Hogwarts had a total of one hundred and forty-two staircases.
Some were wide and grand, while others were narrow and tiny—and many of them swayed slightly as you climbed. Even worse, certain staircases had steps that vanished halfway up. If you stepped on one by mistake, your entire leg could get stuck between the stairs.
"I can't do this anymore…"
When Draco triggered another disappearing step trap, he finally broke down and shouted loudly.
"Which idiot had nothing better to do than design staircases like this? Are they insane?!"
Lykos glanced at him and calmly wrote down the twenty-seventh trap step they had encountered so far on a piece of parchment.
"I heard Rowena Ravenclaw designed them," he said casually.
Draco froze.
Then he quietly shut his mouth.
No matter how arrogant he was as a pure-blood young master, he still maintained the most basic respect for one of Hogwarts' founders.
"But… why?" Draco finally managed to ask as he pulled his leg free from between the steps. "Why would Ravenclaw design the school like this?"
"Because Hogwarts wasn't originally just a school," Lykos replied as he stepped carefully over the disappearing stair. "It also served as a refuge for wizards."
Since they were already stuck navigating the maze of stairs, he began casually recounting some Hogwarts history.
"About a thousand years ago, wizards were hunted and persecuted by many different groups. The four founders created Hogwarts to protect young witches and wizards who had awakened magical abilities—and to teach them how to use magic."
"Incredible," Draco said skeptically. "You mean noble wizards were once persecuted by others?"
He clearly didn't quite believe it.
"Where did you even learn that, Lykos?"
From Harry Potter, Lykos thought.
But of course he couldn't say that.
"There's a book called Hogwarts: A History. You should read it sometime. It contains a lot of information about the school."
…
By the time they finally made their way to the fourth floor, their first class had already started nearly ten minutes ago.
Lykos silently thanked his luck.
If he hadn't asked a ghost to guide him to Quirrell's office the night before, he might have wandered halfway across the castle by now.
"Fourth floor… the classroom is… 02E," Draco muttered while holding up the schedule.
"I envy Crabbe and Goyle," he grumbled. "Those two idiots are probably still sleeping in the dorm."
"That's because you said they'd just get in the way and told me not to wake them," Lykos replied with a shrug as he led Draco down another corridor. "This is classroom 01A. The rooms starting with 02 should be on the opposite hallway."
"It's not like we didn't try waking them!" Draco groaned, running a hand through his hair.
His once sleek blond hair now looked messy and fluffy from the rushed morning, like a golden retriever that had rolled around on the floor.
"Our voices weren't even louder than their snoring. How were we supposed to wake them?"
Since they were already late, they stopped rushing.
The two boys chatted lazily while strolling along a corridor lined with tall Gothic windows.
Sunlight streamed in from the eastern side, forming hazy columns of golden light that fell across their shoulders.
Lykos narrowed his eyes—golden like the sunlight itself—and for a moment felt peaceful.
He almost forgot that he was trapped in a dangerous vortex of conspiracies.
Until he noticed a locked door.
"This corridor's blocked," Draco said.
"I know."
Lykos's breathing slowly quickened.
Fourth floor.
Eastern corridor.
Locked door.
When those clues were combined, the meaning of the door became obvious.
The restricted corridor hiding the Philosopher's Stone.
Lykos knew very well that this door was practically bait.
There were no serious magical protections on the lock. Even a first-year witch's unlocking charm could open it.
And somewhere along this corridor lay the trapdoor leading to the Stone—the final objective Voldemort had given him.
"I think I hear breathing inside," Draco said, pressing his ear against the door. "Heavier breathing than Crabbe and Goyle after a fight."
"Ugh—and it smells awful."
"I bet there's one—no, maybe two or three—fat guys in there who are even less hygienic than Crabbe and Goyle."
Lykos grabbed Draco's hood and pulled him away from the door.
"Did you ever consider that it might be a monster inside?" he said quietly. "The headmaster probably meant this place when he warned about the restricted area. We should be careful."
"A monster?" Draco scoffed. "You're scaring yourself, Lykos. Who would put a monster inside a school?"
"…"
Lykos fell silent.
For a moment, he had no idea how to explain that Hogwarts had indeed placed a monster here—and that a far more dangerous basilisk lurked beneath the castle, while man-eating Acromantulas roamed the Forbidden Forest.
"Never mind," he finally said. "You're right. Let's go to class."
After thinking about it, Lykos decided not to ruin Draco's innocent illusion of Hogwarts.
…
Fortunately, the first class for Slytherin students was shared with Hufflepuff.
When Lykos and Draco entered the Charms classroom, they discovered that many students were late.
In fact, less than half of the Hufflepuff students had even arrived.
"Ah, two more young gentlemen," said a very small wizard as he checked a roll sheet.
"Let's see… Lykos Hayden… Draco Malfoy…"
He placed a check mark beside their names.
"Alright, since we haven't officially started yet, please come in and find seats."
Professor Flitwick, who taught Charms, was an extremely small wizard with brown hair and a pair of amusing little mustaches, dressed in a neat suit.
Due to his height, he had to stand on a tall stack of books to reach the desk and blackboard.
As for Lykos and Draco arriving late, he seemed completely unsurprised.
"Ah, students are always late on the first day of class. It happens every year… yes, yes, Hogwarts' staircases are quite complicated, but they do have a certain charm, don't they?"
Standing on his stack of books, Professor Flitwick chatted cheerfully with the students.
Before they realized it, the entire lesson passed in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.
Flitwick hadn't rushed into formal instruction. Instead, he blended bits of magical theory into casual conversation, hoping to spark the students' interest in learning charms.
Just as the students began to think that the Charms professor was a gentle teacher who wouldn't mind people skipping class—
Professor Flitwick suddenly picked up the roll sheet again.
"Oh! It appears two students have not arrived at all—Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe."
"Because of their absence, five points will be deducted from Slytherin!"
…
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