, placing two long, slender fingers on the side of Ron's neck.

"Still alive."

Kane gave a brief announcement, then lightly tapped Ron's throat with his wand.

"Enervate!"

Ron's body suddenly arched, and he began to cough violently.

The deep purple marks on his neck were shocking.

He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Kane's pale face so close to his.

"You—" Ron's voice was hoarse and his eyes were filled with fear and confusion.

"You're much slower than I expected."

Kane's tone carried the characteristic Slytherin sarcasm, "I almost thought I was going to meet Dumbledore with three corpses."

Harry noticed where Kane was standing.

He had obviously come down a while ago.

And they just saved them.

"You knew about the Devil's Vine all along?" Harry asked breathlessly.

Kane lightly brushed off non-existent dust from his black robe: "Planting devil vines under trapdoors is a basic defensive setup."

His grey eyes shifted slightly. "I'm assuming Miss Granger has also read 'The Application of Magical Plant Defense'?"

Hermione blushed: "I...I just didn't expect..."

Ron finally caught his breath and struggled to sit up.

His voice was hoarse: "You...you came down a long time ago...you were right there...watching us..."

"Observation is the prerequisite for action, Weasley," Kane said coldly.

"If I wandered around like a monstrous monster like you, who would save you now?"

Ron's face turned bright red.

Whether from suffocation or anger, she exclaimed: "I don't need Slytherin's—"

"Ron!" Harry grabbed his friend's shoulder. "Kane saved your life."

The stone chamber fell silent for a moment.

Ron's chest heaved violently, and he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth: "...Thank you."

Kane raised an eyebrow slightly, a subtle expression that made him look remarkably like Draco.

Yet it was entirely different: "You're welcome. Can we continue now? Or are you planning to hold a tea party here?"

"A tea party? I'd rather have a hot coffee..."

Ron muttered, rubbing his neck, before Harry pulled him forward.

The three followed Kane through the Devil's Vine Cave and came to a damp stone passage.

The torches on the wall lit up automatically, illuminating the downward-sloping steps.

"This place is even more gloomy than Snape's storeroom."

Ron rubbed the fading marks on his neck and complained.

Hermione suddenly stopped in her tracks: "Listen!"

A faint metallic hum came from afar, like countless tiny bells gently tinkling.

Kane had reached the end of the passage and pushed open a weathered wooden door.

"Merlin's beard..." Harry gasped.

What comes into view is a brightly lit circular hall, with hundreds of shimmering "birds" flying under the high dome.

Upon closer inspection, they were all keys with wings!

They hovered beneath the ceiling, refracting rainbow-like halos of light.

"Wait," Harry squinted, "that blue one—"

A key with sky-blue wings suddenly broke away from the group.

It flew towards them crookedly.

Its right wing was drooping unnaturally, and its feathers were disheveled.

"Is it injured?" Hermione asked with concern, reaching out her hand.

But just a few feet away from them, the key suddenly slammed on the brakes, and then—

"Ouch!" Ron cried out, covering his nose.

The key actually slapped his face hard with its metal wings!

"Pfft—" Harry quickly covered his mouth.

The key jingled triumphantly around Ron's head, making a smug sound, just like a child who had successfully pulled off a prank.

"It recognizes you, Ron," Harry couldn't help but tease.

Ron angrily waved his arms, yelling, "Get out of my way, you piece of junk!"

The key deftly dodged it.

It swooped down again and tugged at Ron's hair before wobbling back to the key cluster.

The other keys immediately surrounded it, making rustling metallic sounds, as if exchanging information.

Kane had already walked to the oak door across the hall.

The others quickly followed.

Kane pointed to the keyhole: "Silver, double-lock cylinder, and it's been enchanted with a reverse-picking spell."

He looked up at the sky. "The key is here..."

"But how can we get the key, and which one is the key to this lock?"

Kane suddenly pulled out a silver whistle. "Let me say hello first."

Ron's eyes widened: "You don't mean to—"

Kane had already put the whistle to his lips, blowing out a series of clear, bird-like melodies.

In an instant, a cheerful metallic hum came from the air, like countless little bells responding.

"What is this...?" Harry asked curiously.

"Professor Flitwick's summoning whistle."

Kane stopped whistling, a slight smile playing on his lips. "I helped him debug the flight trajectory algorithm for these keys."

Before the words were finished, a small bird with sky-blue wings suddenly flew out from the group of keys and shot towards them like an arrow.

Harry was about to raise his wand.

But then the little bird suddenly braked and landed affectionately on Kane's shoulder.

"Long time no see, Sapphire."

Kane gently stroked the bird's metal head with his index finger.

The key immediately chimed happily, like a cat being stroked.

Hermione's mouth dropped open in surprise: "It knows you?"

"He is the key."

Look at how affectionately Kane holds this key.

Ron muttered sourly, "What's going on? Even the magic key likes you..."

It was as if they understood the complaint.

The sapphire suddenly flew off Kane's shoulder and circled around Ron's head.

Ron warily covered his hair: "Hey! Don't even think about it—ouch!"

The keybird precisely pecked his earlobe, then quickly flew back to Kane's shoulder, flapping its wings triumphantly.

"Please open the door for us."

The door opened the moment the key was inserted into the lock.