Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 26 triggers the prerequisite quest for the dungeon.

For wizards, breaking a few bones is hardly a big deal. The next day in Potions class, Harry saw Malfoy arrive unharmed, which eased his strange feeling somewhat.

This thought didn't last long. After class, Malfoy mocked Harry for not answering Professor Snape's question, saying his head was like a gibberish head. Harry was furious; why hadn't he killed him back then?

Loren was increasing Snape's favorability, laying the groundwork for the potion incident later on.

"Professor, when extracting juice from beans, wouldn't pressing with a knife be more effective than slicing?" Loren asked Snape, pointing to the book "Common Methods of Processing Potion Materials."

Snape stopped tidying up the equipment and looked into Loren's eyes: "I admit, you do have a bit of talent."

"But your ambition cannot be hidden from me."

"Don't try to use me to get anything, Loren Morgan!"

However, Snape remained true to his duty as a Potions professor, giving Loren a long list of books to find the answers himself. Until then, the content of the books would be the standard.

Loren looked into those eyes, which were like a deep abyss, without a ripple. They spoke words of rejection without a trace of emotion, staring straight at you as if you could see into the deepest part of your heart. He almost suspected that Snape had used Legilimency on him.

Loren didn't know how he got out of the classroom; he admitted he was a little startled.

In the corridor, Harry told Ron about being chosen as the Seeker. Ron was also very happy and explained all sorts of Quidditch knowledge to Harry, seriously arranging Harry's training plan, with a smile that almost made him fly.

However, the Weasley twins quickly saw through his act. Ron's knowledge and training plans were all hearsay; he didn't even know the different ways a batter could attack without committing a foul, and some of them were completely wrong. Ron was still stubbornly insisting on his point as he walked out of the yard.

Harry was very worried that he would make a fool of himself. The Seeker is not just someone who can fly; he almost determines the outcome of a game.

Hermione suddenly walked over and interrupted their conversation: "I knew Harry would be an excellent Quidditch player; it's in his blood."

"Bloodline?" Harry asked, puzzled.

Hermione led the two to the prize display room, in front of a shield engraved with "The Seeker, James Potter, 1971".

Ron exclaimed, "Oh, Harry, you never mentioned you had a Seeker father."

Harry couldn't help but laugh. "I...I don't know either."

Twenty years later, he became a Gryffindor player just like his father, a coincidence that made him feel a sense of companionship and warmth.

As the three walked up the stairs, Harry couldn't help but laugh and joke to himself, "Even Hermione knows my parents better than I do."

Hermione denied it, saying, "I just happened to see your father's name."

She didn't mention that Professor McGonagall was also a Quidditch player, which isn't something that can't be said, but she didn't intend to share it and wanted only herself to know.

Just then, the stairs suddenly swayed from side to side, and then rose and fell.

Feeling the familiar sensation of weightlessness, the three of them complained in unison, "This damn staircase!"

The stairs led to a door on the fourth floor, which they pushed open and went inside. They weren't familiar with the layout of the stairs, and if they didn't get out soon, they didn't know how long they would be trapped.

Harry led the way, with Hermione bringing up the rear. Upon entering the room, the surroundings suddenly darkened. In the center stood a strangely posed statue, covered in cobwebs, creating an eerie atmosphere.

"Does anyone think we've come to the wrong place?" Ron shivered.

"This is the forbidden area on the fourth floor. Dumbledore emphasized when school started that we are forbidden from entering!" Hermione said in a low voice, afraid of being discovered.

"Meow!" A piercing meow rang out, and a yellowish-gray cat darted out from behind the three of them.

Harry was the first to react: "It's Mrs. Lawrence! Run!"

Filch is usually not far from Mrs. Lorris; if you get caught by him, you won't have a good outcome.

Mrs. Lorris, with her cat, chased the three young wizards around until they reached a locked door. The three were a little disoriented, and Hermione drew her wand, raised her hand, and cast a lock-picking spell: "Alohomora!"

"Well done!" Harry exclaimed.

The three quickly hid inside the house, listening to the cat's meows gradually fade away. They pressed themselves against the door, panting for a while before finally recovering.

Three wizards were being chased by a cat, and Ron wanted to make a joke. But when he turned around and saw what was in the room, his expression turned to horror. "Merlin's beard!" Ron's voice trembled.

Ron's reaction startled Harry and Hermione. They slowly turned around and looked at the center of the room, their expressions turning to horror.

A monstrous dog sat cross-legged behind them, its massive body almost filling the entire room, from floor to ceiling. It had three black heads, sharp and frightening teeth, one of which was almost as big as their heads. Foul-smelling saliva dripped from the giant three-headed dog's mouth, its eyes fixed menacingly on the three.

"Ah!" Hermione's voice was shrill and somewhat distorted. The three of them pushed open the door and quickly fled, leaving Louie, who was still somewhat bewildered, in the room.

"No wonder Dumbledore wouldn't let us come to the fourth floor!" Ron exclaimed, still shaken. "But why lock that thing up in the school?!"

Hermione, having caught her breath, spoke in an irritating tone: "Aren't you all blind? Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

"That's a trapdoor; it's clearly guarding something!"

Harry's eyes widened at these words. He remembered the small bag Hagrid had taken from vault 713 and was about to say something.

Hermione interrupted, "Alright, I'm going back now. I advise you to leave that dog alone, unless you're willing to get bitten to death, or worse, expelled from school!" With that, she tossed her hair and walked away.

Ron thought she was a silly girl. "Can't she tell what's worse?"

Back in the common room, Harry kept thinking about the little bag, and couldn't even concentrate on his chess game. Ron soon told him to get out of the way and give up his spot, saying he wanted to play against Seamus and Dean both by himself.

Harry walked up to Loren and began to express his doubts, "What is Hagrid hiding? Is that three-headed dog guarding the bag he brought out? What's in the bag?"

Loren looked up from a stack of Potions books that was taller than him. Yes, he had borrowed five books from Snape's list, and those five were already taller than him even while he was sitting. The list had a total of 25 books, and he probably wouldn't finish reading them before Christmas.

Harry was still rambling on; he had a gut feeling that there was something very important in that bag.

Loren knew that Harry was about to enter the dungeon. "If I were you, I would go directly to Hagrid and ask him."

"Hagrid won't tell; he changed the subject last time." Harry said somewhat helplessly, and began to analyze, "It's either extremely precious or extremely dangerous."

Loren added, "Or maybe both."

"Why don't we just go and see what it is?" Loren's expression turned devilishly seductive, like that of a lost deer. He floored the accelerator, slammed on the brakes, and accelerated, accelerated even faster.

Harry was stunned: "But...but there's a Cerberus!"

"I have a way to deal with Cerberus."

"But, Dumbledore..."

"We're not trying to steal this."

Thump, thump, Harry could hear his heart beating fast.

Harry was a good student after all, and going on an adventure seemed like a good idea, but being expelled was obviously not a good outcome. He still planned to find out what was being hidden first.

Hehehe, they got rescued and signed a contract, hehehe.

(End of this chapter)