After the satisfying meal, Charlie rubbed his full stomach and took out a gleaming Galleon from his pocket, placing it on the table.
"Thanks for the meal. That duck was amazing."
Billy, the house-elf, froze the moment he saw the coin. His tennis-ball-sized eyes went even wider.
"Sir, what is the meaning of this?" Billy asked, voice trembling.
"It's your payment, of course," Charlie said matter-of-factly. "Paying for a good meal is just common decency."
Billy shook his head violently, stepping back in alarm.
"No, no, no! Billy cannot accept money! Billy loves serving the wizards, it is Billy's honor!"
The other house-elves chimed in, all shaking their heads, visibly agitated.
"Come on, just take it," Charlie insisted.
"You all did such a great job, you deserve to be paid."
Billy's eyes instantly welled up. He accepted the coin with trembling hands and clutched it tightly to his chest.
"Billy has never met such a kind wizard!" he choked out.
"You, sir, are just like Harry Potter! The best kind of wizard!"
The other elves all cheered excitedly, babbling their thanks.
Charlie was a bit confused. It was just a tip, why were they reacting like he'd donated a kidney?
"If you ever need Billy, just call from your dormitory!" the elf declared solemnly.
"Billy will come right away and serve you with all his heart!"
Charlie waved it off like it was nothing.
It felt just like when someone says, "I'll treat you next time" and never does.
"Alright then, I'll head back."
Ernie followed Charlie out of the kitchen and commented along the way,
"You really didn't have to pay them. House-elves love their work."
Charlie raised an eyebrow.
"Which is exactly why they should be paid more, no?"
He smirked. "I didn't expect you, Ernie, with your big eyes and bushy eyebrows, to be such an evil little capitalist. Don't worry, one day I'll string you up on a lamppost."
Ernie flushed bright red and stammered in protest, mumbling something about not being a capitalist and actually being very kind.
Charlie just walked ahead, ignoring him.
"Blah blah blah, heard it all before."
Back in the dorm, Justin was already asleep.
Charlie washed up and lay in bed, his mind drifting to the plan he'd cooked up with the twins earlier that day.
Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye, and life at Hogwarts settled into a steady rhythm.
Charlie had completely adjusted to the school's pace.
He spent his days sleeping in class, causing mischief between periods, and occasionally blowing up Filch's office. Life was rich and fulfilling.
Under Fred and George's guidance, they had explored nearly every secret passage in Hogwarts.
From the hidden tunnel behind the one-eyed witch statue to the passage under Honeydukes' cellar, Charlie had them all mapped out.
There was just one exception, the Fourth-Floor Corridor.
That damned staircase seemed to have a mind of its own. Every time they tried to reach it, the stairs would twist away and take them elsewhere.
"There's definitely something fishy with that staircase," Fred grumbled.
"We've tried it a dozen times, and it keeps screwing with us."
"There's gotta be something important up there," George theorized.
"Why else would Dumbledore go to so much trouble?"
Charlie, on the other hand, wasn't in a rush.
Sooner or later, he'd get up there.
That night, Charlie once again approached the staircase.
To his surprise, it behaved, for once. It stopped in place without twisting away.
Charlie's eyes lit up, and he hurried upward, afraid it might change its mind.
The fourth-floor corridor seemed unremarkable, just like the others.
Framed paintings lined the walls, moonlight spilled through tall windows, and everything was still and quiet.
At the corridor's end was a heavy wooden door with no label or markings.
Charlie moved forward to investigate, but then, footsteps. Rapid ones.
Crap. Someone coming to catch a rule-breaker?
He pulled out his wand and cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself.
Like a chameleon, he blended into the surroundings, vanishing into the night.
Just then, four familiar figures came dashing into view, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville.
Harry was leading the way, looking panicked. Probably because of Hermione's constant threats about being expelled.
"I told you we shouldn't have come!" Hermione snapped breathlessly as they ran.
"Malfoy totally tricked us, midnight duel? What a setup!"
"What good does that do us now?" Ron panted back.
"We just need to not get caught by Filch!"
"We could've been in bed by now if not for you lot!" Hermione continued her tirade.
"If we're caught, we'll lose points, and maybe get expelled! And now we're lost, and Filch is right behind us!"
Neville brought up the rear, ghost-pale and struggling to keep up.
Ron had had enough.
"Merlin's beard, I swear if I knew the Tongue-Tying Curse, I'd use it on you!"
Hermione opened her mouth to lecture him on that very spell, but gave up, fuming silently.
They reached the heavy door. Harry pulled on the handle.
"Locked," he said with a frown.
"Do you think Filch knows about this place?" Neville asked timidly.
Seeing that it wasn't a teacher coming, Charlie canceled the Disillusionment Charm and spoke:
"He won't find you here."
"AAAHHH!"
All four of them screamed. Neville collapsed on the spot.
"…Well, he definitely will now," Charlie muttered, palm to forehead.
The group eventually calmed down.
"Charlie?" Harry recognized him.
"What are you doing here?"
"Same as you, out for a nighttime stroll," Charlie shrugged.
"Though with all that yelling, I'd say Filch knows exactly where you are."
Right on cue, a shout echoed in the distance.
"You little brats! I heard you! You can't run from me!"
"Go, Mrs. Norris, find them!"
"We're dead!" Hermione gasped.
"He's really coming!"
"We're so dead!" Ron added, dancing in place.
"The door's still locked!"
"I don't wanna be expelled!" Neville wailed.
"Relax." Charlie pulled out his wand and pointed it at the door.
"Alohomora."
Click. The lock gave way.
"In!" Charlie shoved the door open.
The five of them slipped through, Charlie the last to enter, shutting the door behind them.
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