"What are you two doing out here this late?"
Leo's voice was quiet, but to Harry and Ron it sounded like a thunderclap exploding through the corridor.
Both boys nearly jumped out of their skin.
Harry clutched his chest as though his heart had attempted to escape through his throat, while Ron's face instantly drained of color. They spun around so quickly they nearly tripped over themselves. The moment they realized it was Leo standing there, both let out enormous sighs of relief.
"Blimey, Leo!" Harry gasped, still breathing heavily. "You nearly scared us to death!"
"Seriously," Ron muttered as he wiped sweat from his forehead. "Appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the night like that almost sent us straight to Merlin."
Leo looked at them helplessly.
"Well, maybe if you'd mastered more than a watered-down seventh-level Disillusionment Charm, I wouldn't have spotted you immediately."
Harry and Ron exchanged awkward glances before nodding sheepishly. Despite their complaints, both secretly felt relieved to have run into Leo at a time like this.
"Actually, Leo, now that you're here, things are easier," Harry said quickly. "We spotted Snape earlier. He was acting really suspicious and came this way. We followed him, but then we lost him."
"Yeah!" Ron immediately added. "We saw someone in black robes sneaking around tonight. Completely dressed in black. It had to be Snape."
Leo stared at them in speechless disbelief.
"No, honestly, is this all you two ever think about?" he asked tiredly. "Didn't we already discuss this back at Hagrid's hut? Professor Snape isn't the kind of person you keep imagining."
He deliberately emphasized the word professor.
"And at least use the proper title. Basic respect isn't difficult."
"Alright, alright, we get it," Ron said quickly before Leo could launch into another lecture. "Maybe it wasn't Snape. But tonight, after we left the library—"
He suddenly stopped and shot Harry a meaningful look.
"Oh right," Ron continued dramatically. "Speaking of the library, I think Hermione and Malfoy have both completely lost their minds."
"Yes, but maybe we shouldn't discuss that right now," Harry interrupted before Ron could wander completely off topic. He turned back toward Leo. "Anyway, when we left the library tonight, we saw Professor Sn—uh, the man in black sneaking through the corridors."
Harry corrected himself immediately after noticing Leo's expression.
Leo opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything, distant footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Clack.
Clack.
Clack.
A familiar raspy cough followed.
The three boys froze.
Without hesitation, Leo grabbed Harry and Ron by the sleeves and dragged them into a nearby shadowed corner. With a flick of his wand, he cast a Disillusionment Charm over all three of them.
Moments later, Filch slowly shuffled past carrying an old kerosene lamp.
The caretaker wore his usual patched robes and muttered angrily under his breath in his unpleasant hoarse voice.
"Rotten little brats... sneaking around at night... I'll catch you eventually..."
Then Filch suddenly stopped.
"I know you're there," he growled into the darkness. "Come out."
Harry immediately stopped breathing.
Ron looked one heartbeat away from collapsing.
Even Leo couldn't tell whether Filch had actually noticed them or was simply trying to scare hidden students into revealing themselves. Regardless, none of them dared make the slightest sound.
Just then, a nearby portrait spoke up irritably.
"Who's making all this noise?" the wizard inside complained. "Can decent people not sleep anymore? Take that ridiculous lamp somewhere else."
The three boys stiffened even further.
If the portrait casually revealed their location, they were finished.
Filch raised the lamp toward the painting.
"Did you see any students pass through here?" he demanded.
"I can't see anything with that blinding light shoved in my face," the portrait snapped. "Now move along and let me sleep."
"Hmph."
Filch snorted and continued down the corridor, the lamp swinging beside him.
The boys silently released the breath they had been holding.
Unfortunately, before they could fully relax, another figure suddenly floated straight through the wall behind them.
A ghost.
The translucent figure drifted lazily through the air and glanced curiously at the three hidden boys. After looking at Filch's retreating back, the ghost merely shook his head before floating away into the darkness.
Even Leo nearly jumped.
Ron practically collapsed against the wall while Harry grabbed his chest with a horrified expression.
Unfortunately, the sudden movement produced a faint scraping noise.
Filch immediately stopped.
Slowly, the glow of the kerosene lamp began turning back toward them.
Leo hauled Ron upright just as the light started moving closer.
"Run," he whispered sharply.
The three of them exploded from the corner and sprinted down the corridor at full speed.
"There you are!" Filch shouted excitedly. "Stop right there!"
The chase began instantly.
Footsteps thundered through the empty hallways as Filch pursued them furiously. Harry, Ron, and Leo sprinted through twisting corridors while torchlight flashed past in streaks of gold and shadow.
As they rounded another corner, Harry spotted a half-open door.
"There!" he shouted.
The three boys dove inside and slammed the door shut behind them.
Inside the dark room, all three immediately drew their wands and pointed them toward the entrance while listening nervously to the sounds outside.
Filch's footsteps grew closer.
Closer.
Then they stopped directly outside.
Harry swallowed.
Ron looked ready to faint.
Leo's hand quietly slipped beneath his robes toward the hidden holster carrying the silver Colt.
If things escalated any further, the three of them might genuinely start throwing around Unforgivable Curses out of pure panic.
Fortunately, Filch merely rattled the locked door angrily.
When it refused to open, he kicked it hard.
The loud bang nearly caused Leo to draw the revolver on instinct.
After several moments, however, Filch finally stomped away while muttering curses beneath his breath.
Only when the footsteps disappeared completely did the boys begin to relax.
Harry slowly lowered his wand and released a shaky breath.
"Bloody hell," he muttered. "If Filch had caught us, we'd have been dead."
"Not dead," Ron corrected nervously. "Worse. Detention."
The three remained hidden for several more minutes before cautiously opening the door. After confirming the corridor was empty, they quietly stepped back outside.
"Thank Merlin we escaped," Harry whispered as he wiped sweat from his forehead. "Otherwise we'd probably lose a mountain of points."
"Definitely," Ron agreed immediately.
Then his expression suddenly changed.
"Wait a second." He turned sharply toward Leo. "Back there... were you seriously about to pull out that Colt?"
Harry immediately looked at Leo in horror.
The memory of Leo blowing apart trees near the Forbidden Forest remained deeply traumatic.
Just as the atmosphere became awkward, a dark blur suddenly darted across the corridor ahead.
Harry and Ron nearly screamed.
Leo instinctively tensed, his hand slipping beneath his robes once more.
"Meow."
The soft sound instantly froze all three boys.
Looking closer, they discovered it was only Mrs. Norris.
Unfortunately, that realization didn't calm Harry or Ron in the slightest.
"Oh no," Harry whispered desperately. "If Mrs. Norris sees us, Filch will be here in seconds!"
"We're doomed," Ron muttered miserably. "We finally escaped Filch and immediately run into his cat. This is the worst luck imaginable."
His mind was already racing through possible punishments while his eyes searched frantically for another hiding place.
At the same time, Leo's expression became strangely relaxed.
Filch himself might be troublesome.
Mrs. Norris?
That problem cost exactly one piece of jerky.
Unfortunately, Ron completely misunderstood Leo's movement.
"Harry!" he hissed in terror. "Stop Leo! Quickly!"
Both boys immediately grabbed Leo's arms before he could reach into his robes.
"Leo," Harry said nervously, "it's only a cat. We don't need to use the Colt."
Leo stared at them in complete disbelief.
"What exactly do you think I'm planning to do?" he asked dryly. "Relax. I know Mrs. Norris."
Harry and Ron blinked simultaneously.
"You're serious?"
"You're not joking?"
Leo sighed.
The two boys finally loosened their grip.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Norris had already approached calmly. Her amber eyes studied Leo for several moments before she rubbed her head affectionately against his leg.
Leo crouched and pulled a small piece of jerky from his pocket.
"Here you go," he said while gently patting her head. "And remember, you haven't seen us tonight."
"Meow."
After finishing the treat, Mrs. Norris gave another soft cry before elegantly turning around and strolling away as though nothing unusual had happened.
Harry and Ron stood frozen.
Their expressions looked as though they had just witnessed Voldemort knitting sweaters.
Leo merely smiled.
"Looks like we got lucky," he said quietly. "Come on. Let's get back before Filch decides to circle around."
The three quickly began heading toward the staircases.
However, Harry couldn't stop himself from asking questions.
"Leo, seriously, what's going on?" he whispered as he caught up beside him. "How does Mrs. Norris know you? Why didn't she go get Filch?"
Leo shrugged casually.
"I've bumped into her a few times. Maybe she decided we weren't worth the effort."
Ron clearly didn't care about the explanation.
As far as he was concerned, surviving the night without detention already qualified as a miracle.
"Yes, yes, whatever," Ron muttered while hurrying ahead. "Can we please just get back to bed before something else tries to kill us?"
Before Filch could reappear, the three boys immediately quickened their pace toward the spiral staircases.
....
Join my P@treon and get 60+ advanced chapters.
Link: p*atreon.com/0LordSilvere0 (Remove the *)
Free members get 2 chapters free.
Join Right Now