Harley quickly returned to the spot where she had climbed out of the castle, then used Spider Silk to get back inside.
The curse she had released earlier was still tracking Harley, guiding her toward the unknown demigod.
Harley moved through the castle in silence. It was already past two in the morning, and even Filch, the caretaker in charge of the night patrol, had returned to his office.
The farther Harley went, the more she felt that something was off. The demigod seemed to be somewhere on the fourth floor.
If Harley remembered correctly, there was a restricted area in that direction, one Professor Dumbledore had expressly forbidden students from entering during the opening feast.
Of course, that seemed to have only fueled the students' rebellious streak. Many Gryffindors had tried to persuade Harley to join them on an adventure there.
The Weasley twins, in particular, had brought it up again and again, as if breaking the rules were the only way to prove their courage.
Plenty of students from the other houses were curious about what the restricted area held, too.
Hannah had once discussed with Harley whether valuable spells might be hidden there. She had guessed that it contained records of mysterious magic that could conjure a lavish feast.
Harley could only think, It figures that a Hufflepuff whose dormitory is right next to the kitchen would say that.
Harley herself wasn't particularly interested in the restricted area. She wasn't fond of breaking rules; she only did so when she was sure there would be a worthwhile payoff.
And now, it was clear that the payoff might be huge, so Harley was willing to risk getting into trouble.
Still, Harley couldn't help feeling a little curious. The severely wounded demigod had most likely possessed someone and lain low at Hogwarts in order to steal something.
Harley couldn't help being tempted by a treasure that even a demigod had coveted.
But only a little. Harley still had a long time to spend at Hogwarts, until she recovered her strength.
In that situation, taking a treasure hidden away by the headmaster would clearly be unwise.
Harley quickly reached the corridor on the fourth floor. On the way, she even ran into Peeves.
Come to think of it, the notorious ghost who tormented generations of young witches and wizards had never once bothered Harley.
Not only that, sometimes when Peeves saw Harley, he seemed terrified and hurried away as fast as he could.
That was clearly unusual. Peeves seemed to fear only Bloody Baron, the Slytherin house ghost.
Harley wasn't close to Bloody Baron, so it was unlikely that he had warned Peeves about her.
But Harley had no desire to investigate. Peeves never bothered her anyway.
When Harley reached the fourth-floor corridor, the door already stood open.
Inside was a Three-Headed Dog, all three heads drooping. It lay motionless, as if asleep.
Its sleeping position was strange, though. It was pressed tightly against one wall, and beneath its body, most of a trapdoor was exposed.
Harley cautiously drew her wand. Her hair floated behind her as she stayed ready for the Three-Headed Dog to attack.
But when she approached to take a closer look, she realized it was already dead.
"Quite efficient. The Three-Headed Dog didn't struggle, so it was probably killed in one blow.
"Its hide is intact, unlike the Unicorn's, which had smooth cuts. Was it a soul attack, or something else?"
Harley didn't rush to open the trapdoor. Instead, she carefully examined the Three-Headed Dog's death and gathered useful clues.
"The demigod has a one-hit-kill ability? That's no easy feat. The Three-Headed Dog's hide is so thick, and it must have had powerful resistance to magic, too."
Harley quietly filed that information away, reminding herself to watch out for the demigod's instant-death attack.
She didn't think her defenses were as strong as the Three-Headed Dog's. If that kind of instant-death attack hit her, Harley would have to expend her Magic Mirror or wand.
Harley glanced at the Three-Headed Dog, resisting the urge to dissect it. It was so powerful, and there was still Spirituality left in its body. It could probably be made into a fine Sealed Artifact or Mystical Item.
But this was the restricted area Professor Dumbledore had mentioned, and the Three-Headed Dog was presumably his pet.
So Harley decided it was best not to make trouble for herself.
Harley cast a curse on the trapdoor. Black Flame burned through it with pinpoint accuracy, reducing it to nothing.
Then Harley peered into the dark opening and casually waved a hand.
Flexible strands of silk closed the room's door, and filled the room with webbing.
A Magic Mirror was stuck to the strands, serving as Harley's final line of defense.
Harley then slowly slid down the silk, surveying her surroundings with her night vision.
A patch of black ash lay on the ground, clearly left behind after something had been burned.
In a corner, Harley spotted one or two curled-up vines that kept trembling. They looked like the Devil's Snare Professor Sprout had mentioned in class.
It seemed the mysterious demigod had been exceptionally vicious, burning the Devil's Snare to ash. Even the few remaining vines were badly frightened. They'd probably be traumatized for life.
Harley didn't stop. She hurried along the only stone corridor.
The corridor was eerily quiet. She could even hear water slowly dripping down the walls and the soft rustle of wings beating at the far end.
At the end of the corridor stood a brightly lit room with a high, vaulted ceiling.
Many jewel-bright little birds flew all around the room, flapping their wings. Several brooms leaned against the walls.
Apparently, the room was designed for intruders to use the brooms to catch one of the little birds, then use the magic on it to open the door opposite.
But Harley didn't need to go to all that trouble now. That door had been cut to pieces, its edges perfectly smooth.
So Harley enjoyed the benefits left behind by the person who had cleared the way, passing through one obstacle after another—
A destroyed Wizard's Chess set and a lifeless Troll.
Only the final obstacle managed to hold Harley up for a few minutes.
It was hard to say who had set up that obstacle. There was a table in the room, with assorted bottles on it and a riddle.
Flames of different colors blazed in the doors at either end of the room.
The riddle seemed to require intruders to identify a Potion that would let them pass through those flames before they could continue.
But Harley didn't waste time figuring it out. The black flames ahead and the purple flames behind were only ordinary flames that had been Transfigured to change their color.
They were ordinary flames in essence. Since Harley was blessed by Black Flame, she only had to cover her body with it to pass through.
The reason Harley had stopped was that she'd been thinking over the obstacles she'd just passed.
Other than the Three-Headed Dog in the first room, which looked somewhat intimidating, the second obstacle was Devil's Snare that first-years had studied. The third was probably catching a bird in flight, and the fourth was a game of chess...
Why were these obstacles either easy enough for even first-years to get past, or set up with such obvious clues for intruders?
Each one was more ridiculous than the last! Was this really a restricted area?
Harley had a vague suspicion. Professor Dumbledore had obtained a treasure and knew someone wanted to steal it.
So he had deliberately set up traps that even first-years could pass through, in order to lure the unknown demigod into a trap.
Which meant that this restricted area was nothing more than a demigod trap.
Thinking this, Harley eyed the black flames and hesitated to go any farther.
She already had plenty of exceptional qualities, but they could all be explained by her being a genius. If she showed off too much power, that would be harder to explain.
But then she reconsidered. Since she'd already come this far, Professor Dumbledore had probably noticed her by now.
So Harley decided to press on, at least long enough to grab whatever benefits she could.
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