A Midnight Stroll Before School Starts 4k

Harry snapped out of his daze and said irritably, "Yeah, wanna come along?"

They had planned to use the Invisibility Cloak to bypass Fluffy and see if they could get through the Trapdoor.

But Harry remembered that Fluffy was a Three-headed Dog with three heads and three noses, and could smell them even though he couldn't see them.

Realizing that the Invisibility Cloak Fluffy, he went along with what Loren had to say.

"Absolutely delighted!"

Like an elegant gentleman, Loren lifted the collar of the Invisibility Cloak and flicked it, enveloping all three of them. The Invisibility Cloak was large enough to cover three first-year wizards. The moment they donned it, the silver fabric vanished along with the three figures.

"Who is it?" The Fat Lady opened the door but saw no one, and looked around in confusion.

Looking out from inside the Invisibility Cloak, their vision was completely unobstructed. The three ignored everything and continued walking forward.

Where are we going?

"How about the Restricted Section?"

The destination was decided by Harry and Ron; Loren didn't care where they went.

Even inside the Invisibility Cloak, they could still see each other. The three of them were close together, so some bumping and bruising were inevitable.

Loren lagged slightly behind, watching Harry's steps as he walked forward. A wicked thought popped into his head, and he deliberately stepped lightly on Harry's heel.

"Oh, you stepped on my heel," Harry said quietly, thinking it was just a normal bump.

"I'm sorry." Loren apologized readily, though his voice sounded like he was trying to suppress a laugh.

Continuing forward, Loren seized the opportunity to try and stomp off Harry's right shoe.

"Oh, not again!" Harry sensed something was wrong.

"Hehe," Loren couldn't help but laugh, "I'm sorry."

"Oh!"

The third time, Harry felt like his entire shoe was about to be stepped on. He knew it was intentional and gritted his teeth, saying, "Loren Morgan!"

"Isn't that right—"

Loren's apology was interrupted when Harry stepped on his shoe and knocked off the heel. "Ouch! You did that on purpose."

The two started stepping on each other's feet, and even Ron, who was standing next to them, was affected, losing his heel.

The three of them started fighting, heads down, watching the footsteps of the two people next to them, trying to stomp off their shoes.

Heavy footsteps echoed down the corridor, like someone trying to step on something but missing their target.

Reaching the Second Floor via the stairs, the three of them squatted down to put their shoes back on.

"Two against one, that's not fair, let's try again next time." Loren was indignant. He had been caught in the middle, with the two of them each targeting one of the shoes, while Harry and Ron were on either side. Only one shoe was being attacked.

There will be no next time!

Harry was plunged into deep self-doubt. Why was he so obsessed with this game, stepping on shoe heels? It was so childish. After thinking for a while, he finally attributed the cause to Loren.

His voice was weary. "There's no game more childish than stepping on someone's heel."

"And stepping on other people's shadows," Ron added. After being teased by the Twins for a while, he became obsessed with stepping on their Twins, believing it would teach them a lesson.

"Then let's play shadow tag next time." Loren was always very enthusiastic about these kinds of things.

Harry didn't speak; there was no point in talking to these two.

The three set off again, using Invisibility Cloak to pull each other along the Second Floor corridor.

As we rounded a corner, Filch suddenly appeared before us.

Harry and Ron were so startled that their hearts skipped a beat, and they covered their mouths, afraid to make a sound.

His sparse, gray hair hung down his sides, becoming even more noticeable when he hunched over. Filch was wiping a stain on the corridor wall with a rag. He tried scrubbing it vigorously with a brush, but it didn't work. He then used his fingernails to pick at the stain, and the rag, dampened with water, removed some small black specks.

Mrs. Norris sat beside her, her front legs stretched out and her tail wrapped around her front paws, looking rather docile.

It twitched its nose, looked around, and then meowed in the direction of Harry and the others, "Meow!"

"Someone's there?" Filch suddenly looked up in that direction.

There was only an empty corner of the corridor, nothing else in sight. Filch looked around for a moment, then lowered his head and continued wiping the wall.

Mrs. Norris couldn't sit still, so she circled around Filch and called out a few more times.

Filch dried his hands on his clothes, stroked Mrs. Norris's fluffy head, and ran his fingers along her fur to the tip of her tail. "Alright, stop barking. I'll go back and give you canned food after I'm done cleaning here."

Mrs. Norris squinted her small eyes in comfort, stretching her spine as she fully enjoyed the caress.

Filch himself can't see it; the cat has done enough. That's enough. Mrs. Norris sat down again.

The three were somewhat surprised to see the gentle Filch for the first time, but they still dared not move, afraid of making any noise.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that if he couldn't even keep it from Mrs. Norris Three-headed Dog, he was glad he hadn't gone directly to see Fluffy.

They huddled together, quietly watching Filch painstakingly clean the stains on the wall before walking away with Mrs. Norris.

"He's only gentle with Mrs. Norris," Ron muttered.

Harry noticed something else and asked, "Why didn't he use [Scourgify]? Is it because spellcasting isn't allowed in the hallways?"

Ron chuckled. "He might be a Muggle-born."

What is Muggle-born?

"Muggle-born is someone who is born into a wizarding family but has no magic at all."

Loren explained to Harry, then turned to Ron with a puzzled look, "What's so funny about Muggle-born?"

"That's right, it's not actually funny, but when it comes to Filch ..." Ron covered his mouth and started laughing again.

How do you know Filch is Muggle-born?

Ron slowly recounted the conflict between Weasley and the school administrator.

His parents, Arthur and Molly, were secretly dating during their school days when they were caught by the former administrator, Filch's predecessor, Apollon Pringle, and were severely beaten, leaving scars that remain to this day.

In the 1970s, Filch took over Apollon's job. He greatly respected Apollon and often regretted that he could not emulate Apollon's corporal punishment of students.

The Weasley family always had a special entanglement with the caretaker. Although Bill and Charlie had good grades, they would always break the rules from time to time, and if Filch caught them, they would be put in solitary confinement.

Percy fared a little better. When the Twins started school, their family received letters from Hogwarts every month during their first year, accusing George and Fred of breaking numerous school rules.

Ron was gloating over his Twins brother's expulsion, but to his disappointment, the Twins continued to attend school despite breaking hundreds of rules.

Ron thus came to the idea that Hogwarts would not expel students, until he heard that Hagrid had been expelled.

The Twins, now in second grade, copied the school rules dozens of times and became the most familiar people in the school. They began to outwit Filch, and the letters they received at home decreased. The Twins would occasionally discuss at home how to deal with Filch and the cat, Ron overheard some of the news.

"Why does he insist on staying at Hogwarts, a place full of magic?"

Loren couldn't understand it. For a Muggle-born, seeing others cast spells was torture every time. Jealousy could drive a person crazy, no wonder he was so irritable.

"Who knows?" Ron shrugged.

The conversation ended there, and the three continued their nighttime adventure.

The Library was pitch black, and they were already experienced at finding lamps in the cabinets along the wall. Cloaked in Invisibility Cloak and carrying lamps, a single lamp floated forlornly in the eerie Library.

"To be honest, this is pretty scary," Ron exclaimed.

Carefully stepping over the rope separating the Restricted Section, the three emerged from their Invisibility Cloak and wandered around.

Harry wanted to find books about the Sorcerer's Stone or Three-headed Dog, while Loren and Ron were just looking for a night out and didn't care what kind of books they read.

Chains extended from the bookshelf, binding some grotesque, large volumes. As the lamplight flickered by, they struggled violently, causing the chains to rattle.

Harry and his friends quickened their pace to leave the area of chains. As they walked, they noticed dark stains on the covers of some books, resembling dried blood, which sent chills down their spines.

Some books contain the shrill cries of Witch, sharp yet faint, echoing in the ears almost imperceptibly.

Loren and Ron read along without any particular purpose. Titles like "Peeling the Banshee's Skin" and "The Curses that Sting the Soul" were enough to make them both exclaim how captivating they were.

Harry saw a large black and silver book, pulled it out with difficulty, and Loren and Ron gathered around, watching Harry place the book on his lap.

Bang!

The pages suddenly flipped open, emitting a shrill, chilling scream.

This book is screaming!

Harry snapped out of his daze and slammed the book shut, but the screams didn't stop; they were high-pitched, continuous, and deafening.

"[Finite Incantatem] "

Loren pulled out his wand, attempting to stop the book from reading.

It had no effect. The other books in the Restricted Section seemed to awaken, struggling and emitting all sorts of strange noises: the howling of banshees, the wailing of Werewolf, and the shrill laughter of clowns. The noise was so intense it gave one's head a throbbing pain.

Loren saw a book titled "An Introduction to the Four Basic Elements" jump down from the bookshelf and land next to him.

"Let's go!"

The commotion here would surely attract Filch's attention, and Harry wanted to pull the others away.

Just as the group was fleeing in panic, an ancient-looking wand suddenly appeared beside them and touched the cover of the book on Harry's lap, causing the book, which had been howling, to stop abruptly.

The other books in the Restricted Section also stayed put.

"Headmaster Dumbledore!" Ron screamed, whether from surprise or shock.

Loren put the book "An Introduction to the Four Basic Elements" back on the shelf and leaned closer. "Good evening, Dumbledore."

"Good evening." Dumbledore. "To be honest, I didn't feel well just now."

Dumbledore was wearing a light blue bathrobe adorned with cartoon patterns of stars, moons, and clouds. He looked at Harry with a gentle smile through his crescent-shaped eyes.

He didn't seem angry, nor did he seem to intend to blame the three for their nighttime outing, which made them feel a little more relaxed.

Harry had a feeling that Dumbledore wasn't looking at him, but at the scar on his head. He remembered the tombstone he'd seen in Godric's Hollow. "Headmaster Dumbledore, did you write the words on my parents' tombstones?"

"I did attend James and Lily's funeral, but now I think that statement might have been a bit off."

"Death is not the enemy, but another, greater adventure."

"Will I ever see my parents again?" This was a strange question, but Harry asked it under some inexplicable guidance in his heart.

Dumbledore didn't answer immediately. He looked at Harry's scar, his eyes hidden behind crescent-shaped spectacles, Magic Power flowing in them. "I think anything is possible."

This sounds like a perfunctory remark, yet it also sounds like a definite answer.

Harry didn't ask any more questions.

"Dumbledore, is there any progress on Nagini's matter?"

Loren knew that Dumbledore must have contacted Nicol. He had asked Flamel before, and Flamel, in turn, had become a riddle, saying that everything depended on him.

Loren secretly vowed that he would invent a magic spell to wipe out all the riddle people.

Just as Harry and Ron were secretly guessing what Nagini was...

Dumbledore turned to him. "There may be some progress. I think I can give you an answer by the end of this semester."

He had already planned to let Loren try the Sorcerer's Stone once Quirrell's matter was over.

His previous view was outdated; he believed that Loren and Harry would have their own stories and follow their own paths, and that young people shouldn't be constrained by centuries-old ideas.

"Should we let Harry talk to Nagini?" Loren asked.

He had initially thought Harry's Parselmouth would be very useful, but upon closer reflection, he couldn't imagine what Harry and Nagini would talk about—their tragic past?

"No rush, Nagini is still hibernating." Dumbledore declined the suggestion, thinking about Harry's Parselmouth and the shadow he saw in Harry's scar, and he had already confirmed some things.

Me? Want to chat? Who is Nagini?

Harry was completely confused.

"Principal, will we get points deducted?" Ron asked hesitantly.

Only he cares about Gryffindor's honor. Gryffindor hasn't won the House Cup in seven years, and Slytherin has been ahead of Gryffindor for seven years. Seven years, seven years! Do they know how Professor McGonagall has spent these seven years?

"Neither of them cares; they only care about themselves, "Ron thought to himself.

"Hmm," Dumbledore pondered, feigning difficulty, before finally saying, "School doesn't start until tomorrow, so we shouldn't have to deduct points today."

"Dumbledore!" Ron shouted.

Dumbledore looked at their young, innocent faces, and his mood unfolded as peacefully as the night. He said kindly, "I'd like to know what you'd like to see in the Restricted Section?"

"We're looking for information; Snape is trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone," Harry said seriously.

"Hahaha!"

Dumbledore chuckled. Even though he already knew about this beforehand, it was still funny to hear Harry say it so seriously. "Severus would be heartbroken if he knew you thought that way."

"Perhaps he should pay attention to his usual behavior; how could he have caused such a misunderstanding among students?"

Harry realized that Dumbledore didn't believe him, and he was somewhat dejected. Apart from Ron and Hermione, who had witnessed Snape casting a curse on him, no one else believed it.

We secretly made up our minds that only the three of us could protect the Sorcerer's Stone and prevent Snape's plot from succeeding.

Ron, however, was concerned about something else, complaining, "Headmaster, you really should keep a closer eye on Professor Snape; he's deducted all of Gryffindor's points."

Dumbledore pretended to think, "But Severus didn't deduct any points from you in the two Potions class before Christmas. I think, as a professor, he was fair in the general sense."

Ron's face flushed red, and he wanted to have a serious discussion with Dumbledore about Snape's past misdeeds.

"Alright, it's time to say goodnight." Dumbledore glanced at the night outside the window and ended the conversation.

Ron's flushed face relaxed, and his hands fell limply to his sides.

Goodnight, Principal!

Harry shook the Invisibility Cloak, then suddenly remembered something. "Headmaster Dumbledore, did you give me the Invisibility Cloak? Sirius Black said so."

"Just like the card says, this is yours." Dumbledore stood beside the bookshelf, looking gently at Harry, at his green eyes rather than the scar on his head.

Harry nodded, and the three of them put on Invisibility Cloak and disappeared from the spot.

Dumbledore watched the three figures gradually disappear into the distance, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

Harry, you will see James and Lily again, and they will give you the strength to overcome death.