"Sorry! This is for your own good."
The three of them bypassed the unconscious Neville lying on the ground and left Gryffindor Tower.
Those struck by the Full Body-Bind Curse had their eyes open, but were otherwise indistinguishable from someone asleep. All five senses were completely sealed off, leaving the person with no sensation and thus unable to react. Their body naturally turned stiff as a result. That was the true essence of the Full Body-Bind Curse—shutting down the senses.
Regulus walked into the Gryffindor common room. Neville, collapsed on the ground, wouldn't be discovered until morning.
On the nearby sofa, the pet toad continued snoring dumbly, entirely unaware that its little life was now in someone else's hands.
Lifting up Trevor, Regulus Black finally left the scene, setting off a little later than Harry Potter and the others, heading toward the third-floor forbidden corridor.
The three children, cloaked under the Invisibility Cloak, carefully made their way to the forbidden area on the third floor. Along the way, they encountered Filch, but thankfully, Harry Potter had recently been doing well in Charms class. He successfully applied spells to eliminate scent, sound, and to confuse others, casting them on himself and his companions in succession.
Filch, along with Mrs. Norris, passed right in front of them—without noticing a thing.
The three reached the restricted corridor without a hitch.
"Alohomora!" Hermione once again opened the door to the forbidden room.
A soft, soothing harp melody echoed through the room. The three-headed hellhound was sound asleep, snoring in perfect harmony with the harp's notes.
"Fluffy is already asleep, which means Snape's been here—he must have enchanted the harp."
Harry Potter continued to suspect Snape. It seemed that unless Quirrell admitted it himself, Snape would never be able to clear his name.
As Fluffy breathed deeply to the harp's rhythm, waves of nauseatingly foul wind swept toward the trio.
"Ugh! That stinks so bad!"
"We have to move its paw—it's enormous!"
Working together, the three managed to lift Fluffy's paw off the trapdoor. They opened it, revealing pitch-black darkness below.
"Harry! Take out your music box."
Hermione, having been tipped off by Regulus Black, naturally reminded Harry—and Harry had indeed brought the music box.
He took it out and opened it. The harp had just stopped playing, and Fluffy, beginning to stir, lifted one of its heads—but was immediately lulled back into slumber by the tune of the music box. All three heads thudded back down, continuing to sleep.
The entire process took only a single breath, but it left the three children thoroughly shaken.
Merlin's beard! They'd just been one note away from death. Thank goodness the music box could play for a full minute—and as long as it was in hand, it could be rewound.
"I'll jump down first. If it's safe, I'll call for you."
Harry Potter, ever the protagonist, showed the spirit of a leader—but Hermione quickly shot him down.
"Since we're here, we're going down anyway. What difference does it make who jumps first?"
Saying that, Hermione took the lead and jumped. Harry and Ron exchanged glances, placed the music box aside, and followed her down.
Shortly after, Regulus Black entered the room and picked up the music box he had given Harry.
Fluffy continued sleeping soundly at the other end of the room. But once the last note of the music box finished playing, it would only take seconds for the beast to revert to its savage state.
Regulus Black had no intention of doing something as foolish as battling a three-headed hellhound for three hundred rounds. Even taking it down would only require a few spells—and taming it would merely cost a bit more time. So he simply absorbed it into his system space. No matter how much the creature thrashed, it couldn't escape. Naturally, the harp and the music box went along with it.
Below the trapdoor, Ron's screams were finally silenced by Hermione's Lumos spell.
Harry Potter helped the fallen Ron to his feet. "Ron! Are you okay?"
Ron had thought he'd die in the Devil's Snare, only to be rescued by Hermione. But how could he be saved by her?
"I'm fine, I'm fine—good thing I didn't panic."
Even Harry couldn't take it anymore. "Good thing Hermione actually paid attention in Herbology."
Hermione simply stared at Ron from the side, while Ron averted his gaze, avoiding eye contact with her.
I just won't thank you—so what can you do about it?!
The atmosphere grew painfully awkward. Even Harry didn't know how to smooth things over.
"Do you hear that? Sounds like flapping wings."
Harry's words shifted everyone's attention to the next obstacle.
They entered a room resembling a tower. There were no windows on the sides—only doors on either end—and overhead, a skylight could be seen.
Inside the room, hundreds of flying keys flitted through the air. Each one looked different, but one stood out.
A large, old key with battered wings was flying unevenly, injured, hiding among the others for protection.
The three of them pushed open the door and saw an old flying broomstick floating ahead, with the fluttering keys buzzing annoyingly.
"What a strange bird. I've never seen anything like it before."
Hermione thought it might be some kind of magical creature, as the way the keys flew felt so natural—it was just like watching real birds.
"That's not a bird, those are keys."
Ron had a much simpler thought process. These bird-like things looked like keys, so to him, they were keys.
"There must be one key that can open that door over there."
Harry stood in front of the flying broomstick, trying to figure out how to get through this challenge, and what the relationship between the flying broomstick and the flying keys was.
Having just been saved by Hermione, Ron naturally wanted to prove he wasn't useless. Upon hearing Harry's words, he immediately pulled out his wand and walked up to the opposite door. "Alohomora!"
It was an awkward moment. Even though he shouted the spell loudly, nothing happened. Whether the spell was effective or not was beside the point—the door was sealed with more than ten spells cast by Professor Flitwick. Even Dumbledore would need some time to force it open, and the same went for Voldemort. As for Quirrell, it would take him even longer.
"What are you looking at! At least I tried, right?"
Ron turned around and saw Hermione watching his performance from behind. It was the second time that night he had embarrassed himself.
"Alright then, what now? There are hundreds—maybe thousands—of keys in here."
Hermione didn't want to argue with Ron. Watching him mess up was satisfying enough.
"We're looking for an old, large key—one that's rusty like the doorknob."
Ron had a rare moment of brilliance. He turned to examine the keyhole and gave Harry a suggestion.
"I see it. Right there—the one with the injured wing."
The three kids quickly realized the purpose of the flying broomstick: it was meant for chasing down the key.
"What are you waiting for? Get on the broom! If Snape can catch a key with one of those old brooms, there's no reason you can't. You're the youngest Seeker in a hundred years!"
For once, Ron made the right call. Since he hadn't been much help elsewhere, he went ahead and encouraged Harry while enduring Hermione's disdainful gaze.
As for getting on the broom and catching the key himself? No thanks! With Harry—the youngest Seeker in a century—right there, it would be foolish not to let him do it. If he somehow succeeded, great; but if he failed, it would be the third time Hermione looked down on him that night.
Encouraged by his friend, Harry's confidence rose. He grabbed the broom and mounted it.
All at once, every key in the room reacted. Like a swarm of angry bees, they charged at Harry...
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
Regulus Black, who had waited above for a while, finally descended using the Levitation Charm after confirming that Hermione and the others had moved on to the next room.
The Devil's Snare cultivated by Professor Sprout was huge—it must have taken considerable time and care to grow.
Devil's Snare is a type of vine plant. A mature Devil's Snare can extend snake-like tendrils to entangle anyone who gets close, potentially injuring or even killing people or animals. It prefers dark and damp environments, so light and warmth are its natural enemies. That's why, when attacked by it, fire is an effective countermeasure.
Additionally, in some cases, Devil's Snare can even disguise its appearance—for example, by taking the form of a crabapple plant.
However, the sap of Devil's Snare is an excellent potion ingredient, which is exactly why it's artificially cultivated and bred.
When you think about it, it's just like invasive species in China—if it's edible, no matter how rampant, people will turn it into farm-raised food.
Same principle!
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