Filch paced the corridor three or four times, his footsteps echoing in the silence. Harry and Ron cowered in the corner, barely daring to breathe.
At last, they heard Filch muttering curses as he trudged upstairs.
Only after a long, tense wait did the boys finally relax. Harry stared at the heavy padlock with unwilling frustration.
So, just like that, they had no choice but to give up.
Ron let out a long sigh.
"Knew it wouldn't be that easy. The professor's obstacles are never simple—especially with Professor Holmes and all his tricks. Let's just head back and get Hermione to make you a new plan… Yeah, a plan just for you!"
A sudden spark lit up in Harry's mind.
"Wait—did you just say Professor Holmes?"
Ron shot him a look, impatience in his voice.
"Of course! He's been behind all this from the start, hasn't he?"
Harry's gloom vanished in an instant, replaced by excitement.
"Ron, I think I know how to open the lock! I remember Wood telling us about his first Defence Against the Dark Arts practical lesson… What we need is a big axe. That's it—a big axe!"
Ron eyed Harry's enthusiasm warily. He had no idea what Wood's story was, but he still reminded Harry,
"Don't forget, we're wizards. Remember the Blasting Curse?"
Harry shook his head.
"Magic won't work. According to Wood, Professor Holmes loves using Muggle logic in the wizarding world…"
Ron rubbed his nose, frowning.
"So where are we supposed to find an axe? Don't say Transfiguration—only Hermione could manage something that big."
Harry pointed triumphantly to a suit of armor beside a torch.
"There! That one's got a huge axe."
They crept over, carefully used the Levitation Charm to lift the axe from the armor stand, and floated it above the padlock.
Harry licked his lips, his voice low and tense.
"Ron, this'll be loud. As soon as it hits, I'll rush in. You wait out here for the professor…"
Ron nodded. Together, they canceled the Levitation Charm.
The axe dropped with a heavy clang, smashing straight through the padlock. The crash echoed down the corridor.
Without hesitation, Harry—still under the Invisibility Cloak—charged for the door.
BANG!
He slammed into it, but the door didn't budge.
Ron, unable to see Harry beneath the cloak, called out,
"Harry? What happened? Are you still there?"
…
At that very moment, in the Defence Against the Dark Arts office, a lock-shaped ornament on the storage shelf suddenly snapped in two.
The students grading papers jumped at the noise.
Douglas frowned at the broken lock, then said to the class representatives,
"Carry on with your work."
He reached under his desk and pulled out the Marauder's Map.
No one else recognized it, but the Weasley twins certainly did.
With his back to the group, Douglas opened the map. Sure enough, at the entrance to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, he found the names "Ron" and "Harry." Not far away, "Filch" and "Peeves" were moving quickly toward the same spot.
Douglas glanced at Hermione, who was still diligently marking papers, then slipped out the classroom door.
The moment Douglas left, George and Fred snatched up the broken lock to examine it.
"Looks like an ordinary lock…"
"No, there's magic on it, but I don't recognize the spell."
The other students, startled by their boldness, hurried to stop them.
…
By the time Douglas reached the corridor near Myrtle's bathroom, he could already hear Ron loudly protesting to Filch,
"I'm not going anywhere until a professor gets here!"
Nearby, Peeves was cackling,
"Haha! Well done, little Gryffindor… Mr. Filch, I'm not leaving till the big boss professor shows… cackle… unless the devil himself—"
Douglas's cold voice cut through the commotion.
"Unless what, Peeves?"
Peeves froze, then shot up through the ceiling without another word, desperate not to be caught.
From Peeves's perspective, he only had to put up with this professor for a few more days—hopefully, he'd vanish as mysteriously as Lockhart did last year…
Filch, seeing Douglas arrive, immediately found his confidence.
"Professor Holmes, this brat was wandering the corridors at night, casting spells, trying to break into restricted areas, damaging school property—"
Douglas ignored Ron's attempt to speak and turned to Filch,
"Thank you, Mr. Filch. I'll take it from here."
"Them?" Filch muttered, confused, but after a few more complaints, he shuffled away.
Once Filch was gone, Douglas simply stared at Ron in silence.
Ron, sweating under Douglas's icy gaze, didn't dare say a word. Hidden under the Invisibility Cloak by the door, Harry felt, for the first time, that the cloak was stiflingly hot.
Ron glanced around, realizing only Douglas had shown up—no other professors. He stammered,
"P-Professor, if I said I had a stomachache and needed the nearest bathroom, would you believe me?"
Hearing this, Harry grew anxious, silently begging Ron to stick to the plan—but he didn't dare speak.
Douglas arched an eyebrow, a mocking smile on his lips.
"Then Mr. Filch should add another charge—trespassing in the girls' bathroom."
Ron was struck dumb, his eyes darting helplessly toward where Harry was hiding. But no matter how Harry tried to signal him, Ron couldn't see.
Douglas, reading Ron's expression, looked straight at the door.
"Harry, aren't you going to come out and explain?"
Harry's face drained of color—he thought Douglas, like Dumbledore, could see right through the Invisibility Cloak.
Ron, suddenly realizing, pointed quickly at the broken lock.
"Professor, Harry went into the Chamber to find the basilisk! I… I was too late—I was just about to get a professor. We need to call the others and save him!"
Douglas gave a cold chuckle and walked toward the door.
Ron pleaded,
"Professor, please don't go in alone! We should get the other professors!"
Douglas stopped by the door, his tone calm.
"If Harry really went in, the other professors should be here by now. Besides, you two haven't figured out how to open this door, have you?"
Ron nodded instinctively, then realized and shook his head.
Douglas gripped the edge of the door and gave it a gentle pull. What had looked like a pair of double doors actually opened as a single door.
Ron stammered,
"Professor, so… the lock and the seam were fake?"
Neither Ron nor Harry had expected a simple bathroom door to be such a riddle. It didn't feel like wizard magic at all.
Douglas said again,
"Mr. Potter, Invisibility Cloaks aren't all-powerful."
Knowing he was caught, Harry crawled out from under the cloak, pale and trembling, and stood beside Ron.
Douglas eyed the shimmering fabric in Harry's hands—one of the Deathly Hallows, unmistakably different from any ordinary cloak.
But Harry made no move to hand it over.
Douglas extended his hand.
"Give me the Invisibility Cloak for now. I'll return it to you over the holidays."
Harry hesitated, but decided it was best to obey. Besides, Professor Holmes didn't seem the type to covet someone else's treasure. If he could see through the cloak, he certainly didn't need it—just like Dumbledore.
Douglas took the cloak. It felt strange, almost as if woven from water.
Apparently satisfied, Douglas said,
"Follow me."
Harry cast a longing glance at the bathroom door, then trailed after Douglas with Ron.
Ron was miserable. What had they even accomplished tonight? Not only had they failed, but both had been caught.
Douglas didn't ask a single question on the way back, making them even more nervous.
At the Defence Against the Dark Arts office door, Douglas ordered,
"You two stand here and reflect on your actions."
He tucked the Invisibility Cloak into a special pocket and strode into the office.
The once-busy room fell silent.
Draco Malfoy lit up as Douglas entered, jumping to his feet.
"Professor, after you left, the Weasley twins were messing with your things."
Douglas barely glanced at him, then looked to George and Fred.
"Did you find anything?"
George answered at once,
"It was a lock with a Switching Spell on it."
Fred added,
"Judging by what happened, it must've been linked to something else. When that thing changed, so did the lock…"
Douglas nodded.
"Looks like you're making progress. Gryffindor, minus two points. Slytherin, plus one."
Draco lifted his chin, shooting a smug look at the other Slytherin class reps as he sat down—completely oblivious to the odd glances George and Fred exchanged.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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