Three-Headed Dog Fluffy, the Feeling of Flying

"Where did they go, Peeves?"

"Tell me quickly! I'm going to catch them!"

Argus Filch, with Mrs Norris at his side, looked at Peeves and shouted 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 mischief gleamed in his eyes.

Filch flew into a rage at Peeves's words. "Peeves, this is no time for your pranks! Tell me, where did they go?"

Mrs Norris sensed Filch's anger as well and began baring her teeth at Peeves.

Seeing Filch and Mrs Norris's furious expressions, Peeves burst into laughter. "You have to say 'please,' Filch, or I won't tell you."

Filch swept his gaze around, trying to find Harry Potter and the others, but he saw nothing.

Left with no choice, Filch said angrily, "Fine, please tell me, Peeves!"

"Hahaha, you've been fooled. I'm not telling you anything." Peeves was thrilled and satisfied to hear Filch say it, because he had successfully tricked Filch.

Filch watched Peeves speed away and was so furious he nearly threw the lamp in his hand at him. Unfortunately, he could not match Peeves's speed.

"My dear sweetie, I can only rely on you now. 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 listened as the voices faded away, all of them breathing sighs of relief.

"He's finally gone!" Harry sat down on the floor and let out a breath.

"Indeed. Now I just hope he isn't standing outside, deliberately waiting for us to come out," Ron Weasley said uneasily.

"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 is this? It's sticky. Disgusting!" Ron smelled it and felt horribly sick.

Harry and Hermione turned at his words. The instant they saw it, both of them stumbled backward in fright.

Harry was utterly convinced that this had been an incredibly terrible midnight adventure. It was a disaster, a nightmare.

A massive monster was staring at them, its three huge eyes glowing green.

Good heavens, it had three heads, and saliva dripped from all three enormous mouths.

The sticky stuff on Ron's head had dripped from one of those mouths.

Ron recovered from the shock on Harry and Hermione's faces and instinctively looked up.

Splat!

Another glob of drool fell from the giant 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 instantly came 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 flee as well.

Compared to being bitten to death by the three-headed dog or being caught by Filch and expelled, they would rather be caught by Filch than be eaten.

But in their panic, they could not find the switch to open the stone door, and they forgot to cast magic.

"Woof!"

The three-headed dog let out an ear-splitting 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 enormous mouths snapped down at them.

"Stupefy!"

Another voice sounded, and the three-headed dog immediately fell asleep under the spell.

Harry and the other two looked at the sleeping three-headed dog, panting heavily, their hearts still filled with terror.

Then they heard footsteps, along with a shadow drawing closer.

Seeing this, Harry and the other two knew their trouble had arrived.

"You three are very 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 Mrs Norris over here." Katelyle put a finger to his lips and spoke softly.

Katelyle had only wanted to see whether the story had changed. He had not expected that, despite the humiliation from earlier that day, Malfoy still had not appeared. Just as the story had gone, Malfoy had plotted against Harry, but clearly, he had failed.

At the same time, firelight and Filch's voice came from the corner in the distance once more.

"Quick, quick! They must be there. I heard them."

Harry and the other two immediately became anxious.

Katelyle smiled faintly, then took out his wand. "Invisibility Charm!"

"Child of the wind, grant us wings to soar through the heavens. Flying Charm."

The next moment, Katelyle and the other three turned invisible. Under Katelyle's control, the four of them flew out through the wide window.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron drifted away through the air with Katelyle. Seeing Filch and Mrs Norris searching for them in the corridor below, joy appeared on their faces.

He didn't find us!

Then they discovered that behind them seemed to be a pair of invisible wings made of wind. With a thought, they could fly freely.

Katelyle released his control over them and let them play in the air.

Fortunately, they were clever children. They did not cheer in excitement, because the Invisibility Charm would lose its effect if they spoke.

Harry and the other two were immensely excited. Experiencing such a sensation for the first time was simply unbelievable.

Especially this feeling of standing in midair and flying without the aid of a broomstick—it was beyond wonderful.

Before long, Katelyle guided them back outside the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Professor Katelyle, was that Wind Element magic just now?"

"Can I control magic like you and fly freely through the air?"

After landing, the invisible wings around them vanished. Harry immediately asked eagerly.

Ron and Hermione were even more expectant.

Their first flying lesson that day had been interrupted by an accident, and they had not been able to fulfill their dream of flying.

But tonight, Professor Katelyle had helped them fulfill a different kind of dream of flight. This feeling was purer, more real.

Like owls soaring through the sky, it was simply wonderful.

"Of course. Once you have more magical power and master the Flying Charm, you can cast this sort of magic on yourself or your companions." Katelyle smiled.

"Now then, you should go back and rest!"

"And forget what happened tonight!"

After saying that, Katelyle turned and vanished.

Seeing this, Harry, Hermione, and Ron's eyes shone with excitement and anticipation, especially Harry's.

Ron looked happily at Harry and said in a low voice, "Harry, you have to learn the Flying Charm. It's amazing—far more wonderful than riding a broomstick."

Hermione said even more mysteriously, "I heard Professor Katelyle say, 'Child of the wind, grant us wings to soar through the heavens. Flying Charm.'"

"Harry, you can try working hard at it."

Light gleamed in Harry's eyes as he nodded. "All right!"

The three went back separately. After washing up, Ron fell asleep immediately.

Harry did not sleep. The enormous face of the three-headed dog lingered in his mind. It seemed to be guarding something, and they had stumbled into its room by accident.

He vaguely remembered Headmaster Dumbledore saying something.

Could it be related to Vault 713?

Was it connected to the incident reported in the newspaper he had happened to see at Hagrid's?