The students turned in their research reports for Wizzlethorpe’s Research Challenge, and the results didn’t go quite as expected.
Miriam, Isolde, and Tamsin would have won, but Caoimhe burned their report the week before. With an incomplete submission, they were bumped to third place and took the Bag of Tricks prize. First place went to Declan, Callum, and Elias, who claimed the Dust of Dissapearance. Otto, Finlay, and Caoimhe came in second and chose the Baruffio’s Brain Elixir. Prim, Thad, and June came in last, and their report was so bad even Wizzlethorpe looked embarrassed.
The party immediately set their sights on the Dust of Dissapearance, knowing it could help them get deeper into the Restricted Section. They overheard Declan’s group whispering about using the dust and still needing to buy Polyjuice. After some light prodding, they got a look at the dust and figured out that Callum was the one holding it.
So they made a plan.
First, they convinced Wizzlethorpe to let them brew a Forgetfulness Potion, with Caoimhe claiming it was the anniversary of her dog’s death. They brewed the potion, spiked some pumpkin juice with it, and tried to get Callum to drink it in the Ravenclaw common room. At first, it didn’t work. But Otto distracted him with compliments about his arms and made a toast. When he drank, Caoimhe got him to stand up and demonstrate his leg workouts. While Callum was distracted, Otto lifted the dust from his pocket. He dropped a decoy powder in the process but played it off convincingly, claiming the dust had just fallen out. Callum believed him.
Meanwhile, Finlay kept Prim distracted and noticed she seemed unusually quiet; focused on a book and looking a little sad.
That night, the party used the Dust of Dissapearance to sneak into The Restricted Section once again. They got past the guards and the ghost librarian Agatha, and made it to the basement level: the Firefly Cellar, where professors Blithe Thimblethorn and Wizzlethorpe reside. There, Caoimhe noticed strange runes on the wall. A hidden door led them into a cave and beyond it, a massive cavern containing Seylon’s Tower.
Inside, the tower presented a series of challenges.
On the first floor (an abandoned alchemy lab), they accidentally released poison gas and summoned two mud mephits before discovering the correct ingredients to give themselves an ethereal form, allowing them to phase through a stone wall and reach the staircase to the next floor.
On the second floor, they found a chamber of pools with floating fish in the air, each reflecting a different vision when interacted with. Caoimhe poured her pool’s water into the central basin and saw a happy memory of her dog, Slytheris, rolling around on his wheels. Otto saw a vision of June opening a hidden passage with a spell ending in “Merkatus.” Finlay saw himself ascending stairs and opening a stone wall with a crescent symbol, followed by chaotic visions of rooms, a swirling library, and a cloaked figure.
They also found a note referencing “memory lane” and “Lyra playing in a field”, as well as a potion of Dreamless Sleep.
On the third floor, they were confronted by a floating set of robes, a proctor who forced them to take a test. Otto and Caoimhe Keelan were caught cheating and sent to the detention room for five minutes. Otto found an old hall pass in the room and convinced the proctor he’d already passed. Caoimhe legitimately passed the test, but Finlay failed and was sent to the detention room, where the proctor ominously suggested he would wither and die.
Caoimhe and Otto intervened, claiming Finlay’s dog had just died. The proctor, who apparently has a soft spot for dogs, allowed him to retake the test. With a little help (Caoimhe subtly gesturing an answer), he passed.
By now it was around 7:00 AM. Rather than sneak back to the dorms, the group decided to stay the night on the third level of Seylon’s Tower. Otto had bread, Caoimhe had candy, and the party had more questions than ever about the Tower and the secrets buried beneath Hogwarts.