"You mean you arranged a duel with Harry Potter at midnight tonight?"
A gleam flashed through Altair's eyes. If he remembered correctly, tonight was the night Harry and the others would discover the three-headed dog in the forbidden chamber on the fourth floor.
"That's right. That arrogant idiot. I honestly can't understand why he's so famous. If you ask me, he's nowhere near as good as you."
Malfoy tossed out a small bit of flattery toward Altair.
Ever since that minor clash with Harry on the train, Malfoy had been looking for chances to make trouble for him. But because Hermione and Altair were so often together, Malfoy only dared to show off and act smug when the two of them were absent.
"I was just tricking him. There's no way I'm actually going to duel him. I've already told Filch. Filch will be there waiting for him tonight. Just watch. Harry's going to make a complete fool of himself tomorrow."
Malfoy gave a smug little snort, then suddenly looked at Altair. After hesitating for a moment, he asked,
"Your relationship with Harry..."
Malfoy knew that Altair was very close to a Gryffindor girl named Hermione. At meals, he would even sit over by the Gryffindor table, not far from Harry Potter. That made Malfoy a little uneasy.
"What happens between you and him has nothing to do with me."
After leaving behind that single sentence, Altair returned to his bed.
Hearing that, Malfoy let out a breath of relief. A self-satisfied smile immediately returned to his face, and he began chatting and laughing with Crabbe and Goyle again.
Altair lay on his bed with his eyes closed, resting quietly. Only when the time was about right did he put on the One Ring and secretly slip out of the dormitory.
Before leaving, he cast a spell around his bed. Malfoy and the others would not be able to see what was happening there, so even if someone suddenly woke up in the middle of the night, they would not know he had already left.
Altair quietly slipped out of the Slytherin common room. At that late hour, most of the portraits and ghosts in Hogwarts were already resting. He did not know where Malfoy had arranged to duel Harry, but he did know one thing. In the end, Harry would definitely end up in the forbidden area on the fourth floor.
Altair made his way there and waited for a while, until at last he heard a burst of hurried footsteps.
Very soon, Harry, Ron, and Hermione came into view.
Hermione's appearance was completely within Altair's expectations. In the original story, it was Hermione who used the Unlocking Charm to open the room where Fluffy was hidden. Without her, Harry and Ron might not actually have been able to get inside.
And the reason she had come was simple. She had overheard Harry and Ron talking about sneaking out at night for a duel, and she was afraid they would be caught and cost Gryffindor house points.
After all, Hermione was still hoping to compete with Altair when it came to house points.
The three of them ran to the fourth floor with tense expressions, and a long-haired cat padded gracefully behind them. It was Mrs Norris.
"I told you two you shouldn't have come out! If Filch catches you, the two of you will lose all of Gryffindor's house points!"
"That makes three of us now," Ron muttered.
Then his expression changed, and he said,
"I think this is the forbidden area Headmaster Dumbledore warned us about! Maybe we really shouldn't be here!"
"We don't have a choice now. Let's find a room and hide inside!"
Hermione was speechless herself. She glanced toward the staircase, where Mrs Norris was lurking. If the cat was here, then Filch would arrive very soon.
The three of them ran all the way to the innermost part of the fourth floor, only to be stopped by a heavy wooden door. Harry grabbed at it several times, but it would not open.
"It's locked!"
He cried out anxiously. From around the corner of the fourth floor behind them came Filch's voice.
"Mrs Norris? What are you doing here..."
"Move!"
Hermione could not worry about anything else now. She shoved Harry aside, raised her wand, and pointed it at the wooden door.
"Alohomora!"
Click.
The lock on the wooden door sprang open at once. Hermione yanked the door wide, and before she even had to say anything, Ron and Harry charged inside. Hermione darted in after them and slammed the door shut behind her.
"Hey, Mrs Norris, so that's where you are."
Just after the three of them hid themselves, Filch arrived on the fourth floor. He picked up Mrs Norris and peered into the dark depths of the corridor.
"Headmaster Dumbledore said this place is forbidden. I think we should leave at once."
At that moment, Altair was standing right beside Filch. Seeing that he was about to leave, Altair silently bared his teeth in a grin, then lifted a hand and pointed a fingertip at Mrs Norris.
Mind Control.
A spiritual domination spell inherited from a necromancer, capable of forcibly controlling intelligent creatures whose mental strength was weaker than his own.
Yowwwl!
With a shrill cry, all the fur on Mrs Norris's body suddenly stood on end. Then she sprang straight out of Filch's arms and, under Altair's control, shot toward the deepest part of the fourth floor.
"Oh! Mrs Norris!"
Filch was stunned by the sudden turn of events. He had never seen Mrs Norris behave like this before.
"Wait for me!"
After freezing for a moment, Filch hurried after her.
Mrs Norris did not stop until she reached the room at the very end. There she arched her back high, every hair standing on end, making her look almost twice her normal size.
"What's inside there?"
Seeing Mrs Norris look as though she were facing a great enemy, Filch suddenly noticed that the lock on the wooden door had already been opened. At once, a very bad feeling rose in his heart.
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T/N:
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