Unfortunately, things started to take a turn for the worse when the invisible trio reached the grand stairwell. As they made their way up the staircase that led to the 5th floor where the Gryffindor Common Room was, a rumble ran through the steps, and everything suddenly began to move.
"Crap, the stairs are shifting!" Ron uttered, grabbing ahold of the banister as the whole set of staircases began to move and rearrange themselves. In seconds, the previous configuration of connections was undone.
"How did anyone think that moving staircases were a good idea in a school full of children?" Harry demanded in annoyance as the stairs they were on swayed uncomfortably.
"It's a defense mechanism," Hermione responded, though she looked a little green as she did so. "I read about it in 'Hogwarts: A History.'"
"Then why do they keep a defense mechanism active in a school full of children?" Harry uttered.
"Um," Hermione muttered, unable to reply. Thankfully their fun ride was soon over and she didn't have to find an answer. Bad news was, somebody had heard their moaning.
"Who's there!?" a nasally voice demanded, and Harry shivered when a cat meowed after him. The light of a bobbing lantern could be seen in the distance down a corridor and it was rapidly approaching the grand staircase.
"That's Filch!" Ron murmured nervously. "But he's supposed to be near the trophy rooms!"
"Looks like our little trick with Draco didn't work, and Neville couldn't distract him, either," Harry guessed. He looked around, grimacing as he saw that their staircase was no longer connected to the fifth floor, and instead linked up with a landing on the third floor.
Not just any part of the third floor, either, but the very one that Headmaster Dumbledore had declared off-limits.
However, the stairs the trio was on had also connected to the first floor, right in front of where Filch was. Faced with detention, there was only one choice to for Harry to make.
"This way!" Harry hissed, urging his friends to follow him.
"But that's the Forbidden Corridor!" Hermione gasped.
"Do you want to be caught by Filch? Or risk hiding in the mysterious hallway?" Ron shot back, and it took a few seconds before Hermione reluctantly said, "Corridor."
"Great! Now hurry!" Harry said, and they ran, keeping ahead of Filch, but just barely.
"Why aren't there any doors?!" Ron grumbled when they entered the forbidden corridor. To their surprise, there wasn't a single door in sight.
"No, wait, there, across from the portrait of the jousting centaurs!" Hermione pointed out.
"Damn, locked!" Harry hissed when he jiggled the handle desperately. Behind them, they could hear the cruel hissing of Miss Norris as she walked side by side with her equally cruel master.
"Step aside!" Hermione ordered, pushing Harry away. She then flicked her wand out and pointed it at the door. "Alohomora!" she chanted, and there was a faint click.
"Inside, now!" she hissed, and they piled in, hastily close the door behind them.
They heard Filch's footsteps pass them by, along with his demented mutterings about whipping students. The trio held their breath, and only let it go when they could no longer hear his mad ravings.
"Why do they even keep him around?" Ron huffed.
"Probably for the same reason they keep Snape around," Harry muttered darkly.
"Um, Harry? Ron?" Hermione squeaked out, her eyes focused on something behind them. Slowly, and with fear rising in their hearts, the two boys turned around, and looked up. And up. And up some more.
Somehow stuffed inside the cramped, tiny room they'd hurled themselves into was a mountain of fluffy, dark brown fur. Said fur was attached to a gargantuan, three-headed dog that was blinking slowly, waking up from a deep slumber.
"Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ!" Harry hissed out, borrowing a curse he'd overheard Edward use once.
"Let's go. We gotta go," Ron hissed, tugging on his friend's sleeves urgently.
"Yeah. Yeah, good idea," Hermione whimpered. She fumbled a bit before yanking the door open. Just in time, too, as one of the head's noses was twitching, and a low growl that rattled their bones filled the room.
The trio barreled out of the room, locking it behind them with a hastily uttered, "Colloportus!" from Hermione.
None of them dared to say a word, and simply started running through the halls towards the entrance Gryffindor Common Room. They'd been so startled they completely forgot to use Harry's cloak. Luckily, it seemed Filch was nowhere nearby and they were able to get through the moving staircases without incident.
"What the bloody hell is a giant three-headed dog doing in there?!" Ron whimpered as they booked it away from the dog-filled chamber.
"Why are you asking me?!" Hermione snapped.
"Shush! We're almost to the Common Room!" Harry scolded them under his breath. "You can have a mental breakdown when we're safe inside!"
"Tiddlywinks," he said aloud, causing the snoozing portrait to swing open, admitting them inside.
"Hey, you're back!" Neville said as he spotted the portal open up and the trio stumble through. "Sorry, a Prefect caught me before I could get to lure Filch away. I managed to pretend I'd gotten lost and only lost five points for being out past curfew…"
He trailed off as he saw their pale faces, and he groaned into his hands. "Oh, for Merlin's sake! What sort of trouble did you get us into now?"
"So, uh, we might have figured out why that corridor on the third floor is off limits," Harry said, and Neville groaned a little bit louder.
"Of course you did. Of course!"
"At least we got the dragon away safely," Ron said with a sigh as he slumped into the couch next to Neville.
"Wait, dragon? Not the egg?" Neville uttered. "Did it hatch?!"
...
....
Join my P*atreon for 100 premium chapters ahead of the public release.
Link: pa*treon.com/MysticVerse (Remove the *)
Free members also get 2 advanced chapters for free.