Mysterious Journey
Chapter 1016: Angel's Descent
Ailiana and her three companions were drifting through the air above Hogwarts on their flying broomsticks.
Behind them, the Headmaster's office window was wide open, a deliberate loophole in Dumbledore's plan.
"When Hogwarts was first built, flying broomsticks didn't exist yet, so aerial intrusions weren't really considered," Ailiana said casually, as if she were pointing out a hidden corridor in Hogwarts. "Obviously, even if Professor Dumbledore blocks the entrances to the corridors and common rooms, he can't block all the windows in the castle towers. There are so many windows in Gryffindor Tower and Ravenclaw Tower, you can just pick a spot and get in to grab your presents—and don't forget, girls can freely enter the boys' dormitories."
"Just stick to the plan, it's not complicated, right?"
She continued, pointing casually at the surrounding towers, not bothering to figure out which was which.
"We'll keep watch here. Hermione, Luna, after you've collected your gifts, come back and meet us here. Then I'll take you to my place for Christmas. It's on the shores of Loch Lomond, only a ten-minute flight. Luna and I's illusion magic is way better than a Disillusionment Charm."
Hannah and Hermione exchanged uneasy glances.
"Ailiana, I still think—"
"If Professor Dumbledore finds out—"
But Ailiana's eyes flashed with determination, and Luna looked equally eager.
"No one will know we've left. We'll have been in our bedrooms, resting and reading," she said calmly. "Once the curfew is lifted at midnight, we can sneak back into Hogwarts. You don't want to spend Christmas locked in your rooms, do you?"
"Oh, alright, alright," Hermione said. "But do you know the way? Do you know where to fly?"
"I have emergency rations—"
Ailiana said triumphantly, pulling a small, plump chicken from her chest and letting it spread its wings in the night.
"Remember the story I told you about carrier pigeons? Emergency rations have a far superior sense of direction than ordinary wizards, even Hogwarts' magical defenses can't interfere with its ability! It knows how to fly back—we just need to follow it later."
"Relax, going back to the dorms to get gifts and spending Christmas at a friend's house is normal."
"Or are you planning to just float around out here, or go straight back to the dorms and wait until tomorrow morning?"
Under Ailiana's almost demonic persuasion, Luna and Hermione quickly shed their inhibitions and flew towards their respective towers.
If anything went wrong, Ailiana would be the one taking the heat anyway.
Ever since they'd become "brazen" enough to drop their homework off in the Headmaster's office with a note explaining it, the shackles in Hermione, Hannah, and Luna's hearts had begun to break, or perhaps even earlier, when they became provisional members of the Major Arcana.
And the final point that convinced Hermione, Hannah, and Luna was that Ailiana's backup plan was very clear.
If anything unexpected happened during the mission, they would immediately stop and go back to their dorms to sleep, as if nothing had happened.
Hannah watched Hermione and Luna hurriedly fly towards their respective towers, then glanced down at the brightly lit and noisy Great Hall below. She turned to Ailiana with a worried expression, lowered her voice carefully, and asked seriously.
"If Hermione and Luna get caught breaking into the common rooms through the windows, those homework assignments left in the Headmaster's office won't—"
"Don't worry, don't worry at all, everything's under control."
Ailiana gave a thumbs-up and said confidently.
When it came to understanding people's hearts and exploiting loopholes in the rules, there was probably no one in Hogwarts more skilled than her, for now.
…
Just as Ailiana had said, the first phase of the operation went incredibly smoothly.
Hermione and Luna steered their flying broomsticks nimbly through the windows into the empty dormitories, retrieved the gifts they had prepared for the other three from beside their beds, and then reunited with Ailiana without anyone noticing.
Under the cover of darkness, the four of them quietly left Hogwarts Castle, flying towards the shores of Loch Lomond.
"Unbelievable, Gryffindor Tower and Ravenclaw Tower are completely undefended."
A trace of disbelief still lingered on Hermione and Luna's faces.
They had encountered no obstacles when entering their respective dormitories, no alarms, no defenses.
This not only meant that there were major security flaws in Hogwarts Castle, but more importantly…
"So, does that mean that those Ravenclaw seniors who spent the night in the corridors last year—"
Luna's expression was a little strange, and she turned to look behind her.
Hogwarts Castle was rapidly shrinking in the distance, and the dozens of windows on the north side of Ravenclaw Tower were still faintly visible.
Ever since Ailiana started wreaking havoc on Ravenclaw's Eagle Ring, the corridor in front of the bronze eagle ring had been the Ravenclaw students' second dormitory for a long time. The corridor, filled with light blue velvet sleeping bags, had almost become a new attraction at Hogwarts.
They had spent at least two-thirds of their time in sleeping bags, which was the greatest shame in the hearts of many Ravenclaw girls.
If it weren't for the appearance of Luna and Danilova this year, they might still be experiencing this harsh life.
"Well, extraordinary wisdom is humanity's most valuable asset. There's definitely some truth to that statement, but it's missing half of it."
Ailiana shrugged, chuckled meaningfully, and continued with a smile.
"—Unfortunately, most people are penniless."
She turned to look at Luna, who was flying to her right, her lake-blue eyes sparkling like starlight.
"My dear prospective High Priestess, as the future Executive of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, you'll soon realize that the essence of wealth is comparison and inequality, whether it's Galleons or wisdom. 'Valuable' is always born out of something rare, whether by chance or necessity."
"Perhaps, they didn't not think about that—"
Hermione sighed softly from not far behind them.
"Hogwarts' school rules explicitly state that riding flying broomsticks inside the castle is a disciplinary offense. Apart from you, perhaps no one would have thought of using a flying broomstick to go to the dormitory… It requires not only courage and wisdom, but also a little privilege."
"Yeah, yeah, that's right, Ailiana, you really have a lot of privileges."
"Hannah, don't be a fence-sitter here—"
Ailiana glanced at the simple-minded girl and said unhappily.
"Did you remember what I just taught you? Our destination is a Catholic church and orphanage!"
"Eh? A Catholic…"
"Yeah, the Muggle religion that burned 200,000 witches in history."
Ailiana smiled slightly, glanced at Hermione and Luna, who had solemn expressions behind her, and looked at Hannah earnestly with a teasing smile.
"Of course, that was hundreds of years ago. As long as you don't reveal that you can use magic, and act according to our previous plan and character settings, especially don't talk nonsense in front of Father José Benítez, there shouldn't be any danger…"
Glug—
Hannah swallowed her saliva and subconsciously looked at Hogwarts Castle behind her.
She suddenly wanted to sneak back.
At the same time, Hermione and Luna were also shocked and began to review and memorize Ailiana's previous instructions.
Even from their perspective, the possibility of Ailiana playing a prank was at least 90%.
However, based on the records in history books, or the descriptions of these religions that Hermione, Luna, and others heard from their parents since they were young, it was undoubtedly a very exciting and dangerous thing for them as witches to attend a Christmas banquet… and, very interesting?!
…
"This is it, the small town of Luss on the shores of Loch Lomond."
A moment later, they crossed forests, wilderness, and sparkling lakes and landed in a depression.
Not far away were the stone houses of the small town, lit with flickering orange lights. They hid their brooms in Ailiana's undetectable extension charm bag, tidied their hair and clothes that had been ruffled by the wind, and then followed Ailiana through the silent stone-paved roads of the town, heading towards the church in the corner of the town.
Perhaps because of Christmas, many houses in the town had Christmas decorations hanging on their fences.
It was a very, very small town. In Hannah's opinion, it might be a little smaller than Diagon Alley.
However, unlike the noisy Muggle cities she had seen in Bormouth or London, the air here was filled with a calming coolness and refreshingness, like the scent she occasionally smelled on Ailiana, clear and reassuring.
At the end of the town stood a solemn, tall church.
And behind the church was a three-story building that looked like it had just been built.
However, the second and third floors of the building were dark for the time being, and only the windows on the first floor were lit.
Ailiana led them closer to the building, and before they could knock on the door, they heard the children inside praying and making wishes.
"Sister Ailiana, I want roast goose and juice—"
"Sister Ailiana, I want apple pie—"
"Sister Ailiana, I want roast fish—"
"…"
Hermione and the others subconsciously turned to look at the white-haired girl who was stunned at the door.
At the same time, the conversation and disputes inside also came out.
Finally, they heard the steady and deep voice of a man sigh softly.
At the children's request, he reluctantly joined in those childish prayers, making the same Christmas prayer.
"Okay, okay, actually I also want Ailiana to come back. But, alas…"
Father Benítez, Brown, and everyone…
Ailiana was still staring at the door panel, and Hermione gently nudged her.
"Ailiana?"
"Oh, right—"
Ailiana came back to her senses, adjusted her expression a few times in front of the door panel, and finally settled on a triumphant and happy look.
As the head of the orphanage, she couldn't appear in front of everyone crying. She had to be especially proud and happy, like Santa Claus appearing before everyone's eyes, not to mention that this time she was bringing her most important friends home.
She took a deep breath, raised her hand, and gently pushed open the door.
"Merry Christmas! I heard all of our wishes just now—"
She walked quickly into the room amid everyone's incredulous gazes, and rubbed the heads of a few little ones along the way.
Finally, she came to Benítez, opened her arms and gave the man a big hug, rubbing against him in his arms like she did when she was a child, secretly wiping away the dew on the corners of her eyes. Before the man could speak, she blinked mischievously and said excitedly.
"Surprise—didn't expect it, right?! Dad, I'm back, and I have my friends too!"
As she spoke, she glanced at the meager and simple church Christmas meal, narrowed her eyes happily, and said softly amid the children's expectations.
"Now I declare that I will prepare and be responsible for tonight's Christmas dinner. Roast goose, roast fish, roast meat, sausages, pies… everything you thought of or didn't think of, all the delicious things are there. After the dinner, I'll also prepare gift crackers for you!"
"So, what are you waiting for? Help me clear the table first, I'm going to the kitchen to use some culinary magic—"
"Uh—this is—the church's—" Benítez said helplessly.
Before he could finish speaking, at Ailiana's suggestion, the little ones didn't care about anything else and began to remove the Holy Communion from the table.
You see, in the orphanage, Ailiana's words were much more effective than Benítez's.
As the person who communicates with God, Father Benítez might be very powerful. But in the hearts of the simple children, compared with the head of the house, Ailiana, who controlled the power of the daily three meals, homework checks, and storytelling rights, Father Benítez was far behind.
She was no ordinary person. In the eyes of many children, Sister Ailiana was almost equivalent to the incarnation of angels and demons on earth.
Looking at the helpless Benítez beside her, and the busy and cheering children in the hall.
"Anyway… welcome to my home!"
Ailiana turned around, flashed a bright smile, and opened her arms to look at the girls standing at the door.
"You heard the children's wishes just now, right?"
"Then let's go together and make their wishes come true!"
"My dear angels."
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Hooray!