53 Three-Headed Dog

We all sneak down the length of the room away from Filch, careful not to make any noise. At least until Neville trips, falls on Ron, and they both tumble into a suit of armor.

Among the clanging of the armor crashing to the floor, Harry's shout rises above it. "RUN!"

We start sprinting away, them not looking back. Though I do send a quick glance and get a smirk at the sight. Filch is running to try and catch up with us, but in their panic everyone seems to have forgotten something.

He's kind of old.

Filch's running speed is more like a light jog when compared to how fast we're running. Honestly, we could probably do a loop around him and head for the door to escape.

'The only problem would be making sure he can't see who's running past…' So thinking, my eyes linger on Ron for a moment. But before I can give voice to the option, Harry runs into a tapestry and finds a hidden passageway.

Mentally shrugging off the missed opportunity, I follow along the tail-end of the group, making sure to put it back in place to hide where we went. The passageway comes out near the Charms classroom where we decide to take a breather.

"I think we've lost him." Harry pants, leaning against the cold wall. Neville is doubled over and wheezing, his lack of exercise coming back to bite him.

"I… told you… so." Hermione gasps, clutching a stitch in her chest.

"We've got to get back to Gryffindor Tower, as quick as possible." Ron says.

"Same for us. Though Filch's office is by the dungeons, so we'll need to be careful." Draco says calmly, not even winded from the run.

Ron glares at him. "Shut up, Malfoy. You're probably the reason Filch was even there in the first place!"

Draco sneers at him. "Why would I tell Filch about the duel and then decide to show up? I suppose I was right about you being as daft as you look."

I roll my eyes as Tracy snorts. But before the insults can escalate, a door nearby rattles, and an ephemeral form shoots out of it.

It's that sort-of ghost, Peeves. Seeing us, he gives a squeal of delight. "Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut- HEY! It's you!" Catching sight of me, his mocking words cut off and he points a finger at me in outrage.

"Me? Of course it's me. Who else would I be but me? Would you be me? Then who'd be you? Would me be you and you be me?"

While everyone freezes, trying to parse what exactly I said, I reach into my pocket and pull out something clenched tightly in my fist. Unfortunately, before I can do anything with what I'm holding, Peeves shakes off his confusion.

"Think you're so funny now don'tcha. Well I'm HILARIOUS!" He takes a deep breath as I pull my arm back. "STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS IN THE- GACK!" He clutches his throat as I throw what I'm holding and we all run past him.

Once we're past, I look back and see him swearing as he coughs and rubs his eyes, sparkles gently falling from his form. We come to a door at the end of the corridor, and while Hermione unlocks it, I sigh.

'What a waste of glitter. Once he goes through something it will all fall off of him.' It's still weird that he can interact with things while the ghosts can't, but I guess that's the perk of being a poltergeist.

We rush inside and press our backs and ears against the door, trying to hear what's happening on the other side. Though with six people pushing against it, it's a bit crowded.

"Which wa-what happened here!?" Hearing that, I chuckle, causing the others to make shushing motions with their fingers.

"Blegh! What do you think happened Wrinkles!? I were attacked!" The clear outrage in his voice nearly has me laughing, and the looks everyone is giving me isn't helping my situation. So I pull away from the door to avoid hearing anything else, looking at Neville with curiosity. He's the only one not pushed up against the door, and following his gaze, I can see why.

In front of us is a dog. Not an unusual sight, admittedly. Though what makes it unique in this situation is the fact that dogs aren't a 'Hogwarts worthy animal'.

It's also towering over all of us.

And let's not mention the fact that it has three heads drooling and growling at us. It's surprising that the others haven't noticed it yet.

'Oh look, Neville has finally gotten Harry to turn around.' I think to myself idly.

His scrambling for the doorknob gets the attention of everyone else, who turn around and freeze after seeing the dog. They each scramble for the doorknob, getting in each other's way as they all try to get a handle on it. Delaying how long it takes for them to open it.

Delaying just long enough for the dog to thrust its middle head forward. Now, being a cat person, I like to think that I'm a reasonable person. At least by my standards.

But when a giant, three-headed dog decides it wants to have a taste of me? Yeah… that's a no.

Thrusting my hands forward, I let out a wordless yell as an explosion bursts forth from my palms. The noise and heat forcing the beast to pull it's head back with a startled yelp. It won't distract it for long though, I was mainly just trying to drive it back for the moment. 'No need to kill someone's pet after all. At least not yet.' I make a note of the three collars on its necks.

"Move!" I hiss at everyone blocking the door. Startled at my tone, they pull away, briefly clearing it. Another explosion, stronger than the last, rocks the corridor as the door is blown off its hinges. Not wasting anytime, everyone scrambles through, running past empty corridors with no idea where we're heading. Just trying to get away from the monster dog.

We come to a stop at the Grand Staircase, even now they're moving. Panting, everyone exchanges wide-eyed glances.

"The bloody hell is the school doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in school?" Ron finally says, breaking the silence.

Having gotten her breath back, Hermione gives a scathing reply. "You don't use your eyes, do you? Didn't any of you see what it was standing on?"

"The floor?" Harry asks. "Pretty sure everyone stands on the floor. But I was mainly focused on the heads."

Hermione rolls her eyes as Tracy speaks up. "It was standing on a trapdoor. Must be guarding something pretty valuable."

Hearing that, my eyes widen and I shoot Harry a look. Which goes unreturned, causing me to sigh. 'Did he really forget about that completely suspicious thing Hagrid picked up from Gringotts super conspicuously?'

"Either way," Draco interjects, "we should be getting back to our dorms. Don't want to be caught with our robes undone."

Ignoring the wizard-oriented saying, he's right. We separate there, Hermione obviously in a foul mood as she berates Harry and Ron while they climb the stairs while Neville trails along tiredly behind them.

Making our way to our own dorms, I'm finally questioned by my two friends like I was expecting.

"How'd ya make the explosions back there? Isn't the Incendio charm like a third year spell?" Tracy asks, to which I smirk.

"No idea what that spell is, but it sounds like something I want to learn. But no, I'm just a natural when it comes to blowing stuff up."

"But what about your wand? You didn't even use it to cast your spell!" Draco waves his arms for emphasis.

I roll my eyes as I copy his signature sneer. "Wandless magic is perfectly usable! It's used by every witch and wizard before they get their wands, after all. I simply haven't let obtaining a wand limit my own natural abilities." I proudly place a hand on my chest as I adopt a look of superiority.

I see Draco's eyebrow twitch while Tracy chuckles, and we finish our walk back to the dorms in silence. It's only when I'm in bed that a thought comes to me.

"Hey. Tracy, you awake?" Hearing her grumble a response, I continue. "Do you think anyone is going to get mad about the door?" Another incoherent grumble that I take as a 'no'.

"... Do you think the dog got out since the door is gone now?"

"..."

"There goes my nice and restful sleep."