Strange Links | HP X TMR //On hold//

Chapter Ten

*Author's Note: Double update! <Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone> is unfolding!

***********************************************************************************************

 "Teresa! You scared the hell out of me!" The figure was Teresa, who looked a bit ghostly due to her black-brown hair, pale skin, and baby blue-colored dressing-gown. "Why are you out here?"

 "We thought you were up to something, so I volunteered to sneak out," Teresa said with a smirk, "Something must be up since Hermione's here, too."

 "Draco and Harry are doing a stupid wizard's duel," Lucinda said, sighing.

 "What's a wizard's duel?"

 "Nevermind - you can go back to bed, Teresa. I think Draco's up to no good, and it's best if you don't get involved."

 However, Teresa's blue eyes glinted more than ever. "No, I want to come, too."

 At that moment, Harry and Ron stepped into the Gryffindor common room.

 "What are you guys doing here?" Ron asked.

 "I can't believe you're going to do this," Hermione said.

 "Come on," Harry said, definitely sick of Hermione's disciplined behavior. But Hermione was right - nobody knew what Draco was up to - even though he was her own brother, Lucinda knew he had a sneaky side.

 "Harry, what if Draco is fooling you? I know him - he's my brother. He has always had a sneaky side. Even you know that." Lucinda firmly said, and that stopped Harry's footsteps.

 "But-"

 Lucinda sighed. "Okay, then I'll come with you. At least that makes a story."

 "I'm coming with you, too," Teresa and Hermione simultaneously said the same sentence, and Lucinda sighed once more. But she knew there was no way to stop them. They were disciplined but also stubborn if they had their opinions.

 "Bloody hell," Ron muttered and stepped out of the common room. The five First Years reached the end of the corridor when they all heard a sort of snuffling. It was Neville.

 "Neville?" Lucinda asked out loud.

 "Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours. I couldn't remember the new password to get in bed."

 "Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout.'"

 Neville said thanks and walked to where the Fat Lady's portrait was, but then caught up to them after a few minutes.

 "The Fat Lady's gone!"

 "Alright, Neville, just try to stay quiet," Hermione said.

 Ron looked at his watch and led the way in fast footsteps. The six students stopped in front of the trophy room and went inside. Draco and Crabbe weren't there, and time went by.

 "I knew it. Draco's probably tricked you," Lucinda said.

 Then a noise in the next room made them jump. It was Filch. They all silently scurried away from Filch's voice. But the stillness did not last for a few moments; Filch was getting nearer, and 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 armor.

 "RUN!" Harry yelled, and they all sprinted down to the gallery. They found themselves in a hidden passageway and ended up near the Charms classroom.

 "Told you," Lucinda said, panting. They all had to get back to Gryffindor Tower.

 But then they met Peeves, and after a quarrel between Ron and Peeves, Peeves yelled out, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

 The six had to run once again, panting hard. Then there was a locked door in front of them. Teresa whispered, "Alohomora!" quickly, and the door opened. But the door did not lead to a room. It led them to the forbidden corridor on the third floor. And there was a reason the corridor was forbidden.

 There was a monstrous dog that filled the whole space. It had three heads, and saliva was hanging on its mouth. It growled fiercely, and Harry immediately opened the door. They all ran as their lives depended on it (it probably did) and arrived in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

 "Where on earth have you all been?" the Fat Lady asked.

 "Never mind that - pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward.

 "What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" Ron finally said after the somber silence that hung around the common room. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."

 "It was guarding something," Teresa said, looking quite absentminded.

 "Right, it was standing on a trapdoor. 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," Hermione said, glaring at Harry and Ron, then went to the girls' dormitory.

 "We'd better go to bed too, Teresa," Lucinda said and went to the dormitory, jumping right onto the mattress. What could the monster be guarding?