When the hour hand of the clock on the wall pointed to twelve, Morris put on his robes and left the dormitory.
The common room and corridors were deserted, with only his own footsteps echoing in the air.
He had deliberately lightened his steps, but in such silence, every footfall sounded especially clear.
Reaching the first floor of the Marble Staircase, Morris stopped, leaned against the wall, and waited quietly.
He had arranged to meet the Weasley Twins here.
Nearly three minutes passed, but there was still no movement around him.
Morris frowned slightly and called into the air in front of him, "Fred?"
As his words fell, several ripples slowly appeared in the air.
Fred and George gradually came into view.
"You spotted us?" Fred couldn't help asking.
"I guessed." Morris shook his head. "Speaking of which, your Disillusionment Charms are much better than mine."
He hadn't noticed at all when the brothers had walked up to him.
At Morris's praise, Fred raised his eyebrows smugly. "How do you think we manage to go on nighttime excursions without ever getting caught by the professors? Luck?"
"But you were punished just a while ago," Morris reminded him. "Two whole days of scrubbing toilets."
"That was all because Fred wasn't watching the Marauder's-"
Fred elbowed George.
His words cut off abruptly, and he rubbed his waist sheepishly.
"The Marauder's what?" Morris asked sharply.
"Never mind," Fred glossed over it. "That was just an accident."
Morris had the sense not to press further. That was probably a little secret between the twins.
He waved to the two of them and set off first. "Come on, we'll take this route. Filch should still be patrolling near the Astronomy Tower at this hour."
Watching Morris boldly lead the way, Fred and George exchanged a peculiar look.
Why... did Morris seem even more practiced at this than they were?
The three made their way down to the dungeons without trouble and stopped outside the Potions Classroom.
The entrance to Hogwarts' potions ingredient storeroom was inside the classroom, next to Snape's office.
And at this hour, Snape might still be lingering in his office.
They had to be extremely careful.
"We'll go in and check things out first," Fred told Morris. "Don't worry about us. If anyone comes patrolling this way, just save yourself."
Morris nodded.
Fred and George cast their Disillusionment Charms again, their figures gradually fading away.
The door silently slid open a crack, then quickly closed again.
Morris was left alone in the corridor.
Time slowly passed in the silence.
Five minutes later, Morris gave a quiet yawn-he was a little sleepy.
What exactly had the twins gone in there to do?
They were actually taking this long.
Click.
The door opened, and two almost transparent outlines emerged.
Fred and George became visible again.
"Snape's still in his office," Fred spoke first. "And he doesn't seem to be planning to leave early tonight. We listened by the crack in the door for a while. He's probably marking homework."
George concluded, "If we want to get into the storeroom, we'll still have to wait until Halloween."
Morris nodded, not feeling disappointed.
They had only come to scout the place out today.
"Then I'll head back first." He gestured to the two of them. "See you tomorrow morning."
Perhaps he could still squeeze in a trip around the Restricted Section.
But Fred grabbed him. "Don't rush off, Morris. Since we're already here, keep us company a little longer."
Morris had a bad feeling.
"Where are we going?"
"Don't ask so many questions," Fred said with a smile. "Just follow us."
And so Morris was dragged back to the Marble Staircase.
They stopped in a corridor on the fourth floor.
Under the moonlight, this place seemed particularly still, and even the air seemed a little colder than elsewhere.
Morris paused. "Isn't this the place Headmaster Dumbledore said was off-limits?"
"Exactly!" Fred snapped his fingers and said eagerly, "George and I didn't find the secret hidden here last time, but this time is different. We'll succeed!"
George added enthusiastically from beside him, "Ready for an adventure, Morris?"
"...I'm going back."
Morris turned to leave without the slightest hesitation.
He didn't have so much free time that he could waste it here with the twins.
He wouldn't force himself to take part in things that didn't interest him.
He would be better off going to the library.
The twins clearly hadn't expected Morris to refuse so decisively.
Fred reacted quickly and caught the back hem of his robes. "Wait! Don't make up your mind so quickly."
"We did help you figure out a way to get potions ingredients, after all. One good turn deserves another, Morris."
Morris sighed inwardly. "All right, you two."
He didn't understand why the twins were so keen to bring him along on their nighttime excursions.
After all, his presence should have offered the twins no benefit whatsoever, and might even hold them back.
Still, he could vaguely guess.
The twins were the sort who did things according to their interests, and he was clearly on their list of interests.
Simply put, it was purely for fun.
He really didn't understand what it was about him that appealed to them.
"Let's go!"
Fred waved his wand and cast a Disillusionment Charm over all three of them-he was slightly more proficient with the spell than George.
In the moonlight, three outlines so faint they were almost invisible moved deeper into the corridor.
Twenty minutes later.
They had already walked back and forth several times, yet found nothing.
With such fruitless repetition, even the highest spirits would gradually be worn away.
As they began their fourth round, Morris stopped and said, "How about... we call it a night?"
"No." Fred shook his head and said with certainty, "There's definitely something special about this corridor, or Professor Dumbledore wouldn't have said that at the start-of-term feast. I'd say that was no joke."
"Next, we'll check every room in this corridor!"
Morris shrugged.
Fine, I'll keep playing along.
He had recently discovered that he only needed five hours of sleep a day.
Staying up late once in a while like this didn't matter.
"You're in charge of that section on the left, Morris," Fred assigned the tasks.
The group then began another round of searching.
Halfway down the corridor, Morris stopped in front of a wooden door.
The door was locked.
But naturally, that posed no difficulty for him.
"Alohomora!"
With a single Unlocking Charm, the lock clicked open.
He was getting more and more proficient with his Unlocking Charm.
Satisfied, Morris pushed the door open.
In the darkness, three pairs of enormous eyes slowly opened, glowing scarlet.
Immediately afterward, a foul stench mingled with the rank smell of a wild beast hit him in the face.
Inside was a living Three-Headed Dog.
"..."
Morris silently closed the door.
He calmly beckoned to the twins a short distance away. "Well... I think I found something incredible. Do you want to come take a look?"