Chaos and a Curious Knight
As soon as they entered the Ravenclaw common room, Terry hurried over to Harry, his face full of worry.
"I'm sorry, Potter. When I got here, your pet... the red dragon escaped. I tried to run after him, but he was incredibly fast," he said with a mix of guilt and nerves.
"It's fine. Don't worry," Harry sighed, turning around, ready to go look for his foolish dragon.
"Harry, curfew is about to start," Hermione warned firmly.
"Yeah, but I'd rather get punished for wandering around than let Red end up setting half the castle on fire..." Harry replied, though he paused at the end, as if considering that it didn't sound like such a terrible idea.
Hermione gave him one of those accusing looks she had perfected. She had never agreed with Harry and Daphne finding it entertaining to stir up a bit of chaos in Hogwarts just to annoy Dumbledore. Though, knowing the story of Gris and Liz, she could understand why Harry felt that way.
"Fine. Let's go. I don't want Professor Flitwick getting into trouble for covering for us," Harry said, and the others followed.
Once outside the common room, they stopped again in front of the Ravenclaw door.
"So, how exactly do you plan to find them? The castle is enormous," Daphne asked, with a slight sparkle of excitement for the adventure.
Harry touched his chin, thoughtful, as he looked down the corridor.
"I think it's simple... we just have to think about what things catch his attention the most," he murmured, starting to descend the seemingly endless stairs of the tower.
Eventually, they reached a junction of corridors. Harry stopped and studied both hallways carefully. At first glance, they looked identical, but something in one of them caught his eye: a suit of armor.
He approached and examined the metal boots. There, clearly marked, were bite marks.
"He went this way," he said with a small smile.
As they walked, Harry kept looking for more traces. His eyes landed on a painting whose corners were covered in scratches. He stepped closer, curious.
In the picture, a small pony stood grazing peacefully. But then, suddenly, a figure crossed several frames until it planted itself right in front of them: a knight in gleaming armor, sword drawn, wearing the expression of someone who believed he was in the middle of an epic quest.
"Aha! So, another bold challenger! Hmph! I only left to fetch my glorious sword, which is why the last coward fled with his tail between his legs. Surely he feared I would return wielding my legendary steel. I have already faced a dragon before, and I'm not afraid of one barely the size of a stout pony," the knight proclaimed, pointing his sword at Harry and tilting his chin in offended dignity.
"Come on, knave. Prepare your weapon!"
Harry, Draco, Daphne, and Hermione exchanged a glance, momentarily bewildered by the display. But Harry focused on the important detail.
"Excuse me, sir... did you just say dragon?" he asked calmly.
"Of course! What are you, butter-eared? A red dragon, an insolent, screeching reptile! But if you intend to pursue it, know that your endeavor shall be worthy of ballads—though not quite as glorious as the deeds of the illustrious Sir Cadogan," he said, puffing out his chest.
"I see. We are... adventurers searching for that dragon. It's our responsibility to catch him before he causes any trouble," Harry explained patiently.
"Ah! Noble hearts, welcome to the path of peril. The first time I faced such a beast, my wand was reduced to splinters and my brave steed was turned into a smoldering heap of ash," Sir Cadogan recounted, resting his sword on one shoulder with dramatic flair.
"Ahem... with all respect, Sir Cadogan, we'd love to hear the full story another day. Could you please tell us where the dragon went?" Draco interrupted with a hint of urgency.
"Where did it go? Hmph! Who knows. Perhaps to devour some hapless soul in a dark corner," he muttered disdainfully.
"Sir, the dragon you saw is Harry's pet," Hermione added quickly. "He's harmless... just a bit clumsy. We'd like to catch him before he gets into any more mischief."
"Aha! A pet, you say. Boy, I must admit, owning a dragon is quite the extraordinary feat. The last person I saw with one..."
"Please, could you just tell us where he went?" Daphne interrupted, her patience clearly thinning.
"Tsk! Impetuous children! You have no appreciation for the chronicles of the past! You must learn that knowing history prevents us from repeating... from... bah, how did it go?" he began mumbling to himself.
Around him, several other paintings rolled their eyes in exasperation.
"Hey! I saw that dragon. He went down that corridor, carrying a bit of tapestry in his mouth," another portrait chimed in with a tired sigh.
"Thank you," Harry said with relief, starting to move away.
"Wait! Accompanying you on your crusade would be the honor of my life!" Sir Cadogan exclaimed, clambering onto his chubby pony, which let out a long, resigned snort as it felt the weight on its back.
"Onward, my brave steed!" Sir Cadogan thundered, raising his sword high.
The pony simply stayed put, fixing an eternal look of irritation on the wall.
Harry and the others exchanged a silent look... and hurried off before the knight could regain his breath.
After covering a good distance and asking directions from more portraits, they finally reached a large, nearly empty hall. The floor was littered with chewed-up tapestries, scattered books, and trails of ash.
"Wait, Harry," Hermione said, her face slightly pale. "This is the corridor Dumbledore declared off-limits..."
She turned to look at them all with unease.
"The third floor," she added in a whisper.
"Wow, we really did get far," Daphne remarked, more excited than scared, earning a round of looks from her friends.
"I honestly think you would've ended up in Gryffindor if you'd wanted," Draco said with a wry smile.
"What? A little excitement never hurts... don't tell me you disagree," Daphne shot back, folding her arms.
Draco opened his mouth to retort but eventually closed it again with a sigh. He had to admit, she had a point.
"Guys... I don't want to die. Or worse... get expelled," Hermione whispered.
"I think that's the other way around," Daphne pointed out with a small, amused gesture.
"I know what I said," Hermione replied with absolute seriousness.
"It's fine. If we get expelled, we can always change schools," Harry said with the utmost calm, as if he were talking about moving to another room. "Or is there something tying you to this place?" he asked, glancing at them sideways.
"No... but I don't want to show up at a new school already infamous for being expelled," Hermione replied with resignation. Still, she followed him, wand in hand.
The four of them walked to a door that had a huge hole at the bottom, through which came some rather suspicious noises. It was obvious Red had slipped through there.
Daphne was the first to approach, leaning down to peek inside curiously. She had barely taken a look when she pulled her head back quickly, her eyes a little wide.
"What did you see?" Hermione asked, biting her lip. Her curiosity weighed more than her fear.
"You'd better see it yourselves," Daphne said, motioning them over.
The four of them gathered around the hole, cautiously peeking in.
The sight left them frozen.
A giant three-headed dog lay stretched out on the floor of the dark room, looking completely relaxed. Red was perched on top of one of the heads, one paw raised in a victorious pose. However, the dog's tail was wagging happily from side to side. It didn't look like a duel at all—more like a very peculiar game.
They quickly pulled back when one of the heads opened a huge eye and stared at them curiously.
"This... I think Red is doing just fine," Draco remarked in a neutral voice.
"Yes. I think so too," Daphne added at once, trying to sound calm.
"He made a new friend. Good," Hermione said, even managing a nervous little laugh.
"Maybe he'll come back on his own after he's done playing," Harry said, nodding much faster than necessary.
They turned around, pretending they were about to head back to the common room. But they stopped halfway, as Harry let out a long sigh.
"We can't leave him in there, can we?" Draco murmured with a hint of regret.
"No. When he gets tired of playing, he'll probably rip out another door," Hermione replied, her expression serious.
"So... are we going to get him out?" Daphne asked, with that reckless gleam that always gave her away.
"It's what we have to do. Professor Flitwick trusted us when we said we'd watch over him," Harry said, rubbing his forehead in exhaustion.
They took a deep breath and stepped back up to the hole. Just as they were about to look inside again, a massive eye peeked out of the darkness, watching them as if it perfectly understood their intentions.
"I think if we get up early tomorrow and clean up all the mess he's going to make, it would be the smarter choice," Harry suggested in a low voice.
The others nodded immediately, as though someone had just proposed the best idea of the night.
"Wait," Hermione said suddenly, as something clicked in her mind. At the same time, she brought a hand to her face, annoyed it hadn't occurred to them sooner.
"What is it?" Draco asked.
"It's easy," Hermione replied, stepping in front of the door, but not so close as to tempt the dog. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called out in a firm, but not too loud voice:
"Red! If you don't come out right now, we'll tell Wanda that you're misbehaving and have her come get you!"
Inside the room, a muffled thud echoed. The eye that had been watching them vanished, and within seconds, Red shot out through the hole, his tail wagging with pure mischief.
They all stood looking at him with slightly strained smiles, aware they had forgotten the most obvious solution of all.
"Let's go back, Red. Stop getting into trouble," Harry said as he ran a hand over the dragon's head with resignation.
The four of them—and the dragon—set off back the way they'd come, hoping no one would catch them wandering around at that hour.
As they passed in front of Sir Cadogan's painting, the knight saw them coming in procession. His eyes widened, and he raised his sword with gusto.
"Begone, vile spawn of shadows!" he bellowed, thrusting his blade through the air with the energy of a medieval tournament.
Red, intrigued, bounced up to the frame and rested his front paws on it, leaving several scratches on the painting.
"Watch out, knave! My sword thirsts for justice!" Sir Cadogan shouted, brandishing his weapon fervently.
Hermione and Harry grabbed Red before he could climb all the way in. Harry pulled out his wand and murmured a restoration charm that erased the scratches from the canvas.
"Ah, cowards! You flee from my invincible blade!" Sir Cadogan cried, still waving his sword as they hurried away.
Finally, with the dragon under control, they vanished up the stairs, wishing nothing—and no one—would stop them before they reached the common room and, hopefully, managed to sleep a few hours in peace.