Three-Headed Dog, Fluffy

After parting ways with the Weasley twins, the Halloween feast was about to begin.

At this hour, the professors and students were basically all in the Great Hall. There wasn't a soul outside.

Silvan turned toward the stairs, but as he passed the entrance to the dungeons, he vaguely heard a dull noise and caught a faint whiff of something foul.

Clearly, the troll had already been released. He had to hurry.

Without hesitation, Silvan immediately quickened his pace and sprinted upstairs.

He moved quickly, and the stairs were cooperative as well. He reached the third floor with almost no effort.

"Meow!"

"Damn it, you stupid cat again! Get lost! Get lost!"

At the same time, a series of cat yowls and Filch's furious shouting suddenly came from upstairs.

The sounds grew fainter and fainter before quickly vanishing at the end of the corridor.

Seizing the opportunity, Silvan quickly made his way to the fourth floor.

Sure enough, he encountered no further obstacles this time and easily arrived before the locked door.

He drew his wand and tapped the lock.

"Alohomora!"

Nothing happened.

Well, Silvan had expected that... How could a door guarded by Professor McGonagall in Animagus form possibly be opened so easily?

Silvan decisively put away his wand and took a green, branch-like object from another pocket.

A Bowtruckle, which he had gotten from Hagrid.

As a wandmaker, Silvan had learned how to deal with these little fellows from a very young age.

After paying the price of two ground beetles, the Bowtruckle crawled into the keyhole.

With a click, the door opened, and Silvan let out a breath of relief.

Fortunately, Dumbledore probably hadn't expected anyone to make it this far. He had only placed an anti-unlocking charm on the door. If he had been a little more cautious, Silvan would have returned empty-handed this time.

Silvan swiftly pulled the door open.

Although he had prepared himself mentally, when Silvan actually saw the ten-foot-tall three-headed dog behind the door, as large as a full-grown elephant, his legs still went weak.

Three pairs of vicious, rolling eyes immediately turned toward him. Three drooling mouths opened at once, saliva dripping like sticky ropes from yellowed canine teeth.

Perhaps startled by Silvan's sudden intrusion, the three-headed dog didn't pounce on him immediately. But the next second, all three heads let out deafening roars.

Without any hesitation, Silvan immediately took out the thing he had bought from the Weasley twins and tore off its brown paper wrapping, revealing a crudely made toy inside.

It really was a toy: Baluo the Harp Player, somewhat like a Muggle music box. Though it wasn't as famous as The Tales of Beedle the Bard, it was still one of the childhood memories of wizarding children.

Freed from the wrapping, "Baluo" immediately began cheerfully plucking its harp.

The moment the crisp music began, the barking stopped.

The three-headed dog's eyelids began to droop. It swayed a few times, then collapsed to the ground with a thud and fell into a deep sleep.

Looking at the three-headed dog, which resembled a small mountain even while lying down, Silvan steadied himself and gathered the courage to approach.

When he got closer, he could feel the hot breath coming from the three-headed dog. It stank and made him a little sick.

Holding his breath, Silvan circled behind the three-headed dog, grabbed its tail, and gave it a hard tug.

The three-headed dog suddenly twitched, and Silvan's heart leaped into his throat.

Thankfully, it didn't wake up.

Silvan patted his chest, then boldly picked a few more spots.

The longest hairs on its lower back, forelegs, and heads were all pulled away by Silvan.

The three-headed dog remained asleep. Gradually, Silvan grew bolder and reached toward its wide-open mouth, gripping a tooth nearly three inches long.

There was no way this thing could be pulled out, but Silvan had another method. He only had one chance, so he had to prepare in advance.

First, open the door and create an escape route. Then take away the toy and erase any evidence that he had been here.

After doing all that, Silvan finally took a wand from his pocket. It was a half-finished wand, with only the wand body and a small gap that had yet to be sealed.

"Forgive me, Fluffy. I'll make it up to you later."

Silvan silently apologized, shoved the wand into the gap between its teeth, and casually completed the final assembly.

One,

Two,

Three...

Boom!

The wand exploded, followed by the three-headed dog's agonized howl.

Though the three-headed dog had thick skin and tough flesh, it couldn't withstand an explosion at point-blank range—especially inside a mouth without fur for protection.

Several teeth were blasted out on the spot.

Silvan snatched them with quick reflexes, pushed off with his feet, and dashed out the door without looking back before the huge dog could react. He spun around and locked the door in one smooth motion.

Listening to the roars inside and feeling the lingering warmth against the back of his head, Silvan felt immensely fortunate. He leaned against the door and gasped for breath.

Cherry wood, Red Cap nerve... What a fiery combination.

The process had been a little dangerous, but looking at what he had gained, it had all been worth it.

Silvan opened his hands. In each hand, he clutched a dog tooth roughly the size of his palm.

An unexpected bonus. Mainly because the explosion had been much louder than Silvan had anticipated, causing teeth from both sides to fly out.

No wonder Fluffy's howl had been so miserable just now.

Silvan felt somewhat guilty. When he had the time, he would go to the school kitchens and get some meat to compensate it. He wondered whether guarding the door came with meals.

But that was something for later. The commotion had already spread, and he had to leave this troublesome place before the professors arrived.

Then Silvan looked up...

To be honest, he really wanted to curse.

At the other end of the corridor stood a troll nearly twelve feet tall, accompanied by an overpowering stench.

He had been too nervous just now, his attention entirely on the other side of the door, so he hadn't smelled it at all.

But why was the troll on the... Oh, right. In Quirrell's plan, the troll's destination had been the fourth floor from the very beginning.

Without Harry and Ron to stop it, it had naturally made its way here without obstruction.

After figuring out why, Silvan wanted to curse even more. Worse still, the troll's ugly little eyes had spotted him as well.

Without hesitation, the troll instinctively came toward him, raising the wooden club in its hand.

A troll stood before him, while the room holding the three-headed dog was behind him. Silvan was trapped in the middle as he watched the troll run faster and faster.

Fighting it head-on... That definitely wouldn't work. Never mind whether he could win; the impact of a twelve-foot behemoth charging at full speed was not something he could withstand.

There was no time to think. Silvan gritted his teeth, slapped the keyhole hard, and shouted:

"Open it!"

Fortunately, the Bowtruckle was still inside.

It had also seen the charging troll, but it had been scared stiff. At Silvan's reminder, the Bowtruckle snapped out of it and its survival instinct kicked in. It opened the lock even faster than before.

Silvan yanked the door open, tore the pointed hat hanging from his robe with his other hand, and flicked his wand.

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

The hat flew onto the troll's head, covering its eyes perfectly.

With its vision blocked, the troll immediately panicked and instinctively tried to stop. But how could a twelve-foot body stop just because it wanted to?

Not only did it fail to stop, it stumbled. Its huge, clumsy body pitched violently forward and, without missing by an inch, crashed headfirst through the open doorway.