They walked briskly down the corridor, with moonlight streaming in from the tall windows, creating patches of light on the floor.
"Do you think we'll run into Mrs. Norris and Filch?" Hermione glanced nervously around the quiet surroundings, lowering her voice.
She was both excited and apprehensive.
"I heard Percy, the prefect, say that Filch patrols at night. What if we get caught?"
"We won't," William explained. "Boba Tea has already distracted Mrs. Norris, and Filch is patrolling the eighth-floor corridor."
Hermione noticed that each of them was holding a map, which seemed to be a standard tool for their nighttime excursions.
However, the maps were clearly different from the ones sold in Diagon Alley. They were densely packed with text, displaying everyone's names.
She stole a quick glance at the map and saw her own name but not William's or the others'. Clearly, this was a more advanced version of the Hogwarts map—one she had never seen before.
A pang of envy hit Hermione, followed by a flicker of annoyance.
She could refuse to buy one, sure, but someone should have gifted her one!
Guided by the map, they made it to the fourth floor without encountering a single soul.
Cedric was already waiting there.
He tapped the lock on the door and whispered, "Alohomora!"
With a click, the door swung open, revealing a corridor inside.
They were immediately face-to-face with a monstrous three-headed dog. The beast was so enormous that it filled the space from floor to ceiling, its three sets of malicious, darting eyes glaring at them. Its three noses twitched and trembled, and drool dripped like sticky ropes from its three mouths, hanging off its yellowed teeth.
Over the summer, Fluffy had gotten even uglier.
But now that its size had dramatically increased, "ugly" was too mild a term—it was more horrifying, abstract even.
Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth, clearly frightened. She wanted to ask if these people had gone blind because they thought this three-headed dog looked cooler than the illustrations. Had aesthetic standards gotten this warped?!
William stepped forward, but Hermione grabbed his robes to stop him, afraid the gigantic, hideous dog would devour him in one bite.
William smiled and patted her hand reassuringly, signaling her not to worry as he strode towards Fluffy.
The middle head of the beast leaned towards him, its enormous black nose bumping into William's chest with alarming force. William almost stumbled backward, a pang of soreness in his chest.
Each of them went up to pet Fluffy, who wagged his fluffy tail and wore an ingratiating expression.
Hermione, gathering her courage, tentatively reached out to touch him as well.
William pulled a large bag of food out of his pocket and set it on the floor. All three heads reached for it at once.
But they no longer fought over food like they used to. When they were younger, the three heads would compete for food, with Little Tuft, the smallest, always losing to Big Tuft in the middle.
Now, the middle head growled once, and the other two didn't dare move until it finished eating.
As Fluffy ate, he shifted slightly, revealing the trapdoor beneath him.
"Fluffy, could you let us pass?" Cedric asked.
But Fluffy shook his heads, making incomprehensible whimpering noises.
"Is it Dumbledore who forbade you from moving?" Fred patted the middle head. "Don't worry; he won't find out."
But Fluffy was so terrified of Dumbledore that it firmly refused, shaking the middle head vehemently.
William frowned, pointed at the trapdoor with his finger, and signaled for Fluffy to move aside without making him repeat himself.
Two of the heads shook fiercely in response. The third head hesitated but was promptly bitten by the middle head and joined in shaking.
Left with no choice, William motioned for Cho to start singing.
Fluffy's ears had become spoiled over time. Ordinary singing couldn't lull it to sleep anymore; even Hagrid's singing had no effect.
Sensing trouble, Fluffy began rolling on the ground, whining and pleading not to be put to sleep.
William sighed, took a small piece of dragon jerky from his pocket, and waved it around, filling the corridor with its aroma.
Three streams of drool cascaded like waterfalls.
William tossed the jerky into the distance. Fluffy barely hesitated for a second before whimpering and darting off, sitting down a short distance away to devour it.
William bent down, pulled the ring on the trapdoor, and it swung open.
"What do you see?" Fred asked.
"Nothing, it's pitch black."
Fluffy returned, its massive heads curiously peeking inside.
George lit one of Dr. Filibuster's fireworks and tossed it down. The explosions lit up the space like flares.
"At the bottom, it looks like... Devil's Snare," Cedric, with the sharp eyes of a Seeker, announced confidently.
They all laughed. Devil's Snare was familiar to them, especially since last year's Hogwarts microbiology pool disaster had been caused by it. Professor Robert's death was also closely tied to it.
"Shall we just jump down?"
George leapt down, and the others followed one by one.
Thud.
With a strange, muffled sound, Hermione landed on something soft.
The plant extended snake-like tendrils that wrapped around her ankles.
Everyone else had their legs entangled by the long vines as well.
Hermione panicked, trying to yank the vines off, but the harder she struggled, the tighter they became.
"Don't move, Hermione," William said softly.
Hermione immediately froze, feeling the grip of the vines loosen significantly.
"Lumos Maxima!"
William's wand lit up like a torch, emitting a light as bright as daylight.
Devil's Snare feared fire and retreated to the corners of the space.
But two seconds later, the light on his wand abruptly extinguished.
The vines tightened again, gripping their limbs.
The wand light flickered on and off, like a breathing light in the darkness.
In sync with the flickering, the Devil's Snare alternated between tight and loose, swaying rhythmically like an experienced masseuse.
The group lay on the Devil's Snare as it swayed gently, like a massage chair.
"This feels great," Fred exclaimed enthusiastically.
Under William's wand's control, the vines' grip was just right, like invisible hands massaging them.
"Perfect!" Cedric yelled, using the Island tongue phrase William had taught him. He was thoroughly enjoying the sensation.
This was what William had meant by "wellness care," wasn't it?
Cedric loved it, absolutely loved it!
"I'm taking some with me. Last time I asked Professor Sprout for some Devil's Snare for potion-making, and she told me there wasn't any!" William complained, relaxing for a moment.
"I'll grow some in a pot in the dormitory and get a foot massage every night."
"We want some too!" the twins chimed in.
"Give me some as well... Quidditch practice today left my back sore," Cedric lamented.
William felt a twinge of pity for Cedric's future with back problems at such a young age.
"I'll take some too... for research," Hermione said, blushing.
"Let's just take it all," William declared with a grand gesture. "This thing's dangerous—keeping it here could harm unsuspecting students. We're doing a good deed without seeking credit.
"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will thank us."
"When are we leaving?" Cho asked.
"Hmm, what time is it now?"
"Eleven fifteen."
"Then... let's stay until eleven-thirty."
"Sleep tight," Fred said, adjusting his position.
"William, can you speed up the frequency? Make it three light, one heavy. I still haven't hit my sweet spot."
Devil's Snare: I may not be human, but you lot are the real devils!
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