Ch 18 - Three Headed Dog

"Malfoy, Nott."

Draco and Theo stopped for a moment to look at Harry and Ron.

"Thanks for helping us in there," Harry said against Ron's opinion.

"And tell Kaguya, thank you," Ron said before starting to walk to other side of the castle, where Hermione had angrily left a few seconds ago.

"Don't think this changes anything, Potter," Draco spoke audaciously for both of them, "I only did it for my cousin."

Harry rolled his eyes and followed Ron after hearing this usual tone.

Draco stood for a few seconds watching Potter and Weasley leave.

Defeating a troll wouldn't make them best friends, let alone a blood traitor like Weasley.

They were just in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

If it weren't for Kaguya, that strange gratitude wouldn't have existed.

But it did, and magical debts, bonds started to work in mysterious ways, without anyone knowing.

They also went to their room to rest.

The next day there was a Slytherin vs. Gryffindor match.

And they couldn't wait to see Potter fall off his broom.

xxxxx

The next morning, entire Slytherin common room was decorated with Quidditch team flags, and all the students were ready to support the team.

"Aren't you going?" Pansy asked, she was already dressed in a black jacket and a green blouse as well as the Slytherin scarf.

Kaguya was in her bed, with the covers up to her neck.

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"If they kill Potter, I'll find out anyway," She said, lying face up on the bed.

Pansy twisted her mouth.

"Fine, but if you're sick I can stay with you."

"No, no, no," Kaguya shook her head in denial, "You want to watch the game and I'm just tired, it doesn't matter."

"Are you sure?" Pansy asked not so confident.

"Positive."

Pansy watched her suspiciously for a while as she left the room.

She arrived at the common room as everyone was applauding the players who were leaving.

"And Kaguya?" Draco asked when he saw Pansy coming down alone.

"She's tired, she doesn't want to go," Draco crossed his arms and tried to climb the girls' stairs.

When he reached the fourth step, he slipped thanks to spell that prevents boys from going to the girls' rooms.

"Calm down, Draco. It's normal that she's tired after facing a Troll," Nott said after seeing the blond fall face first to the ground.

He didn't feel sorry though.

Draco didn't buy that excuse. 'Kaguya was the biggest Quidditch fan even before she came to Hogwarts, and there was no way Potter was going to ruin it for her.'

He left the common room after shouting, assuring that he would be back sooner to see Kaguya.

Black stared at the ceiling of her room for a while, waiting for the cheers and screams in the common room to die down.

It was stupid to miss her team's game because she didn't want to see any Gryffindors, but so was she, so it didn't matter.

Girl walked over to the robe hanging at the foot of the bed, blending in with the black curtains.

She dug into her pocket to find the piece of parchment with the phrase from her father's mirror.

She had kept it for a long time so wouldn't have to explain what it was, but everyone, including the teachers, would be watching the match between the two houses with most rivalry in history.

She put on her robes and covered herself as much as she could so that if they saw her, they wouldn't recognize her so quickly.

Kaguya could get punished for wandering around the castle while everyone else was in the court.

She went up to the third floor to go to his lair and try to investigate more about the mirror, then would go to the library to look up what it really was.

She smiled as she saw her father in the mirror.

For a moment, Kaguya thought that the mirror had some connection to Azkaban, and that was why she could see her father.

She dismissed that idea when, after Ron showed her the photo of her mother, she began to see her too.

So it couldn't be a connection to Azkaban, since her mother was dead.

It had to be something else, something she didn't know about.

Kaguya tried not to be distracted by her parents and began to touch and look at the mirror more closely.

There was nothing that would differentiate it from a normal mirror, only the description that until now, she didn't know what it meant.

A few meows alerted her, she could recognize Mrs. Norris's meow even if she couldn't see her.

That cat was the biggest problem for her when she came here at night.

She was once saved from certain punishment, because a pair of red-headed twins pulled a very stinky prank on Filch.

The janitor and the cat chased the twins, and she managed to escape.

So, now she owed Fred and George Weasley a debt without them knowing it.

She heard Filch's footsteps approaching the door where his beloved cat was meowing.

Kaguya covered herself more tightly with her robe and hid between the tables and chairs.

Mrs. Norris and Filch went inside to make sure that no one was disturbing the tranquility of the castle.

Black moved carefully, trying not to make noise or breathe.

She had the strange idea that this cat heard breathing and smelled fear.

The grace, elegance, strength and delicacy with which snakes move must be an agility that every good Slytherin must master.

If she walked on the balls of her feet and avoided an angle where Filch could see her in the mirror's reflection, she could slip out and escape.

Kaguya breathed out as she was outside the room and tried to close the door softly.

But let's remember that she's not a good Slytherin.

The robe was caught between the door and the frame.

She moved it and pulled hard, but it was still stuck.

If took off the robe, its owner would be discovered later.

But if it stayed there, it was headed straight for punishment.

"Come on, you can't do this to me no--!" Kaguya jumped up and yanked out her robe, causing a loud thud as it hit the floor.

Cursing her clumsiness, she got up and ran around the third floor looking for somewhere to hide.

She stopped at a corner and watched as Mrs. Norris quickly approached her.

There was only one door that could save her from that cat, so she took out her wand to make sure she could open the door.

There definitely weren't any layers of Compulsion and Confundus charms placed nearby by Dumbledore at all, for certain first years to find this room, and pass the test.

Everything is for the Greater Good.

"Alohomora," She ran to door and entered, closing it behind her.

Her luck was very good and very bad.

But what the hell is a three-headed dog doing in the castle?

As the dog began to move, Filch began to approach the room.

There was no escape and she could only stand there, completely still and holding her breath again.

The animal began to rise, revealing a small trap door beneath its paws.

Kaguya would have gone in, but the three dog heads saw her as their lunch.

"Calm down," She stretched out her hand towards him, "I won't hurt you. I'll just leave, okay? Go back to sleep!"

Growl! Growl! Woof!

"Aahhhh!"

Kaguya didn't wait for any movement from the dog when she left with a loud scream, since she almost couldn't close the door and the animal was dangerously close to her.

This school was going to kill her, it was like a plot to kill Kaguya Black!

'What was missing? That a centaur would attack me next?!'

She returned to her room tired of running around the castle, to avoid Filch and because she was afraid that the dog would break down that door and bite her to death.

'Maybe, I really should have gone to the game!'

Kaguya took off her robe and left it in place, searching through her pockets for the piece of parchment but there was nothing but candy wrappers.

It must have fallen when she was trying to untie her robe from the door....

Kaguya threw herself onto the bed, looking at her owl.

"I wonder if you'll be as comfortable when we get home?" Kaguya murmured, slowly closing her eyes.

The Slytherins stormed into their common room.

Bloody Harry Potter nearly swallowed the Snitch, but they were still worth it.

It wasn't fair that Gryffindor won a game that was made for Slytherin just because their Seeker nearly choked on the Snitch.

It even sounded stupid.