"But aren't you Ron Weasley's brothers? Why are you helping us?" Harry asked suspiciously.
"We are his brothers."
"But we're under no obligation to help him. What we do has nothing to do with him."
"He doesn't mean any real harm, though—he's just a bit awkward."
George and Fred spoke one after the other.
"Maybe," Harry said carelessly. "But that door's locked. Can you open it?"
"A locked door?" George and Fred exchanged a glance and said in unison, "That calls for the Unlocking Charm."
"The Unlocking Charm?"
"Alohomora—that's the incantation. It's called the thief's friend, a handy spell that can open any lock without magical protections," George explained.
"And of course, it's a must-have for pranks," Fred grinned, stepping up to the door. "Like this..."
He pointed his wand at the lock and whispered, "Alohomora."
With a soft click, the lock sprang open.
"That's so convenient," Neville gasped, wide-eyed.
"We thought so too. We dug this spell up in the library and learned it ourselves. Luckily, it isn't too difficult," George said with a wink. "Right then, let's head in."
"Wait! Before we go inside, we need to talk," Neville blurted quickly as he realized they were really about to enter. "It's dangerous in there."
"Of course we know it's dangerous."
"If it weren't, we wouldn't bother coming," the twins said breezily.
"There's some kind of terrifying monster inside. Harry and I just heard awful noises coming from there," Neville said, swallowing nervously.
"That's worth paying attention to."
"But we've got something for that," Fred said as he and George pulled a spherical object from beneath their robes.
"Ta-da! Portable Swamp!" they announced with mock-dramatic sound effects, holding the ball up between them.
"It's our latest invention—turns any place into a swamp," Fred boasted. "One of our very own joke products."
"With this, anything that can't fly gets stuck fast," George added proudly. "Since you said the monster's indoors, it can't fly. That means we can trap it and slip past."
It did sound convincing—and very doable.
Harry grew excited, and Neville looked much more reassured.
Led by Fred and George, they crept up to the wooden door.
"I'll open it and take a peek first," Fred whispered, motioning for silence. He slowly pushed the door open and peered inside.
"By Merlin's beard!" Fred gasped, making Harry and Neville squirm with impatience. They longed to ask what he saw, but he had told them to keep quiet, so they dared not speak.
"What is it, Fred?" George whispered anyway.
Fred gave a sly grin, pushed the door wider, and said, "See for yourselves. And cover your mouths—don't scream."
The door creaked open, revealing the room.
It looked like any ordinary chamber, except for the massive creature inside.
The moment Harry and Neville saw it, they nearly screamed. Only by remembering Fred's warning did they slap their hands over their mouths and stifle the sound.
A gigantic black dog lay sprawled on the floor, snoring. The noise they'd heard earlier was nothing more than its snores.
But its size was beyond anything Harry or Neville had ever imagined.
Seeing it, Harry thought of the elephant he'd once seen at the zoo with the Dursleys.
This beast was even bigger—and worse, it had three heads.
Harry and Neville felt oddly grateful that the door had been locked, and even more grateful they hadn't known how to open it. If they'd come face-to-face with this monster on their own, they would've screamed for sure.
And if they had woken it... well, their scrawny bodies wouldn't even make it past the gaps in its teeth.
Not even all three mouths combined.
They tiptoed inside, circling the enormous three-headed dog.
"Didn't think Hogwarts would hide something this dangerous," George whispered in awe.
As they moved around it, they noticed a trapdoor beneath the beast's massive body.
"That proves whatever's under there is important. No idea what, though," Fred murmured, pointing.
"I know. It's the Philosopher's Stone," Harry said quickly, afraid to hesitate.
"The Philosopher's Stone?"
"What's that?"
"It was created by Nicolas Flamel. They say it can turn anything into gold and brew the Elixir of Life," Harry explained earnestly.
Neville stared at Harry's detailed explanation, completely baffled.
Was this really the kind of secret you just blurted out? Shouldn't it be kept tightly sealed? Harry was treating it like a jar with no lid.
"Gold?"
"Elixir of Life?"
George and Fred exchanged a grave look.
"What's wrong? Aren't you going to check it out?" Harry asked.
"No. We're not going down there—and we don't think you should either," George said firmly.
"As much as we love pranks, this is way beyond what we expected. At first, we thought it was just a fun challenge," Fred added.
"But clearly, that's something Dumbledore—or Nicolas Flamel—entrusted to Hogwarts. It's far too valuable to mess with," George said sternly. "We strongly advise you not to touch it."
"Dumbledore must have good reason to guard it so tightly. Maybe someone dangerous is already after it," Fred said seriously. "That means it's time for us to leave..."
"Wait… don't you think it's gone too quiet?" Neville's voice cracked.
They all froze. Listening closely, they realized the constant sound from before had stopped.
The snoring.
"It's… gone?" George's expression twisted into a grimace. "Looks like we've upset the tenant."
And then they heard it—an angry growl rumbling above their heads.