Tensei Skill Shop Chapter 37

Tensei Skill Shop

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 37:

“These will be your rooms while at Hogwarts,” The severe-looking witch informed us as we looked around the room she had led us to, “I hope you will have a pleasant time with us in Hogwarts. Good night, and see you in the morning at breakfast.”

“Thank you, Professor McGonagall.”

She flashed a polite smile in return, closing the door behind her as she left.

“This place looks really nice for a rushed setup,” Uzume remarked, “They even color-customized it.”

“It is very nice,” Matsu agreed.

It was an empty classroom with an attached teacher’s office, not that one would ever know it from the current decor. The classroom itself served as a common area, with couches and armchairs near the warmly-lit fireplace, while one end was sectioned off by curtains and dressing screens, containing the bed that I would use. The office was similarly refurnished, the desks and bookshelves swapped out for beds for the three girls. There wasn’t any attached bathroom, but there was one located nearby that we could use. There were pink drapes around the place, to represent the color of sakura petals as a way to distinguish our cover story of being Mahoutokoro students.

I knelt down to examine the pink carpet, which was giving off a mild magical effect to my senses. “Hmm, Color-Changing Charm.”

“Were you wanting a different color?”

“Nah. I’m fine with this as it is. More importantly…”

Irene nodded. “We’re on it.”

I watched as she and Matsu started casting warding spells on the door, raising our own magical protections to prevent anyone from entering the place unless we allowed it. As always, it was an educational experience to observe them; Irene’s enchantments practically blinking into place instead of the slow weaving that one would expect of something so strong and powerful, and Matsu’s adjustment of them made them even more impressive. Anyone trying to force their way in would regret it greatly.

Meanwhile, Uzume released Leafeon, who started curiously exploring the place alongside the two of us. Our trunks were already in place at the foot of our beds, despite having left them on the train earlier. A quick check showed that the contents were exactly as we left them, with the magical traps and triggers laid inside unaffected by the magical transport. As for the room itself, there weren’t any surveillance spells or those moving portraits that could be used to spy on us.

Satisfied with her inspection, Leafeon hopped up onto one of the armchairs and curled herself up to sleep. We took the couch, and were shortly joined by Irene and Matsu.

“It’s done. If anyone tries to break in, we’ll know,” Irene informed us.

“I made sure to leave a loophole so the house elves can enter to do the cleaning,” Matsu added.

“Thanks, you two.”

I yawned lightly, feeling drowsy from the heavy food we had for dinner.

“So, what are your thoughts so far? You’ve been using [Appraisal] a lot, haven’t you, Rick-tan?”

I blinked at the bespectacled Sekirei. “Yeah. It’s been a bit of an experience.”

Harry Potter magic was pretty damn incredible, capable of so many things that it would take a humongous amount of time to list them all out. Based on what our experiments and analysis had learned so far, any bit of magic cast was literally reprogramming the world’s to affect reality. Sano’s conversion process linked us to the world’s system, thus making us magic users by the natives’ standards. However, all the spells we had seen were usually limited to small effects, because larger ones tended to be more chaotic, requiring more skill and effort to direct and control. The usage of wands just served to facilitate that.

In essence, this world’s magics were like prototype versions of the skills that we were used to handling. 

This aspect of this world made things very different, and so we had to alter our usual methods. For one, the magic spells weren’t actual skills that I could [Steal] as they lacked the proper coherence for that. I tried doing that, but only got useless data scraps that could barely progress my mastery of that spell itself. On the other hand, [Creation] would produce a coherent version that I could [Bestow] on others, but it became limited under the world’s rules, whereas a native wizard could alter the strength and intensity based on his will. Still, with the relevant data on those spells, Sano would be able to craft better reality-manipulation skills.

“It’s like we’ve been sent to the farm to get an experience of working with the source material, after toiling in the factories for so long,” Matsu joked.

“That is a good way of describing it,” Irene agreed, smiling as well.

“But thanks to this, I’ve finally gotten the hang of the Arc of Embodiment,” I named the Lost Magic from Fairy Tail that I had been working on for so long.

With a twirl of my wand, a large ornate table appeared in front of us, before suddenly splitting into four separate tables, which began walking around in a circle. The performance concluded with them stacking up on each other, turning from wood to glass, which then vanished with a final wave.

Irene looked at me warmly. “Well done, Rick-dono. Your efforts have paid off.” 

Uzume elbowed me lightly in the side. “Showoff,” She teased.

“Hey, if I got it, I should flaunt it, right?”

“I don’t think the teachers here will approve of you flaunting that long wand in your pants.”

Matsu started to giggle mischievously at that comment, but Irene quickly smacked her straight. The Wisdom Sekirei collected herself, pushing her glasses up on her face as she looked around at the rest of us.

“So we’re all agreed then? We’ll just lay low and learn what we can while we’re here?”

“Yeah.”

“No objections.”

Irene simply nodded.

Our arrival at the castle had been relatively normal; we got off the train, we boarded the carriages that took us up to Hogwarts, and joined the rest of the students, watching as the first years were Sorted into their Houses by the Sorting Hat, then eating dinner afterwards. Since Cedric invited us, we sat with the Hufflepuffs, who were helpful in introducing the staff members sitting up at the staff table.

Irene’s weather-clearing enchantment sure made things a lot more pleasant, though no one appeared to notice that it was her responsible for it. That sort of ignorance was probably why so many students thought that the carriages were self-pulling despite the obvious footprints left by the normally invisible horses.

Then again, it was late at night, so they probably couldn’t see as well as we could with our falna. I knew that the Danmachi world was also responsible for us being able to see the Thestrals as well.

It was after dinner, when Dumbledore began giving announcements, that we were able to observe some differences stemming from the age change, mainly in the rules. Instead of having to wait until third year to be allowed to visit Hogsmeade, the village was available from second year and up. First years were also allowed to bring their own brooms. And there appeared to be an interesting amount of emphasis about engaging in unseemly behaviors in the broom closets after hours. 

The Forbidden Forest was still out of bounds no matter what though.

Moody’s arrival interrupted him before he could talk about the Inter-House Quidditch Cup cancellation. Compared to their movie actors, Snape really was sallow-faced and greasy-haired, while Moody’s features were horrifically scarred enough that Uzume looked away. My [Appraisal] indicated that Moody had already been replaced by an impersonator, maintaining the facade through the Polyjuice Potion in his hip flask, but we had already decided not to interfere with that part of the canon plot yet.

After Moody’s introduction, Dumbledore moved to introduce us as exchange students from Mahoutokoro in Japan, telling the students to give us a warm welcome and take the opportunity to broaden their horizons. Our reception was certainly warmer than Moody’s. 

After that, he then used our arrival to mention the Triwizard Tournament, talking about how delegations from the other two European schools would be hosted in Hogwarts when they arrived in October. I could see that many of the students were lured by the idea of glory and the prize money, but Dumbledore quickly disappointed many of them when he said that only those of age, by which he meant nineteen and above, would be allowed to put their name forward.

So no Age Potion shenanigans from the Weasley Twins then. At least they got their money back from Bagman. Speaking of which, he got sacked, but they’re still moving forward with the event…?

Dumbledore then dismissed the students. Professor McGonagall came to lead us to our current accommodations, instead of rooming with the Hufflepuffs. 

I looked up when Irene touched my shoulder. 

“It’s late, we should sleep.” She nodded to Uzume, whose eyes were heavy-lidded.

“Alright. Let’s go to bed then.”

We adjourned to our own beds, though not without a bit of cuddling and kissing to make up for the restraint we showed on the train ride. 

…

Our rooms were located near the Great Hall, so finding our way there didn’t take long. Sitting at the Hufflepuff table again for breakfast, we were given our class schedules by Professor Sprout. 

<Irene-tan’s a sixth year student compared to us, who are in the fifth year,> Matsu peered over at the other redhead’s different schedule, <Well, that figures, she’s better at magic after all. Guess I’ll be calling her senpai while we’re here.>

“Since the four of you have been getting along so well with my House, Professor Dumbledore decided to have you accompany their classes,” Professor Sprout said pleasantly. “I wasn’t expecting the four of you to speak very good English!”

“Thank you. What about these electives?” 

“Oh, Hogwarts students are supposed to pick at least two to study from their third year and up, but since you’re coming in at the fifth year, you might be rather unprepared for the classes. No worries,” The teacher added, “Just submit your selected classes to me by the end of tomorrow, and a placement test will be organized for you during the weekend so we’ll know which class to put you in.”

After informing us that the prefects would come to guide us to our classes, she bustled off to hand out the rest of the schedules, while we continued eating our breakfast. Uzume was focused on analyzing the taste, to expand her repertoire of dishes. 

“I’m definitely taking Arithmancy and Ancient Runes,” Matsu said.

Irene looked up from her schedule. “I will choose the same, but I intend to read up on their syllabus first.”

“Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures for me. Uzume?” Muggle Studies is easy, while I can at least grab skills from some of the magical creatures.

“Huh? Oh, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies.”

“Can you handle that workload?” 

“I’m interested in finding out if the magic of numbers or runes can be applied to my clothes-making. As for Muggle-”

A nearby Hufflepuff girl interrupted, having overheard the conversation, “Did you say you make clothes? Could I ask more about that?”

As if it was a trigger, several more students descended upon us, offering advice about our classes and asking questions about us and our interests. Thankfully, the arrival of hundreds of owls delivering packages and letters quickly put a stop to that. 

Over at the next table, I noticed Harry Potter looking up searchingly at the messy mass of brown and grey, before turning back to his porridge in disappointment. Oh yeah, he’s expecting a response back from Sirius, when he wrote about his scar hurting.

We joined the crowd of students departing for their first class, Irene splitting off from us to go to hers with the sixth years. Our first one happened to be History of Magic, where we got to experience the soporific effect of the ghostly Professor Binn’s voice. Some of the other students tried their best to stay awake to take notes, but most failed.

It was a strong reminder of why I hated the subject of History back in secondary school.

After that was Potions, which required us to go all the way down into the dungeons. The students seemed on edge, and it became clear why when Professor Snape appeared. The man carried an unpleasant demeanor about him, like a sharp blade waiting to harm anyone careless to run afoul of its edge.

“While we may have guests present with us for this year,” He stated forebodingly, looking around at the classroom, “Next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions.”

That was the first of many reminders to the fifth years about their coming Ordinary Wizarding Levels tests, not just in Potions class, but in various others. 

Compared to the mixing of potions in Skyrim or Danmachi, doing so in the Wizarding World was more complicated and ritualistic. The preparations altered the magical nature of the ingredients, which were further altered by the heat and stirring. Furthermore, there wasn’t any need for excessive effects like health or stamina potions, but an exact purpose like the mood-calming Draught of Peace, which would turn into a powerful sedative if overdone. Because of that, we tried to stay faithful to the instructions written on the board, but soon encountered complications.

<I think my Mixing DA is having some effect,> Matsu told us telepathically, <The color is changing faster than it should.>

Uzume peered at the green mixture, compared to the glowing purple from the other cauldrons. <Well, as long as we get the desired appearance, it should be good enough?> 

<Alright.> “Add more stewed mandrake, please,” She said out loud for the teacher, who was observing us with close scrutiny.

Uncomfortably aware of Professor Snape’s attention, we continued the process of making the potion. Matsu made a few more adjustments based on her instincts, but the man didn’t step in, like he did so for the other students who were about to make severe mistakes. In the end, we arrived at the described glowing white potion emitting a silver vapor, which we were the first to turn in to the teacher.

He studied it expressionlessly, before nodding to us. “Go clean up your tools.”

Judging from the whispers from the other students, the lack of criticism was praise in itself.

The next period was free since it involved electives that we weren’t taking yet, so we met up with Irene in the library where we began reading through the texts on the elective classes. There was some commotion when we headed to the Great Hall for lunch; Professor Moody apparently turned a student into a ferret and bounced him all over the place. 

We got to see the man himself in our next class with the Gryffindor fifth years, where he glossed over our presence in the classroom. Instead, he talked about how he planned to cover the harm wizards and witches could do to each other, tying that to what would be tested in the OWLs. Yet he did so in a manner that gave the impression of someone who truly wished to share his hard-earned expertise.

“CONSTANT VIGILANCE!” He would suddenly roar, making everyone jump. “Your OWLs will certainly test you on what you learn, but in the real world, there aren’t any repeat tests. Mistakes will stay with you for life, like it did for me.”

Damn, he’s definitely selling me on his act. I turned my eyes aside from the scars the fake Moody was gesturing to on his own face.

Near our table, the Weasley twins and their friend were staring at Moody with starry-eyed expressions.

The rest of the lesson went by in intimidating silence, as ‘Moody’ shared a few tales about how some Dark wizards and witches had their preferred curses to use on their victims, and how they could be countered and combated. It wasn’t the same Unforgivable Curses starter class that Harry and his friends got, but it certainly wasn’t boring.

After he dismissed the class, the corridor was filled with the students’ chatter about how cool Moody was, discussing the curses the man had talked about as some of them moved to the next class.

“Are you okay?” I asked Uzume, who was a little pale.

“Yeah, I just didn’t expect Dark to be so… bad.” The brunette shivered slightly.

Once again reminded of how my Uzume was different compared to the blackmailed canon version, I patted her on the shoulder. The conversation around us petered off, and we looked to see Irene approaching, followed by several respectful sixth years.

“Rick-dono, Matsu-dono, Uzume-dono,” She greeted us politely. “Just finished your class?”

“Yes, is Defense next for you?” I asked, while communicating telepathically as well, <What’s with all the followers?>

“It is.” <I don’t know, they just started gathering around me after I helped them in class.>

“Then don’t let us delay you, Irene-senpai.” Matsu’s eyes twinkled.

She strode into the classroom, the other students moving out of her path without her having to do a thing.

“Blimey, was that really Irene?” George Weasley came over to ask. “She seems totally different from when we met her.”

“Huh, you met the exchange students before?” Someone else asked, having overheard.

“Yes, we happened to be campsite neighbors at the Quidditch World Cup.”

“Oh, that sounds interesting. Could you tell me more?”

“You all don’t have any more classes for today, right? How about we go to the Great Hall for dinner?”

“We’ll accept your invitation then.”

As the twins and their friend led the way, we got to talking more about Hogwarts. As expected of a deeply magical place, there were a lot of gimmicks going on. Trick steps on stairways that tried to trap your foot, doors that changed positions, and secret passages that could cut down on travel time greatly.

“You kind of get used to it after a while,” George explained as he slapped a door on the wall, causing it to change back to the wall it actually was, “But since you’re only here for a year, it might be better to have a guide.”

“And are you offering to be that guide?”

“Nah, too much rule-abiding for our liking,” His twin replied, “We’re more free spirited than that. Speaking of which, did you see the news about Bagman?”

“The Ministry man in Quidditch uniform we met during the World Cup? Yes, I saw that he was fired from his job.”

Fred lowered his voice to avoid letting other people overhear. “Speaking of which, we really owe you all for that. If Irene hadn’t figured out the trick with the leprechaun gold, we’d be stuck chasing him for money he didn’t have.”

“You’re welcome. So, tell me more about some of Hogwarts’s secret passageways…”

And so, we gradually immersed ourselves in Hogwarts and its culture. 

The rest of the week sped past, as we attended the classes and learned more about this world’s magic. Some Hufflepuffs tried to prank us by asking where Professor McGonagall was when we entered her classroom, assuming that we didn’t know the cat sitting on the teacher’s desk was actually the teacher. Others approached us directly, asking us to share details about what foreign witches and wizards were like. Yet others were more cruel in their intentions, like the gang of older Slytherins who made insulting remarks while we were in earshot. However, as they didn’t escalate into anything more than words, we simply ignored them.

Not all the professors were content to overlook our presence; Professors Flitwick and McGonagall asked for demonstrations of Japanese versions of their specialties, and Matsu’s research and Archive magic came in very useful in keeping our cover. Meanwhile, Professor Sprout offered to give us extra lessons to get used to Europrean magical flora, and that was quite interesting in itself.

“I’m glad to see you’re getting along with my badgers,” She told us as we repotted a few plants under her supervision one evening.

“Badgers?” Uzume asked, keeping up the facade.

“It’s the animal that appears on our House banner, dear,” Professor Sprout explained, “Sometimes it’s easier to refer to the students from each House that way.”

“Oh, I see…”

I smiled slightly at them, but was a little taken aback when she looked at me more coolly.

“Mr Steel, that pot could use a little more fertilizer, don’t you think?”

“Ah, yes.”

Is it me, or do the female teachers seem to be stricter on me than the girls? I wondered as I worked. 

As it turned out, it wasn’t just the teachers; when I brought it up with the girls later, Matsu pointed out that there was a tendency for a female prefect to be observing us whenever we were together in more private areas, other than our rooms.

“But so far they haven’t done anything other than just keep an eye on us,” Uzume said, grooming Leafeon with a brush.

The Pokemon had been content to laze around the room most of the time, but she was getting increasingly moody at being stuck in the same place, even with the exercises we put her through. 

I nodded. “I know, but it’s also too risky to go looking for the Room of Requirement with them tailing us like this.”

“They’re interfering with our fun times with Rick-tan,” Matsu grumbled, her hair curling up into angry fists. "Even though we're already eighteen here."

“We are guests in their house,” Irene pointed out as her enchanted quill darted over the paper, writing out her homework essay with incredible speed, “So it stands to reason that they would prefer us to behave.”

“Irene-chan’s right,” Uzume agreed, finishing her grooming and letting Leafeon go free, “They’ll probably let up after a while. Until then, we’ll just have to keep our lewd acts to this place.”

“Just like back in Sano’s shop then.”

In truth, I could tell that the girls’ frustration was growing as well, and they could likewise sense my own desires, creating a feedback loop that was increasingly hard to hold back. 

We exchanged smiles, before Uzume decided to change the subject.

“By the way, I think it’s nearly time for us to ask for permission to have Leafeon allowed outside.”

“Fee? Leaf!” The Pokemon’s large ears perked up at that topic, and she looked around at us eagerly.

“Agreed!” Matsu smiled widely, “I’m sure her Grass-type will be of interest to Professor Sprout, and maybe the Care of Magical Creatures class.”

Irene nodded, a slight upward quirk on her lips. “I agree as well.”

“Then we’ll just ask her after the elective test this weekend,” I decided.

“Feon~” Leafeon happily began rubbing herself against each of us in turn to express her joy.

Over the next few days, we did our best to focus on studying magic and interacting with the inhabitants of Hogwarts, sitting apart from each other to try and reduce the rate our lusts were building up.

With how much preparation we put into them, we were ready when the placement tests for the elective classes rolled around. While the girls were busy taking the tests for Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, I met with Rubeus Hagrid, groundskeeper and Professor for the Care of Magical Creatures class for mine. The half-giant was as friendly as he was large.

“Nice to meet yeh,” He gripped my hand in a handshake that completely engulfed mine, “Hope yeh enjoying yer time at Hogwarts.”

“I am.” If it wasn’t for my falna, I think I’d be wincing in pain.

“Good to hear that!” Hagrid replied cheerfully, “Alright, let’s get started on yer test. A quick quiz on certain creatures yeh find around these parts, and then a practical test.”

He later confided in me that he made it easier for me since I wouldn’t be as familiar with the European magical beasts, but overall I scored well enough to make it into the fifth year class. Hagrid shook my hand again, and told me he was looking forward to seeing me join his class. 

Matsu contacted me telepathically to let me know that she and the others passed their tests as well, leaving only the Muggle Studies test after lunch.

I nearly facepalmed more than a few times at how simple some of the topic questions were, but managed to restrain myself well enough to answer all the questions as best as I could, which was enough to earn a full score on the subject. The Muggle Studies teacher, Professor Charity Burbage, expressed an interest in hearing how Japanese Muggle society functioned, and invited us to share more when Uzume and I joined her class next week. 

Irene was waiting for us when we left the classroom the test was conducted in.

“Matsu-dono went to find Professor Sprout first,” She informed us, falling into step by our side as we headed back to our rooms, “She’ll let us know when she finds her, so we can go collect Leafeon first.”

“Alright! I can’t wait to see how she’ll react to meeting Leafeon!”

I kept my eyes focused straight ahead, trying not to think about the curvy chests of the girls I was with, or the legs that were hidden underneath those long skirts. 

“Rick-dono…” When I glanced at Irene, I noticed her face was slightly red, “When we’re alone tonight, we can…” 

She trailed off, but I caught her meaning. Uzume took several careful looks around, then glomped onto my arm, pressing her chest against it. That was even more of an unmistakable message.

<I found her near the Hufflepuff common room!> Matsu interrupted, <I’ll lead her to our rooms. Meet you there!>

There was a pause.

<And no starting anything without me!> She added as an afterthought.

After another pause, the three of us started to laugh. 

Professor Sprout was surprised when we brought Leafeon out, but quickly warmed up to the Pokemon after some interaction. After some examination, the professor pointed out that despite Leafeon’s plant-like characteristics, Leafeon fell more under the Care of Magical Creatures’s area than Herbology. When she asked about how Leafeon had come into our ownership, Uzume spun a tale that was mostly true, concealing the more revealing aspects of the actual situation. Obviously, there was no mention of the term ‘Pokemon’.

With the four of us asking, Professor Sprout agreed to speak to the Headmaster on our behalf, to ask for permission for Leafeon to venture around the castle. Since she didn’t have anything urgent demanding her immediate attention, she decided to do so now, with Uzume and Leafeon accompanying her. 

However, the three of us remaining behind had a new issue to discuss.

Matsu looked at me curiously. “Was that…?”

“Yeah. My [Speech] skill triggered.” 

While the outward effect wasn’t that obvious, I felt the internal response when Professor Sprout relented and agreed to our request. I reached into my chest and extracted the data analysis skill, holding it out for the other two to see.

“I definitely didn’t activate it directly.”

The two skill experts leaned in, linking to it with their own skills to read the recorded data. I twitched, the sensation of their closeness coming in strongly.

“That’s curious… it’s like the skill activated by itself.”

“No record of the activation trigger… no, wait, there’s something, just not the normal one…”

They look so beautiful, even more so up close… 

“Is this the world’s system that’s responsible?”

“It must be. There’s no other explanation.”

Those intense brown eyes… those lips… 

“Um… Rick-tan…?”

“Rick-dono?”

Both pairs of eyes blinked at me, and suddenly it was as though a spell broke. I shook my head, shivering slightly. 

“Um, what? No, sorry, I-”

Two hands grabbed onto mine, their owners gazing at me with intense eyes.

“Say, Irene-tan… we don’t have to solve this right now, right?” The one on the right said.

“You’re absolutely correct. There’s something else we’ve been waiting for long enough already.”

They pushed my hand back against my chest, pushing the skill back into my body. Even then, the pressure didn’t let up, and I found myself stumbling back until I fell back onto the couch. With a burst of magic, my clothes flew off my body, leaving me naked and exposed before two hungry female beasts, who knelt on the couch on either side of me.

(Smut scene was removed because it apparently doesn't pass Patreon's safety rating for some reason. Readers please wait to read it when the public chapter goes on QQ)

Not even an irritated Uzume barging into the room later could break the blaze our shared lust had ignited into. Our combined efforts in soothing her anger saw the brunette bent over the couch as I pounded her from behind, mewling from the fondling we gave her body. After two orgasms, she came to the decision to withhold her anger for the time being, and joined in enthusiastically.

We ended up skipping dinner that day.

…

Harry and Ron were having dinner in the Great Hall, after making up tragic predictions about their impending future for their Divination homework for Professor Trelawney. The two of them were doing their best to ignore Hermione, who was trying to persuade some of the other Gryffindors to join her SPEW campaign for the house elves. 

Fortunately, a convenient excuse to not get involved came in the form of Ron’s brothers.

“Hey Harry,” George, or was it Fred, greeted the teen as he took an empty seat nearby.

“Having a good weekend?” His twin asked.

“For now,” Ron mumbled through a mouthful of stew, but swallowed before continuing, “But we’re in for some bad times.”

“Oh? Well, too bad for you.” 

George’s tone made it clear that he didn’t hold any pity, causing Ron to scowl at his older brother.

“What do you want anyway? Thought you were busy planning more of your Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes,” The young teenager demanded.

“Just wanted to know if you’d seen those exchange students today.”

“Them?” Harry thought about the quartet whom he had briefly interacted with during the World Cup, and hardly ever at Hogwarts. “No, why?”

“What are you asking us for?” Ron wanted to know, “You two should be asking the Hufflepuffs instead.”

“We did,” One of the twins answered, dishing food onto his own plate, “But none of the Hufflepuffs saw them after they finished their test this afternoon.”

“So we thought that maybe we could catch them at dinner.”

“They had tests?”

Ron’s question went ignored as the twins started eating, as did any more pertaining to why they were looking for the exchange students. However, none of the four showed up, not even by the time Harry and his friends finished their dinner and headed back to Gryffindor Tower to do their remaining homework. 

Harry was puzzling about how he could extend the length of his essay to meet Professor McGonagall’s requirement when he noticed the twins climb in through the portrait hole. Rather than going up to their dorm, they beckoned for him to come over to them.

“What do they want now?” Ron wondered sourly.

“No idea,” Harry replied, “But I’ll ask.”

Pushing his homework aside for the moment, he went over to the corner they were huddling in.

“Harry, could we borrow the Map for a moment?” One of them asked, “We’ve been looking all over the castle, and we can’t find them.”

“We know they’re staying, but for some reason, we can’t seem to get near there. Or find it, for that matter.”

Harry was surprised to hear that. “There’s magic like that?” 

“It’s a surprise to us too,” Fred confessed, “So we thought that maybe the Map might give us a clue.”

His curiosity piqued, Harry decided to do as they asked. After all, the Marauder’s Map belonged to them previously before they handed it over to him, even though he now knew that it was a creation of his father and his friends.

Returning from his dorm with the piece of empty parchment, he huddled up with the twins and tapped the parchment with his wand.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Activated by the password, the parchment began filling out with ink, turning into a complete map of Hogwarts. Within the areas marking the corridors and rooms, several labeled dots could be seen moving, indicating a person’s live position within the castle.

“Let’s see now…” George muttered, peering at the map.

“There, on the first floor. They’re…” Fred trailed off.

Harry squinted. Within the repurposed classroom, four dots were clustered tightly together, so much so that the labels bearing their names were almost overlapping. Actually, it looked like they were moving around in that tight position.

“Not one, but all three?” Fred sounded impressed.

“Don’t tell me he’s been going on since dinner?” His brother appeared to be awed as well.

“It wouldn’t be courteous of us to interrupt a gentleman’s fun time,” Fred decided.

“Indeed… indeed.” George tapped the Map with his wand. “Mischief managed.”

The ink lines erased themselves, leaving only a blank piece of parchment once more. Harry accepted it back from the twins and tucked it away in his pocket.

“What are they doing?” Harry wondered, looking at the two Weasleys uncomprehendingly.

They blinked, exchanging a swift glance, before clapping Harry on both of his shoulders.

“Well, ickle Harrikins…” George started.

“When a wizard comes of age…” Fred continued.

Harry had learned about the birds and the bees previously, but only now, with explicit explanation from the twins, did he truly understand the other reasons for such an act. It reminded him greatly of those magazines that his cousin Dudley kept well hidden from his mother, ones that Harry had stolen a look at while the Dursleys had been out of the house. His face burned as he recalled imagining the pretty Cho Chang posing like some of those pictures he saw.

He couldn’t face Hermione later when she came over to talk to him about her progress with SPEW, nor give a good enough explanation to Ron about what he talked about with the twins, so in the end, Harry fled back to his dorm room, where he changed into his pajamas and tried his best to fall asleep.

It didn’t occur to him that he had completely stopped worrying about his godfather Sirius Black coming back to Britain over his hurting scar.

Afterword: And that’s another chapter done. Sorry for the delay on this one, The idea of an aged-up Hogwarts kept occupying my mind, and I couldn’t help trying to imagine how the culture might have changed, more adult stuff, etc. But writing it was difficult, eventually forcing me to delete two thousand words of progress to restart again… Instead, I decided to go with the magical experience first, and the adult stuff later.

Do share your thoughts on my writing, please!

EDIT: Reuploaded with smut scene removed for Patreon standards