The lock clicked and the door swung open. Alexandra stayed a few seconds before the door with her mouth open. That was it? She had supposed a corridor where a painless death was waiting would be heavily defended magically, but her first year unlocking spell had just overwhelmed the first protection. Something was very wrong, Alexandra felt. May be it was her being paranoid, but Alexandra knew she was only a first-year. A first year trained by Flitwick and in the top five of every important class which counted. So if Alexandra could pass this door, every student beyond second-year could pass this door too.
Sighing, she wondered if she wasn't about to make a big mistake. She could lock the door again, and likely no one would know of her presence here this night. Still,...
"Behind this door, the adventure begins..." Alexandra murmured to herself. Casting a "Lumos!" to be aware of her surroundings, Alexandra Potter entered the Forbidden Corridor.
31 December 1991, Alexandria, Egypt
The meetings of the International Confederation of Wizards were always places where every nation loved spending astronomical amounts of money, magic, wards, runes, precious stones and brilliant decorations. This end of the year congress did not escape the rule. The Royal Palace of Alexandria was a marvel of magical architecture, displaying enchanted images of the Nile, the desert and diverse local monuments like the pyramids. Built by French wizards at the end of the eighteenth century during Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign, then renovated and embellished by the successive Ministries of Egypt, the place had been chosen at the quasi-unanimity by the ICW senior delegates. The diplomats were particularly eager to welcome the beginning of the New Year with extremely expensive foods, drinks and in clothes the majority of the wizarding population would never be able to afford once in their life. At the moment were present the Supreme Mugwump, over one hundred and seventy senior delegates, twenty-five incumbent Ministers of Magic and a couple of hundred senior officials, not to mention all the witches and wizards having been invited for their looks or their colossal fortune.
In all this magnificence and with every influential man or woman busy to expand his influence and power base in the six hundred foot-long hall, the conversation of two witches discussing in a dark alcove of the first floor protected by four intensive secrecy wards had no chance of being heard.
"The ICW has really outdone itself this year, don't you think Knight Informer?"
"Indeed, my Queen. Though I wonder how the Egyptians are going to pay their employees tomorrow with half of their budget thrown in this little party."
A snort came from the first woman.
"Be brief. I can't be away for too long."
"I think the Knight Alchemist is trying to betray us to the Supreme Mugwump."
"Is he mad?"
"I wondered the same thing, my Queen."
The two witches let the time of a song pass in the Palace before opening their mouth again.
"I have to warn the King."
"He's not going to be pleased. The Philosopher Stones of Knight Alchemist have been very useful for the funding of our cover operations. We may have to advance the schedule of Knight Summoner."
"I know. But no plan survives contact with treachery and the enemy."
"And Dumbledore?"
"Ignore him. Unless you think you can take him with the Elder Wand?"
This time it was the second witch who snorted.
"I thought so. Don't worry, his time will come."
One click of the hand, and the alcove stood vacant.
31st January 1991 11:00 p.m., Hogwarts, Scotland
Alexandra entered the room-and immediately stopped. For a moment, she was sure she'd walked in a nightmare.
Alexandra believed that when Hagrid had spoken about a dog, he'd spoken about the magical equivalent of a Rottweiler or a Pit-bull, a bloodthirsty dog which would be easy to calm with a few steaks. In hindsight, the idea had been incredibly stupid. Everyone knew the Keeper of Hogwarts Keys loved dangerous beasts, and the bigger the better.
Which was why Alexandra now faced a gigantic three-headed dog, with massive yellowish fangs and claws, the three heads drooling and jaws full of saliva.
"What the fuck is a Cerberus doing here, by Hades?" Asked Alexandra rhetorically. "I'm going to kill Hagrid when I get out of here, if it's the last thing I do."
As there was no point to differ, she threw the steaks to the growling three headed dog, which looked ready to attack her at any moment.
The problem was the steaks only fed the animal for less than half a minute, with only two heads eating, with one always keeping watch on Alexandra. Damn.
Alexandra tried to think what she had read about Cerberus in the library, but it was unsurprisingly little. Cerberus were excellent guardians of treasures, due to their immunity to any form of aggressive magic. There were also class XXXXX magical creatures, which meant if you didn't have a Ministry authorisation to own one (which cost in the thousands of Galleons by the way), the sentence was a few years in Azkaban Prison. What the hell was Dumbledore thinking, placing one in the middle of a school, separated only by a simple spell from curious children?
As she thought about the different manners to get rid of the huge dog, the monster had finished eating and was now growling threateningly in her direction. Alexandra began to retreat in direction of the door, which luckily hadn't been closed. She had thought the obstacles to the Philosopher Stone would be moderately dangerous, but that was simply insane. She wasn't ready to go toe to toe with a Cerberus and have her corpse being thrown out of Hogwarts at the sound of the school trumpets and...
One minute. If it was a Cerberus like in the Greek Mythology, then the beast like the guardian of Hades realm had the weakness of music. Orpheus had managed to make it sleep with his lyre, allowing him to save his wife. Alexandra, unfortunately, had no music instrument, magical or non-magical device. She would have to sing. Not exactly a domain the raven-haired Ravenclaw would have described as one her strength.
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