Gryffindor's Lion

He was glad to be back at Hogwarts, because it had the largest magical library in all of England. The private collections of those pure-blood families were simply insignificant by comparison.

They might hold certain advantages in terms of social status, but even pure-blood families relied almost entirely on school education as their primary means of passing down knowledge.

In other words, Hogwarts's four founders had done something immensely great. They had transformed the inheritance of magic from the traditional apprenticeship system into an academy system, greatly advancing the wizarding world.

Sagreles annotated the manuscript and circled several obscure passages, then rose and headed for the Restricted Section to look up relevant information.

Sagreles suddenly stopped—Peeves's shrill, broken-gong voice was coming from around the stairwell corner, especially piercing in the silent corridor.

"Who's there?" the poltergeist drawled, circling through the air like a vulture that had caught the scent of rot. "I may not be able to see you, but Lord Peeves knows perfectly well! Someone's sneaking around here!"

Sagreles sighed helplessly and slowly withdrew the right foot he had already stepped out with.

Well, he'd run into them again. These little wizards really did love sneaking out at night.

Sagreles lightly tapped the wall with his wand, and the heavy marble wall instantly turned into a transparent one-way window. Through the magical viewing pane, he saw Peeves tugging at the tassels of the stair carpet and making faces at the empty corridor.

"Let me guess—" Peeves suddenly floated upside down in midair. "Is it weepy Moaning Myrtle? Or a ghoul sneaking food from the kitchens? Or maybe some little brats out after curfew?"

He yanked up the carpet and draped it over his head like a cloak.

Just as Peeves was about to burst into a tattling song, a hoarse whisper suddenly came from the air. "The Bloody Baron has his reasons for not wishing to be seen."

The voice froze Peeves in midair like a rooster being strangled. He performed a ridiculous somersault, nearly flinging off his bell-studded hat.

"R-respected Baron!" Peeves's voice instantly turned sickeningly sweet. He gave an exaggerated bow. "Your loyal servant Peeves offers his sincerest apologies!"

As he spoke, he even pretended to slap himself twice. "It's all because of these useless fish-bladder eyes of mine!"

"Get lost," came the curt command from the air.

Peeves immediately shot up the stairs with a whoosh like a punctured balloon, knocking over a portrait on the way. The person in the painting groggily muttered in their sleep, seeing only a rainbow-colored afterimage vanish around the corner.

Sagreles narrowed his eyes. Though he couldn't see them, he still knew who had been speaking with Peeves. Other than Harry Potter beneath the Invisibility Cloak, who else could it be? Perhaps his two inseparable friends were with him as well.

"Interesting." Sagreles curled his lips and flicked his wand, undoing the Transfiguration Spell on the stone wall.

These stairs led to the fourth-floor corridor. Dumbledore had mentioned it at the start-of-term feast and strictly forbidden students from entering.

Combined with the other information he had gathered, this was most likely where Dumbledore kept the Philosopher's Stone. From the professors' scattered remarks, it seemed that several of them had also helped devise obstacles to protect the Stone layer by layer.

Harry's purpose in coming here was obvious. Judging by what they had learned from Hagrid that afternoon, perhaps they were simply curious. Or perhaps they were worried.

Sagreles didn't look into it further. After all, everyone had been a student once, and little wizards' heads were always filled with strange ideas. They might keep secrets for certain reasons, even if those reasons seemed utterly ridiculous to adults.

He didn't catch the little wizards sneaking out at night either. Instead, he cast a Disillusionment Charm on Loctis, who was perched on his shoulder, and had it quietly follow them.

Before long, Loctis followed them to the fourth-floor corridor. The door there had already been opened a crack.

Through Loctis's eyes, Sagreles saw the door pulled open a little farther before swiftly closing again. The Raven slipped inside just before it shut.

The moment it entered the room, a massive three-headed dog came into view. It had to be Fluffy, the dog Hagrid had mentioned. At the moment, however, the enormous dog was sprawled on the floor, snoring loudly, with a harp lying beside its paws.

Clearly, someone had come before them. Sagreles's eyes lit up. He had only wanted to watch these little wizards sneak around at night, but he had unexpectedly found something more.

Sagreles was now sitting in the Restricted Section of the library, but deciphering the manuscript wasn't urgent. He placed the parchment on the table and focused intently on this "live broadcast."

Through Loctis's eyes, he saw the sleeping three-headed dog constantly twitching its nose, as though it were about to wake.

At that moment, the Invisibility Cloak was lifted, and the figures of three little wizards appeared out of thin air.

Harry Potter took out a flute and began playing it continuously. The three-headed dog tilted its head and fell into a deep sleep again. Ron carefully lifted the trapdoor in the floor, and the three of them leaned over the opening to peer down.

The hole was pitch-black, and they couldn't see anything.

Sagreles saw them exchange a few words. Then Harry handed the flute to Hermione and jumped down.

"What? Isn't that way too reckless?" he couldn't help muttering under his breath.

The boy had just jumped straight down without considering whether the drop would kill him, or whether there might be traps waiting to impale him on wooden spikes.

Honestly, Sagreles rather admired that kind of courage. As expected of the child of destiny. But ordinary people really shouldn't try something like that, or they might not even know how they died.

Seeing the other two little wizards jump after him, Sagreles hurriedly guided Loctis into the hole.

The cave was pitch-black. Even through the Raven's eyes, he could only barely make out the surroundings.

Black vines crawled everywhere. Looking closely, he realized it was a patch of Devil's Snare. Like snakes, the magical plant's tendrils had already stretched out and silently wrapped around the three children's hands and feet.

Hermione, who had gone in last, managed to break free before the vines could get a firm hold on her. She watched in horror as the two boys desperately tore at the vines, but the harder they struggled, the faster and tighter the vines coiled around them.

Sagreles almost wanted to laugh. This was what came of acting rashly.

"Don't move!" Hermione suddenly shouted, her voice echoing through the damp cellar. "This is Devil's Snare! The more you struggle, the tighter it wraps around you!"

Ron's face had already turned purplish-red. A thick vine was winding around his neck like a python.

"Wonderful!" he forced out through clenched teeth. "Knowing this thing is called Devil's Snare is such a huge help! Otherwise, I wouldn't even know what was killing me!"

"Help us, Hermione! Think of a way to deal with it!"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" Hermione bit her lower lip, sweat sticking the curls on her forehead to her face.

"Please hurry up, or in a moment you'll only be able to save our corpses."

The little witch ignored their nonsense. Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Professor Sprout said Devil's Snare likes dark, damp places—"

Harry was using all his strength to pry apart the vines wrapped around his chest. "Then set it on fire!"

His glasses hung crookedly on his nose, their lenses covered in mist.

"B-but..." Hermione frantically felt around in her empty pockets. "I don't have any firewood on me!"

Sagreles's vision went dark, and even Loctis the Raven nearly fell over.

The professor of Advanced Charms Theory and Practice clutched his forehead in agony, as though he had been struck by a Stunning Spell.

"Merlin's beard!" Ron suddenly roared. He was already hanging upside down in midair. "You're a witch! Do something with that bloody wand of yours!"

The words struck Hermione awake like lightning.

"Oh, right!"

She abruptly drew her wand, while her other hand reached for the crystal vial hanging around her neck—the gift Harry had given her, containing a ready-made spell.

She pulled out the stopper, and a miniature glowing figure flew out under Hermione's control. She had stored it inside when she had sat in on Sagreles's class before.

"Lumos!"

Pure white light bloomed from the tiny figure, like a brilliant sun in the dark underground chamber.

The two boys entangled by Devil's Snare immediately felt a wave of warmth. Then, within mere seconds, every vine recoiled from the light and released them.