A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Christmas was approaching, and Hogwarts lay under a thick blanket of snow, with the Black Lake frozen solid beneath a sturdy layer of ice.

After breakfast, William and his friends decided to leave the castle to catch a mermaid from the Black Lake.

On the surface, it sounded like a classic idea by the Weasley twins, but for once, they were innocent. The twins were too preoccupied with scheming how to take off Quirrell's scarf to worry about fishing for mermaids.

This idea had come from Cedric. 

He insisted that Christmas was a season for festive decorations, suggesting they catch a mermaid and hang it on the Christmas tree as a centrepiece. Once the feast was over, the mermaid could be safely released.

Don't be fooled by Cedric's typically upright demeanor—he was wierder than most phycopaths by a mile.

His true motive, however, was more practical. He wanted to pluck a few strands of mermaid hair to experiment with for wand cores. 

Cedric, driven by a curiosity for unique magical materials, couldn't resist trying something new.

Not wanting to take the risk alone, he roped William and the others into the plan. That way, if they got caught, they'd share the blame and points would be deducted from everyone.

William, bundling himself tighter against the cold wind, was already regretting coming here. "You know," he muttered, "Cedric's gonna end up either getting cursed to death by someone or mauled by the magical creatures he's constantly pestering."

"Can mermaid hair really be used for wand cores?" he asked, his breath visible in the freezing air.

"Of course! Even centaur and Veela hair can be used," Cedric explained, rubbing his hands together to keep warm. 

"But they're very temperamental. That's why Ollivander rarely uses them. I want to see if mermaid hair reacts differently—it might be magical in an entirely unique way."

Cedric had already tried making a wand with troll armpit hair, taken from the troll William had defeated earlier in the year. Unsurprisingly, the resulting wand was slow to react and entirely unmarketable, it seemed to mirror the troll's limited intelligence.

"I've been working on a wand design myself," William said with a grin. "I've got an idea for the ultimate wand. Want to help me make it?"

"What kind of design?" Cedric asked eagerly, he wasn't like Olivander who stuck to traditional methods.

"The exterior would be a polyethene shell, and the core would be double layers of erbium-doped silica glass with differing refractive indexes."

William's explanation was met with a blank stare. "What?"

"Think about it," William continued enthusiastically. "The wand would use total internal reflection for spell conduction, minimizing energy loss and amplifying power. It'd be at least six times stronger than traditional wands!"

"…"

Cedric understood each individual word, but had no clue what William was describing as a whole. 

Making a mental note to ask Professor Charity Burbage about polyethene and erbium-doped silica during the next Muggle Studies class, he decided not to press the matter further.

The last time Cedric had asked about nuclear bombs, Professor Burbage had explained they were special Christmas fireworks with beautiful patterns. 

Inspired, the twins had briefly entertained the idea of releasing one at Hogwarts.

…

As the group neared the castle's entrance, they ran into Professor Quirrell.

Bundled up in a heavy metallic shell with only his stubby arms exposed, Quirrell looked like he had raided someone's garbage bin for makeshift armor. 

From a distance, he resembled a walking trash can.

"This… armor… is heavy… but you… can't attack… me again!" Quirrell stammered triumphantly.

The twins, provoked by the challenge, magically launched enormous snowballs at him, but the armor rendered their efforts futile.

Through his swollen eyes, Quirrell glared defiantly while nibbling on a piece of black bread. He had stopped eating school food entirely, fearing the students would spike it with potions.

Quirrell let out a strange chuckle, tears streaming down his face. "No more… no more… soon, I'll be gone… heh, heh…"

The group exchanged uneasy glances, worried he had finally cracked. Fearing they'd be accused of harassment, they hurried away.

Once outside, George sighed in disappointment. "Looks like no one's going to win that bounty."

William's bounty for uncovering what was under Quirrell's scarf had climbed to 120 Galleons, but with no takers, the money would remain unclaimed.

"You expected this, didn't you?" George asked.

William nodded. "If Quirrell wants to keep it hidden, no student's prank is going to expose it. He's willing to endure anything to maintain the secret."

"Why's he so injured, then?" Fred asked.

"Quirrell probably has some real power," William explained. "But he's been pretending to be weak and submissive to avoid suspicion. To maintain that act, he can't retaliate against the attacks, no matter how much they hurt."

"We were planning to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas to keep trying," Fred said.

The Weasley twins and Ron weren't going home this year because their parents were visiting Charlie in Romania. 

The twins' generous monthly contributions had eased their family's financial struggles, but Molly Weasley insisted on scouting out the area before the rest of the family joined. 

From her letters, it seemed the dragon sanctuary had turned into something out of Jurassic Park.

"Don't be daft," William said, shaking his head. "You think Quirrell's going to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas? He'll leave to recover."

"Damn it!" The twins cursed in unison, regretting the missed opportunity.

…

Near the Black Lake, they encountered Hagrid, who was hauling a massive fir tree on his shoulder, heading toward the castle.

"Need a hand, Hagrid?" William called out.

Hagrid's bushy face emerged from the tree's branches, beaming. "Nah, I got it. Easy as pie!"

He hummed a cheerful tune, clearly in high spirits. "What are yeh lot up to?"

"Just… exploring!" George lied hastily. 

They had no intention of letting Hagrid know about their plan to fish for mermaids—he'd be horrified. Magical creatures were Hagrid's pride and joy, and mermaids might well be his friends.

Hagrid squinted suspiciously but relented. "Just don't go near the Forbidden Forest—it's dangerous."

"We won't," Cedric assured him. "We're just strolling by the lake."

"Good, good," Hagrid said, nodding. "Don't stay out too long, though. The Great Hall's lookin' right festive! Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick've been working hard on the decorations—you'll be amazed."

The group promised to check it out later.

"By the way, have yeh seen Harry?" Hagrid asked, shaking off the snow that had accumulated on him.

"At this hour? He's probably in Potions class," Fred said with a grin.

"Yeah," George added gleefully. "It's his favourite class. Bet old Snape is giving him extra attention by the cauldron."

Hagrid sighed, looking worried.

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