Chapter 37

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In the silent corridor, four people crept up the stairs. Every time he passed a corner, Fred would poke his head out to see if Mrs. Norris was there, and then let the other three follow. Every time Wayne passed a spot, the system would sound a prompt and he would earn points. However, these rewards were one-time only and available only during the first night travel.

By the time they reached the fourth floor, they could already smell the stink of dung bombs. Wayne covered his nose in disgust. "Can't you choose a method that's less smelly?"

"This is the simplest and most effective," Fred replied as he walked. "Filch is a clean freak. If he can't catch anyone, he'll definitely clean up the dung first, giving us more time."

Cedric marveled, "You are really experienced." It seemed he still had a lot to learn on night tours. Hufflepuffs were often seen as honest kids, but naughty ones could be found in every house. Their environment and background also played a part in their behavior, making Hufflepuff students seem more well-behaved in general.

The group quickly arrived at their destination, the end of the corridor on the fourth floor. "There used to be a corridor here, but since this semester, it's become a door," Cedric said, and the twins nodded. They were all very familiar with the main areas of the castle.

"Do you really want to go in? What if it's dangerous like Dumbledore said?" the honest man asked, swallowing nervously.

Fred responded contemptuously, "What are you afraid of? This is a school. Do you think the principal would let a giant monster roam free?" As he spoke, he turned the door handle, but it was still locked. "Alohomora!" he said, but Cedric was quicker, pulling out his wand and casting the unlocking spell.

"What do you think is inside?" Cedric asked.

"I don't know, but there's bound to be something valuable: a powerful spell, a treasure map? Anything is possible... Damn!" Fred gasped and couldn't finish his sentence because he saw what was inside.

He immediately understood why Dumbledore had given such a severe warning. When the door opened, it revealed not a room but another corridor. A massive dog sat there, staring at them with six eyes. Purely in terms of numbers, eight versus six, Wayne and his team had the advantage. But the dog was so large it filled the space from ceiling to floor. It had three heads, all with ferocious expressions, and sticky saliva dripping from their mouths, emitting a rotten stench.

"Merlin's wool socks... is that a three-headed dog?" Cedric groaned. If there had been a fence or some protective barrier between him and the dog, he might have been thrilled at the chance to see such a rare creature. Three-headed dogs were usually found in Greek areas, and it was uncommon to see one in the British Isles. But now, Cedric could feel its foul breath hitting his face.

"How could you be happy?" George asked.

He turned around decisively and tried to open the door that had just closed, but the three-headed dog moved faster. It roared and raised its head. George was so frightened that he broke the door handle!

"Armor protection!" he shouted.

An invisible wall appeared between the four of them and the three-headed dog. One of the dog's heads was injured and it retreated several meters, wailing. But this small bit of damage didn't have much effect on the thick-skinned dog. It quickly shook its heads and returned to normal.

"Why are you still standing there?" Wayne shouted. "Hurry up and fix the door lock and run!"

"Oh, oh!" The other three woke from their daze. They hurriedly tried to cast the repair spell but kept failing because they were too nervous.

Wayne didn't care about them. He had learned magic for so long just to find a suitable target to practice on.

"Collapse!" he yelled. "Repulse! Flying shears!"

Colorful rays of light shot out from Wayne's wand and hit the three-headed dog. The space was too small for the giant beast to dodge.

Boom! A stun spell hit the dog's left head, knocking it unconscious.

Both George and Cedric were stunned. They didn't even mention that Cedric had repaired the doorknob. They just watched in a daze as Wayne fought the dog. They knew most of the spells Wayne used, but their effects on people were nothing compared to dealing with the three-headed dog, which had both physical and magical defenses. It was like tickling.

Wayne was too powerful!

Cedric, with his sharp eyes, saw a trap door on the ground in the space left by the dog's retreat. 

What's inside? he wondered. Although curious, now was not the time to explore. Cedric quickly opened the door.

"Wayne, run! Filch will be here soon!" he yelled.

"Is this the end?" Wayne felt a bit unfinished.

Seeing that the other three had already gone out to wait for him, he used a cutting spell to leave deep scratches on the floor, warning the three-headed dog. Then he ran out himself.

After closing the door, the beast's roar disappeared, and they finally breathed a sigh of relief. They looked at Wayne as if he were a monster.

Feeling their stares, Wayne crossed his arms. "What are you looking at me for?" he asked.

George looked at the young man. "Are you an old monster who turned into a child and came to Hogwarts to relive his childhood?"

Wayne's face showed disbelief. "Your imagination is as wild as Rita Skeeter's."

"That reporter from the Daily Prophet?" George asked. "Mother said she was a clown. She actually called Dumbledore an old lunatic."

"I just work a little harder than you and have a bit more talent," Wayne said, gesturing and drawing a universe at his fingertips.

"Okay, let's go back to the corridor. Let's return to our respective dormitories," he suggested.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Fred shook his head. "I was frightened just now. I need to eat some sweets to recover."

"I'll go get Lee. Let's have some supper together before going back," Fred added.