enchanted • draco malfoy

Year 1: Obstacles

Felicity's POV

Hermione, Ron, Harry, and I ran down the steps from the dorms to the Common Room as soon as everyone was asleep.

A loud croaking sound came from the armrest of a chair by the fireplace. "Trevor!" I hissed, "Go! Scat! You shouldn't be here!"

"And neither should you!" a voice said from the chair. I sighed. Neville. "You're sneaking out again, aren't you?" he asked in an anxious voice, his hand hovering protectively over his toad. "Nev, listen-" I began. "No!" he interrupted, "I won't let you! You'll get Gryffindor into trouble again! I-I'll fight you!"

I rolled my eyes. "Neville," Hermione began, "I'm really, really sorry about this." She pulled out her wand. "Petrificus Totalus!" Neville's eyes widened as he fell to the floor, frozen still and straight as a board.

I heard Ron gulp beside me. "You know," he said to Hermione, his eyes wide, "you can be a little scary sometimes. Bloody brilliant, but scary."

Hermione blushed.

"Let's go," Harry said firmly. We all muttered apologies as we walked over Neville. "Don't worry," I whispered to him, "If I come back alive, I'll buy you some sweets from Honeydukes."

We walked down the corridors of Hogwarts to the room with the trapdoor underneath the invisibility cloak. "Ow!" Hermione whisper-shouted to Ron, "You stepped on my foot!" He stumbled and I stifled a laugh. "Sorry," he whispered back.

We finally reached to the door that led to the room that held Fluffy, and Hermione, being in the front, pulled out her wand. "Alohomora!" she muttered.

The door swung open to reveal a peacefully sleeping Fluffy and an enchanted harp quietly playing music in the corner. "Snape's already been here," Harry said, frustrated, "He's put a spell on the harp."

We took a few cautious steps closer until we were only a foot away from Fluffy and the trapdoor. "Eugh, he has horrible breath," I said, disgusted. Ron rolled his eyes. "His paw's on the trapdoor," he pointed out. It was my turn to roll my eyes this time. "Thank you, Captain Obvious," I remarked sarcastically. "We'll have to move it, then," Harry decided. "What?" Ron gaped. "C'mon!" Hermione insisted.

We all began pushing as gently as possible on the huge paw, until it was finally no longer blocking the door. Hermione and Harry pulled the handle of the trapdoor, and it opened creakily. I winced, looking up at Fluffy to make sure he was still asleep.

Harry nodded at our work. "Okay," he said, turning to us, "I'll go first. I'll give you the signal when you can come down, but if something bad happens, get yourselves out." Ron, Hermione, and I nodded quickly.

Harry took a deep breath and was about to jump before he paused. "Does it seem a bit... quiet to you?" he asked slowly. "The harp," I realized, my head turning to the now-silent instrument in the corner, "It stopped."

Suddenly, Ron let out a disgusted groan. We turned to look at him, my eyes widening as I noticed the dog slobber covering his shoulder.

The four of us looked up slowly to see Fluffy's multiple heads looming above. We let out ear-piercing screams and Harry jumped down the trapdoor, followed by me, then Hermione, and finally Ron.

I let out a relieved sigh when I landed on something spongy about ten feet down. The light coming from the door illuminated Harry, Ron, and Hermione in front of me, laying in the same plant vines that I was. "Woah," Ron said, amazed, "We're lucky this plant was here."

Harry exhaled sharply and I did, too, as this 'lucky plant' began wrapping itself around my knees and arms, efficiently binding me tight. I gasped and began struggling, along with Harry and Ron, but Hermione seemed perfectly calm. "You three have to relax. This is Devil's Snare. You just have to stay calm and focused. If you don't, it will only kill you faster," she said matter-of-factly. "Kill us faster? Oh, now I can relax!" Ron snapped, struggling more.