In the silent corridor, the four crept stealthily up the staircase. At every corner, Fred would peek his head out first to check for Mrs Norris before letting the other three follow.
Meanwhile, Wayne's system would promptly chime with notifications, awarding him points each time they passed a new location.
However, these rewards were one-time only, granted only during the first visit while sneaking around at night.
By the time they reached the fourth floor, the stench of dungbombs had already reached their noses.
Wayne pinched his nose in disgust. "Couldn't you have picked a method that's less mutually destructive?"
"This is the simplest and most effective," Fred replied as they walked. "Filch has a cleanliness obsession. If he can't catch anyone, he'll clean up the dungbombs first before coming back—buying us more time."
Cedric sighed in admiration. "You're really experienced at this."
It seemed he still had much to learn about nighttime wanderings! Don't assume Hufflepuffs only produced well-behaved children—mischief-makers at this age were all much the same. It was just that environment shaped a person, and tradition played its part.
That was why Hufflepuff students appeared far more obedient than those from other houses.
Soon, they arrived at their destination—the end of the fourth-floor corridor.
"There used to be another stretch of hallway here, but since the start of term, it's been replaced by a door," Cedric explained.
The twins nodded in agreement; they were intimately familiar with the castle's main areas.
"Are we going in? What if there's danger, like Dumbledore warned?" The cautious badger gulped.
Fred scoffed at his timidity. "What's there to fear? This is a school—it's not like the Headmaster would bring in a Troll, would he?"
With that, Fred reached for the doorknob, only to find it locked.
"Alohomora."
Though Cedric's words said otherwise, his body was honest.
He was quicker than anyone, already whipping out his wand and casting the unlocking charm. "What do you think is inside?"
"No idea, but it's bound to be something valuable—a powerful spell, a treasure map? Anything's possible… Bloody hell!"
Fred's breath hitched mid-sentence as he finally saw what lay within—and understood why Dumbledore had issued such a stern warning.
Beyond the door wasn't a room but another corridor.
A dog sat there, six eyes fixed unblinkingly on them.
In purely numerical terms, eight eyes versus six, Wayne's group had the advantage.
But the dog was enormous, filling every inch of space from floor to ceiling. It had three heads, each bearing vicious fangs, drool dripping thick and foul from their jaws.
"Merlin's woolly socks… Is that a Three-Headed Dog?" Cedric groaned.
If there had been a fence or some other barrier between him and the beast, he might have been thrilled—after all, Three-Headed Dogs were a rare sight in the British Isles, typically found in Greece.
But now, Cedric could feel its hot, stinking breath washing over his face.
They were practically nose-to-nose. How could he possibly be happy about this?
George spun around instantly, trying to reopen the door they'd just shut—but the Three-Headed Dog was faster. With a thunderous growl, it lunged forward, massive heads surging toward them.
George was so startled that he broke the door handle clean off!
"Protego!"
An invisible barrier erected itself between the four of them and the Three-Headed Dog, causing the lunging heads to recoil with a pained howl, retreating several metres.
But such minor damage barely affected the thick-skinned beast, which merely shook its heads before recovering.
"What are you standing around for?" Wayne barked. "Fix the lock and run!"
"Right, right!"
The other three snapped out of their daze, fumbling to reattach the handle with a Mending Charm.
Their nervousness caused several failed attempts.
Wayne couldn't be bothered with them. After studying magic for so long, he'd come today precisely to find a suitable target for practice.
"Stupefy!"
"Depulso!"
"Diffindo!"
A rainbow of spells shot from Wayne's wand, striking the Three-Headed Dog. The confined space left the massive creature no room to dodge.
BANG!
A Stunning Spell hit the left head, knocking it clean out. The twins gaped, even as Cedric finally fixed the handle, staring dumbfounded at Wayne's brutal assault.
They knew most of these spells, but their versions would barely tickle a creature with such magical and physical resistance.
Wayne was monstrous!
Meanwhile, sharp-eyed Cedric spotted a trapdoor revealed where the retreating dog had stood. What lay beneath?
Curious as he was, now wasn't the time for exploration. Cedric yanked the door open.
"Wayne, let's go! Filch will be here any minute!"
"That's it?"
Wayne seemed disappointed.
Seeing the others waiting outside, he fired one final Severing Charm, carving a deep warning groove in the floor before darting out.
As the door closed, silencing the beast's roars, they finally exhaled—then stared at Wayne like he was some freak.
Their gazes made his skin crawl. "What?"
George examined the boy. "Are you some ancient monster disguised as a child reliving his youth at Hogwarts?"
Wayne's face darkened. "Your imagination rivals Rita Skeeter's."
"That Daily Prophet reporter? Mum says she's a clown who called Dumbledore a senile old fool."
"I just work harder than you lot. With a smidge more talent." Wayne pinched his fingers together, then dramatically widened them.
"Right, we've done the corridor. Back to dorms."
"What's the hurry?" Fred shook his head. "After that scare, I need sweets to recover."
"Let's fetch Lee for a midnight snack first."