𝙱𝚕𝚞𝚎𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙵𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚊𝚜

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕: 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫

"I don't know Val...This is the banned floor for a reason..." Jade said worriedly.

"Oh come on Jade Have a little adventure in ya!" Valaria whispered.

"I had that adventure in the Forbidden Forest..." Jade mumbled. "Alright...for Skunk, watch out for the moving stairs."

They walk up the moving stairs up to the 3rd floor, walk into the corridor.

"SKUNK!" Valeria gasped. The niffler was hanging on the door handle of a half-open door. The two rushed towards him and pried him off. "I swear to Salazar! Skunk you gave us a heart attack!"

"What if Filch saw you!? He'd set you to the Forest!" Jade told the furball. "You should be in bed young man! You worried Hagrid so much!" Valaria scolded.

{Skunk :] no thoughts head empty.}

"You shouldn't-" Jade got cut off by sounds of footsteps. "Filch! Oh no! What are we going to-" she whispered.

"Jade? Val? What are you two doing here?" said a disembodied voice.

"Harry?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione took off the invisibility cloak. "What are you three doing here?" Valeria asked the Gryfindors.

"We can ask you two the same thing." Harry said.

"Skunk got loose." Jade stated.

"What got lost??" Ron asked, bewildered.

"Skunk." Val rose Skunk so the others could see him. (The lion king style) "My Niffler. Now, what about you three?"

"I'm going to try and get to the Stone first." Harry whispered.

"You mad or something?" Jade exclaimed. Harry looked at her a bit annoyed. Jade sighed. "Fine, but I'm coming with."

"Me too. We're already here so it's useless for us just to go back when we know you're here." Valaria said, putting a hand on Jade's shoulder.

"You can take the cloak, I won't need it now." Harry sighed.

"Don't be stupid." Ron started. "We're coming." Hermione finished.

Harry pushed the door open. As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears.

All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though he couldn't see them. "What's that at its feet?"

"Looks like a harp, Snape must have left it there." Ron said.

"It must wake up the moment you stop playing." Harry pulls out a flute. "Well, here goes..." He lifted Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew.

It wasn't really a tune, but from the first note, the beast's eyes began to droop. Harry hardly drew breath.

Slowly, the dog's growls cease it tottered on its paws and fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

"Keep playing," Ron warned Harry as they slipped out of the cloak and crept toward the trapdoor.

They could feel the dog's hot, smelly breath as they approached the giant heads. "I think we'll be able to pull the door open," said Ron, peering over the dog's back. "Want to go first, Hermione?"

"No, I don't!"

"No!" Jade shot.

"Absolutely not!" Valaria whispered, still worried about the dog waking up.

"All right." Ron gritted his teeth and stepped carefully over the dog's legs. He bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and open.

"What can you see?" Hermione said anxiously.