In the quiet corridor, the four of them tiptoed up the stairs. Each time they came to a corner, Fred would poke his head out first, checking for any sign of Mrs. Loris before letting the other three follow.
As they passed by various places, Wayne would receive timely prompts from the system, earning points along the way. However, these rewards were one-time bonuses that could only be claimed upon first arrival during their night exploration.
By the time they reached the fourth floor, they could already smell the unpleasant odor of dung. Wayne wrinkled his nose in disgust and said, "Can't you pick a less disastrous method?"
"This is the simplest and most effective approach," Fred replied as they walked. "Filch has OCD. If he can't catch anyone, he'll definitely clean up the dung before returning, which gives us more time."
Cedric sighed, "You really have experience." It was clear to him that there was still much for him to learn about nighttime adventures. Don't think that Hufflepuff only produces earnest kids; the mischievous ones are no different across all houses. It's just that the environment and background influence a person, making Hufflepuff students appear tamer compared to others.
The group quickly reached their destination at the end of the fourth-floor corridor.
"There used to be a little more hallway here, but it turned into a door starting this semester," Cedric said, nodding. The twins agreed; they were all very familiar with the castle's main areas.
"Are we really going in? What if, like Dumbledore said, there's danger?" the timid boy gulped nervously.
Fred scoffed at his cowardice, saying, "What are you afraid of? This is school! You think the headmaster is going to bring in a giant troll?"
He moved to twist the doorknob, only to find it locked.
"Alohomora!" Despite saying "never mind," his body, however, was quite honest about its intentions.
Cedric was faster than anyone else, quickly pulling out his wand to cast the unlocking spell. "What do you think is inside?"
"Who knows? But there must be valuable things—a powerful spell, a treasure map? Anything is possible… Holy cow!"
Fred gasped sharply mid-sentence as he glimpsed what was within. It was then he understood why Dumbledore had warned them so sternly.
When the door opened, it revealed not a room but another corridor. A large dog sat there, its six eyes fixated on them with fierce intensity.
In terms of numbers, it was eight versus six, which seemed to give Wayne and the others a slight advantage. But this dog was enormous, occupying all the space from the ceiling to the floor, with three heads all wearing menacing expressions, drool oozing from the corners of its mouths, sending a foul stench wafting toward them.
"What in Merlin's name... is that a three-headed dog?" Cedric groaned.
If there had been a fence or some other barrier between him and the beast, he would have been quite relieved—after all, it's rare to see three-headed dogs on the British Isles. They're usually found in Greek mythology.
However, right now Cedric could even feel the warm, foul breath hitting his face. It was so close he could almost feel it touching him.
How could anyone be happy about this?
George pivoted decisively to reopen the door they had just closed, but the three-headed dog was quicker, roaring and thrusting its head forward. George, startled, broke the doorknob in panic!
"Armor protection!"
An invisible wall rose between the four of them and the three-headed dog, causing the dog's head, which was leaping towards them, to stumble back, howling in pain as it retreated several feet.
However, this minor injury hardly affected the thick-skinned three-headed dog; it shook its head and resumed its menacing demeanor.
"What are you waiting for?" Wayne shouted. "Hurry up and fix the door lock; let's run!"
"Oh! Oh!"
The other three finally snapped to attention; they frantically tried to reattach the broken doorknob and cast the repairing charm. But due to their anxiety, they failed multiple times.
Wayne, having learned magic for a long time, wasn't bothered with their troubles today; he was looking for a suitable target to practice on.
"Sleep now!"
"Drive back quickly!"
"Cutting spells rain down!"
Colorful lights shot from Wayne's wand, hitting the three-headed dog. The cramped space left no room for the giant beast to dodge.
Bang!
A stunning spell struck the left dog head, knocking it out cold. The twins were dumbfounded, and even Cedric, having finally fixed the doorknob, stood dazed, watching Wayne unleash a flurry of spells on the dog.
They all knew the spells well enough, but the efficacy of using them against a creature with dual physical and magical defenses like the three-headed dog was likely no better than a tickle.
Wayne was way too overpowered!
Cedric's sharp eyes caught sight of a newly revealed trapdoor on the ground left by the retreating three-headed dog.
What lay beneath it?
Though curious, it wasn't the right time for exploration; Cedric hurriedly pulled open the door.
"Wayne, run! Filch will be here soon!"
"Is that it?"
Now it was Wayne's turn to feel a bit unsatisfied.
However, noticing the other three were already waiting outside for him, he unleashed a final cutting spell, leaving deep scratches on the floor as a warning for the three-headed dog before rushing out.
Once the door was shut, the animal's roar faded away, and they finally let out a sigh of relief.
Then they looked at Wayne as if he were some kind of monster.
Feeling uncomfortable under their gaze, Wayne crossed his arms defensively.
"What are you looking at me for?"
George scrutinized the boy, "Are you an old monster turned into a child to experience your childhood again at Hogwarts?"
Wayne facepalmed in response, "You have the imagination of Rita Skeeter."
"That reporter from the Daily Prophet? My mom says she's just a clown for calling Dumbledore a crazy old man."
"I'm just a bit more hardworking than you, with a touch of talent," Wayne replied, gesturing vaguely as though showcasing a universe between his fingers.
"Alright, we've done our exploring; let's head back to our respective dorms."
"What's your hurry?" Fred shook his head. "I just got a fright and need something sweet to recover."
"I'll go find Lee, so we can have a midnight snack before heading back."
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TL Note:
For every one review we will release one additional chapter.
Readers can access the entire novel on our website Cloudruntl . xyz
Also, please check out our new novel Marvel: Scientist Becomes God.
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