Unexpected Nighttime Encounter

As night fell, the pale moonlight shone through the clouds onto the castle walls.

One by one, the students went to sleep in their dormitories, and the number of people in the Common Room gradually decreased, clearing out a large space.

Three furtive figures tiptoed down the stairs, one of them carrying a black cloak.

Quack! Quack! Quack!

Just as the three were about to continue, a toad appeared in front of them.

"Leef!" Harry was taken aback, somewhat puzzled as to why Neville's pet was here.

"Ignore it, we need to get moving," Ron said.

"What action?" Neville stood up from behind the sofa, his expression turning grim as he looked at Harry and the others.

He had just been unable to sleep and thought he'd come over for a while, and also bring Leef out for some fresh air.

To his utter surprise, he had blocked three Gryffindor who were about to leave the dormitory. His sense of responsibility surged instantly, and he knew he could not possibly ignore it.

"You're going to sneak out again, aren't you?"

"Neville, listen to me, I, we..." Harry stammered, but his guilty conscience clearly made him unprepared to explain.

"No, you're not allowed to go." Neville blocked the doorway with his burly frame. "You've already lost 150 pounds. If you get caught staying out all night, Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."

"Neville, we don't have time to explain to you right now, get out of the way." Ron said impatiently, "There are three of us, you can't stop us."

"I'm ready." Neville said resolutely, clenching his fists and assuming a fighting stance.

However, his pajamas and flustered expression made his action seem out of place and somewhat comical.

"Neville, I'm sorry to have to do this to you." Hermione drew her Wand. "Petrificus Totalus!"

Neville's face turned pale instantly, his body stiffened rapidly, and his arms were pressed tightly to his sides before he collapsed to the floor with a thud.

Gollum!

Before Harry could react, Ron swallowed hard. "You can be a little scary sometimes, you know?"

Hermione looked at Neville, who was motionless, her face full of apology. "I'm sorry, but this is really for your own good."

"Let's go!" Harry said.

The three walked around Neville lying on the ground and put on Invisibility Cloak as they exited the portrait doorway.

There were many of them, and to ensure that the Invisibility Cloak concealed three people, their travel speed was much slower than normal walking.

Meanwhile, Aaron in the Slytherin Common Room was almost ready.

A music box, a Christmas gift from a relative, with a high-quality tone that would definitely quiet the Three-headed Dog.

Two pre-written letters, with almost identical contents.

Once Aaron is certain that Voldemort has begun his operation, he will not hesitate to have Abei deliver the letter.

His life-saving magical artifact, a very inconspicuous brooch, was tucked inside his clothes. This Sickle withstand a full-force attack from Grand Archmage, including the Killing Curse.

Finally, there were the two Wand. Aaron examined them carefully, just like checking a quill pen before an exam.

"Call!

"I was too nervous after all. I should have kept half of that Calming Draught for myself." Aaron chuckled, then patted Abei's head and stuffed two letters into its pocket. "The green envelope is for Professor Snape, and the red envelope is for Professor McGonagall."

Your task is arduous, and may even concern the life of your master, me, do you understand?

Abei nodded solemnly, his little face unusually serious.

Seeing this, Aaron felt a little relieved and then took out Invisibility Potion.

He drank one of the four pills himself and then fed one of the four pills to the Holy Dragon.

This would allow them to remain invisible for nearly an hour, giving them ample time to reach the Third Floor Corridor and wait for their prey.

Even if the time limit is reached, the remaining half of the medicine will give them enough buffer time.

After becoming invisible, he took out a bottle of Felix Felicis, took a sip himself, and then reluctantly fed it to Abei.

"Now it should be considered foolproof."

Set off!"

A dozen minutes later, Aaron arrived at the fourth-floor corridor before Harry and the others.

The two, one human and one dragon, adjusted their breathing in perfect unison and cautiously approached the wooden door.

At this point, they couldn't afford to be careless. What if Voldemort was playing music for Fluffy? If they were discovered, they would be completely doomed.

Voldemort wouldn't care who was hiding at this point; he might just unleash Killing Curse on both of them.

The lock on the wooden door is still in good condition, just like it was at noon.

But Aaron became even more cautious; if the lock was broken, it would mean Voldemort had already entered the Trapdoor.

The door lock was intact, and Aaron didn't know whether Aaron had come or not.

The only way to make a preliminary judgment is to get close to the wooden door and listen carefully to see if there is any music inside.

However, the room was quite well soundproofed. Aaron worked hard for a while, but all he could hear was Fluffy snoring.

Just as he was hesitating whether to go in and take a look, a faint red light suddenly flashed on the door lock, and the door was opened.

Aaron's heart skipped a beat. He covered his own mouth with one hand and Abei's mouth with the other, afraid of making the slightest sound.

He breathed a sigh of relief after the door was closed.

"We've finally found him." Aaron put Abei down, then pointed outside the corridor, his meaning clear: I'll stay here and keep watch, you go and report back.

Abei didn't act immediately. After hesitating for a moment, he stretched out his dragon claw towards the wooden door and then quickly shook his head.

"Something's up?"

Aaron frowned and pressed his ear against the door again.

Soon after, several black lines appeared on his forehead.

Besides the snoring of the Three-headed Dog, he also heard the voices of several familiar people.

Without thinking twice, he pushed open the door and went inside, and as expected, he saw three Gryffindor.

Harry, Ron, Hermione all came; not one of them was left out.

"Why is the door open?" Ron asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Maybe it wasn't shut properly!" Harry didn't seem to care, but glanced at the harp playing automatically to the side. "Snape was here; he cast a spell on the harp."

"It must be Professor Snape," Aaron interjected speechlessly. "He should be sleeping in his dorm right now."

"Who? Who's there?"

The three panicked instantly and took out their Wand, pointing them in the direction from which the sound came.

"Uh... don't be so nervous." Aaron exited his invisible state. "If we wake up Fluffy, we'll be in big trouble."

"Aaron, what are you doing here?" Harry asked excitedly. "Do you have Invisibility Cloak too?"

"I don't have that kind of item, but I do have a bottle of Invisibility Potion." Aaron shrugged, then glanced at the harp that was still being played, his pupils contracting slightly.

Since this harp wasn't made by Harry and his friends, it could only have been Voldemort.

Having figured this out, he immediately gave a wink to the Holy Dragon who was still squatting at the door.

After receiving the signal, Abei rushed out of the corridor at top speed.

What are you doing here?

"We'll get the Philosopher's Stone before the You-Know-Who," Hermione explained, then became somewhat dejected, "But it seems we're a step too late."

Aaron couldn't help but slap his forehead. "I think I said I was confident I could stop the You-Know-Who!"

Don't you trust me at all?

"It's not that we don't believe in you, it's just that we can't put all the burden on your shoulders," Harry said earnestly.

"Hehe! Don't misunderstand."

Let me make it clear beforehand, I have my reasons for stopping him, but it's not for your sake.

It doesn't matter anymore.

Since you've come here, it means you're on our side.

Although we arrived a little late, there are still quite a few hidden mechanisms under the Trapdoor!

"The You-Know-Who hasn't succeeded yet; we still have a chance." Harry said, walking over to Fluffy. "We need to move its claws; the Trapdoor is underneath."

"Move what?" Aaron said impatiently. "What you need to do now is go to sleep. Staying here will only get in the way, and... it's dangerous."

"And what about you?" Hermione asked meaningfully. "You're probably planning to stay, aren't you?"

"No, that's not necessary. What I need is to be confident that I can escape unscathed."

Harry shook his head. "Even if you make it sound like the sky is falling, we won't leave you to face this alone."

Besides, if you fail, we'll have your support and someone to rely on.

Aaron:...

How come we never noticed before that this child is so stubborn?

"Ron, come help me out!"

"Good!"

The two men laboriously moved a huge dog paw aside, revealing Trapdoor underneath.

Once opened, it revealed a completely dark passage.

"Tsk tsk tsk! It looks scary." Driven by curiosity, Aaron took a closer look.

"I'll go in first. Wait for my signal before you come down," Harry volunteered. "If anything goes wrong, just get out on your own."