"Better get the Cloak," Ron said after Lee Jordan went up to bed.
We had been huddled in a corner of the common room ever since dinner, too anxious about tonight to do anything else. Luckily, nobody tried talking to us.
Harry ran upstairs, and returned a moment later with the Invisibility Cloak in hand.
"We'd better get the Cloak on here," he said, "and make sure it covers all four of us. If Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own—"
That'd be a pretty horrifying sight — imagine seeing a foot walking on its own in the middle of the night.
"What are you doing?" said a sudden voice.
Neville turned around on one of the armchairs, holding his toad, Trevor.
"Nothing, Neville, nothing," Harry said, hiding the Cloak behind his back.
"You're going out again," Neville said, narrowing his eyes at us.
Uh, oh.
"No, no, no," said Hermione. "No, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?"
"You can't go out," Neville said. "You'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."
"You don't understand," Harry said.
"This is really important," I added.
"I won't let you do it!" said Neville, running up and protecting the portrait hole. "I'll — I'll fight you!"
"Neville, get away from that hole and don't be an idiot," Ron said, glaring at him.
"Don't you call me an idiot!" Neville said. "I don't think you should be breaking anymore rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"
"Yes, but not to us," said Ron exasperatedly. "Neville, you don't know what you're doing."
Neville dropped Trevor and put his fists up. "Go on then, try and hit me! I'm ready!"
This is four to one — I don't think Neville has a very good chance of winning.
"Do something!" Harry whispered to Hermione.
My bushy haired friend stepped forward. "Neville, I'm really, really sorry about this."
She pulled out her wand and aimed it at the poor boy.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Neville fell to the floor, frozen.
The four of us rushed over to him. Hermione turned him over, revealing his horrified face.
"What have you done to him?" whispered Harry.
"It's the Full Body-Bind," said Hermione, sounding ashamed. "Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry."
"We had to. You'll understand later," I said.
"No time to explain," added Harry.
My friends and I pulled on the Cloak and exited the common room, hearts pounding. It was a little hard to walk when we were all crammed next to each other, but somehow we managed.
Right before we got to the stairs that led up to the third-floor corridor, Peeves the Poltergeist showed up out of nowhere. He must've heard one of our footsteps.
"Who's there?" he said.
"Peeves," Harry said in a hoarse whisper. "The Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible."
YOU ARE READING
Evelyn Riddle and the Philosopher's Stone
Fanfiction"If my dad could hear us, you'd already be dead, Ron." My name is Evelyn Willow Jane - or, as most people call me, Evie. I've lived with the Malfoys for my whole life because of one teensy problem - not long after I was born, my father tried to murd...
