The walk back to the Slytherin common room was louder than usual.
Slytherins of all years buzzed with excitement after the Quidditch match. Voices echoed through the dungeon corridors, students recounting their favorite plays with sweeping hand gestures and loud laughs. A few fourth years were already talking about sneaking snacks from the kitchens to throw a proper celebration in honor of the team.
"We showed them!" someone shouted ahead. "Gryffindors looked like headless pixies!"
A few first-years, Livia, Ewan, and Gaius among them, trailed near Lucan and Darius, clearly energized by the win. Ewan kept mimicking the Seeker's dive, arms outstretched like a broomstick
"Did you see how fast Bletchley dove?" he said, eyes wide. "Caught the Snitch right under that Gryffindor's nose!"
Livia rolled her eyes but smirked. "I still think the Chasers carried the match."
Gaius hugged a book against his chest. "It was… loud," he muttered.
Marcus Flint was ahead of them, yelling about "future Quidditch glory" and chanting Slytherin songs at full volume.
The common room opened to the sound of even more cheers. Someone had already begun charming green and silver streamers around the walls. Older students conjured enchanted snakes to slither in the air like glowing banners.
"Someone's going to ask Snape for permission," Livia said. "Bet he lets us. Gryffindors never throw parties when they lose."
"I doubt they even know how to celebrate," Darius said with a grin, plucking a green apple from a fruit tray.
Lucan chuckled, but soon nudged Darius. "Let's go. We've got work to do."
"Oh, right," Darius said with a glint in his eye.
As they slipped out the common room, Lucan said, "You're really set on this."
"Of course!" Darius grinned. "Imagine it, mate, unregistered Animagi. Slipping past anyone, going anywhere. Do you know how rare that is? We'd be legends."
Lucan nodded slowly. "I've been thinking about it too. There's too much we don't know. But… if we can figure it out early—learn the steps—"
"We'd be unstoppable," Darius finished for him.
They arrived at the library, where Madam Pince was rearranging a floating stack of books. She eyed them with suspicion, but said nothing.
The two boys fanned out, scouring the Transfiguration and Magical Theory sections. Most titles on Animagus transformations were locked behind the gates of the Restricted Section.
But Darius came back with one thin, faded book, holding it like a prize. "'Nature's Mirror: The Theory of Magical Self-Reflection'," he read aloud. "Sounds promising."
Lucan flipped through the yellowing pages, stopping on a chapter titled "The Animagus Condition."
He read aloud under his breath:
"The Animagus form is the magical manifestation of the wizard's inner nature. A successful transformation requires a unique ritual involving a Mandrake leaf, consumed over a lunar cycle, precise incantations, weather conditions, and mental visualization of one's true self. Few succeed without supervision; many fail with permanent side effects."
Lucan frowned. "This confirms what I thought... but there's no recipe here. No incantation, no potion instructions, nothing practical."
"Yeah," Darius said, slumping into a seat. "It's like getting the rules to a game without the pieces."
"We'd need something much more detailed to even attempt this safely," Lucan muttered, eyes narrowing. "If we mess this up, we could end up with a beak and no feathers. Or worse."
Darius hesitated. "So what do we do?"
Lucan looked past the bookshelves, toward the cordoned-off Restricted Section guarded by a thick gate and a faint magical shimmer. "We need access to that."
Darius followed his gaze, then smirked. "Well, well. Breaking rules already?"
"We can't brew a potion we've never seen," Lucan said flatly. "The real steps, the actual ritual, they're in there. Somewhere."
"And how do we pull that off?" Darius asked.
Lucan smirked. "We don't."
"…Huh?"
"We let someoneelse pull it off for us."
Darius raised an eyebrow. "You planning to charm a ghost now or—"
"Not a ghost," Lucan cut in. "A poltergeist."
Darius blinked. "You're joking."
"I'm not. Peeves knows this castle better than any of us. If anyone knows a way into the Restricted Section, without getting caught, it's him."
"He's also completely mental," Darius muttered. "You really want to make a deal with Peeves?"
Lucan nodded, eyes glinting. "We don't need him to like us. We just need him to help. And Peeves is always up for a bit of chaos… if we can promise him something in return."
Darius gave a low whistle. "This is either brilliant or completely suicidal."
Lucan smiled. "That's the Hogwarts spirit."