Don't be a silent reader
"You're joking."
It was dinnertime. Harry had just finished telling Ron and Draco what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it. "Seeker?" he said. "But first years never -- you must be the youngest house player in about a century, " said Draco, shovelling pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Cedric told me," Harry said
They were so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at Harry. "I start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone, Cedric wants to keep it a secret Also Mom was quite mad but knew she could not ground me due to the quidditch training"
"Man, was I terrifying when we heard your full name yell across Hogwarts" Draco shivered
Then someone far less welcome turned up: Puecy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. "Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground, and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly. There was, of course, nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl. "I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Puecy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only - no contact. What's the matter? I've never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"
"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second. Who's yours?" Puecy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up. "Crabbe," he said. "Midnight, all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; which's always unlocked."
"You idiots," Malfoy slapped his forehead as Puecy left, Ron and Harry looked at each other. "What is a wizard's duel?" said Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie. Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Puecy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"
"Throw it away and punch him on the nose like your mum said," Draco suggested.
"Excuse me." They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger. "Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron. Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry. "I couldn't help overhearing what you and Puecy were saying -" "Bet you could," Ron muttered. "--and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Hufflepuff if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's very selfish of you."And it's none of your business," said Harry.
"Goodbye," said Ron. All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to his roommates falling asleep. Ron and Draco had spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it because I can't remember how to block them." There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris and Harry felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today.
On the other hand, Puecy's sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness - this was his big chance to beat Puecy face-to-face. He couldn't miss it. "Half-past eleven I'd better go." He pulled on their bathrobes, picked up their wands, and crept across the common room and out of the place.
At every turn, Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but he was lucky. He sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room. Puecy and Crabbe weren't there yet. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. He heard footsteps and turned aiming his wand to see Ron but with Hermione and Neville?!!.
"What are they doing here, Ron?" Harry said."They followed me since the Fat Lady went for her night walk. " Ron said, "I didn't want to bring them."
Harry held his wand tightly in case Puecy leapt in and started at once. The minutes crept by. "He's late. Maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered. Then, a noise in the next room made them jump. It was Draco who came to them out of breath.
"It's.... it's a...." Before he could say anything, they heard someone speak - and it wasn't Puecy. "Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner." It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror-struck, Harry waved madly at the others to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped around the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room. "They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."
"This way!" Harry mouthed to the others, and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armour. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run - he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armour. The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle. "RUN!" Harry yelled, and the five of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following -- they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another
Harry in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going -- they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it, and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room. "I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering. I -- told -you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I -- told -- you."We've got to get back to our common rooms," said Ron, "as quickly as possible."Puecy tricked you," Malfoy said to Harry. " He was never going to meet you - Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Puecy has tipped him off. I heard him tell those fools. " Harry thought he was probably right." Let's go." It wasn't going to be that simple.
They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled, and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them. It was Peeves. He caught sight of them and squealed with delight. "Shut up, Peeves -- please -- you'll get us thrown out." Peeves cackled. "Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty." "Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your good, you know." "Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves. This was a big mistake.
"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR" Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door -- and it was locked. "This is it!" Ron moaned as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!" They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts. "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.
"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me." "Say, "please."' "Don't mess with me, Peeves, now Where did they go?" "Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying, singsong voice. "All right, please." "NOTHING! Ha ha! Told you I would say nothing if you didn't say, please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage. "He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay - get off, Neville!" Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute, then Draco too tugged his robe
"What?" Harry turned around -- and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare - this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far. They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden. They were looking straight into the eyes of a Cerberus that filled the whole space between the ceiling and floor. It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew 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. Harry groped for the doorknob -- between Filch and death, he'd take Filch. Suddenly, the door fell open, and they all fell backwards. They sat up on the floor to see Percy jackson locking the door immediately and quickly checking on the kids.
"Are you all alright?" No scars, no wounds??" She said in a worried mother tone which made them burst into tears at the scary experience they had just gotten through. "Mama," Harry said as she immediately pulled them all close for a hug.
"Your necklace signalled me that you were in danger. I immediately followed it. Why are you five out of bed?" She said, and they all told her what happened. Each their own version. She listened carefully and sighed.
"10 points from your houses each for being up after curfew. You would have been punished more but you got enough punishment tonight. " Percy said." Come along, let's get you all to your common room."
They followed until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor. "Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty, and scared faces. "Never mind that -- pig snout, pig snout," panted Hermione, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room after saying goodnight to Percy, Harry, and Draco
"What do they think they're doing, keeping a puppy Cerberus like that locked up in a school?" said Draco finally as they headed down to the dungeons. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."
Harry said, "Didn't you see what it was standing on? "The floor?" Draco suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's guarding something," he said, which caught percy ear. " I bet your friend Hermoine said,' I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed - or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed.' You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you?"
Both boys burst into giggles, but Draco had given both Harry and Percy something else to think about as he climbed back into bed after his mum dropped him off at the Hufflepuff common room.
The dog was guarding something... What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide --- except perhaps Hogwarts.
It looked as though both Jacksons had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was.
✨️✨️Bonus ✨️✨️
Percy wakes up in the middle of the night, eyes narrowed. "My momma wolf senses are tingling. My babies are in trouble"