"Shhh! You'll wake Filch."
Charlie quickly clamped a hand over Hermione's mouth.
"Let's deal with the important stuff first."
Hermione understood the urgency and nodded, quieting down.
Charlie turned to face the heavy door guarding the forbidden corridor. He took a deep breath and looked back at the others.
"You all ready?"
Fred and George exchanged a glance. Fred grinned and pulled out a small ornate harp.
"All set, sir."
Harry gripped his wand tightly. "Let's hope this doesn't go as badly as last time."
"I really think we should reconsider, " Ron gulped.
"Shut it, Ron." Hermione shot him a glare. She was just as nervous, but they were already here. No turning back now.
Charlie pushed open the door. A familiar rank odor hit them immediately.
Inside, Fluffy lay sprawled across the trapdoor. All three heads snapped toward the door at once, hackles raised.
It stood up and gave a menacing growl.
Three massive heads, three snarling maws filled with fangs dripping saliva.
Drip… drip… The drool landed on the floor with an ominous hiss.
Ron turned pale. "I… I don't think he likes us."
Even having seen the beast before, Fluffy's sheer size and ferocity made their blood run cold.
"Oh no, Ron expected a red carpet," Fred mocked.
"And a mint on the pillow," George added.
Ron flushed red. Bloody Fred. I swear I'll sew that mouth shut one day…
Charlie remained calm. He'd faced Fluffy multiple times by now.
"Don't worry. He's actually pretty chill."
He stepped closer.
"Right, buddy?"
All three heads tracked Charlie's movement, but none lunged.
Fluffy growled, more for show than attack.
"See?" Charlie turned to the others.
"He's just doing his job. He won't really hurt students."
Hermione exhaled. "So, what now?"
Charlie gave the twins a look.
"Showtime."
George lifted the harp and cleared his throat.
"Prepare yourselves for a musical experience."
Fred smirked. "One you'll never forget."
"…Are you sure this will work?" Harry asked, uneasy.
"Books don't lie, Harry," Hermione said confidently.
Then the harp began.
It didn't play a sweet lullaby.
It didn't even play a soothing tune.
It played… a funeral march.
Worse, the twins began singing.
"Ohhh Fluffyyyy~" Fred wailed with dramatic flair.
"Pleaaase go to sleep nowww~" George followed, even more off-key.
It was a disaster.
The others winced, clapping hands over their ears.
"This is music?"
"I think I'm going to throw up."
"No way this works!"
Rrrrrrrrr…
Fluffy collapsed instantly.
"…No way." Charlie stared.
"That worked?!"
Snrrrk… snrrrk…
Fluffy snored like a freight train.
"Done and dusted!" the twins crowed.
"I pity that dog's taste in music," Harry muttered.
Charlie stepped over and heaved open the trapdoor.
Beneath lay pure blackness, thick as ink.
"Lumos." Charlie's wand lit up, casting a cone of white light into the abyss.
Everyone gasped.
Below, a mass of squirming black tendrils writhed in the dark.
"Ugh… disgusting." Charlie grimaced.
Those twitching vines reminded him of… certain unsavory scenes.
"Hurkk, " Ron gagged.
"What the hell is that?" Harry frowned.
Hermione leaned in, examining the movement.
"It's Devil's Snare," she said suddenly.
"Learned about it in Herbology. A magical plant that traps anything that falls into it."
"But it hates light and fire."
Charlie nodded. "Simple fix."
"Incendio Maxima!"
A fireball erupted from Charlie's wand, bursting midair into a rain of flame.
The tendrils recoiled, screeching in pain. In seconds, the entire bed of Devil's Snare was reduced to ash.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
Charlie levitated himself gently down into the pit.
When he touched down safely, he called up, "All clear! Come on down!"
One by one, the others descended, using the levitation charm.
Well, most of them.
When it was Ron and Harry's turn, both hesitated. Casting a spell? Sure.
Precision self-levitation? Uh… no.
Charlie sighed and waved his wand again, floating them down gently like awkward sacks of potatoes.
They landed in a narrow stone chamber.
Glowing crystals in the walls offered a faint light.
A tunnel stretched ahead into darkness.
"There'll definitely be more traps," Harry warned.
"We'll stay alert," Charlie said, already moving.
But just after they vanished into the tunnel,
a shadow stepped into Fluffy's chamber.
Dumbledore.
He emerged silently from the darkness, gazing at the open trapdoor with a weary expression.
Who could relate?
A hundred-year-old man still pulling overtime.
"Youth," he muttered.
His blue eyes gleamed behind his half-moon spectacles.
Originally, he'd planned for Harry to come here at the end of term, a test to see how he'd face Voldemort.
But now Charlie had led a full-blown raid.
"…Well, maybe it's for the best," Dumbledore murmured.
"Curiosity is a true trait of a wizard."
He gave Fluffy a brief glance, then followed them down into the depths.
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