The Magical Monkey and the Invisibility Cloak

Edmund swayed and lost his balance. Seeing him fall forward, Travers instinctively dodged to the right, clearly worried that he might also be injured in the process.

On the contrary, it was Pollyanna, the well-known lame woman in the entire hospital, who reacted quickly, taking two steps forward and grabbing Edmund's hood.

This nearly brought the little witch, who had little athletic talent, down with her. In the end, Edmund suddenly regained consciousness and, in his capacity as the genie, "manipulated" his body, stabilizing his core in a strange posture, and stood up again.

Pollyanna bumped headfirst into Edmund's back, and the two of them cried out in pain.

"Pfft, hahaha."

Edmund admitted that his actions and Pollyanna's "overreaction" were quite funny, but only he could laugh!

He turned his head to look in the direction from which the sound came, only to find the place empty... except for the undisguised laughter in the air, which indicated that there was definitely someone in that corner.

Disillusionment Charm? Invisibility Cloak?

Daryl looked closely, but still found nothing.

In the magical world, "perfect invisibility" is basically just a concept. Both the Disillusionment Charm and the Invisibility Cloak have flaws, and it's impossible for them to be completely undetectable.

The Disguise Spell can only make a person's color and texture exactly the same as the surrounding environment. If it is not in a dark indoor room, the flaws can be seen with just a little concentration.

The Invisibility Cloak is a consumable item made from the fur of the Invisibility Beast, and its effect gradually diminishes as the fur loses its magic.

It couldn't be the Disillusionment Charm, but if it's an Invisibility Cloak, this person probably keeps at least three invisible beasts in their dorm room... The "novelty" of this Invisibility Cloak is too abnormal!

"Edmund."

Travers' voice trembled; clearly, he also knew these basic magical facts.

"Is it a ghost... or is it Mischievous Ghost?"

Edmund really didn't want to talk to him, so he drew his wand and said with a stern face:

"I'll give you a chance to show yourself."

That's what he said, but he didn't do it.

Before Edmund could finish speaking, he had already raised his foot and kicked hard in the direction of the laughter.

A familiar voice cried out in surprise. Unfortunately, judging from the feel of the touch, Edmund hadn't made a contact.

"Tsk."

"Why did you attack me from behind?"

The invisible man seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Edmund's kick had actually provoked him, and when he spoke again, he still appeared nonchalant.

"How can you walk so carelessly, Edmund?"

Not only Pollyanna, but even Travers recognized who this person was. The Invisible Man stopped teasing and a fluffy, messy head suddenly appeared out of "air".

James Porter flashed a hearty smile, revealing his two canine teeth.

Faced with that familiar, suspended head, Travers took two steps back with a look of disgust. Pollyanna remained silent, waiting for Edmund to speak first.

Nearly two months have passed since the start of the school year, and a rather subtle matter has gradually come to the fore.

While not absolute, each college has seen a few outstanding, or simply very conspicuous, "star" students.

Putting everything else aside, at least you don't have to worry about professors or classmates calling you by the wrong name.

Without a doubt, Edmund was the most conspicuous among the first-year Slytherins.

He comes from a good family, has a lot of charisma, and has several "good friends" who are happy to gather around him and follow his orders. He has a lot of prestige.

In Gryffindor, this star figure is somewhat controversial, with both Potter and Evans making the list.

This is a rather unexpected situation, and the reason is obvious:

Leaving Evans aside, if we only talk about Potter, in terms of family background, appearance, and even magical talent... the lazy Sirius Black is slightly better than him.

But the latter truly proved by his actions that he was "not a Slytherin at all." Sirius rarely acted alone, always appearing with the more flamboyant James.

That's the situation. Given the general animosity between Slytherin and Gryffindor, how could ordinary people, representing the freshmen of both houses, possibly maintain a friendly relationship indefinitely?

…………

"What, did I really scare you? Hehe."

James, seemingly unfazed, smirked and ignored Edmund's displeased expression. He took two steps forward and nudged Edmund with his nonexistent shoulder.

Ugh.

This year's freshmen... I don't know what to make of them.

James Potter, who had a lot of opinions about Slytherin, was able to look at Edmund Soman differently.

Not to mention the conflict between the two houses, even when he was diligently making things difficult for Avery, he could still happily interact with Edmund.

They completely disregarded the oppressive atmosphere surrounding Edmund.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you really angry? Seriously? Is that all?"

James spoke without any sense of crisis, and under the wary gazes of Pollyanna and Travers, he spun around half-showing off and half-flaunting.

It looks incredibly creepy. Even with James's exaggerated movements, his invisibility cloak remained completely still, as if James were a ghost with only a head and no transparency.

"Stop taking it so seriously, okay? We're even!"

It's unclear who he was being generous for. Fortunately, James finally stopped smiling and took off his invisibility cloak.

Edmund glanced at his hands. James's arm and a section of his leg seemed to have disappeared unnaturally, as if they had been ripped from the canvas.

A strange feeling welled up inside me.

...Something's not right with this thing.

"What do you mean 'even things out'?"

"Edmund said in a muffled voice. The more honest he acted, the stranger Pollyanna's expression became."

But James ignored it, made a face, and said:

"Last time we met last night...didn't you give me a real fright too? Don't tell me you've forgotten—or do you think only you can scare people, and I can't retaliate?"

Tsk.

Edmund chuckled softly and replied in a low voice:

No, not at all.

"But I do hope you can distinguish between 'startled me' and 'caused me to fall face down, break my teeth, and tear my school uniform'."

For the first two seconds, James seemed about to burst out laughing. He took it as a compliment.

But the lion wasn't stupid after all; his smile froze on his face, and his expression suddenly became docile.

"……Well?"

Edmund squinted, his gaze soft as he stared at James. Until the fool awkwardly rubbed his arms and gave a sheepish, almost ingratiating smile.

"Um, uh, sorry?"

James seemed to want to shrug, but his expression was more like he shivered.

Are you really angry?

"I'm really angry. I was just thinking of using you as a vase."

Edmund spoke in an aria, which amused James, who seemed to think the crisis was over.

"Then you still need to practice! Hahaha, even you can't turn someone into a pretty face in the first year... uh, you can't, right?"

Edmund remained silent. He gave James a meaningful look, not asking about the invisibility cloak that so captivated him, but instead asking another question:

"Where are the Sirians?"

"Hehe, what's going on? Could it be that the rumors are true, and you two really had a fight?"