Chapter 22
After spotting the musical instrument, Albert addressed the other three, "Listen, when I start playing this, don't make a sound, agreed?"
"Alright," Hermione nodded.
Albert looked down and noticed the large three-headed dog standing over the trapdoor that led to the lower levels. This must be Dumbledore's test for Harry, he thought.
Albert suspected that Dumbledore had deliberately sent Peeves to lead them into this room. After all, Dumbledore had the authority to command the ghosts in the school to chase away any student who came near this room. So when Peeves didn't try to drive them off, Albert figured Dumbledore had instructed the ghost not to interfere if he saw Harry out at night.
Albert began playing the musical instrument, which resembled a large, elongated violin with strings. Its size made it easier for Albert to play.
As he played, Albert noticed the dog growing sleepy, its eyes drooping with fatigue. He continued playing until the dog finally collapsed onto the floor, fast asleep.
At that moment, there was a soft click as the door unlocked, revealing Harry turning the handle. The four of them quickly exited the room and shut the door behind them. Thankfully, the dog was indeed asleep from Albert's music. The four of them then hurried upstairs to the Gryffindor Tower.
They ran smoothly through the halls, reaching the dormitory door on the eighth floor. The Fat Lady had returned to her portrait, and she looked at the four embarrassed students with curiosity, wondering how they had ended up in such a state.
But none of them wanted to talk about it, so they simply used the password to open the door. Once inside, Albert collapsed onto the common room sofa.
The four of them sat in silence for a while until Ron finally broke it. "Why does the school keep such a dangerous creature in the castle? Aren't they worried something might go wrong?"
Hermione took a deep breath and stood up. "Didn't you see it standing on the trapdoor? It must be guarding something."
She then glanced at the three boys and added, "I hope you're all grateful for what happened today. We were nearly bitten to death, or worse—expelled from school. Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."
Understandably, as an innocent bystander caught up in this mess, Hermione was quite angry, especially since this adventure nearly cost them their lives.
After sitting for a few more minutes, the three boys headed upstairs together, said goodnight at the dormitory door, and returned to their respective beds.
Albert felt a slight pain in his hand, probably from gripping his friends tightly as they pushed the door open, so he skipped washing up, quickly changed out of his clothes, and went straight to bed.
The next morning at breakfast, Albert noticed Malfoy's surprised expression when he realized Harry Potter was still at school.
It seemed that Harry and Ron were discussing something in private, but every time Albert approached, they stopped talking. It looked like they had started guessing what the large dog was guarding beneath the trapdoor.
Another situation that could be described as neither good nor bad was that Hermione had stopped talking to Albert. This left Albert feeling slightly disappointed, but it also allowed him to spend more time in the common room with other students.
Several classmates mentioned to Albert that they felt more at ease without Hermione sitting beside him.
It seemed that Hermione's handling of personal relationships was indeed somewhat problematic.
However, after more than a week had passed, and after Hermione had been scolded by Harry for receiving a Nimbus 2000 broom from the school, Albert finally found an opportunity to apologize to Hermione for causing her to sneak out of her room that night.
So, after a week of quiet, Hermione forgave Albert for his recklessness, and their relationship recovered.
The weekend had begun once again.
Early the next morning, Albert yawned as he made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast. He had been up late the previous night reading a Potions book, so he hadn't slept well.
Despite the physical exhaustion, Albert was still mentally energized. He felt he was making great progress in absorbing the knowledge from his books. The material seemed easier to remember, perhaps because his mind was more mature than his physical age, making these books feel quite simple to him.
He even found himself smiling occasionally as he ate, recalling an entire passage from a History of Magic book. He began to think he might have a talent for memorization.
Albert's quiet laughter caught Hermione's attention as she ate beside him. She gave him a puzzled look. "What's gotten into you? Were you sneaking around at night again?"
Albert quickly reassured her, "No, that's not it. I was just remembering a joke Ron told me, that's all."
After repeatedly assuring Hermione that there was nothing wrong, they headed to the library to study together.
Life had returned to its normal rhythm. Albert attended his classes quietly and diligently as usual.
On Wednesday during Herbology class, Albert showed a particular interest in magical plants. He even volunteered to stay after class to help clean up, just to spend more time with the fascinating flora.
Albert had always been intrigued by magical plants, even when watching them in movies in his previous life. He had a natural curiosity that drove him to examine anything that piqued his interest.
Professor Sprout was delighted to see Albert's clear enthusiasm for the plants. After all, as a teacher, it brought her great satisfaction when students genuinely loved the subjects they were learning.
She told Albert that if he had any questions about these wonderful plants, he could come to her office anytime.
That evening, after finishing his homework, Albert noticed a group of students gathering around the fireplace in the common room. It seemed the Weasley twins were showing off something new.
Just as Ryan was about to get up and join the excitement, the common room door opened, and Hermione walked in.
She glanced around the room before heading straight toward Albert, clearly wanting to see him for something.
Albert remained seated as Hermione quickly sat down across from him, looking around nervously.
Most of the students were captivated by whatever the Weasley twins were up to, so no one paid attention to the quiet corner where Albert and Hermione were sitting.
Hermione placed her school bag on the table and pulled out a thick book.
The book looked old, with a cover made of some kind of reptilian leather. The title was written in faded gold letters on the cover: *Rare Magical Beasts of Europe*.
"Look, I found this," Hermione said, opening the book and turning to a specific page. There, an illustration of a three-headed dog was displayed. The original artist seemed to have been quite skilled, as the three-headed dog was drawn with such precision that it appeared almost alive, shifting its stance as if it were real.
Albert quickly noticed that the three-headed dog in the picture closely resembled the one they had encountered in the room on the fourth floor.
Below the image was a description of the creature: *Three-Headed Dog*, a magical beast of regional biological origin, a remnant of the mythical era.
With three heads, it possesses inherent advantages in perception, resistance to fainting, panic, and unconsciousness.
The creature has strong night vision, with claws and teeth that are venomous, capable of inflicting wounds that are difficult to heal. Its heads can rest in rotation, making it challenging to catch off guard. The creature's mythical blood renders it highly resistant to both magical and physical attacks.
"Why are you showing me this?" Albert asked, then seemed to realize something. "I swear I'm never taking risks like that again. We were lucky to escape unscathed when facing such a terrifying creature." Albert considered himself lucky. If he had been alone in that room with the three-headed dog, he could have easily defeated it. However, he wasn't alone—his close friends were with him, which meant that even if he used his power, his attention would have been divided by their presence.
"It's good that you have that perspective," Hermione said, "but that's not why I showed you this book. Look at this paragraph."
Albert followed Hermione's finger to the line at the bottom of the page that he had previously overlooked: *A three-headed dog can be tamed by a strong owner, and once tamed, it will obey only the owner's commands. It is the most suitable and loyal guardian.*
"When we were in that room, we saw a trapdoor beneath the three-headed dog. This means the dog was there to protect something. What do you think could be so important that Hogwarts would keep such a dangerous creature in the school?"
Albert was genuinely impressed by Hermione's insight. He already knew why the three-headed dog was guarding the trapdoor, having seen the series in his previous life, but Hermione had figured it all out just from reading the book. Her intelligence at this moment truly surprised him.
Albert thought about the changes in Hermione. He realized that Hermione had not yet fully become the clever and top-performing student she would later be known as, but her curiosity about the unknown was unmistakable.
After all, escaping from the jaws of a giant three-headed dog would naturally make anyone curious about the creature. If Albert didn't already know the answer to this mystery, he would definitely be looking up information about the dog himself, had he not seen the series before.
In the original story, Hermione's popularity among Gryffindor was not great, and she struggled to find someone to discuss these matters with, leaving her to ponder them on her own. But now, Albert was here, so Hermione had someone to share her thoughts with.
Seeing Albert lost in thought again, Hermione asked, "Don't you find yourself even a little bit curious about the three-headed dog and the trapdoor? Can you tell me what you're thinking?"
Albert replied, "When we went back to the dorm after the three-headed dog attacked us, I overheard Peeves talking to Filch. He mentioned that the dog was guarding a stone… though I didn't catch the full name. Peeves said that the stone was important to Dumbledore." Albert deliberately avoided mentioning the Philosopher's Stone, not wanting to change the original plot too much. He wanted everything to remain within Albert's control, knowing that if too much changed, he might not be able to manage the story's events.
"However," Albert continued, changing the subject, "what I find strange is that Hogwarts is just a school, not a vault. Why would it be used to store treasures?"
"It seems I've thought of something," Hermione said thoughtfully. "I've been reading the *Daily Prophet*, and I remember an article saying that someone broke into Gringotts over the summer. The Gringotts spokesperson said that the vault that was broken into was empty because its contents had been removed earlier that day. Do you think that the item hidden at Hogwarts might be the same thing that was taken from Gringotts?"
Albert was once again struck by Hermione's sharp thinking and attention to detail. In the original story, Dumbledore had moved the Philosopher's Stone from Gringotts to Hogwarts after Voldemort's failed attempt to steal it two months ago, while possessing Professor Quirrell.
Gringotts was known for having the highest level of security, but after Voldemort's recent attack, which almost succeeded in obtaining the Philosopher's Stone, Dumbledore decided to move the Stone to Hogwarts, where he could personally guard it.
Albert looked at Hermione in surprise, realizing he might have been underestimating her. "I think your guess makes a lot of sense. After all, the safest place in the wizarding world is Gringotts. But now that it's been attacked, Hogwarts, where Dumbledore lives, would be the next safest place. Still, the person who dared to steal from Gringotts might also dare to try and steal from Hogwarts."
"Then what should we do?" Hermione asked, sounding a little nervous.
Albert waved his hand and smiled. "Don't worry. We have the most powerful wizard of the century as our headmaster. Even if something happens, it's not our job as first-year students to worry about it."