Third Floor

"You need to stop snoring!" Harry complained as he fixed his bed, "I can't even get a good night of sleep because of you."

"I don't snore." Draco said gritting his teeth, "Don't think I don't know that you stay awake like a night owl every single night. It is you who disturbs my sleep."

Harry rolled his eyes at Draco's childishness, though the person was at least tolerable than his cousin it didn't mean that he was fun to be around with. Harry suddenly heard Draco read a spell out loud as he quickly turned around to see if Draco was attacking him, but it turns out it was a rat next to him that was now under Draco's grasp.

"Who let this filthy rat in?" Draco complained, "Talk about keeping rats as pets. Hmph! This will teach them a lesson."

Harry saw Draco's evil smirk along with the rat's squeak for help as he felt pity for the rat. He would usually mind his own business and not bother with what Draco does but he quickly recognized the rat to be Scabbers. The rat Ron was carrying with him on the train.

"Malfoy, the rat belongs to my friend." Harry said reaching his hands towards him, "Give it back!"

"Which friend are you talking about?" Malfoy narrowed his eyes, "As far as I know the only two people you talk to are Pansy and Miles but none of them have rats as pets. I am sure it is not the Bones girl from Hufflepuff either unless you're talking about that Weasley kid."

"It's none of your business Malfoy." Harry said, "Just give it back. You've nothing to do with it."

"But I do Potter." Draco said, "Are you seriously trying to help someone who won't even talk to you because you're in Slytherin? Even for you, you have hit a new low."

"Shut up, Malfoy!"

"Or else what?" Draco snorted, "You going to call that Weasley kid as your support? Grow up a little will you."

Harry didn't want to continue to talk further as he went to snatch the rat but Draco quickly hid it behind him.

"Back off, Potter!" Draco said pointing his wand at him, "Today, I'll show you what a true Slytherin would do to such traitors you call friends, maybe you can learn from it."

Draco stepped back and threw the rat around the room with a levitating spell, teasing the rat here and there. Draco looked back at Harry with a smirk, as he threw the rat's towards the wall with as much speed he could muster but Harry quickly interrupted snatching Draco's wand.

With the momentum lost and the spell interrupted, the rat fell on the ground as it quickly began its escape.

"Why you!" Draco growled snatching his wand back and chasing after the Rat while Harry quickly followed behind him to protect it.

Scabbers ran as quickly as it could, afraid for its life as it jumped from one stair to another. Finally finding an exit it quickly ran through the slight gap below the door. Without paying much attention to the place, Draco and Harry both entered the through the door but they didn't end up in a room but a creepy corridor instead.

"We shouldn't be here!" Harry said huffing, "I think we're on the third floor and I have a feeling it's the forbidden corridor."

Draco didn't reply as he looked around the creepy place until his eyes finally caught the rat entering through another door as he quickly followed. "I'll torture the bloody rat first and then have my owl rip it to pieces and eat it."

The door was locked at first causing Harry to feel a bit relieved but Draco took out his wand and with a quick 'Alohmora' spell, he entered the room to the dismay of Harry as he quickly followed him through it.

"Where did it go?" Draco said opening the door wide open as he looked all over the floor until he felt someone pulling his robe.

"Afraid of the dark are you Potter?" Draco said snorting until he finally heard a low growl. He looked up to see a huge creature looking back at him.

He and Harry were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.

It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.

Harry quickly pulled Draco, dragging him out as he quickly closed the door back. Heavily breathing, they looked at one another as they quickly made a run for it outside.

"What in Merlin's name was that!" Draco said in a heavy voice still terrified of the bloody thing, "Why's there a huge monster in school?"

"We were warned to not go there, don't you remember genius?"

"But a monster doesn't make sense." Draco said not paying attention to Harry's remark, "Wait till father hears about this!"

"Where are you going?" Harry asked seeing Draco head out.

"Why do you care?" Draco said getting slowly back to his cocky-self but Harry quickly located Miles and Hermione near the tree as he figured where Draco was heading to.

―==(oIo)==―

"And you came to me because?"

"Because you love adventure, don't you?" Draco said, "And your mother worked here, so she might know what the dog was protecting."

"Protecting?" Harry asked confused by that remark.

"When I was looking for that damn rat my eyes fell on the trap door the dog was standing on." Draco said, "And don't interrupt me, Potter."

"I'll make sure to ask my mom about it." Miles nodded, "But for now let's keep it a secret."

"Why not tell my father about it?" Draco asked frowning, "He can help us with it and furthermore he'll help teach Dumbledore a lesson about keeping the dangerous animal inside the castles."

"We can do that but if that animal serves any real purpose we all will just look like idiots." Miles said trying to calm Draco down, "So let's keep it on hold until the moment is right and we have concrete pieces of evidence."

"Fine!" Draco muttered, "I am going back to the dorm room then. What a bloody hectic day!"

The three watched as Draco grumbled his way down back inside the castle.

"You're not planning on going in there, are you?" Hermione asked looking closely at Miles's face.

"Of course not." Miles said with the most honest smile he could muster, "But we can't have little Draco here getting on the bad side of the headmaster here now can we."

"You better not," Hermione said narrowing her eyes, "And Harry you need to go to the teachers when these sort of things happen not blindly follow someone into the forbidden area."

"I know, I know." Harry shook his head not wanting to argue with her, especially considering she was friends with Miles, he was tired enough so he wanted to distract himself for a while, "You guys wanna hang out at Hagrid's for awhile?"

"You mean the gatekeeper?" Hermione asked as Harry nodded.

"We are friends and he'll be glad to see me bring friends along." Harry said, "He worries a bit too much you see."

"I think it's a good idea to know about the staff around, right Hermione?" Miles said, "It might come in handy in the future."

"Fine, but you'll give your notes on Transfiguration later."

"Your wish is my command, dear Hermione."