Harry Potter found the afternoon to be incredibly thrilling.
First, he caught Neville's Remembrall while riding his broomstick during the flying lesson. Then, when he thought he was going to be expelled for flying without permission, Professor McGonagall instead appointed him as the Seeker for the house team! The day would have been perfect if Malfoy hadn't come over at dinner to challenge them to a wizard duel.
At eleven o'clock at night, Ron woke him up, and they stealthily left the Gryffindor Tower, heading towards the Trophy Room - the agreed location for the duel with Malfoy.
On their way, they stumbled upon Neville, who had been cured of his broken arm but had forgotten the password and couldn't get back into the common room. He had fallen asleep in a corner.
After telling Neville the password, he refused to be left behind. "I don't want to stay here alone, the ghost of Bloody Baron has passed by here twice already."
So, their duo turned into a trio as they made their way to the Trophy Room.
They proceeded cautiously, descending several floors to the fourth level.
Suddenly, they saw a figure and hastily hid, but it seemed not to be Filch. The figure looked like a young wizard.
"Malfoy!" Ron whispered. "Let's follow him."
They trailed about twenty meters behind the figure, moving silently. Harry suddenly felt something was off. "This doesn't seem like the way to the Trophy Room."
It indeed seemed so, but tracking Malfoy seemed more appealing than waiting in the Trophy Room.
So, they continued to follow.
After several corridors and feeling like they had walked miles, they reached the end of a hallway.
The figure stopped before a door.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances. Harry, wand in hand, emerged from their hiding spot. "Malfoy, where are your cronies?"
The figure turned around, confused. "Harry?"
The voice was familiar. Under the moonlight, Harry recognized the figure. "Tom? What are you doing here so late?"
Tom was there to complete the main quest in his notebook.
Both the magical power increase and the flying spell were appealing, and he was also curious about the secret of the fourth-floor corridor.
But he couldn't tell that to the others. Frowning, he asked, "Why are you guys out here?"
"Malfoy challenged us to a duel. We're looking for him," Ron said. "What's that in your hand?"
Tom hid his notebook. "Uh, nothing, just a book. Thought I'd read for a bit."
"At midnight? Here?" Ron was skeptical.
Just then, footsteps echoed from afar. "Sniff around, my dear, they might be hiding somewhere."
"It's Filch's voice!" Ron paled. "We're going to get caught."
As the light approached from around the corner, they instinctively hid away from it, huddling close to Tom. But they were at a dead end.
"Damn, it's locked!" Ron tugged at the door at the end of the corridor, but it wouldn't budge.
"Let me try," said Tom, pulling out his wand. "Alohomora."
The lock clicked open, and they hurried inside. After waiting for a while with no sign of Filch, they thought they were safe.
"He thought this door was locked," Harry whispered. "I think we're okay now—move away, Neville!" Neville had been tugging at Harry's robe sleeve. "What's wrong?"
Turning around, they were confronted by a huge, three-headed dog staring at them with eyes the size of soccer balls.
"Harry, open the door…" Tom urged, eyes fixed on the three-headed dog.
Fumbling for the doorknob, Harry opened it, and they slowly backed away before rushing out and closing the door behind them, sprinting for their lives.
Running blindly, they accidentally ended up in the Trophy Room. The four young wizards collapsed on the floor, Tom leaning against a display case, gasping for air.
"What was that monster?"
A three-headed dog, as tall as the ceiling, was terrifying.
"It's outrageous to keep such a thing in the school. What were they thinking!" Ron exclaimed.
"It must be guarding something," Tom suddenly said.
"What?"
Tom recalled the scene: the dog had been standing on a trapdoor, clearly guarding something.
"Why were you there, Tom?" Harry asked, noticing the black notebook in Tom's hand.
During the flying lesson that day, when Harry caught the Remembrall and everyone cheered for him, only Tom had turned away, holding what appeared to be the same notebook.
But Tom didn't answer, lost in thought about a trophy he had seen.
"Tom Riddle."
Why did that name sound so familiar? Was it because it shared his name, Tom?
"What's the Special Contribution Award for?" Tom suddenly asked.
"I've never heard of it," Ron said. "Usually, they award the best players and such."
"What do you think the dog is guarding?" Harry asked.
"I don't know," Hermione said, "but I bet Hagrid knows."
...
The next day, the members of the "Hero Group" gathered together.
Hermione listened in shock to Harry and Ron discussing their encounter the night before. "I can't believe you wandered out at night without sleeping! If you were caught, think of the points Gryffindor would lose!"
"We shouldn't have gone out. Malfoy obviously tricked you into a trap."
"Oh my gosh, is that the point? Didn't you hear what we were saying? That dog, three heads, six eyes, as tall as a mountain! They keep that thing in the school."
"It's a Cerberus," Hermione said, referencing "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." "You're lucky it didn't eat you."
"It was chained. I bet if we were any later, you'd only find our bones today."
"At least now we know why that corridor is off-limits."
"Tom said it's guarding something," Harry added.
"It was standing on a trapdoor, a guard," said Tom.
He casually ate, his mind replaying the image of the trophy.
Tom Riddle.
Why did that name feel so familiar to him? Was it just because they shared the same name, Tom?
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