Point Me

'No wonder these fellows didn't get caught by Filch recently,' Magnus finally understood the reason for their lack of detentions lately. When you have such a map, it's easy to get away from most situations using the hidden passageways displayed. It even showed the passwords for the hidden passageways. 'Just looking at it gave me 50 points! This must be very special. But how does it work and who made it? More importantly-'

"How did you guys find the activation phrase?" Magnus asked doubtfully. Those words were not what one would say normally.

"Lots of hard work-"

"-and squandered history periods," they said proudly.

'So, they brute forced it huh,' Magnus thought wryly. They were about to talk more, when George said, "Quick, let's go. Prof. Greasy-bat is coming this way." They quickly went up the staircases. Fred and George regaled him about what they had been up to since they got the map and what they planned on doing in the future. They decided to continue their talk the next day as curfew time was coming and split up.

The next few days were spent with the twins showing Magnus all around the castle. Hogwarts was more massive than he had initially thought. There were plenty of places that they never usually visited. There were so many secret passageways and unused rooms that made it an explorer's dream come true. This exploration alone rewarded him another 50 points. He realized that finding interesting and hidden places are all impactful somehow as he got points for them. Thus, he tried to find as many of them as possible. The twins lent the map to him every few days and he supplied them some of the trickier potions that they themselves couldn't brew. They had gotten good at modifying his potions into candies and all kinds of bombs. They even wondered if they could sell their products to the other students. Magnus himself was tempted at the prospect. He was all for earning money, but he preferred a more discreet method of publicity than bombing Filch and his cat.

Magnus tried to understand the workings of the map and wanted to make one for himself. What if he could use such a map beyond the boundaries of Hogwarts? How many points would he get for making it? His constant use of [Instant Read] and [Comprehension Mode] drained his points faster than he was making them. It made him crave for more points. With enough points, he could potentially read the whole library of Hogwarts! That drove him to research the map. While the progress was limited, it did help him find abandoned rooms whenever he wanted to brew potions or practice spells outside of Tonks' help.

Today Magnus stood outside his dormitory and was holding a thin stick 2 feet long. The stick was completely smooth and even from top to bottom with no bumps in between. He made it himself in order to try one of the types of divination he learned, the Dowsing Rod. It was supposed to point him in the direction based on what he wants. It was very imprecise outside areas with little magic. It should work in magic dense areas like Hogwarts, he hoped. He learned of another direction pointing charm called the Four-Points Charm from Prof. Flitwick's books but that was more like a compass that always pointed towards north. It made use of the magic within the wand to interact with that on the outside to point the direction. The Dowsing Rod on the other hand makes use of the magic outside the rod to act as a guide to the rod. That makes it more precise in magic rich areas but less so outside such areas.

Magnus wanted to try this technique for some time now but other things distracted him. In the beginning he couldn't think of many uses for it so he gradually forgot. The map that the twins found rekindled his interest once again. He couldn't just borrow the map all the time, the twins had their own things to do. He pointed his wand at the tip of the stick which turned into metal, more specifically silver. He closed his eyes and thought the keyword to begin the spell,' Lead to interest.' Usually the simpler the instructions, the better.

He felt a tug from the stick and he let it point the direction as he held it loosely. He followed the direction of the tug and ended up in his room. The rod pointed to the pile of books on his study table. 'Eh, not what I was expecting. I need a better key word.'

'Lead to unknown interest.' 'Right this should lead me to something interesting that I don't already know.' He followed the tug again and was led outside his room to a bookcase to the right side of statue of Ravenclaw. It was in a secluded location with one of the columns covering it from view making the area darker. That and it being empty discouraged any students from coming to this corner. Magnus looked around the almost deserted common room. It was the weekend so most students were off doing their own thing except for a few studying by the fireplace. Besides there's a quidditch match later and most will be going to watch.

He followed the tug to behind the bookshelf and his rod tapped a part of the wall. A soft buzzing sound was heard and the section of the wall rippled at his touch. 'Hmm, is this like the train platform? Only one way to know.' He put forth his hand and it passed through the wall. He quickly looked around again to make sure no one was looking and entered. He walked through and stood in a hidden room. 'Amazing, but how come there was no secret passage shown on the map yesterday?' This led him to two conclusions- either the map isn't as precise and all- encompassing as they thought or there are rooms in Hogwarts that cannot be shown on maps. Either way, it's an interesting conclusion.

[Impact Points+50]

It was a room with furniture in blue and silver that was both old and regal looking. The only decoration apart from the furniture was a large banner covering one wall in the Ravenclaw colors of blue and bronze with the eagle mascot in the center. The only other thing of notice in the room was a giant window showing the beautiful view of the outside. It was what was in front of the window that drew Magnus's attention. It was the Grey Lady, the patron ghost of House Ravenclaw. She was the least sociable of all the ghosts and she rarely makes an appearance. She never attended any of the feasts and Magnus himself saw her only once before. 'So, is this where she usually stays?'

"Who are you and how did you come here?" the Grey Lady questioned sternly.

Before Magnus could answer though, "Never mind, don't deface the room," she warned and quickly went away through one of the walls. 'She's just like the seniors said she was,' Magnus thought wryly. He thought of introducing himself and learn a few things about history from her, but he never got the chance. Despite being just imprints of wizards long gone, some ghosts do possess valuable knowledge. Even among ghosts, the ghosts of Hogwarts are supposed to be special. He just shrugged and continued on with his dowsing rod.

This time the rod led him outside the room. The stone wall rippled just like before and closed behind him. His journey took him out of the Ravenclaw tower and towards a corridor he had never been before. 'Is this the seventh floor?' he looked around in confusion. 'Alright Flitwick's office should be on the other side of the floor; Gryffindor common room should also be there somewhere.' The rod pointed towards a tapestry with some guy trying to teach trolls how to dance. 'What the-? How is that interesting?' he just shook his head. No wonder it's finicky.

He decided to change the keyword again and try. 'Lead to important and interesting.'

He felt the tug again and it led him to a corner of the seventh floor where he found the Grey Lady once again. She just looked at him and disappeared into the walls. 'Well, she must have been nearby,' he shrugged.

Next, the rod took him to the sixth floor and between two armors, it was the Grey Lady again. Now she looked annoyed and just huffed as she went away. Magnus found this weird, but he continued on. Fourth floor- Grey Lady. Third floor- Grey Lady. Fifth floor- Grey Lady again. By this point both Magnus and the Grey Lady were fed up. He felt that she was almost about to pounce on him but held back. The last time he tried the rod, he changed the keyword again. This time it took him back to the Ravenclaw tower. 'Right, there must be many secrets within the Ravenclaw tower. The house is famed for intelligence and wit after all,' he thought excited.

And so he went into the common room and to the corner. Push behind the bookshelf and he was back inside the hidden room again with an irate looking Grey Lady looking ready to tear him to pieces.

"Ugh, oops?"