The end of June arrived, bringing with it a stifling heat that settled over Malfoy Manor like a heavy blanket. While Lucius continued to fume over the loss of his elf and Draco spent his days trying to invent new ways to look cool while jumping in the swimming pool, Orion remained locked in his expanded trunk.
For a week and a half, he had done nothing but calculate, carve, and correct.
The Vanishing Cabinet was no longer a mystery; it was a solved equation. He had painstakingly re-carved the fractured sympathetic resonance loops on the interior wood, using a silver chisel to ensure the magical conductivity was flawless.
Finally, late on a Thursday afternoon, Orion wiped the sweat from his brow and stepped back.
"The sequence is closed," Orion murmured, his eyes scanning the intricate, glowing faint blue runes now lining the dark wood. "The anchor points are synchronized. The bridge should be stable."
He didn't celebrate immediately. In magic, as in engineering, theory meant nothing until practical application succeeded without exploding.
"Dobby," Orion called out.
CRACK.
The elf appeared instantly, wearing his makeshift blanket clothes and looking eager. "Master Orion called?"
"I did," Orion nodded, picking up a perfectly crisp, green apple from his desk. "Get ready for a test to be conducted. We are going to verify the connection. I need you to go to the storage room in the East Wing, where the other cabinet is kept."
"Dobby knows the dusty box!"
"Place this apple in the cabinet. Then, stand by the cabinet," Orion instructed, while giving Dobby the apple. "Do not open it until the runes on the exterior glow blue. When they do, open the door, take out the apple, then come back here."
Dobby saluted sharply. "Dobby will be the delivery elf!"
CRACK.
Dobby vanished.
Orion stood alone in his trunk-study. He held his breath, watching the dark, imposing structure of the cabinet. He waited.
One minute passed.
Suddenly, a faint, rhythmic humming filled the air. The newly carved runes along the doorframe flared with a bright, pulsing azure light.
Orion reached out and pulled the heavy door open.
Sitting innocently in the center of the dark wooden floor of the cabinet was the green apple.
"Transit successful," Orion whispered, a genuine thrill of accomplishment racing through him.
He reached in and picked up the apple. It felt perfectly normal. No strange magical residue, no spatial distortion. He took a large, crisp bite out of it, chewing thoughtfully.
He placed the bitten apple back onto the floor of the cabinet and closed the door.
"Now, the return trip."
He watched the runes. The hum returned, the blue light flared, and then faded.
Orion pulled the door open. The cabinet was empty.
A second later, a loud CRACK sounded behind him.
Dobby stood there, beaming triumphantly, holding up the bitten green apple. "The fruit arrived, Master Orion! It came through the dusty box!"
"Excellent work, Dobby," Orion smiled, taking the apple and placing it on the desk. "The bridge is stable. The teleportation matrix is fully operational."
DING.
The familiar sound echoed in his mind, and the blue interface materialized, glowing brightly.
[ ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED! ]
Tier: 2 (Advanced)
Name: The Sub-Space Plumber
Description: You successfully repaired a highly unstable, complex piece of spatial displacement furniture using nothing but a chisel, a textbook, and sheer engineering stubbornness. You have created a private, untraceable teleportation network bridging two points. Please keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times.
Reward: Royal Restoration Pellets - Qty 2.
Orion raised an eyebrow, checking his Inventory. In a new slot sat a small box containing two gleaming, golden pellets.
"Throwing these pellets at a piece of furniture will instantly restore it," Sparkle explained from the interface. "It doesn't just fix scratches; it enhances the aesthetic. It makes the item look pristine, luxurious, and 'royal'. Perfect for flipping antiques."
Orion pulled the small box from his inventory. "Wow," he murmured. "That is... incredibly situational."
He looked at the dark, imposing Vanishing Cabinet sitting in his trunk. Despite the newly carved runes, the wood was still dull, scratched, and looked like something pulled from a neglected attic—which it was.
"But," Orion conceded, a slow smirk spreading across his face, "highly useful. There is absolutely no way Mother would have allowed me to keep the twin cabinet in my bedroom if it looked like a rusted-out coffin. It clashes with the decor."
He took one of the golden pellets from the box. He threw it hard against the side of the cabinet inside the trunk.
Poof.
A cloud of golden, sparkling dust exploded outward, washing over the entire structure. When the dust cleared, the cabinet was transformed. The wood was no longer dull; it gleamed with a deep, rich, polished mahogany luster. The intricate carvings were sharp and clean, highlighted with subtle inlays of actual gold leaf. The brass handles shone like mirrors.
It looked like a piece of furniture fit for a king's study.
"Perfect," Orion breathed.
He turned to Dobby, handing him the second pellet.
"Dobby, take this," Orion instructed. "Go back to the storage room. Throw this pellet at the other cabinet. Once it is restored, I want you to carefully levitate it out of the storage room and place it in my bedroom. Put it in the corner, right beside my clothes wardrobe."
Dobby nodded, looking at the golden pellet with wide eyes. "Dobby will make the box pretty! Dobby will put it in Master's room!"
"Make sure no one sees you moving it," Orion added.
"Dobby is a ghost!"
CRACK.
Orion sat back down in his leather chair, surveying his now-pristine portal.
He wasn't overly concerned about the cabinet being discovered in his bedroom. The Malfoy household operated on strict boundaries. Narcissa and Draco only ever entered his room when he was present, respecting his privacy. The house-elves cleaned it, but they would probably ignore the cabinet, if he ordered them to.
And Lucius?
"Father rarely even strolls through the Manor for leisure," Orion mused aloud. "He moves between the dining room, his study, and the receiving room. I doubt he has stepped foot in half the guest wings, let alone my personal quarters, unless required. He's too busy being important."
The cabinet would sit there, unnoticed, looking like a piece of high-end, antique storage furniture.
"So, the portal is open," Sparkle buzzed, her waveform dancing. "Are you going to test it on yourself? Go for a joyride to the storage room?"
"Not yet," Orion said, resting his hands on his desk. "The apple proved biological matter survives the transit. But I prefer to be absolutely certain before I step into a spatial vortex."
He tapped his chin, his eyes glinting with a dark, humorous light.
"When I return to Hogwarts, I have the perfect test subject for a live, human transit."