Investigation

Hermione said nothing, but nodded.

The three of them left the Common Room and headed down the stairs.

More than half the candlesticks in the castle had already gone out. Only a few remained lit, casting scattered halos across the stone walls, illuminating one stretch of corridor before vanishing into the darkness beyond.

They passed several dozing portraits. The breathing and faint snores of the people in the paintings were clearly audible in the night, as if the entire castle were slowly falling asleep.

By the time they reached the fourth floor, there were no lights in the corridor. Only moonlight filtering in through a window at the far end spread a cold white glow across the flagstone floor.

Delaney was already standing before the door. Leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, he straightened when he saw the three approaching from the stairwell and pulled out a slender tool.

It looked like a specially made lockpick, longer than an ordinary one, with a curved tip that gleamed dark silver in the moonlight, as though it had been used countless times.

"You're here." He inserted the lockpick into the keyhole and gave his wrist a slight twist. There was an almost inaudible click from inside the lock, and it opened.

He removed the lock and hung it on an iron hook beside the door. "I loosened the mechanism last time. It won't take much force this time."

He pushed the door open. The hinges made no sound, as if they had been oiled.

The door swung inward, revealing a staircase descending beyond it.

The staircase was made of stone, about a meter wide. The edges of the steps had been worn rounded, as if countless feet had trodden over them through the ages.

There were no lamps