"Where did they go, Peeves?"
"Tell me quickly! I'm going to catch them!"
Argus Filch, with Mrs Norris beside him, looked at Peeves and cried out impatiently.
"Say 'please.' You need to be more polite, Filch, or I won't tell you."
Hearing Filch's words, Peeves spoke with a straight face, though his eyes gleamed with mischief.
Hearing Peeves's words, Filch shouted in embarrassment and anger, "Peeves, this isn't the time for your pranks. Hurry up and tell me, where did they go?"
Mrs Norris sensed Filch's anger as well and bared her teeth at Peeves.
Seeing the furious looks on Filch and Mrs Norris, Peeves burst into laughter. "You have to say 'please,' Filch. Otherwise, I won't tell you."
Filch swept his gaze around, trying to find Harry Potter and the others, but he found nothing.
Left with no choice, Filch said furiously, "Fine, please tell me, Peeves!"
"Hahaha, you've been fooled! I'm not telling you anything." Hearing Filch say it, Peeves was immensely thrilled and satisfied. He had successfully tricked Filch.
Watching Peeves fly away at high speed, Filch was so angry he nearly hurled the lamp in his hand at him. Unfortunately, he could not match Peeves's speed.
"My dear treasure, now I can only rely on you. Find them. I'll make those little brats regret it."
Filch left with an angry roar.
On the other side of the heavy door, Harry and the other two heard the voices fading farther and farther away, and all breathed a sigh of relief.
"He's finally gone!" Harry sat down on the floor and said with relief.
"Indeed. Now I just hope he isn't standing outside, deliberately waiting for us to show ourselves," Ron Weasley said, still shaken.
"Then let's wait. We can go back later," Hermione Granger said with a quiet laugh.
Just then, Ron felt something fall onto his head and reached up to touch it.
"Eh, what's this? It's sticky. So disgusting!" Ron sniffed it and felt utterly nauseated.
Hearing this, Harry and Hermione turned to look. Instantly, both of them recoiled in fright.
Harry was utterly convinced that this had been an exceptionally terrible night excursion. It was a disaster, a nightmare.
A gigantic monster was staring at them, its three enormous eyes glowing green.
Oh, God. It had three heads, and saliva dripped from its three huge mouths.
The sticky stuff on Ron's head had dripped from one of those mouths.
Ron had recovered from the shock on Harry and Hermione's faces and instinctively looked up.
Splat!
Another glob of saliva fell from a huge mouth and landed squarely on Ron's face.
Ron went completely blank.
What did I just see?
A huge head, a huge mouth!
"Ah!"
Ron snapped back to his senses, sprang up in terror, and rushed toward the stone door, trying to push it open and escape.
Ron's scream brought the Three-Headed Dog back to its senses, and it made Harry and Hermione desperately want to leave as well.
Compared to being bitten to death by the monster, the Three-Headed Dog, or being caught by Filch and expelled, they would rather be caught by Filch than eaten.
But in their panic, they could not find the switch to open the stone door, and they forgot to use magic.
"Woof!"
The Three-Headed Dog let out an earth-shaking bark that left Harry and the other two reeling, despair echoing through their minds.
We're going to die!
"Alohomora!"
A voice rang out, and the door opened. Harry and the other two tumbled out at once.
At the same time, three huge mouths snapped down at them.
"Stupefy!"
Another voice rang out, and under the spell's effect, the Three-Headed Dog immediately fell asleep.
Harry and the other two looked at the sleeping Three-Headed Dog, panting heavily, their hearts still filled with terror.
Then they heard footsteps and saw a shadow drawing closer.
Seeing this, Harry and the other two knew their trouble had arrived.
"You three were quite lucky. You nearly became Fluffy's dinner, Harry!"
Hearing this, Harry and the other two turned around in delight. When they saw Katelyle, they nearly cried out.
"Shh! Don't scream. You'll bring Filch and his Mrs Norris over here," Katelyle said softly, pressing a finger to his lips.
Katelyle had only wanted to see whether the story had changed. He had not expected that, despite the humiliation during the day, Malfoy still had not appeared. Just as the story had gone, Malfoy had plotted against Harry, but clearly, he had failed.
At that moment, torchlight and Filch's voice came again from a corner not far away.
"Quick, quick! They must be there. I heard them."
Hearing this, Harry and the other two immediately grew anxious.
Katelyle smiled slightly, then drew his wand. "Invisibility Charm!"
"Children of the wind, grant us wings to soar. Fly across the nine heavens, Flying Charm."
The next moment, Katelyle and the other three became invisible. Under Katelyle's control, the four of them flew out through a large window.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron drifted away through the air with Katelyle. Seeing Filch lead Mrs Norris through the corridor in search of them, joy appeared on their faces.
He didn't find us!
Then they discovered that behind them seemed to be a pair of invisible wings of wind, allowing them to fly freely with a mere thought.
Katelyle released his control over them and let them play in the air.
Fortunately, they were smart children and did not cheer in excitement, because once they spoke, the Invisibility Charm would lose its effect.
Harry and the other two were incredibly excited. Experiencing such a sensation for the first time was simply unbelievable.
Especially the feeling of standing in midair and flying without the aid of broomsticks—it was even more wondrous.
Before long, Katelyle guided them back outside the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Professor Kate, was that Wind Element magic just now?"
"Can I control magic like you do and fly freely through the air?"
After landing, the invisible wings around them vanished. Harry immediately asked impatiently.
Ron and Hermione were even more expectant.
Their first flying lesson that day had gone awry, and they had failed to fulfill their dream of flying.
But tonight, Professor Kate had helped them realize a different kind of flying dream. The feeling was purer, more vivid.
Like owls flying through the sky, it was simply wonderful.
"Of course. When you have more magic power and master the Flying Charm, you can cast this kind of magic on yourself or your companions," Katelyle said with a smile.
"All right, now you should go back and rest!"
"Also, forget about tonight."
After saying that, Katelyle turned and vanished.
Seeing this, Harry, Hermione, and Ron's eyes gleamed with excitement and anticipation, especially Harry's.
Ron looked at Harry happily and whispered, "Harry, you have to learn the Flying Charm. It's incredible, even more wonderful than riding a broomstick."
Hermione said mysteriously, "I heard Professor Kate shout, 'Children of the wind, grant us wings to soar. Fly across the nine heavens, Flying Charm.'"
"Harry, you can try practicing it."
Harry's eyes shone as he nodded. "All right!"
The three went back separately. After washing up, Ron immediately fell asleep.
Harry did not sleep. The enormous face of the Three-Headed Dog lingered in his mind. That dog seemed to be guarding something, and they had stumbled in by accident.
He vaguely remembered Headmaster Dumbledore saying something.
Could it be related to Vault 713?
Could it have something to do with the incident reported in the newspaper he had happened to see at Hagrid's?
Before you continue