In the silent corridor, the four of them tiptoed up the stairs.
At every corner, Fred would peek out first to check for any sign of Mrs. Norris. Only after confirming it was clear would he let the other three follow.
Meanwhile, as Wayne passed through each area, a notification sound would ring from the system, awarding him points.
However, these rewards were one-time only, granted only the first time he reached a location during a night outing.
By the time they reached the fourth floor, the stench of dung bombs was already noticeable.
Wayne covered his nose in disgust. "Couldn't you guys have chosen a less mutually-destructive method?"
"This is the simplest and most effective one," Fred explained as they walked. "Filch has OCD. If he doesn't catch anyone, he'll definitely go clean up the dung bomb mess before coming back. That gives us more time."
Cedric nodded in admiration. "Such experience."
It seemed he still had a lot to learn when it came to night excursions.
Don't assume Hufflepuffs only produce obedient students. Rowdy kids were common in every house—it was just that one's environment and background could shape behavior.
That's what made Hufflepuff students seem a bit more well-behaved than the others.
The group quickly reached their destination: the far end of the fourth-floor corridor.
"There used to be more hallway here, but starting this term, it's been turned into a door," Cedric said.
The twins nodded. They were extremely familiar with the castle's main areas.
"Are we really going in? What if there really is danger, like Dumbledore said?" the honest kid swallowed nervously.
Fred sneered at his cowardice. "What are you scared of? This is school. What, you think the headmaster would toss in a mountain troll?"
Saying that, he reached for the doorknob—but it was locked.
"Alohomora."
Though he said to forget it, his body betrayed his thoughts.
Cedric was faster than anyone. He pulled out his wand and cast the unlocking charm.
"What do you think is inside?"
"No idea. But there's bound to be something valuable. A powerful spell? A treasure map? Anything's possible—Whoa!"
Fred suddenly sucked in a sharp breath, cutting himself off mid-sentence as he got a clear look inside.
At that moment, he understood why Dumbledore had been so stern in his warnings.
When the door opened, it didn't reveal a room—it was another corridor.
And a dog sat in it, staring directly at them with six eyes.
In terms of numbers, eight eyes versus six—Wayne's team actually had the advantage.
But the dog was massive, filling the entire space from floor to ceiling. It had three heads, each bearing a vicious expression, with thick drool dripping from its mouths. The stench hit them like a wave.
"Merlin's woolly socks… Is that a three-headed dog?" Cedric groaned.
If there had been a fence or some kind of protective barrier between him and the dog, he'd actually be thrilled right now—three-headed dogs were extremely rare on the British Isles, usually only found in Greece.
But right now, Cedric could feel that stinky breath hitting his face… and it was warm.
It was almost nose-to-nose with him.
Who could be happy in this situation?
George turned around decisively, intending to shut the door they'd just opened—but the three-headed dog was faster. It lunged forward with a roar, shoving its heads through the doorway.
Startled, George jolted so hard he accidentally snapped the doorknob clean off!
"Protego!"
An invisible wall rose between the four of them and the three-headed dog, causing the lunging beast to take a hard hit. With a howl of pain, it was knocked back several meters.
But such an injury meant little to the thick-skinned, muscular creature. It simply shook its heads and quickly recovered.
"What are you all standing there for?" Wayne shouted. "Fix the lock already and run!"
"O-Okay!"
The other three snapped out of their daze as if waking from a dream and scrambled to place the handle back and cast the Reparo charm.
But due to their extreme nerves, they failed several times in a row.
Wayne didn't bother with them. After studying magic for so long, he'd come today precisely to find the perfect target for practice.
"Stupefy!"
"Expulso!"
"Ventus"
Multicolored lights shot out of Wayne's wand, striking the three-headed dog. The space here was far too small for such a massive beast to dodge.
Bang!
A Stunner hit the leftmost head directly—knocking it out cold.
The twins were dumbfounded. Even when Cedric finally fixed the doorknob, he didn't say a word—he just stared in shock as Wayne pummeled the dog.
They knew most of these spells, sure—but using them against people was one thing. Trying them on a magically and physically resistant creature like this three-headed dog? Might as well be tickling it.
Wayne was just insane.
But Cedric, with sharp eyes, spotted something on the ground in the space the beast had retreated from—there was a trapdoor.
What was inside?
He was curious, of course, but now wasn't the time for exploring and puzzles. Cedric quickly yanked open the door.
"Wayne, come on! We've got to go—Filch will be here any minute!"
"That's it? It's already over?"
Now it was Wayne's turn to feel a bit unsatisfied.
Still, seeing the other three waiting outside the door, he cast one final Severing Charm, slicing a deep gash into the floor as a warning to the beast—then dashed out as well.
The door shut, the beast's roars vanished, and finally, the group breathed a sigh of relief.
Then they all turned to Wayne—staring at him like he was some kind of freak.
Feeling uneasy under their gazes, Wayne crossed his arms and muttered,
"What are you looking at me for?"
George eyed the boy up and down.
"Are you secretly some old monster who turned into a kid just to relive your childhood at Hogwarts?"
Wayne's face was covered in black lines.
"You've got an imagination that rivals Rita Skeeter's."
"You mean that Daily Prophet reporter? Mum says she's a total clown—called Dumbledore a senile old nut."
"I'm just a bit more hard-working than you lot, and maybe, just slightly more talented." Wayne made a tiny galaxy gesture with his fingers.
"Alright, alright, we've already gotten into the corridor—everyone back to their dorms," Wayne said.
"What's the rush?" Fred shook his head. "I'm traumatized—I need sweets to recover."
"I'll go grab Lee. Let's have a midnight snack before heading back."