Now I've Caught You!

"Honestly, I really should make myself a walking stick!" Kane dragged Harry and Ron rapidly through the Forbidden Forest as ink-black shadows slowly spread out behind them, blocking the dark wizard's line of sight.

"Master, I don't know what kind of magic those little wizards used. I can't see them anymore." Quirrell had just unleashed a wave of fire, burning all the attacking killer bees to charcoal. When he tried to track them again, he could see nothing but darkness—not even the distant trees.

"Look at their magic, Quirinus. As long as you can see its essence, you'll find that all those shadows blinding you come from that glowing little wizard." Voldemort, stuck to the back of Professor Quirrell's head, slowly spoke.

"Glowing?" Quirrell wore a thoroughly bewildered expression as he looked toward the shadows fading into the distance.

???

Voldemort: ...

"Forget it. He didn't see you. Continue with the plan. There's no need to worry about Dumbledore for now. As for that little wizard... Quirinus, I think you'll have to show some real skill in next year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

Kane, Harry, and Ron stumbled out of the Forbidden Forest in a panic and rushed straight toward Hogwarts Castle.

"What do we do now?" Ron asked, panting heavily once they reached the castle's side entrance.

"Tell Dumbledore, obviously. What is this, some Japanese anime where elementary school kids save the world?" Kane said, pushing the side door.

...???

The side door was locked tight, showing them absolutely no mercy.

"Ah, looks like I won't be the only one sleeping outside tonight." Hermione's faint voice came from nearby. Not long ago, after Kane had provoked her in the Gryffindor common room, she had gone out to clear her head.

Then, when she tried to return, some damned person had locked every door in and out of the castle. One look at her pocket watch told her that, without realizing it, she'd missed the locking time.

She had thought she would have to spend the night outside alone, but she had unexpectedly run into three old acquaintances.

Seeing Kane locked outside too gave Hermione a strange, almost unhealthy sense of comfort.

So what if your family was influential enough that even the Hogwarts headmaster avoided crossing you? When the school gates were locked and no one was around, when no connections could help you at all, didn't you still have to stand outside in the cold with ordinary folk like me?

"Alohomora." Kane tapped the lock on the side door with his wand. There was a click... and absolutely nothing happened.

"I already tried. It seems Hogwarts's exterior doors can't be opened with magic," Hermione explained.

Bang!

"This door was flimsier than the gate around Aunt Susan's vegetable garden... so you never thought of kicking it? Never mind, maybe you wanted to be ladylike... Want to go in together?"

Kane felt that he had been very kind with his words. His impeccable command of language hadn't given Hermione the slightest reason to feel embarrassed.

"Thanks. I'm definitely buying a hammer later!" Hermione first shouted her thanks, then kept muttering loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Are we going back to Gryffindor Tower together?" Once Hermione breathed in the warm air inside Hogwarts again, she looked at Kane and the other two.

"No, we need to find Dumbledore and report something. Want to come?" Kane swore that his last sentence had only been a polite offer. Who would have thought...

"Of course, let's go together!" Hermione agreed without hesitation. As always, when a rich friend planned to share any kind of resource with you—including, but not limited to, introducing you to people you could never meet on your own—you should say yes without holding back.

After all, you couldn't give up a warm future for the sake of cold pride.

"Mm, let's go." Kane scratched his head. Running into a dark wizard in the Forbidden Forest, tricking him with a basic attack, and escaping unscathed wasn't exactly a secret. One more person wouldn't hurt.

Very soon, the three of them arrived before the guardian statues outside Headmaster Dumbledore's office.

The two statues were remarkably perceptive. The moment they saw Kane, they moved aside without a word. The four of them entered Dumbledore's office without encountering any obstacles. It was empty, and the lights were off.

"Where's Headmaster Dumbledore?" Harry asked with a frown.

"He's an old man. Of course he's asleep." Kane said this and directly pushed open the hidden door in the office, walking into Dumbledore's bedroom.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione didn't dare act rashly. Dragging Dumbledore out of bed in the middle of the night was just too absurd.

But Kane didn't care about that. The situation was urgent, so naturally he had to resort to unconventional measures.

But apparently Dumbledore had probably used some unconventional measures himself. No matter how Kane shook him, he wouldn't wake up. In the end, Kane could only helplessly write down what had happened in the Forbidden Forest on a piece of parchment and place it on Dumbledore's slippers.

"He'll know everything tomorrow morning. We can go now," Kane said as he emerged from the bedroom.

"Um... Kane, are you really that familiar with Professor Dumbledore?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"More or less. We were roommates for a few days, that's all." Kane shrugged and left the headmaster's office with the other three.

Before leaving, he also grabbed a few pieces of uneaten chocolate from Dumbledore's desk and handed them out. Running into a dark wizard in the Forbidden Forest must have scared them badly. A piece of chocolate would help calm them down.

"So, are we going back to the tower now? Or do you have something else planned?"

After finishing her chocolate, Hermione looked at Kane and the others. She had originally wanted to remind them that they should return to their dormitory as quickly as possible. Otherwise, Gryffindor would lose points, Professor McGonagall would be disgraced, and a mark would go into their records. Then they might never get a Ministry of Magic job, and their lives would be ruined.

Then she remembered that she had nearly ended up unwillingly wandering the halls all night herself, so she decided not to say something so ungrateful.

"Um..." The three of them pressed their lips together and fell silent.

Seeing their reaction, Hermione naturally remembered the farce in the Great Hall during dinner.

"You aren't really planning to go find Malfoy and Anrela for a wizard duel, are you?"

"The wizard duel is three against four right now. We're short one person," Harry said, becoming a fountain of ideas as he tried to drag Hermione into it.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Kane's fighting ability. It was just that if things really went wrong, one more person could help share the punishment.

For some reason, he had a bad feeling.

Forget it, he was probably overthinking. Once they won the wizard duel later, he could go back and... Strange, why had that ominous feeling gotten even stronger?

"Uh, no. You can go duel. Anyway, I believe you can defeat Malfoy and Anrela. I'll head back to Gryffindor Tower first." Hermione declined Harry's invitation. Breaking school rules once by accident was enough.

Doing it on purpose?

Hermione looked at the three boys before her: one was a Celestial Dragon of the Wizarding World, one was the Wizarding World's savior, and one came from an old pure-blood family. What right did she have to break school rules with them? Wasn't that just waiting to take the blame?

And so they parted ways on the fifth floor. Hermione headed toward Gryffindor Tower, while Kane and the others continued toward their agreed meeting place, the Trophy Room.

"I really think we've got some nerve," Ron suddenly said.

"Hm?" Kane and Harry both looked at him.

"Think about it. We just ran into a dark wizard in the Forbidden Forest, barely escaped, and then immediately rushed off to fight Malfoy and the others. No normal person would do that," Ron explained.

"What else are we supposed to do? Hide under our blankets every day because we saw a dark wizard once?" Kane said with a raised brow.

"Honestly, I'm getting pretty sleepy now." Harry yawned. If it weren't for his pride and the chance to beat up Malfoy legally, he would have loved to dive into bed as quickly as possible.

"Hurry up. We'll be sleeping after the duel." Harry gradually picked up his pace, and before long, the three arrived at the agreed-upon Trophy Room.

Unfortunately, the person inside wasn't Malfoy or Anrela. It was Filch, sitting alone on a chair and waiting for them like a hunter by a tree stump.

Filch split his dry lips in a grin, revealing his uneven yellow teeth. "Now I've caught you!"