Boom!
Two dazzling golden streaks of light tore through the fourth-floor corridor!
It was as if a high-speed train was racing through a completely sealed tunnel. The displaced air emitted a rumbling roar, and the powerful wind pressure lifted the thick layer of dust accumulated on the ground, exposing floor tiles that had been sealed for centuries!
In an instant, Ares had crossed the half-mile corridor from the Trophy Room to the fourth floor, blocking the path of the three young wizards—Fred, George, and Lee—who had stumbled into a desperate situation!
[We're done for!!!]
[We messed up big time!!!]
[We're gonna die!!!]
The moment the door swung open, in the blink of an eye that felt like an eternity, the three boys thought they were having a nightmare.
There was no hospitable Mr. Fluffy in this room, only a dog.
Yes, a dog-like creature with three heads, three pairs of rolling, fierce orange eyes, three constantly twitching noses, and three mouths full of saliva and ferocious teeth.
Its massive body filled every inch of space from floor to ceiling!
At this moment, the three boys understood that Dumbledore forbidding them from entering this corridor and warning them of a painful death wasn't his sense of humor at play, but a genuine warning!
The monster-like dog's front paw, thicker than four African elephant legs combined, was raised to its highest point. Sharp claws, gleaming coldly and at least two feet long, sprang from the tips. In the next second, they would land on their heads.
There was no saving them!
The same desperate thought surfaced in the minds of the three boys!
From the deafening roar of the three-headed dog, the three boys smelled the incredibly foul air—their end would be to be torn to pieces by the three-headed dog's claws, swallowed into its stomach, digested by its intestines, and turned into stinking excrement.
In a trance, the three boys seemed to see the Grim appear and raise its scythe, sharpening it for the kill.
They couldn't do anything.
Couldn't cry, couldn't scream, couldn't run.
The three boys could only stand there filled with fear and despair, watching the sharp claws that would judge their fate approaching inch by inch... Their lives had only a blink of an eye left!
And then—
Twang!
A crisp sound of a bowstring snapping suddenly cut into the continuous roars of the three-headed dog!
Immediately after, Fred, George, and Lee discovered that the world in front of them had changed—like a calm water surface reflecting the clear moon disturbed by a falling withered leaf... the world in their vision also inadvertently 'shook'.
A person forcibly inserted himself into the gap between them and the three-headed dog!
It was a man with black hair and a lean back.
Under the dumbfounded gaze of the three boys, this man exuding a fierce aura made a 'comical' move.
He slowly raised his right hand, opened his palm, and met the three-headed dog's paw, which was a hundred times larger than him!
Did he want to stop it with sheer strength—that was ridiculous!
The three boys, with terror still etched on their faces, thought...
But they couldn't laugh, not because they were pitying their lives about to be lost, but because a certain energy radiating from the figure in front of them gripped their throats like iron pincers, suffocating them!
Boom!
A deafening loud noise made the three boys, who were waiting helplessly for death, dizzy and nauseous!
It was uncomfortable, but death did not descend!
A wall that suddenly appeared out of thin air blocked the powerful paw strike of the three-headed dog!
It wasn't a real wall built of heavy granite, but a wall made of solid 'crystal bricks'.
Under the thin moonlight, the crystal wall flowed with faint, colorful brilliance, magnificent and beautiful!
"Scram."
The three boys heard the man say again. That calm voice sounded like rolling thunder, carrying an intimidating majesty!
[So cool, his voice even has an echo!]
Fred's frozen thoughts flowed, and he praised angrily in his heart. Then, he saw a scene exciting enough to make his blood boil—
The man's thin body began to 'radiate' a gale forward. This wind was so fierce that the three-headed dog, which had fallen into a brief stupor after its attack was blocked, scrambled and crawled back, shrinking into the corner of the room, curling up its body as much as possible, burying its three huge, hideous heads into its two front paws, whimpering constantly!
Confirming that the three-headed dog was no longer a threat, the man turned around—
It was Professor Delfino!
This didn't surprise the three boys too much—they had recognized him from his back earlier. Besides, in Hogwarts right now, apart from Professor Dumbledore, what other wizard had such ability?!
However, the Professor Delfino in front of them wasn't his usual slightly lazy self with no airs.
Professor Delfino, turning to face them, had a calm expression, but his whole body was surrounded by an aura that made them tremble... even close to fainting. His eyes were not their usual clear black, but looked as if two golden suns had been stuffed into them!
Those two flames were so intense... as if they were about to jump out of the 'owner's' eye sockets. Just a glance at them made one's eyes sting.
George Weasley moved his dry lips, wanting to say something—
Ares raised his hand again to cover his eyes. His thin shoulders shrugged slightly, as if he was enduring something with great effort.
A moment later, he removed his covering hand, and his eyeballs no longer shone with golden fire like just now. The fierce gaze had softened a lot, only two golden sparks like candle flames still burned in the center of his pupils.
"Take your things and follow me."
Ares looked calmly at the three dumbfounded boys, walked around them with steady steps, and left the room.
Fred, George, and Lee looked at each other. No one spoke. One by one, they obediently shouldered their bundles and followed dejectedly behind Professor Delfino.
The night was still deep. The group slowly walked out of the corridor on the right side of the staircase on the fourth floor of the castle.
"Achoo!"
Standing at the corner of the stairs, Ares stopped abruptly and sneezed. He extended a finger to rub his nose, glanced inadvertently at the lion tapestry hanging down to the floor, and muttered,
"Damn it, I'm allergic to the smell of greasy hair... You three, to the third floor, follow me to my office."
Saying that, he went downstairs on his own.
Fred, George, and Lee naturally dared not have any objections and obediently followed downstairs.
Darkness quickly swallowed the footsteps of the few people, and the castle returned to silence.
A breeze entered the castle through the corridor opening, ruffling the hanging tapestry.
In the cold air, Severus Snape removed his Disillusionment Charm and revealed himself.
Watching the direction the group left, Severus moved his lips, his sallow face becoming unprecedentedly sinister...