The key vibrated in Aarav's pocket, glowing faintly whenever he passed the third floor corridor. A whisper in his mind guided him, gentle and clear:
"Knowledge once sealed... awaits the worthy."
He waited until midnight. The corridors of Hogwarts had grown familiar—especially the ones that didn't appear on the Marauder's Map, which he had "borrowed" for research.
He wore a Disillusionment Charm, mastered just yesterday with Flitwick's help, and slipped through stone archways, past the ever-watching portraits. The enchanted suits of armor saluted him—oddly aware he was there.
At last, he reached the stone griffin statue behind a tapestry of a blindfolded wizard fencing shadows.
System Ping:
▶ Location Identified: Flitwick's Vault of Echoes
Access Condition: Vault Key Required
Current Status: Key Accepted
Secondary Lock: Magical Signature – Dual-Affinity
Proceed? [Y/N]
He touched his wand to the eye of the statue.
The stone parted with a hiss. A spiral staircase unfurled downward, humming with old magic.
🗝️ The Vault of Echoes
It wasn't a room—it was a cathedral of memory.
Candles floated in slow motion, their flames frozen in arcane stasis. Dozens of wands rested in crystalline holders. Ancient spellbooks hovered mid-air, their pages turning of their own volition.
The walls were covered in dueling murals—wizards and witches casting spells Aarav didn't even recognize.
And at the far end stood a suit of enchanted armor, holding a jagged, wand-shaped staff and wearing robes trimmed with molten silver.
"Visitor logged," a voice rang from nowhere.
"Prepare for duel simulation. Defender: Sir Caldor Ashwight, Duelmaster of the Lost Court."
System Update:
▶ Trial Initiated: Duel of the Forgotten Echo
▶ Difficulty: Moderate-High (Scaled to Magic Level)
▶ Objective: Defeat the Guardian Echo
▶ Reward: Forgotten Duel Spellbook | Duelist's Gloves | Vault Lore (1/3)
The armored echo stepped forward. Its voice was deep, ghostly, and calm.
"Your wand sings of other worlds. Show me if it can fight."
Duel Begins
Caldor's staff flicked, launching three mirrored hexes in succession.
"Trisecto! Inverso! Detonare!"
Aarav backflipped and responded:
"Protego Maxima! Echo Somnus! Diffindo Arcus!"
The fake afterimage took the brunt of the hexes. His Diffindo arc cut the air like a whip—clashing against Caldor's barrier.
The echo grinned. "You know trickery. Good. Let's test your core."
Caldor spun his staff in a circle—conjuring five glowing rings. They fired in rapid bursts. Aarav ducked and rolled, heart hammering.
Too fast.
System Alert:
▶ Suggestion: Use Spell-Chain Gambit – Combine Learned Spells in Sequence
▶ Initiate? [Y/N]
"Yes."
Aarav shouted:
"Lumos Maxima → Obscuro → Accio Debris → Locomotor Rockstorm!"
Light blinded the echo. A black blindfold spell followed, then stones from the vault walls swirled around him like a hailstorm.
The echo stumbled.
Aarav launched the finisher:
"Aquila Tempus!"
His new spell—a time-shifted gust in eagle form—slammed into Caldor's chest. The echo broke apart in a dazzling explosion of spectral light.
Duel Ended.
Vault Reactivated
As the echo faded, a panel slid open behind the dais. Inside:
A black leather glove with silver runes
A sealed spellbook titled "Codex Duellum Perdura"
And a faintly glowing cube: Vault Lore Fragment (1/3)
System Reward:
▶ Duel Complete
▶ Reward Claimed:
— Duelist's Gloves (+10% casting speed, +5% parry resistance)
— Spellbook Unlocked: Forgotten Duel Magic (4 New Spells)
— Vault Lore Fragment (1/3)
▶ EXP +2500
▶ Trait Upgraded: Combat Intuition [Level 2]
He opened the spellbook.
Page 1: Vox Break – silences all spells in a radius
Page 2: Chain Volt – a bouncing lightning chain hex
Page 3: Wyrm Lash – creates a lashing serpentine arc of magical force
Page 4: Rift Flicker – a short-range blink teleport, single use per duel
As he left the vault, the door sealed behind him.
"Three vaults remain," the system said.
"And beneath them all… the Chamber Before Chambers sleeps."
Aarav walked into the dawn-lit hallway of Hogwarts, his gloves pulsing with dormant energy.
"This world will change. One duel at a time."