BEGIN BEFORE THE END | WTM | R.A.B

10

“Oh, move over,” Hermione snarled. She grabbed Harry’s wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, “Alohomora!”

The lock clicked and the door swung open — they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.

“Alohomora?” Ron whispered.

“Standard Book of Spells, chapter seven.” Hermione informed him.

“She knows which chapter that spell is in?” Peter looked both horrified and slightly impressed.

“Anyone here, my sweet?” they heard Filch ask his cat. The animal meowed loudly in response. “Come on.”

Ryan sighed in relief and took a few steps back. He scratched the back of his head and turned around to get a look at the room. His eyes widened in shock but the camera didn’t adjust its view so what is was seeing wasn’t’ viewable.

“What is he looking at?” Fleamont wondered.

“Filch is gone.” Hermione said. “He thinks this door's locked.”

Ryan walked backwards and bumped into Hermione who looked back at him in annoyance.

“And I think I know why.” Ryan said as the other three first-years turned around the camera moved and showed the sight of a large monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.

“What the hell is that?” Lily gasped.

“Oh my god!”

“Whoa!” Several people in the audience looked startled and scared.

“A Cerberus cool!” Cathy exclaimed. Several people looked at Cathy strangely.

It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Ryan thought that the only reason they weren’t already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.

The dog barked and moved towards them but the four of them all, without needing to be told, opened the door and closed it behind them. The monster door tried to push its way out through the door but they managed to close the door shut.

“Oh, thank goodness.” Molly sighed in relief.

“What are they doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?” Ron demanded to know as the scene changed to the four of them arriving at the Gryffindor common room.

“That’s a good question.” Professor McGonagall agreed.

“Didn't you see what it was standing on?” Hermione enquired.

“I wasn't looking at its feet!” Ron exclaimed. “I was preoccupied with its heads. Or maybe you didn't notice. There were three!”

“It was standing on a trap door. It wasn't there by accident.” Hermione said.

“It's guarding something.” Ryan realized.

“Guarding something?” Harry repeated.

“That's right.” Hermione glared at the boys. “Now, if you three don't mind, I'm going to bed...before you come up with another idea to get us killed. Or worse, expelled.”

“How is being expelled worst than death?” Ryan questioned as Hermione marched off to the girls’ dormitories.

“She needs to sort out her priorities.” Ron commented to which Ryan and Harry nodded.