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HOGWARTS: REGULUS LORD OF THE STARS
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American Horror: Grind Edition
Hagrid's explanation successfully smoothed over the trio's lingering doubts.
As the sky darkened, the group said their goodbyes and headed back to the castle.
After dinner, Harry and Ron returned to the Gryffindor common room. Hermione, using the library as an excuse, split off on her own.
Once she was absolutely sure no one was following her, Hermione linked up with Richie. Together, they headed for the Starlight Sanctum.
Two months had passed since the term started. Tonight, right at the start of the Easter holidays, they were finally executing their infiltration of the Hogwarts Clock Tower.
Richie cracked a deadpan joke to cut the tension as they pushed open the classroom door.
Inside, Neville, Seamus, and Ventis were already hanging out, chatting quietly.
Five sleeping bags were laid out perfectly in the center of the room—a setup Richie had specifically asked Mody to handle.
Because the operation was scheduled so late into the night, the three Gryffindors wouldn't be able to get back into their common room. The Fat Lady routinely left her portrait in the early hours of the morning, leaving the entrance completely sealed.
Ravenclaws just had to answer the eagle door knocker's riddle, and Hufflepuffs only needed to tap the correct rhythm on the barrels, meaning Richie and Ventis could technically sleep in their own beds. But Ventis aggressively insisted on staying, and Richie wasn't about to leave the others unsupervised. So, he stayed too.
Five people. Five sleeping bags. All set.
"Oh man, I can't wait!" Neville practically rubbed his hands together, buzzing with adrenaline. "This is the Starlight Sanctum's first official joint operation!"
But with the reality of what they were about to do finally sinking in, Seamus started getting cold feet. "We're not going to get caught doing this, are we? Maybe we should just—"
"Are you seriously trying to bail right now?" Ventis asked, dead serious, casually munching on a cookie. "If you try to back out, we're just going to tie you up and leave you here. We'll untie you after we find the third puzzle piece."
Seamus panicked, waving his hands frantically. "No, no, no! I'm just a little freaked out, I'm not bailing! I'm coming with you guys!"
"Kidding." Ventis snickered and tossed a cookie at him. "Relax. We're all in this together. Ride or die, right?"
Seamus caught the cookie, exhaled, and gave a firm nod.
"Alright, we still have time. We move out at eleven-thirty," Richie said, placing the pocket watch he'd borrowed from the Weasley twins on the desk. "Until then, it's business as usual. Study, or catch some sleep at the desks if you're tired."
Everyone nodded. The group scattered, settling into their usual routines of reading and practicing spellwork.
The minutes ticked by.
Tick.
Richie looked up at the watch. "Eleven-thirty. It's time."
He pocketed the watch and looked at the group. "Let's move."
Kids always get a weird thrill out of breaking the rules. Any exhaustion they felt had completely evaporated, replaced by a hyper-focused, jittery excitement.
"Hell yes!"
"Finally!"
"Let's go!"
Taking point, Richie slipped out of the Sanctum first. Once he cleared the corridor, the others silently followed him out one by one.
They had to be paranoid. Running into Filch, Peeves, or other students sneaking out would be a disaster. A five-person deep midnight raid was incredibly conspicuous.
Faint footsteps echoed as they moved. The torches lining the castle walls hadn't been fully extinguished, but the flames burned low and dim. Relying on the dying firelight and the pale moonlight bleeding through the windows, the five of them carefully navigated the darkened halls.
Halfway to their destination, Richie suddenly froze.
The four behind him instantly stopped dead, their hearts practically leaping into their throats.
"W-what is it?" Neville whispered nervously, tugging on the back of Richie's robes.
"Shh..." Richie hissed, not explaining.
A second later, a screechy, obnoxious singing voice echoed down the corridor.
La la la, stupid old Filch, can't catch a single brat in the dark.
Looks like it's a job for the great King Peeves!
I'm gonna prank 'em till they cry!
King Peeves is unstoppable!
La la la!
God, that is genuinely awful, the five of them thought in unison.
Richie held a hand back, signaling the group to stay absolutely still.
He waited until the singing completely faded away. When he finally turned around, he realized all four of them were tightly gripping Dungbombs—the absolute holy grail of student contraband.
"Uh..." Richie stared at the stink bombs. "Let's try not to start a war if we don't have to."
Looking mildly disappointed, the group pocketed their artillery and followed Richie down an alternate route.
Thankfully, the rest of the trek went smoothly.
They finally stepped into the Hogwarts Clock Tower courtyard.
The moon hung high in the sky. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted softly.
Richie led the crew across the grass and straight into the massive hall at the base of the Clock Tower.
"Oh, it's those students! They're back!"
"They definitely know something!"
"Shh! Quiet!"
"Keep your voices down!"
The portraits lining the walls immediately started gossiping the second they walked in, though a few older paintings quickly shushed them.
The group ignored the chatter and gathered around the massive, swinging pendulum in the center of the hall.
Richie scanned the perimeter. Once he was satisfied it was clear, he laid out the plan.
"We do this exactly how we practiced. If anything feels off, call it out immediately so we can pivot."
Hermione, Neville, Seamus, and Ventis nodded.
Drawing their wands, the four of them moved into a square formation, taking up the four corners around Richie and the pendulum.
Richie handed the pocket watch to Hermione, drew his own wand, and stepped to the side.
Hermione checked the time. "Three minutes."
The group grounded their stances and focused.
The seconds bled away. Just as Seamus's palms started sweating from the tension, Hermione spoke up.
"Ten seconds!"
"Nine... eight... seven..."
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
"Cast!"
The four of them raised their wands in perfect unison.
"Quiescat Magnus!" Four streams of white magic shot from their wands, weaving together mid-air. The magic rapidly expanded, forming an ultra-thin, nearly invisible dome that locked down the entire hall.
The Large-Scale Silencing Charm worked differently than the standard version. While the basic charm temporarily muted a specific person or animal, the large-scale variant created a soundproof vacuum over a specific area, preventing any noise from escaping the perimeter.
According to the clues on the Marauder's Map, triggering the magical mechanism would cause the hall to physically resonate with the pendulum, setting off a massive mechanical chime. That was the sound they desperately needed to muffle.
As for the magical chime the tower naturally let out during the day—the one that echoed across the entire Hogwarts grounds—four first-years wouldn't stand a chance of suppressing that.
"We did it!" The four of them broke into massive grins and looked at Richie.
Seeing the perimeter successfully secured, Richie stepped up and slashed his wand through the air.
"Pendulum Sonorus!"