Chapter 27 - What's up dog?

Three hours later, James was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, his stomach grumbling with hunger. He checked the time on his watch; it was past midnight. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until he had something to eat, so like any responsible boy, he sat up and looked over at his three roommates, Thomas, Adam, and Michael, who were all fast asleep.

"Guys, wake up," James whispered, gently shaking Thomas' shoulder. "I'm starving. We have to go to the kitchen and get some food."

Thomas groaned and rubbed his eyes. "James, it's the middle of the night. We have a flying class in the morning. We can't afford to be tired, not to mention potions with Snape and our first herbology class."

"But we had such an amazing feast in the kitchen on our first day here. I'm sure there are more treats waiting for us," James said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Adam stirred in his sleep, and Michael sat up groggily. "What's happening?" he asked, blinking the sleep from his eyes.

"James wants to go to the kitchen for a midnight snack," Thomas explained.

Michael's eyes lit up. "Count me in," he said, hopping out of bed.

"Me too," Adam agreed, sitting up and stretching his arms.

"Tom, please don't be a spoilsport," James said, giving him puppy eyes. "You're the best one amongst the four of us, certainly a little bit of tiredness won't affect you now, would it? Besides, didn't we already go there and nothing happened?"

Thomas sighed. He knew James had a point. "Okay, I'm in."

"I knew we could count on our genius!" James exclaimed, hugging Thomas as he was grinning from ear to ear. "Onwards lads, to our kitchen."

The four of them quietly slipped out of their dormitory and tiptoed down the spiral staircase, careful not to wake anyone up. The castle was dark and quiet, and the only sounds they could hear were their own footsteps and the occasional meowing of Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat.

As they made their way to the kitchen, James chattered excitedly about the different kinds of food they might find. "I hope they have some of those pumpkin pasties and maybe some chocolate frogs too."

"Yeah, and maybe some of those cauldron cakes," Adam added with a grin.

Michael rubbed his hands together eagerly. "I wouldn't mind some treacle tart myself. Or some of those Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans."

Thomas couldn't help but smile at his friends' enthusiasm. "And here I was hoping for some good old pancakes. Hey, guys, have you heard that," he said, glancing nervously around the darkened corridors.

"Don't worry, Tommy boy," James said reassuringly. "There's no one down these hallways at this hour. Besides, it'll be worth it once we have a full stomach."

Thomas couldn't help but smile at his friends' enthusiasm. He had to admit, he was looking forward to the feast too, who wouldn't be when the house elves were willing to make anything for you?

The four boys just passed another hallway with portraits when they suddenly heard footsteps approaching. They froze in their tracks, their hearts racing with fear that they had been caught.

As the one who convinced his roommates to follow him, James should have had a plan, but he froze, fearing that they were caught. Just as he was about to sacrifice himself so that his roommates would get detention, he felt himself being dragged away as Thomas motioned towards a nearby suit of armor, and just as they got behind the armor, they realized that the footsteps were not those of the dreaded caretaker Filch, but rather from a group of people, running away from the very same person.

The four boys let out a collective sigh of relief, and Thomas couldn't resist a smirk as he stepped out from behind a statue. "Well, well, well, look who's also running from Filch."

Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hermione rounded a corner and stopped in their tracks. They were surprised to see Thomas and his roommates, Adam, James, and Michael, standing there in the middle of the hallway. It was well past curfew and they were supposed to be in their respective dormitories.

"What are you guys doing out here?" Harry asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

James grinned mischievously. "Same thing as you, I suppose. Breaking the rules."

Hermione looked disapprovingly at the boys. "You know the consequences of being caught out of bed."

Thomas nodded in agreement. "We do, but it's worth it to have some fun."

Neville looked a bit sheepish as he rubbed his arm. "We couldn't sleep, so we went for a walk. I didn't mean to get caught up in this."

James clapped Neville on the back. "Don't worry about it, mate. We're all in this together now."

As they were chatting, they heard footsteps coming toward them. Suddenly, Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, appeared out of nowhere and began to sniff around.

"Quick, hide!" Hermione hissed, pushing the boys towards a nearby door.

As they huddled together in the room, Thomas couldn't resist teasing Hermione. "Now that I think about it, aren't you breaking the rules, Hermione? I thought you were the model student."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile. "Just this once, Tom."

They could hear Filch's footsteps approaching and held their breath, hoping not to be caught. Mrs. Norris continued to sniff around the closet, but luckily, they remained hidden.

After what seemed like an eternity, the footsteps faded away and the cat left, still on the lookout for any rule-breakers.

"That was close," Harry said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, we really need to be more careful," Ron added.

James grinned. "Speak for yourselves, Weasley. I'm up for another adventure any time."

While James and the Gryffindors were talking, Thomas and his two other roommates were staring in awe at the biggest dog they had ever seen. For Thomas who had seen Bahamut's true form, the three-headed dog didn't seem all that big, but he never expected to come face-to-face with one. The dog was massive, taking up the entire corridor and blocking their path.

"Wow," Adam breathed, staring in awe at the creature. "I've never seen anything like it."

"If my knowledge isn't failing me this is a Cerberus, a three-head creature from Greek mythology. I never thought I would see one," remarked Michael.

While his friends nodded at his words, Neville, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were not as impressed. They were frozen in fear, knowing that they were in grave danger.

"We need to get out of here," Hermione whispered urgently.

"B-but how?" Neville asked, his voice shaking.

Everyone was trying to find a way of getting out of the room without waking the dog when Michael remembered something he had read in a book about mythical creatures.

"He's asleep, so that means he thinks the door to this room must be locked right?" Harry whispered suddenly, just Michael was about to suggest something.

"What?" Thomas, Hermione, Adam, and Michael asked at the same time, all of them confused, not understanding at all what Harry was saying.

Harry turned to them, his eyes bright with a plan. "The dog thinks this door is locked. We can use that to our advantage."

All of them looked at Harry skeptically, not entirely convinced by his plan.

Harry explained, his voice barely above a whisper, "We can try to distract the dog and sneak past it while it's trying to figure out what he had heard."

Neville looked worried. "But how are we going to distract a three-headed dog?"

Ron spoke up, his voice trembling slightly, "I heard a story about a wizard who played music to put a giant to sleep. Maybe we can try something like that?"

"I was about to suggest that, considering that the Cerberus are just bigger dogs, music or a loud noise could distract them quite easily."

Hermione glanced at the boys, not being able to understand why the boys would want to get past the dog when they could just go out the way they came. Sure, that would lead to them being found by the caretaker, but that was better than being eaten by a three head dog no?

James looked thoughtful. "I have an idea. I've read about a charm that amplifies sound. If we can find something loud enough, we can use the charm to make it even louder and hopefully distract the dog long enough for us to get past it."

Harry nodded in agreement. "That might work. Though we need to find something that would make a loud noise."

They all looked around the corridor, trying to find something that would make enough noise to distract the dog. But the room was empty except for them and the Cerberus.

Suddenly, Adam whispered, "What about using the broomstick?"

They all turned to look at the broomstick leaning against the wall. It was old and worn, but it was the only thing in the room that could make enough noise.

James nodded eagerly. "Perfect. I'll use the charm on the broomstick, and we'll all make a run for it while the dog is distracted."

"Are you sure you can do that? "Thomas looked at his friend, unsure that the same boy who failed to transform a pencil into a feather could actually charm a broomstick.

"On second thoughts, you are right Tom. You do it."

Reluctantly Thomas nodded back when Hermione cleared her throat making the boys look at her.

"Or we can just go back the way we came. Flinch is mostly far away by now."

The boys looked at each other, unsure. Going back the way they came would be the safest option, but they were so close to finding out what the dog was protecting. They had to know.

"But what about the thing the dog's protecting?" Harry said, his voice low.

"Harry's right," Ron said. "We can't just go back now. We're so close."

Hermione sighed. "I'm not saying we shouldn't find out what's beneath or behind the dog, but there's got to be a better way than using a broomstick to distract a three-headed dog."

James shook his head. "It's the only option we have. We can't just stand here and do nothing. I mean we are already in deep shit."

For the first time since they got here, Thomas found Hermione's words making sense, now that he took a second to rewind the situation they walked into. "Hey Hermione is right, what if this doesn't work? What if the dog doesn't fall for the distraction? Wouldn't that turn us into his midnight snacks?"

Hearing Thomas' question, Ron roll his eyes at the Ravenclaw boy so he tried to lighten the mood. "Then we'll have to use our charm and good looks to get out of there."

Harry and Neville chuckled nervously at his joke, but the tension in the air was palpable, especially since Thomas' roommates found his question quite hard to digest since it was the truth, especially James who dragged them out of their room.

Suddenly, there was a loud snore, and they all froze.

"Quick, let's do this!" Ron whispered urgently, taking out his wand and muttering a charm under his breath. The broomstick began to vibrate and hum, making a loud noise that echoed throughout the corridor.

The dog's head snapped up, and it began to growl, deep and menacing. The kids could see the drool dripping from its jaws as it turned towards them, ignoring the broom.

"Run!"

But they weren't fast enough. The dog was right behind them, its massive paws thudding on the ground, its hot breath on their heels.

They could see the door ahead of them, but the dog was getting closer and closer. As he was the last one, Thomas could see his friends making it to the door, but at this rate, not all of them would make it out of the room in the time since he could hear the barks of the monstrous dog getting closer and closer. And the first one to be caught would be him. Just as he was about to sacrifice himself so that his friends could make it out alive, he heard Bahamut's voice in his head.

[Brat, stay behind and close the door. Let me give you a hand dealing with this puppy.]

Thomas didn't know how Bahamut could help him, but he trusted the dragon. So before the dog could reach him, he turned around and faced the dog, leaving everything in Bahamut's hands.

With a sudden burst of energy, Thomas' sacred gear appeared and soon he began to transform. His body grew larger, and scales started to appear all over him. His fingers grew longer and sharper turning into claws, and his face elongated into a dragon-like snout.

The Cerberus stopped in its tracks as it saw Thomas transform into a creature that it had never seen before. It began to whimper and cower as Thomas slowly approached it, closing the door with its tail. He knew that he had to be careful not to scare it too much, otherwise, everything would backfire.

"Hey, there," Thomas said softly, trying to calm the dog down. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

The dog whined in response, and Thomas could see that it was no longer trying to attack him. The poor thing didn't even dare to think about that any longer, so Thomas took a step closer and held out his hand, hoping that the dog would sniff it and realize that he was friendly.

To his surprise, the dog licked his hand with all three of its tongues, and Thomas knew that he had gained its trust or at least scared the poor thing so much that it developed some kind of Stockholm syndrome for him. He continued to stroke the dog's fur, scratching all three of its heads from time to time, as he could feel its body relaxing under his touch.

After a few moments, the dog lay down on the ground, its head resting on Thomas's lap. Thomas continued to stroke its fur, and he could feel a sense of calm wash over him. He knew that he had made a new friend. Soon, Bahamut took back Thomas' dragon form, shrinking the boy back to its former height and body, making it comical as he stood on top of the Cerberus middle head, not knowing what to do.

Meanwhile panic started to set in as Thomas' roommates, Hermione and three Gryffindor boys realized that Thomas had stayed behind with the Cerberus. Harry, Hermione, Neville, Adam, James, and Michael looked at each other in dismay, knowing they had to act fast. They could not leave their friend behind to face the danger alone.

"Feckin' hell, he had to be a hero." James cursed, ready to go back into the room,

"We have to go back," Adam said, his voice shaking slightly.

"But how?" Hermione asked, looking around the room frantically. "The door is locked, and we can't get back in without the key."

"We need to find Filch," Michael suggested, and the others nodded in agreement. They knew that Filch had the keys to every room in the castle, including the forbidden corridor.

They moved as quietly as they could, making their way through the corridors of Hogwarts, their hearts beating fast with fear. They knew that they were risking their lives by being out of bed after hours, but they had no choice. They had to save their friend.

Finally, they spotted Filch's silhouette in the distance, and they quickly ducked into a nearby alcove, trying to avoid being seen.

"We have to distract him," Ron whispered, and the others nodded in agreement.

"No idiot, we have to get help, not run from him!" James whispered unhappily to the younger Wesley.

Without waiting for a response from the red-haired boy, they ran as fast as they could, their hearts pounding in their chests, until they finally caught up with the caretaker.

"Filch, we need your help," Adam panted, his voice barely above a whisper.

Filch looked at them suspiciously, his eyes narrowed. "What are you lot doing out of bed?" he growled not happy to see so many students out in the hallways, especially after midnight.

"We left something in the forbidden corridor," Hermione lied, hoping that Filch would buy their excuse.

Filch raised an eyebrow. "And what could be so important that it can't wait until morning?" he asked, clearly not convinced.

"It's our homework," Michael piped up, sounding nervous. "We left it there by accident."

Filch seemed to consider this for a moment before grunting in agreement. "Fine, I'll get the keys. But you lot better hurry up and get back to your dormitories. This will be the first and last time I let the lot of you return to your rooms without contacting your house heads or the headmaster."

They waited anxiously as Filch fumbled with his keys, trying to find the right one. Finally, he produced a large, rusty key and handed it to Hermione.

"Be quick about it," he warned, his eyes darting around the corridor.

They ran back to the forbidden corridor, their hearts beating fast in fear of what they might see. They unlocked the door, and to their relief and surprise, they found Thomas sitting on top of the Cerberus, stroking its fur.

Thomas looked up as they entered, a relieved smile spreading across his face. "Took you long enough. I thought you forgot about me."

"We thought we lost you," James said, his voice filled with emotion.

"I'm fine," Thomas replied, standing up from the Cerberus. "Fluffy was just doing his job. He's a good boy after all."

The group breathed a collective sigh of relief, happy to see their friend unharmed. They couldn't believe his luck. They had stumbled upon the three-headed dog, and somehow, Thomas had managed to tame it. It was almost too good to be true.

"How did you manage to do that?" Hermione asked, looking at Thomas with a mixture of awe and curiosity.

"It's a long story, guys," Thomas replied, not wanting to reveal the existence of his sacred gear. He knew that it would only lead to more questions that he couldn't answer.

"Come on, we have to get out of here," Neville said, looking around the room nervously.

"We're lucky that Filch let us return so please, let's not try out luck."

Everyone nodded at the boy and before they left, Thomas pets the dog one last time before leaving, promising in his heart that he would visit the big puppy the next day.

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