He ate his fill.
Led by the Weasley Twins, Tom headed straight upstairs.
The upper floors of the castle were the part Tom had explored the least so far. The moving, rotating staircases were simply too complicated, and there was no way to figure out their patterns in a short time.
But having Fred and George lead the way made things much easier.
The two led from the front, explaining how the staircases worked as they went.
Some staircases followed fixed routes, some moved only when you stepped on them firmly, and others required you to blow gently toward them...
In short, not one of Hogwarts' one hundred and forty-two staircases was simple.
"Tom, you really are a natural-born Slytherin. You move like a silent snake," Fred whispered, turning around to praise him.
At night, Hogwarts Castle had more than just Filch patrolling its halls. The portraits hanging in the corridors also served as a layer of security.
Although most portraits ignored students sneaking around after hours, they all had different personalities. Some, with a strong sense of responsibility, would actively report them.
In their first few years at school, the portraits had reported them often.
Fortunately, portraits shared a habit with the living: they all went to sleep at night. So as long as they kept quiet, they could avoid waking them.
And Tom had only just started school, yet he'd already mastered moving silently and could easily keep up with the two brothers.
"Nothing much," Tom whispered.
Back when he'd wanted to establish a [Magician] persona, he'd found ways to learn all sorts of magic tricks. Some close-up tricks required him to move silently, too.
Having an older student show you the way sure was convenient. After a few simple turns, they finally reached their destination.
At the end of the corridor on the right side of the Fourth Floor was an unlocked door. The moment they opened it a crack, a wave of dusty air hit them.
Beyond the door was a dusty corridor. The three of them covered their mouths and noses before stepping inside.
"Places the school lists as off-limits are usually really dangerous. What on earth is the school thinking, hiding dangerous things inside the castle?"
Fred grumbled. The Charms classroom was right next door, after all.
"Who knows? It's an old school tradition. Forget the Whomping Willow planted in the courtyard. The plants in the Herbology greenhouses could break containment and kill a whole bunch of graduated wizards with ease."
"Wizards really are reckless," Tom remarked.
Take the Goblet of Fire in the Triwizard Tournament, for example. What decent school would knock its students unconscious and tie them up underwater?
At the end of the corridor, they finally came to a locked door.
The lock was purely mechanical, with no magic placed over it.
"Alohomora~"
Tom pulled out his wand and gave it a little flick. A cast of Alohomora unlocked the door.
"Not bad. A nice unlocking charm."
"I wish my little brother were as capable as you."
The brothers finally understood today, at least in part, why Ron had joined Slytherin with Tom.
Staying close to someone outstanding really did make it easier to improve yourself.
The door swung open as soon as it was unlocked, and a lilting melody rang out.
Beyond it, a huge black dog with three heads was sleeping. Beside it sat a Magic Harp, playing by itself.
"A Three-Headed Dog?"
"Keep your voice down."
The twins each reached out and covered the other's mouth.
They'd reacted quickly, but luck didn't seem to be on their side.
The magic in the harp happened to run out at that very moment, and the Three-Headed Dog sleepily got to its feet.
Silence—
Three boys and a dog stared at one another, seven pairs of eyes locked together.
"ROAR!" The vicious dog bellowed.
Meanwhile.
In the bedroom behind the Headmaster's Office, Dumbledore's snoring abruptly stopped. He opened his eyes.
"Couldn't wait, could you?"
He raised a hand, and the Elder Wand beside his pillow flew into his grasp.
Just as he was about to set off, an Old Phoenix with many of its feathers worn away flew over and chirped something into his ear.
"So someone was only out after hours and wandered in by mistake."
A language prodigy, Dumbledore spoke not only the languages of people around the world but had also studied the language of phoenixes.
When he learned that the intruders in the forbidden area weren't Death Eaters, he finally let out the breath he'd been holding.
"What? You're saying Tom went in there?"
His heart leaped right back into his throat.
"Fawkes, let's go!"
He didn't even bother to change. Wearing only his wool socks, he patted the Old Phoenix, and the two of them turned into a streak of red light and shot out of the office.
"Help! Why is the Three-Headed Dog only grabbing us?"
In the dusty corridor, Fred had fallen to the floor. One of the Three-Headed Dog's paws stretched through the doorway and pinned his leg, while George desperately tugged at Fred's arm, trying to rescue his brother.
As for Tom—
He was still in the room guarded by the Three-Headed Dog, facing the enormous black dog's backside.
There was no denying that the [Animal Friend] persona was useful, but it didn't let him actually befriend animals.
Fluffy was huge, but not so huge that it couldn't fit through the doorway. If it wanted to chase them out of the room, it could.
The reason it wasn't leaving was to keep Tom from escaping. Once it dealt with the twins, it would naturally come back for him.
"Not a bad persona," Tom thought, giving a quiet nod.
[Animal Friend] was only Lv.1 for now. Its level was too low to make beasts like him as if they'd been brainwashed.
But when faced with a beast, it could lower his priority as a target. If he had companions nearby, the beast would attack them first.
As everyone knew, when you ran into a beast in the wild, you didn't need to run faster than the beast. You only needed to run faster than the person next to you.
"Hang on, Fred! I'll get you out of there!"
George realized he couldn't pull Fred free, so he hurriedly drew his wand, intending to use an offensive spell.
An offensive spell might cause a huge commotion and draw Filch, who was on patrol, but that was still better than Fred getting eaten.
But before he could even swing his wand, the Three-Headed Dog suddenly turned all three heads around. It stopped pinning Fred and dug its claws into the ground instead.
It seemed to be trying to brace itself.
But it didn't work.
"Woof!"
A tremendous force kept dragging it backward toward the room. Its paws carved deep furrows in the floor.
"What's going on?"
"No idea."
The twins stared into the room, completely bewildered.
Tom was now riding on the Three-Headed Dog's back, like a fearless bullfighter.
The Three-Headed Dog refused to obey. It leaped and bucked wildly, desperately clawing at its back, but Tom didn't budge an inch.
"In that case, I won't hold back either."
Tom slowly extended his little fist.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three sharp knocks, and a red bump swelled on each of the Three-Headed Dog's black heads.
"Whimper..." The vicious dog begged for mercy.
Before you continue