"Shush, don't attract Filch."
Charlie quickly covered Hermione's mouth.
"Let's take care of business first."
Hermione also knew what was important and said no more.
Charlie turned to face the familiar door, taking a deep breath.
"Are you ready, everyone?"
The Weasley Twins exchanged glances, Fred grinned, and pulled out a delicate small harp:
"All set, sir."
Harry nervously gripped his wand: "I hope this time won't be as dangerous as last time."
"I think we should reconsider..." Ron swallowed.
"Shut up, Ron."
Hermione glared at him; although she was also very nervous, since they were already here, they couldn't back down.
Charlie pushed open the door, and a familiar stench wafted out.
In the room, Cerberus was lying on the trapdoor, all three heads alertly turning towards the entrance.
Seeing so many uninvited guests, it immediately stood up, letting out a threatening growl.
"Roar—"
The three dog heads simultaneously opened their gaping jaws, revealing sharp teeth.
Saliva dripped onto the floor, making a chilling sound.
Ron's face instantly went pale:
"I don't think it's very welcoming to us."
Although they had seen Cerberus last time, the three-headed dog's fierce appearance was still very scary.
"Oh, little Ronny thinks Cerberus should be hospitable," Fred teased.
"Waiting for it to roll out the red carpet for us."
Ron's face turned red; damn Fred, he really wanted to sew his mouth shut!
Charlie, however, was very calm; he had dealt with Cerberus several times already.
"Don't be nervous, it's actually quite docile." Charlie took a few steps closer to Cerberus.
"Right, big guy?"
All three of Cerberus's heads stared at Charlie, but it didn't pounce.
It just put on a fierce act, trying to scare away these intruders.
"See?" Charlie turned back to the others.
"It won't actually attack students; it's just doing its duty."
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief: "So what do we do now?"
Charlie winked at the Weasley Twins: "It's your turn."
George picked up the harp and cleared his throat: "Ready to enjoy our concert?"
Fred smirked: "Guaranteed to be unforgettable."
"Are you sure this will work?" Harry was a little worried.
"Books don't lie, Harry," Hermione said confidently from the side.
Soon, the harp emitted a strange sound.
It wasn't a beautiful melody, nor was it a soothing lullaby.
It was... a funeral march?
Even worse, The Twins also started singing along.
"Oh~ our dear Cerberus~" Fred sang in an extremely exaggerated, mournful tone.
"Please sleep quietly~" George continued, his voice even more off-key.
It was an absolute disaster.
The others quickly covered their ears.
"You call this music?"
"I think I'm going to throw up."
"Who could fall asleep to this!"
"Hoo... hoo..."
Cerberus immediately fell asleep.
"No way?" Charlie's eyes widened.
"It can sleep through this noise?"
"Hoo... hoo..."
His answer was Cerberus's earth-shattering snores.
"Done!" The Twins proudly lifted their heads.
"I deeply sympathize with this dog's musical taste." Harry shook his head.
Charlie walked to the trapdoor and forcefully pulled open the heavy door.
Below was pitch black, impossible to see anything.
"Lumos." Charlie raised his wand, and a bright light emanated from its tip.
The light illuminated the area below, and everyone gasped.
Dense black tentacles writhed below.
"Ugh, disgusting tentacles."
Charlie's face was full of disgust; these tentacles reminded him of some unpleasant plots and images.
"Ugh—" Ron directly retched.
"What the hell is this?" Harry frowned.
Hermione leaned in for a closer look and suddenly understood:
"It's Devil's Snare!"
"We learned about it in Herbology."
"A magical plant that strangles anyone who falls into it," Hermione quickly explained.
"But it's afraid of fire and light."
Charlie nodded: "Then it's simple."
He raised his wand and loudly chanted: "Incendio!"
A huge fireball flew from the wand tip, exploded in mid-air, and turned into a rain of fire.
The moment the flames touched the Devil's Snare, the black tentacles twisted wildly, emitting ear-piercing screams.
Soon, the entire Devil's Snare was burned to ashes.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
Charlie waved his wand again, and his body slowly floated up, gradually descending below.
After landing, he shouted up: "Safe! You guys come down too!"
The others descended one by one using the same method.
When it was Harry and Ron's turn, the two poor students found it difficult; using a Spell was no problem for them, but precisely controlling themselves to float had never been tried.
Seeing this, Charlie helplessly waved his wand, allowing the two to land safely.
This was a long, narrow stone chamber, with glowing crystals embedded in the surrounding walls, providing faint illumination.
Ahead was a passage leading deeper.
"There must be other traps," Harry said alertly.
"Let's walk carefully." Charlie led the way into the passage.
Just after they left, a figure suddenly appeared in Cerberus's room.
Dumbledore stepped out of the shadows, looking at the open trapdoor with a helpless expression.
Who understands, my family, a centenarian still has to work overtime through the night.
"Young people."
He shook his head, his blue eyes behind his spectacles twinkling with complex light.
He had originally planned for Harry to come here at the end of the semester, to test what choices he would make when facing Lord Voldemort.
But now Charlie had brought them to raid his home.
"But it's also good," Dumbledore murmured.
"Without a spirit of exploration, how can one be considered a qualified Wizard?"
As Principal, he was actually very happy to see students exploring the unknown.
Even if it slightly disrupted his plans.
Dumbledore looked at the sleeping Cerberus and followed them down.
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