Because You Love Me

23. Midnight Adventure

Instantly, the lock popped open.  Harry's mouth dropped open in shock.  The three of them bounded inside and closed the door behind them.  They all leaned up against the wall, being as quiet as possible, and breathing like they had just ran a marathon.

"Alohomora?" Ron said.  "Where did you learn that?"

"Standard Book of Spells.  Chapter seven," Hermione said proudly.

"Ssh!" Harry said.  He moved over to the door and opened it a crack.  Filch was there, but he was leaving.  A wave of relief washed over him.  "Filch is gone," he announced as he closed the door back.

Ron sighed.  He was relieved too.  "He probably thought the door was locked."

"It was locked," Hermione pointed out.  

They all turned around.  They had to wait until Filch was completely gone anyway.  Harry froze in his tracks and so did Ron and Hermione.

"And for good reason," Harry choked out.

There in front of them was the biggest dog any of them had ever seen, but the fact it was a dog wasn't what had stopped them in their tracks.  The massive dog raised up, slobber dripping down on the floor in front of them.  The size of the beast wasn't what stopped them either.  It was its three heads.  They all looked at each other in disbelief and then back at the dog.  The trio screamed in unison and ran out the door just before one of the dog's heads tried to bite them in half.  The trio hightailed it back to Gryffindor Tower, praying they wouldn't get caught.  They made it safe and sound with no one the wiser.

"What are they thinking?" Ron demanded loudly.  He knew he could talk as loud as he wanted now that they had made it back to their common room.  "Keeping a monster like that locked up in a school?  They're all mental.  Harry if your mum knew she'd probably faint or something."

"More like pull me out and never bring me to the castle ever again," Harry corrected.  Ron and Hermione stared at him.  "Mum's a little overprotective," he explained.

"Mental, I tell you," Ron muttered.

"You don't use you're eyes, do you?" Hermione asked in that know-it-all tone.  "It was standing on a door of some kind."

"I wasn't looking at its feet.  I was a little preoccupied with its heads!  In case you didn't notice, there were three!"

Harry couldn't help but laugh.  Ron was hysterical for no apparent reason.  Sure, they had almost been eaten by a giant dog, but Harry's adrenaline was through the roof.  It was kind of...fun.

"Whatever," Hermione said as they walked up the stairs to the dorms.  "I'm going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed.  Or worse, expelled."  She haughtily walked into the girl's dormitory and closed the door.

Ron glanced at Harry.  "She needs to sort out her priorities."

Harry smiled.  He and Ron went up to their own dorms and went to bed.  It had been a long night.

~ * ~

Severus had been patrolling the corridors of every floor for the last hour or so.  This was the second time he'd passed by Quirrell's office.  The door was closed and the lights were off.  There was no way he could know if he was inside without waking him and he didn't want him to know that he was spying on him.  He was about to round the corner when he heard voices.  He froze and hung back in the shadows.

"T-Thank you for being so gracious, M-Ms. E-Evans," he heard a voice say.  There was no mistaking the stutter.  It was Quirinus.

"My pleasure."