Harry looked at his friends, knowing full well that mighty trees could never grow inside a greenhouse.
A century ago, Hogwarts students had been exceptionally outstanding because the wizarding world itself had been filled with danger. A simple walk outside the castle grounds could easily lead to an encounter with several poachers or Dark Wizards.
Seeing how determined they were to stop Quirrell, Harry knew that trying to stop them would be pointless. Even if he forbade them from coming, they would simply follow him in secret. It would be far better to let them accompany him so he could keep an eye on them.
Besides, Harry also wanted to temper his friends, just as Sebastian and the others had once tempered him.
Sheltering them forever would only turn them into flowers raised in a greenhouse, not towering trees capable of standing on their own.
"This is Felix Felicis," Harry said, holding up the small golden vial. "I don't need to explain what it does. At the very least, it should help keep you from getting hurt. Come on, each of you take a small sip."
With a flick of his wand, Harry transfigured four small cups and evenly divided the potion among them before handing one to each of his friends.
"What about you, Harry?" Ron asked.
"I won't need it," Harry replied with a wink.
Once the four of them had drained their cups, Harry continued,
"This will be our Duel Club's first real mission. I expect everyone to follow my instructions."
"Understood, Harry," the four answered in unison.
Harry nodded and handed them the Invisibility Cloak.
"Come with me. Put this on."
The cloak was large enough to conceal all four of them as they walked together.
"Neville! You stepped on my foot!" Seamus whispered.
"Oh, sorry!" Neville apologized immediately.
They quietly climbed the stairs until they reached the fourth floor.
Hermione pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and examined the door.
"Look! The door has already been opened. Quirrell has definitely gone inside."
A deep bark echoed from within.
Hermione carefully pushed the door open and found herself staring directly into Fluffy's three enormous faces.
"There's a harp over there," Hermione whispered. "Hagrid told us that Fluffy falls asleep whenever he hears music..."
She pointed her wand at the instrument.
The harp immediately began playing a beautiful melody.
All six of Fluffy's eyes grew heavy almost at once.
Within seconds, the gigantic three-headed dog was fast asleep.
"Quickly," Hermione whispered, continuing to control the harp with her wand.
"It... isn't going to wake up, is it?" Neville asked nervously, staring up at the massive beast.
"No."
Harry stepped inside first.
Ron followed close behind.
The two searched the room but couldn't find any doorway leading onward.
"Over here!" Seamus called, waving them over.
Beside him was a trapdoor built into the floor.
"Lumos."
Harry pointed his wand downward.
The light revealed only darkness. The shaft seemed bottomless.
"Revelio!"
He cast another spell but detected nothing unusual.
"I'll go down first," Harry said. "If everything's safe, I'll call for you."
"And if it isn't?" Ron asked.
Harry rolled his eyes.
"Then go get the professors."
With that, he jumped.
As he fell, he cast a Cushioning Charm on himself.
His descent slowed until he landed softly on something surprisingly comfortable.
It felt like...
Vines.
Looking up, the opening above him was now nothing more than a tiny dot of light.
"You can come down! It's safe!"
Four terrified screams answered him.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
His friends landed beside him one after another.
"You know," Neville muttered as he got up, "while I was falling, I seriously wanted to strangle you."
"Honestly," Ron said, "good thing these plants broke our fall."
"Good thing?"
Hermione suddenly screamed.
"Something's grabbing me! Oh no! It's wrapping around my legs!"
Only then did everyone realize what was happening.
The plants were alive.
Ron struggled desperately.
It only made things worse.
The harder he fought, the tighter the vines squeezed.
"Ghh..."
He was beginning to lose his breath.
Quietly, Harry cast a subtle spell to relieve some of the pressure around Ron.
He knew exactly what kind of plant this was.
But he also wanted to use this opportunity to let his friends solve the problem themselves.
"Stop struggling!" Neville suddenly shouted. "It's Devil's Snare! The more you fight it, the tighter it squeezes!"
"Oh, wonderful!" Ron gasped. "Now we know what this horrible thing is! But how do we get out of it, Neville? Aren't you the Herbology expert?"
Neville desperately searched his memory.
"Professor Sprout said..."
Then his eyes lit up.
"Seamus! Burn it! Devil's Snare hates fire!"
"No! Anyone but Seamus!"
Ron had only enough time to shout before—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion echoed through the chamber.
Devil's Snare instantly recoiled, releasing everyone.
They all dropped safely onto the ground.
"See?" Seamus said proudly. "Sometimes I think I'm actually pretty amazing. These plants seem absolutely terrified of my Blasting Curse."
Neville, now covered head to toe in soot, stared at him.
"I'd appreciate it... if next time you used Incendio instead."
After all, Seamus had aimed directly in Neville's direction.
Neville had become the explosion's first victim.
"Good thing Neville pays attention in Herbology," Ron said with a sigh of relief. "Otherwise we'd all be dead."
Hermione discreetly wiped the corner of her mouth, doing her best not to laugh.
"Let's keep moving."
They followed a long stone corridor.
The only sounds were their footsteps and the steady dripping of water.
After a while, Neville slowed down.
"Do you hear that?"
Hermione looked ahead.
"It sounds like... buzzing. Like flies."
"Let's go find out," Ron said, confidently taking the lead.
Perhaps it was the Felix Felicis, but he seemed unusually fearless.
At the end of the corridor they entered a brightly lit chamber beneath a high vaulted ceiling.
Hundreds of glittering creatures flew through the air.
At first glance they looked like jeweled birds.
Across the room stood a massive wooden door.
"They aren't birds," Seamus observed.
"They're keys... But which one opens the door?"
Neville pointed upward.
"That one! The biggest one! The one with the light-blue wings! Look—one of its wings is damaged!"
Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione spotted an old broomstick leaning beside the door.
"Harry!" Ron exclaimed excitedly. "You're the Seeker! This is your moment!"
Harry simply replied,
"Oh."
He calmly raised his wand toward the large flying key.
"Accio!"
The key frantically flapped its wings, struggling against the Summoning Charm.
It was useless.
The key flew straight into Harry's hand.
He caught it easily and grinned at Ron.
"Sometimes... a Seeker doesn't even need a broomstick."
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