Nighttime Exploration

Whenever she had no classes, Mia went to the library. After every class, the professor assigned homework, and Mia wasn't the sort to put it off until the last minute, so she made sure to finish it as soon as she got to the library.

The library wasn't crowded, so Mia found a seat by the window. The afternoon sun was just right, its light warming her body.

The homework was easy. When Mia finished, she stretched and looked up to see Hermione sitting across from her, also working on her Potions homework.

Mia quietly put her reference books back and picked out a few that interested her. She came to the library often and saw Hermione every time. The two had an unspoken understanding to sit together without disturbing each other.

Mia read quickly and had an excellent memory, so Hermione liked discussing things she didn't understand with her.

"Mia, could I look at your essay?" Hermione had gotten stuck on her homework and, seeing that Mia had already finished, quietly asked her for help.

"Of course. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me." Mia handed her the essay.

Mia was reading a book on Transfiguration. She had read a great deal, but she still hadn't had a chance to find somewhere to practice.

I remember there's a Room of Requirement on the Seventh Floor. That would be a good place to practice. After letting her mind wander for a moment, Mia quickly brought her thoughts back to the book.

"Animagus?" Hermione had finished her homework and come up behind Mia without her noticing.

"!" Mia jumped at the voice.

"Sorry, are you all right?" Hermione realized she had startled Mia and hurried to apologize.

"It's okay. Would you like to read it together?"

"No, I haven't gotten that far yet." Hermione didn't want to interrupt her own progress.

Hermione went to get the book she wanted and began reading.

Time passed quickly. The two were so absorbed in their books that they didn't realize the library was closing until Madam Pince reminded them.

They returned their books and parted ways. Hermione went back to the dormitory.

Mia wasn't ready to go back yet. She had planned to explore at night since the start of term. She cast the Disillusionment Charm she had carefully chosen and practiced long ago, then set off to explore the castle.

The castle had many secret passages leading to unknown places. Mia found only a few, then remembered there was something on the fourth floor and turned to head there.

"I remember Professor Dumbledore said the corridor on the right side of the fourth floor. Ah, found it." Mia looked at the little locked wooden door in front of her. Did they think this could stop her?

"Alohomora!" Mia gave her wand a light wave, and the door opened with a click.

Mia quickly slipped inside and closed the door behind her to avoid being spotted by Mrs. Norris and Filch.

The room was dark, and she couldn't see a thing, but she could smell something unpleasant. "Lumos."

"Ah." Her wand lit up the room, and Mia saw a large, three-headed dog sleeping soundly in front of her. "You're awake."

Mia wasn't afraid of dogs and even had the leisure to look him over. Fluffy saw that the tiny human in front of him wasn't afraid of him at all and was even looking him over with some curiosity.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, good doggy, sit." Mia put her dog-teasing skills, engraved in her DNA, to use. Fluffy felt as though the sound had awakened a primal urge in him, making him want to obey.

"No!" Fluffy quickly shook his head. He was a noble Hellhound.

"Why isn't he reacting? That can't be right. This even works on owls. Let's try again. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, come here, come here." Mia not only made the sound but also beckoned to him.

Heaven knew how much willpower it took Fluffy to resist. He didn't dare forget what he was here for.

"This really doesn't work?" Mia refused to believe it. She figured Fluffy must never have been trained. Tomorrow night, she'd bring some meat over. She refused to believe it wouldn't work.

Seeing that it was getting late, Mia decided to come back tomorrow, then turned and left.

Fluffy: Human, are you coming back?

Mia: Dog, yes.

As Mia was heading down to the second floor, she suddenly heard a cat meow, followed by Filch's voice.

"Oh, look what I've found. There are some disobedient students about. Mrs. Norris, let's see where those little Trolls are, shall we?"

Mia was pressed against the wall, not daring to move. After all, everyone surely knew how keen a cat's hearing was.

Just as Mia was about to be discovered, the wall behind her suddenly moved. An arm pulled her in, and the wall returned to normal.

"Strange. Where did they go?" Unable to find anyone, Filch left.

Only then did Mia breathe a sigh of relief. She lifted the Disillusionment Charm, ready to see which hero had saved her.

"Look what we've found."

"A little snake?"

That familiar voice and way of talking-yes, it had to be the Weasley Twins.

"Thank you for helping me." Mia thanked them politely.

"Oh, what did I hear?"

"The little snake thanked us?"

"Please talk normally. I'm Mia Potter."

"I'm Fred." "I'm George."

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, the Chosen One's little snake sister." George bent down and grinned at Mia.

"I never expected the Chosen One's sister to sneak out at night." Fred looked at Mia in surprise as well.

Mia was very pretty and looked well-behaved. They hadn't expected her to be so bold.

"Aren't you two out at night too?" Mia asked.

"Oh, all right. It's very late now. Do you need us to take you back, little snake sister?"

"If you could, thank you. But could you tell me about the castle's secret passages? In exchange, I can tell you about some fun pranks." The Weasley Twins were famous for loving pranks.

"Of course, miss." The Weasley Twins were growing more and more interested in Mia. "Perhaps you'd like to join our prank team?"

"If you don't mind, of course." Mia held out her hand, and George took it.

"Pfft!" Mia looked at George's head and nearly burst out laughing.

"Oh, brother, look at your head! That's brilliant. How did you do it?" Fred couldn't help laughing.

Mia kindly conjured a mirror. "Beautiful Transfiguration. If I were a professor, I think I'd give you two points," Fred said with a wink.

"Thank you~"

"Wow, that's really... cool." George looked at his hair, which was standing on end, in amazement.

"How did you do it?" George looked eagerly at Mia.

"A little bit of technology." Mia smiled mysteriously. "All right, can you tell me where all the secret passages are?"

"All right, you cunning little snake sister. This is a map of the castle we drew. The secret passages and chambers we've found are marked on it." Fred handed the map to Mia. She used a Doubling Charm to make a copy, then returned the original to Fred.

"You know that much magic?"

"Is it that much? It's not too bad."

"All right, it seems you're a mysterious little snake too. So, Miss Little Snake, may we take you back?"

"Of course. Thank you, Mr. Lion."

All three couldn't help laughing.