The group completed all the necessary preparations in just half a day.
Two explosive books were placed on the fifth and sixth floors, right above the corner corridor — positioned perfectly to lure Filch over at a moment's notice.
Everything was ready.
But shortly after they decided to embark on their collective night adventure to the fourth floor, an unexpected situation arose.
Several Gryffindor upperclassmen, not even waiting for curfew, sneaked off to the fourth floor while everyone else was having dinner.
Unlike the Weasley twins, they hadn't planned ahead or equipped themselves with strategic tools like the Marauder's Map. They simply went on impulse.
The result was predictable — they were caught red-handed by Filch, who had been lurking nearby, before they could even open the door. They were promptly escorted to Professor McGonagall's office.
Not long after, Gryffindor's hourglass lost fifty points.
But that wasn't the end of it.
In the period that followed, students from Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff all secretly left their common rooms, heading for the fourth floor.
Fred and George, watching the Marauder's Map, were dumbfounded. The usually quiet corridors suddenly showed names popping up everywhere.
Perhaps because so many young wizards were being caught, the professors discussed the matter and decided to take turns patrolling near the fourth floor for night-wandering students.
Anyone caught received a penalty of ten points and detention. The professors proved far more troublesome than Filch...
George set off a few Wet-Start Fireworks on the first floor, hoping to draw them away.
As expected, upon hearing the commotion, Filch went downstairs grumbling, with Professor McGonagall following behind, her expression stern.
Near the staircase on the second floor, Fred, hidden in the shadows, looked at the Marauder's Map and sighed softly, "Professor McGonagall is being too much."
On the map, her name was still near the fourth floor, and Filch had gone downstairs alone.
Clearly, the Professor McGonagall they had just seen was fake, probably some advanced form of Transfiguration.
In this situation, going on their adventure seemed impossible. After discussing it, they decided to wait until things calmed down, then returned to their dormitories.
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This wait lasted three days.
Three nights later, four people appeared stealthily in the school corridors.
"Fred, George..." Cedric, walking at the back, lowered his voice, "Are you sure the professors aren't going to the fourth floor anymore?"
"We watched for a long time last night." Fred said quietly, "Since the weekend, the professors haven't been to the fourth floor at all, and today shouldn't be any different."
"We're almost there."
The group stopped near the third floor, and George looked down at the Marauder's Map.
"We're in luck, the professors aren't around, and Filch is also... Oh, Merlin, guess who I see!"
"Who?" Fred said with a smile, "Surely not Percy?"
"Not Percy, it's Ron..." George said in surprise, "And Harry, Hermione, and Neville. All four first-years are in the trophy room right now."
"Aha..." Fred chuckled, "Already sneaking out with friends just after starting school. Tsk, truly worthy of being our brother..."
Clang, Clang, Clang...
Just then, a series of crisp crashing sounds came from nearby.
It seemed someone had knocked over a suit of armor in the corridor. The sound of metal pieces hitting the ground was very loud — especially in such a quiet environment — and extraordinarily jarring.
"Oh damn, they've been discovered!" George looked up, "Now there are two pieces of news:
The good news is that Filch's attention is focused on Ron and the others, which makes this the perfect time for us to act. The bad news is that they've made such a commotion that professors could be drawn here at any moment."
"Looks like we need to hurry." Fred glanced at the map and quickened his pace toward the fourth floor.
On the map, Harry, Ron, and the others were moving rapidly in this direction. At this rate, Filch would soon be led here too.
After reaching the fourth floor, they quickly followed the Marauder's Map's instructions and arrived at a door at the end of the corridor.
"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves' angry shout came from not far away, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED, DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"
"I take back what I said earlier, Ron really is an idiot." George put down the Marauder's Map and reached his hand back.
Soon, an antique bronze key appeared in his hand out of nowhere.
"Thanks, Kyle..."
George inserted the key into the lock and turned it gently, opening the door.
"They're about to arrive, quick, get in... Oh, damn it, what is that thing!"
Just as George was about to enter, he looked up and saw three pairs of gleaming green eyes staring fixedly at him.
Behind the door was a monstrous dog. What he had just seen were the dog's eyes. It had three heads and was so large that it filled the entire space from ceiling to floor.
After the door was opened, the three-headed dog stood up, its three noses twitching and trembling toward them. Three drooling mouths suddenly opened wide, revealing rows of fearsome yellowish teeth.
"Damn it, Dumbledore wasn't lying to us this time... Run!" George didn't have time to think, instinctively turning around and sprinting away.
Fred and Cedric had also seen the three-headed dog. The moment it lunged forward, all thoughts of adventure and curiosity vanished. They knew all too well what those ear-splitting growls meant.
Without speaking or needing to communicate, the two quickly caught up with George and began racing down the corridor.
Although this might get them caught, between Filch and becoming dog food, they'd rather choose the rude squib.
The three didn't look back and ran all the way to the kitchen door before stopping.
"Headmaster Dumbledore is not joking around!" George said breathlessly, "Merlin's beard, he actually put a full-grown three-headed dog in the school. What is he trying to do?!"
"I bet there's something hidden in there." Fred's eyes flickered, "Did you notice? That dog was standing on a trapdoor."
George sighed, "It's useless. You can't expect it to make way for us."
"Wait..." Cedric suddenly said, "Did anyone see Kyle?"
"Didn't he come back with us?" Fred was startled, only now realizing there were indeed only three people here.
Kyle had disappeared without anyone noticing.
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