George nodded. "Yeah, remember? That book got burned… Dad said it was a Dark Arts artifact."
"That's the one!" Fred suddenly leapt up. "We got our arses tanned because of it!"
The Weasley family was actually even larger than most people realized—the most populous of the Sacred Twenty-Eight wizarding families. In the branch headed by Arthur Weasley, there were seven children in all. Compared to their only daughter, Ginny, Ron's childhood could only be described as… eventful.
Raising so many kids was no easy feat for Molly. Sometimes, she was simply overwhelmed, and inevitably, one child or another would get overlooked. More often than not, as the youngest son, Ron was the one who slipped through the cracks.
As a child, Ron much preferred playing with the twins to hanging around the older, stiffer Percy. Unfortunately, Fred and George had their own unique brand of fun—pranks and practical jokes, often at Ron's expense.
Once, the twins took inspiration from a family spellbook and turned Ron's beloved teddy bear into a spider. The resulting trauma left Ron with a lifelong fear of spiders.
Another time, they ransacked Arthur's room and found a mysterious artifact. After tinkering with it, they somehow stumbled onto magic resembling the Unbreakable Vow—they almost ended up binding Ron into a magical contract. The punishment that followed was one they'd never forget.
According to the twins, that was the angriest they'd ever seen Arthur—he'd even used magic, and their butts were lopsided for days.
Listening to all this, Wyzett couldn't help but think, as he had before—just surviving to adulthood was a real achievement for Ron.
…
After silently wishing Ron "good luck," Wyzett picked up a blank book. "So, how do you get the memories out of these things?"
He tried using his Oculus Magicae, but still couldn't see any clues. Clearly, some kind of protection was at work.
Since the twins had experience with this sort of thing, asking them directly seemed the best move.
"Just burn it," George said, rubbing the cover. "That's what we did before. The fire gets rid of the protective layer."
"Exactly! Dad's room is a treasure trove—loads of incredible stuff!" Fred nodded. "We accidentally set a fire and burned off the outer shell of one artifact."
George hunched his shoulders, pulling a face of exaggerated terror. "We were clueless back then—scared out of our wits!"
Fred clapped him on the back. "Fortunately, that artifact was so fascinating, it wiped away our fear in no time."
Wyzett nodded thoughtfully. "Sometimes doing the opposite really is the best way."
Given how much he valued books, the idea of burning them to unlock their secrets would never have occurred to him. He couldn't help but think of Selena's mischievous sense of humor… Clearly, the previous Guardian had been quite different in temperament.
Wizarding families rooted in the magical world had their fair share of secrets. Much of the twins' magical know-how came from inside the family. Luna was the same—she'd grown up with deep knowledge of herbs and could brew miraculous golden potions with nothing but the dawn's first dewdrop.
For those who'd grown up in the magical world, even the most basic "common sense" was something Wyzett still needed to learn. Every blunder was a lesson, and in this dazzling, unpredictable world, there was always more to discover—whether from books, family, or day-to-day life.
…
"Incendio!" Wyzett flicked his wand, setting one of the books ablaze.
Throughout the burning, he stayed alert, watching for any change. Just as the twins said, the book's surface was protected by some strange magic. The flames didn't even scorch the cover or curl the edges. After a few seconds, the fire flickered oddly, sending up wisps of gray smoke.
Wyzett extinguished the flames. Fred and George picked up the book, inspecting it closely. "Still a bit different than last time…"
Wyzett said, "We'll need a Memory Extraction Spell, too."
Now he understood why there was a memory about that spell in the Pensieve room. It seemed Selena loved this sort of setup—set a challenge, hide a reward. Maybe the Guardian before her had tested her in the same way?
…
"Memoria Exhaurire!" Wyzett pressed his wand to the blank book, slowly raising his wrist as a silver thread emerged.
"Brilliant!" George whistled. "Didn't think you'd already mastered memory extraction magic."
Fred pulled an exaggerated face, hugging his shoulders and shivering. "Is this what Ravenclaws are like? Terrifying!"
George added, "But Pensieves aren't cheap… Granddad always said using someone else's can be risky."
"Yeah! We're a bit older than you, so we should be fine." Fred nodded. "But for you…"
George continued, "Maybe we should look at the memory first, then you extract it from us? That way, even if we lose a bit, it's safer."
Fred raised an eyebrow. "Right! We'd never let anything happen to our dear materials consultant!"
Wyzett replied, "Extracting memories is dangerous, too."
"What's to be afraid of?" Fred shrugged. "You wouldn't harm us, would you?"
"Exactly! You've shared a secret chamber this big—we trust you!" George spread his arms wide.
"Alright then." Wyzett smiled, shaking his head as he produced Selena's notebook. "Actually, I know where there's a Pensieve. We'll need this to get there."
Fred blinked. "You've even got a Portkey!"
George eyed Wyzett up and down. "Looks like you've inherited some serious wizarding legacy. Lucky you!"
The three of them used Selena's notebook to travel to the Pensieve room.
Fred rested his hands on the Pensieve's rim. "Looks top-notch!"
George nodded. "The one we saw at Granddad's was nothing like this, right?"
"No idea…" Fred shrugged. "We'll have to try it to know for sure."
George was already itching to go. "Come on, Wyzett, pour the memory in! We're ready!"
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