They reached the forbidden corridor, the air noticeably colder than the rest of the castle.
Harry pushed the door open slowly.
A soft, eerie tune drifted through the room.
Fluffy lay sprawled across the floor, all three massive heads drooping, six eyes closed. The strange music was echoing faintly—just enough to keep the beast asleep.
Harry swallowed. "I knew it," he whispered. "Snape's already gone down."
Victor stepped in after him, Hermione close behind.
Hermione froze the moment she saw the creature properly.
Up close, the three-headed dog was enormous—each head the size of a small car, claws digging grooves into the stone floor even in sleep.
"This is not a dog," she breathed faintly.
"Yeah," Harry muttered. "Told you."
Victor studied the scene quickly. The harp in the corner was still playing on its own.
"Guys. Over here," he said quietly, already moving.
One of Fluffy's gigantic paws was resting squarely over the trapdoor.
Victor bent down carefully and pressed against it, shifting the heavy paw just enough to reveal the wooden hatch beneath.
The dog snorted in its sleep.
All three of them froze.
One head twitched.
The music faltered for half a second—
Then steadied again.
Hermione exhaled shakily.
Victor glanced at them. "Trapdoor's here."
Harry crouched beside him. "Ready?"
Hermione swallowed but nodded.
Victor lifted the hatch slowly.
Cold air rushed up from the darkness below.
Harry leaned over the edge, squinting. "I can't see the bottom," he muttered. "What if it's really far? We could break our legs."
The music behind them wavered slightly. One of Fluffy's heads gave a low rumbling snore.
Victor didn't look up. "If the music stops and he wakes up," he said calmly, "we won't have legs to worry about."
Before either of them could argue, he lowered himself over the edge and dropped.
For a brief second, there was only darkness and the rush of air—
Then a heavy thud, followed by a muffled grunt.
"I'm fine!" Victor's voice echoed upward. "It's—soft. Just jump!"
Harry swallowed and swung himself over, letting go. He braced for stone—
But instead he landed in something springy and tangled.
Hermione followed a heartbeat later.
They found themselves sinking into a thick mass of dark, rubbery vines that cushioned the fall—only to realize, almost immediately, that the vines were moving.
One coil tightened around Harry's leg.
Another wrapped around Hermione's wrist.
Victor pushed himself up, only to feel the plant begin to curl deliberately around his shoulders.
Harry froze as the vines tightened around his ankles.
"It's alive!" he choked, trying to pull free as another coil wrapped around his waist.
"I know what this is—Devil's Snare!" Hermione gasped. Even as the plant began dragging her downward, her voice was sharp with urgency. "Stop struggling! It likes the dark and damp—just keep calm!"
Victor had already gone still, forcing himself to relax as the vines tightened around his arms and chest.
Hermione disappeared beneath the writhing mass first.
"Harry—don't fight it!" her muffled voice called from below.
Harry stared in horror as both Victor and Hermione were swallowed by the tangle of black vines.
"Are you mad?!" he shouted. "You're being eaten!"
He thrashed harder.
The vines constricted instantly, squeezing the breath from his lungs and dragging him down.
"We're fine!" Victor's voice drifted up from somewhere below. "Just. Stop. Moving!"
Harry forced himself to freeze, heart hammering.
Slowly—almost reluctantly—the vines loosened their grip.
The plant slackened, relaxing around him.
And then, just as it had the others, it released him entirely.
He dropped through the writhing mass—and fell.
They untangled themselves from the remains of the Devil's Snare and lay there for a second on the cold stone floor.
"Everyone alright?" Harry asked quickly, pushing his glasses straight.
"I'm fine," said Hermione, slightly breathless but steady. "Nothing broken."
"Still in one piece," Victor added, brushing dust from his robes.
Harry nodded and looked ahead.
A corridor stretched forward, torchlight flickering along the walls.
They stepped through—
—and a rush of wings exploded around them.
Hundreds of winged keys shot into the air, flashing silver and brass in the torchlight. They darted wildly around the high ceiling, swooping and diving like a swarm of metallic birds.
Harry ducked as one zoomed past his ear.
"It's a room full of flying keys," Hermione breathed.
Victor's gaze moved quickly across the far wall. There—another door. And in its lock, a single key-shaped hole.
"So," he said evenly, "we need the right key."
Harry looked up at the chaos overhead.
"But how can we know which one works?" he asked. "There are hundreds of them. We can't just grab them one by one and test each."
"No need," Victor said calmly. He pointed upward. "That one. See it? The wings are bent—like it's already been caught once."
Hermione followed his finger. Among the flashing swarm, one key's silver wings were badly crumpled, feathers torn and uneven.
Harry squinted. "Yeah… I see it."
Victor raised his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa."
The spell hit the key—
—and slid off like water on glass.
The key darted away sharply.
Hermione frowned. "It's protected. Magic won't work on them."
Harry looked back at the sky full of keys, then down at the old broom.
"Then there's only one way," Harry said.
He seized on the old broomstick and swung onto it.
The moment his feet left the ground, the entire swarm of winged keys reacted.
They shrieked.
In a flash, they turned as one and hurtled straight at him.
Harry jerked upward just in time as a cluster of silver keys sliced past his shoulder, their sharp teeth snapping. He swiped at them, trying to keep them back.
'As expected of Professor Flitwick who designed this,' Victor thought, watching the chaos unfold. 'Magic doesn't work on the keys. Only skill does.'
Harry spotted the damaged one again—the torn wing, the slightly slower beat.
"There!" Hermione shouted.
Harry leaned forward and gave chase.
The broken-winged key darted between its companions, zigzagging wildly. Harry dipped, rolled, and climbed after it, barely avoiding a dozen others that tried to ram him off course.
"Catch it!" Hermione cried.
Harry stretched out—
His fingers closed around cold metal.
The key shrieked and thrashed violently in his grip, wings flapping hard enough to sting through his sleeve.
"Got it!" Harry yelled.
He swooped low and tossed it toward Victor.
Victor caught it cleanly and sprinted for the door as Harry wheeled around to draw the swarm away again. The other keys slammed into Harry's broom and shoulders, desperate to free their captured companion.
Victor shoved the key into the lock.
For a split second, it resisted.
Then—
Click.
The door swung open.
"Move!" Victor snapped.
Hermione darted through first. Victor followed. Harry shot in behind them just as the swarm of keys smashed against the closing door with a violent metallic crash.
The wood shuddered under the impact.
Silence fell.
Victor let out a slow breath.
'Holy hell,' he thought. 'One second later and Harry would've been shredded by those things.'
*****
A/N : 🔥 On Patreon, the story has already been updated up to Chapter 61🔥
⚡ A 15-chapter early access is available for those who want to read ahead ⚡
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