Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 198 Midnight Horror

Harry Potter felt that this afternoon had been very thrilling.

First, he caught Neville's Memory Ball while riding a flying broom in flight class. Then, he was caught by Professor McGonagall. Just when he thought he was going to be kicked out, Professor McGonagall actually made him the Seeker for the House team!

If Malfoy hadn't come over at dinner to say there was going to be a wizarding duel, this day would have been perfect.

At 11 p.m., Ron woke him up, and the two quietly left the Gryffindor Tower, heading to the prize room—the location of their agreed duel with Malfoy.

On their way, they encountered Neville, whose arm had been healed but who had forgotten the password to enter the lounge.

This guy actually fell asleep in the corner.

Harry gave Neville the password, but Neville refused to be left behind. "I don't want to be here alone. The ghost of Barrow the Blood has already passed by twice."

So the two became a trio and made their way to the prize display room.

They were very careful, afraid of making any noise. They went down several floors and arrived at the fourth floor.

Suddenly they saw a figure, which startled the three of them so much that they quickly hid. But the person did not seem to be Filch; judging from his appearance, he seemed to be a young wizard.

"Malfoy!" Ron said, "Follow him."

The three young wizards followed the figure for about twenty meters, tiptoeing for a while. Suddenly, Harry felt something was wrong. "This doesn't seem to be the way to the prize room."

That seems to be true, but compared to obediently waiting in the prize display room, following Malfoy to see what he's up to is obviously more appealing.

So they continued to follow.

They walked through several corridors, feeling like they had walked for miles, until finally they reached the end of one of the corridors.

The little wizard stopped.

He was blocked by a door.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance. Harry drew his wand and emerged from the corner. "Malfoy, where's your sidekick?"

The young wizard was startled, turned around, and asked in a puzzled voice, "Harry?"

The voice sounded familiar. Harry carefully examined the person by the moonlight. "Tom? What are you doing here so late?"

Tom's purpose was naturally to complete the main quest in the notebook.

The magic boost and the flight spell were very appealing, and he was also interested in the secrets of the fourth-floor corridor.

However, he couldn't explain this to the young wizards in front of him. He frowned, "Why did you all run out again?"

"Malfoy challenged us to a duel, and we're looking for him," Ron said. "What are you holding in your hand?"

Tom hid the notebook behind his back. "Uh, it's nothing, it's just a book. I'm going to read for a while."

"Midnight? Here? Reading a book?" Ron asked suspiciously.

Just then, footsteps suddenly came from afar. "Smell around, my dear, they might be hiding in some corner."

"It's Filch's voice!" Ron's face turned pale. "We're going to be caught."

As the light shone from around the corner, the young wizards instinctively moved away from it and huddled together with Tom. But this was the end of the corridor, and there was no way out.

"Damn it, it's locked!" Ron glanced at the door at the end and tried to pull the lock, but it wouldn't budge.

"Let me do it!" Tom drew his wand. "Open Alahoko."

The door was unlocked, and several young wizards quickly squeezed inside. After waiting for a while, Filch seemed to have found nothing and left.

“He thought the door was locked,” Harry whispered. “I think we’ll be fine—get out of here, Neville!” Neville kept tugging at Harry’s robes. “What’s wrong?”

Harry turned around and saw a three-headed dog staring at them with six football-sized eyes.

"Harry, open the door..." Tom whispered, his eyes glued to the three-headed dog.

Harry fumbled for the doorknob, pulled the door open, and the four of them slowly backed away. Then they suddenly rushed out, slammed the door shut, and ran for their lives.

They ran and ran as fast as they could, without even looking where they were going. Before long, they found themselves in the prize display room. The four little wizards sprawled out on the floor, while Tom, covered in sweat, leaned against a display case, panting heavily.

"What kind of monster is that?"

A three-headed dog, as tall as the roof, it's terrifying.

"That's outrageous! They actually put that thing in the school! What are they trying to do?!" Ron said.

"It must be guarding something," Tom suddenly said.

"What?"

Tom recalled the scene from earlier: the big dog had its paws on a trapdoor, clearly acting as a guard, protecting something.

"Tom, why did you go there?" Harry asked, glancing at the black notebook in Tom's hand.

During flight class today, after he received the memory ball, everyone cheered for him, but Tom turned around. At that moment, he seemed to be holding the notebook.

But Tom didn't answer; he was staring intently at a medal in front of him.

The huge medal displayed in the glass case had two lines of text engraved on it.

"Award for Special Contributions to the School"

Tom Riddell.

……

The next day, the members of the "Hero Group" gathered together.

Hermione overheard Harry and Ron discussing their ordeal the previous day. "I can't believe you two stayed up all night and wandered around outside! How many points will you lose in Gryffindor if you get caught?!"

"You shouldn't have gone out. Malfoy clearly tricked you; it was a trap. And you foolishly jumped right in."

"Oh my god, is that the point? Didn't you hear what we were saying? That huge dog, with three heads and six eyes, as tall as a mountain! They actually put that thing in the school."

"That's Cerberus," Hermione said. "It's mentioned in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. You're lucky you weren't eaten."

"It was tied up. I dare say, if it had been a little later, you would have only seen our bones today."

"At least now we know why that corridor is off-limits."

"Tom said it was guarding something," Harry said.

"It's standing on a trapdoor; it's a guard," Tom said.

He ate his food absentmindedly, but his mind was still replaying the medal.

Tom Riddle.

Why does this name feel so familiar? Is it because it's named Tom, just like mine?

"What does the Special Contribution Award reward?" he suddenly asked.

"I've never heard of this award," Ron said. "Usually they award things like the best player."

"What do you think that big dog is guarding?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Hermione said, "but I guess Hagrid does."

The group name has been changed, and the beginning of the name has also been modified.

(End of this chapter)