"Harry! I can't run anymore..." Ron said weakly.
It wasn't lack of strength. At their age, they had endless energy. His stomach was giving out.
Ron felt like everything he ate tonight was churning in his gut, ready to come up.
Harry took a deep breath. Thanks to the staircase that suddenly moved, they'd temporarily escaped Mrs. Norris's claws, but it was far too early to relax.
Filch's mastery of the castle... the Weasley twins said it was only bested by themselves and Headmaster Dumbledore.
Harry didn't believe Filch couldn't find them.
Strangely, having spent so much time with the not-so-bright Ron, Harry felt like his own brain was growing smarter.
"Let's find a classroom to hide in? Maybe we can fool Filch, since running aimlessly isn't working."
Harry slowed down and looked around for a convenient hiding place.
Ron helped him look. Oddly, despite searching for ages, neither found a familiar classroom, as if they'd never been to this floor before.
Hmm? An unfamiliar floor?
Before classes began, he and Ron had thoroughly explored Hogwarts, except for the fourth floor, which Dumbledore had expressly forbidden at the opening feast.
Harry wore a mask of pain.
Great, if they were caught now, not only would they lose points for night-prowling, but they'd also get extra deductions for trespassing in a forbidden area.
A quick estimation of the lost points versus Slytherin's lead made Harry close his eyes peacefully.
Percy was going to kill them.
"Harry! Harry, don't sleep. Why'd you suddenly close your eyes?"
Opening his eyes to see Ron, who had no idea what was wrong, made Harry even gloomier.
He'd have to make Ron think a bit more when they got back. If he didn't exercise his brain soon, he really could regress.
"Ron, we need to get off this floor... Even if we're caught, we can't be caught here. Hey? Ron? Are you listening?"
Harry saw Ron staring bewilderedly at his lower body, which annoyed him until he felt a cold sensation in his legs.
"Hahaha! Peeves is here!"
A chill shot straight to Harry's head. Peeves had come up through his feet and was laughing uproariously atop his head.
"Oh... it's Peeves..." Ron's voice trembled. He knew what would happen next but still tried his luck...
"Peeves, sir? Could you please pretend you didn't see us?"
"Oh, that's impossible! Peeves is Hogwarts' most law-abiding ghost..." Peeves' mouth stretched wide, shouting like a howler:
"Young wizards out past curfew! In the corridor!"
"Run!" As soon as Harry saw Peeves, he grabbed Ron's hand, and Ron, warned many times by his brothers, also knew what to do.
So, at Harry's command, both bolted like rabbits, Peeves following leisurely and making jangling noises behind them.
Worse, Filch's aged voice sounded ahead at the staircase:
"Come along, Mrs. Norris. Those miserable little wretches think they can outsmart me!"
"Harry! Go back! Down the stairs we just climbed. Better a fall than getting caught!" Ron showed a rare burst of quick thinking.
"No, there's no time. We'll hide in a classroom and hope luck is on our side!"
Harry calculated and realised they didn't have enough time. If they kept running, Peeves would likely block them, as upperclassmen warned. Hiding offered a chance Peeves wouldn't help Filch.
Ron twisted the nearest doorknob. "This one's locked!"
"Try another. Damn! Locked too!"
Only the door at the end of the corridor remained. Filch's lamp was already casting shadows onto the fourth floor.
Ron tried it and wailed, "This one's locked as well!"
A barely audible sigh sounded behind them. To Harry and Ron's astonishment, a wizard's hand holding a wand emerged from thin air and pointed at the keyhole.
"Alohomora."
It was a voice Harry found oddly familiar, but there was no time to think. The door was unlocked, and he dragged Ron inside.
Thump, thump, thump...
Harry could feel his heart pounding in his throat. He exhaled a huge, long sigh.
Ron pressed against the door, hand over mouth, hoping not to lose control and throw up.
"Peeves, where did those brats go?" Filch's voice sounded outside, alongside an annoyed cat's meow.
"Oh, if you don't address me properly as Peeves, why should I help with your problem?"
Filch gritted his teeth: "Peeves, sir. Where did those brats go?"
It was clear Filch really wanted to bring them to justice.
Luckily, Harry had bet correctly. Peeves rolled his eyes at Filch: "You're not sincere at all. Find them yourself, silly Filch!"
"Damn Peeves!"
Hearing Filch stomp away, Harry finally relaxed, about to take a proper rest when his leg was struck rapidly, ten times per second. He briefly imagined he was a hand-chopped beefball in a restaurant kitchen.
"Ron! Quit it! I'm exhausted!"
Ron didn't answer and just kept hitting.
Finally, Harry couldn't stand it. He turned around and was enveloped by a foul stench.
A huge gaping maw full of gleaming teeth, as large as half of Harry, was swaying over him, seemingly searching for a place to bite.
Ron's legs had already gone soft. Harry faced a giant head and couldn't see clearly, but Ron could. He saw unmistakably a monster with three heads!
He knew what it was. A Class 5X Magical Creature, a three-headed dog.
Harry didn't know what he was facing, but just looking at the jaws, he realised it could swallow him and Ron like cupcakes.
He hadn't expected Headmaster Dumbledore was truly serious... Harry was close to tears.
The upperclassmen always said Dumbledore could be a bit mad, but Harry hadn't taken the forbidden corridor seriously. Who knew all those adjectives were accurate? Facing a three-headed dog, "accidental death" and "tragic demise" were literal!
Harry's quick eyes spotted an iron chain on the floor, but before he could be pleased, he noticed the broken end.
The three-headed dog howled, spraying sticky saliva on Harry's face.
It seemed to have enjoyed the terror in Harry and Ron's expressions. Its hind legs tensed, clearly preparing to attack.
"Ron." Harry felt an eerie calm.
He gripped his wand tight. "Later, I'll try to block its first attack, and you run. Don't look back; just run!"
Harry didn't know how long the few prank spells he'd learnt might hold the three-headed dog, but he knew the Weasley family liked him, and Ron was risking all this just to duel with him. Most important, Ron was his best friend.
The three-headed dog leaped high. As Harry searched his mind for any useful spell and Ron struggled to his feet, wand out, trying to help...
"Beautiful sacrifice, beautiful courage."
A voice filled with admiration sounded in Harry's ear.
Suddenly, deep-green thorns sprang from behind Harry, binding the three-headed dog tightly mid-air. This time, no gentle withdrawal of spikes. The thorns, bristling with sharp points like needles, sent the monstrous dog into wailing agony.
"Harry Potter, you're worthy of the hero's name."
"Sterling Page!"