William considered for a moment before casting a Disillusionment Charm on himself and staying put.
With Hermione and Neville in the nighttime escapade group, leaving now would almost certainly result in them being caught.
A moment later, he saw Hermione at the front of the group.
She was wearing pink pajamas and lightweight running shoes, sprinting at full speed.
—As long as she ran fast enough, it wouldn't be her who got caught.
"This way! It's safe here!" Hermione called, glancing over her shoulder as she ran toward the restricted area with the others in tow.
"Annoying first-years, wandering around in the middle of the night. I won't let you get away!" Peeves taunted, floating close behind them.
"Students are out of bed! Over here!" Peeves shouted gleefully. "Filch, you old fool, where are you?"
"Shut up, Peeves!" Ron yelled.
Peeves made a face but continued to doggedly pursue them, clutching two rubber balloons in his hands. His slowed flight seemed to be due to the load.
"Ha ha! These are filled with dragon dung compost and a bit of stinky swamp juice. Have fun!" Peeves cackled, hurling the balloons from midair.
A foul-smelling liquid rained down, threatening to drench the group and leave them in an even worse state than McLaggen's worst day.
At that moment, the group's robes suddenly flared as if caught in a gust of wind.
William raised his wand, halting the liquid mid-air. The fluids split into neat arcs, forming seven layers that spread out like a fan.
Hermione froze, startled. She hadn't expected someone else to be nearby.
She staggered and nearly fell, but William caught her by the waist. With one hand holding her steady, he waved his wand again and murmured, "Aqua Eructo."
Under his command, a barrage of water arrows materialized and struck Peeves.
Shrieking, Peeves flew back, only to be struck by another wave every five meters, totaling seven rounds.
Though driven far from the corridor, Peeves' curses echoed faintly.
William leaned in and whispered softly into Hermione's ear, "Don't tell anyone I'm here."
He still had plans to raid the restricted area for potion samples and wasn't interested in getting involved with Harry and the others.
His warm breath brushed against Hermione's ear, causing her to blush deeply and feel a ticklish sensation.
Even without him saying anything, she recognized the familiar scent of his hair product, which was unmistakable.
The group stared at Hermione, dumbfounded. From their perspective, it really seemed like she had cast the spell herself.
Hermione stiffly nodded and tilted her head. "Hurry! Inside! Filch is coming!"
She grabbed Harry's wand and tapped the lock. "Alohomora!"
The lock clicked, and the door swung open. Everyone rushed in, with Hermione taking a moment to shut the door quietly behind them.
"Where did they go, Peeves?" Filch's voice rang out from down the hall.
"Hurry up and tell me."
"I'm looking for those pesky little brats too! One of them dared to attack the great Peeves. I, the Great Peeves, won't let them get away!"
Filch and Peeves reached the door and inspected it briefly. At that moment, a loud crashing sound echoed from further away.
"They're over there! They can't escape!" Filch exclaimed, hurrying off.
William let out a breath of relief. The twins had successfully diverted their pursuers.
"They're gone," Harry whispered. "I think we're safe now. Get off, Neville! Stop pulling on my sleeve."
Ron, trembling, began tugging on Harry's robe as well, signaling him to turn around.
"What's wrong?"
Harry turned and came face-to-face with a massive, three-headed dog staring cross-eyed at them. Its enormous mouths were less than a meter away.
"Harry…" Ron's legs shook violently. "Are we… dreaming?"
"I think… maybe?"
The dog let out a deafening roar that shook the ceiling, dispelling any illusions they had about being asleep.
"Calm down!" Hermione shouted. She cautiously extended her hand. "Fluffy? Remember me? I patted your head that day when I was with William…"
William rolled his eyes at Hermione's tone. It was as if she were saying, Fluffy, sweet baby, I held you as a child—do you remember me?
To their amazement, Fluffy squinted at Hermione, as if trying to recall her. It seemed to recognize her after all.
Hermione was about to continue her attempt at communication when she felt someone slip something into her hand.
Looking down, she saw a parchment map covered in countless names.
Harry and Ron leaned in to take a look, but Hermione quickly folded the map with such speed that it nearly hit Ron in the face.
She carefully rolled it up and tucked it into her pocket.
With a tilt of her chin, she clapped her hands and said cheerfully, "Let's go! This time we won't run into Filch."
Harry and Ron exchanged confused glances, unsure where Hermione's confidence was coming from.
Still, from chasing away Peeves to calming Fluffy, they saw Hermione in a new light.
For the first time, they realized she was more than just a bookworm—she was a surprisingly skilled magician and night prowler.
It was almost as if the bossy know-it-all Hermione from the daytime transformed into wonder women at night.
The shift in her persona was startling to say the least.
…
After the group left, William opened the trapdoor and used a Slowing Charm to descend.
Apparently afraid of further theft, no one had replenished the Devil's Snare below, so William had to jump down himself every time.
His route was smooth as usual, leading him to Professor Snape's obstacle.
This time, he found a note and a bottle of return potion on the table.
The note, scrawled in messy handwriting, read: The brewing instructions are on the back. Stop coming here!
Flipping it over, William found a detailed recipe written in cramped script.
No wonder Snape didn't want him to return. The potion required seven to eight months to brew, and with William coming every night, the professor would soon run out of stock.
"If you'd just given me this earlier, we could've avoided all this trouble," William muttered.
He drank the return potion in one gulp and pocketed the potions on the table before heading back.
On his way past the room with the enchanted flying keys, William couldn't resist casting a Duplication Charm and a Fire-Making Spell on the keys.
After all, he wouldn't be coming back here again.
Consider it a gift for the next dreamer.
Who would be the lucky one to receive it?
He couldn't help but look forward to finding out.
join my patreon for 95+ advanced chapters: patreon.com/HyppoTL