The Anger.

"So it's like a pufferfish inflating itself to make it look bigger than it's predator?" asked Hermione.

"Exactly!" said Harry, firmly. "It also appears to be something you can do that - an aggressor won't realise is just you being a pufferfish. It will make them think you're a lot more magically powerful than you are.

"The idea is to stop an aggressor - an attacker - before they even think of attacking you. If you do that as soon as they become aggressive towards you, I'm hoping it'll make them reconsider actually attacking you in the first place."

"However," said Daphne. "It's pretty much a useless talent if everyone knows about it. Once it gets known it's a - pufferfish, as you put it - no one's going to believe you're magically powerful any more. If it gets out, it can do more harm than good."

"So, do you want to learn how to do this?" asked Harry.

He received five grins right back. "Alright," he said, "I think it's best if I do this one person at a time."

Within an hour Harry had taught the other five how to flare their magic, and said, "Now, you all need to practice 'overflowing' your magic like that. However, always remember it's a very tiring thing to do. The more often you practice it, the longer you should be able to do it.

"Just don't - overextend yourselves. I'd hate to see someone finding themselves carted off to the hospital wing due to magical exhaustion, or whatever it is that makes us tired after trying it."

"Further," said Daphne. "It would be best not to do it in public unless you know you're about to be attacked. It may give it away earlier than we want if you do."

"You're suggesting we come up here to practice it?" asked Tracey.

"I've been practicing in my bed at night," replied Daphne. "But coming up here sounds like a better idea."

"You can use the etiquette club meeting room, too; if you like," suggested Harry. "Everyone knows the password, right?"

He received nods in response, even from those who were making another try at flaring their magic.

"But, this is nicer," replied Hannah. "Even if it is a longer walk."

"Not if you use that secret passageway," smirked Harry.

"We could," replied Susan. "But it's dangerous for us to be down there alone. Our housemates told us not to get too close to the Slytherin common room, lest we be attacked by Slytherins."

Tracey shook her head and said, "I don't think you two will find that problem. Only from the older years, if at all. Everyone else is afraid of Harry and they know of your close friendship with him. They won't dare attack either of you, else they - feel his wrath."

Surprised, Harry asked, "Really?"

Tracey laughed and said, "After what you did and said at the feast? Merlin, yes!"

"Daphne wasn't the only one to notice the magic rolling off you in waves and swirling about you," said Neville. "It was damned scary how much power you seemed to be just barely controlling. Even the Professors were a little fearful of you. You didn't notice no one verbally, physically or magically tried to stop you?"

"No," sighed Harry. "It did not occur to me..."

"At least now we know the truth of it," said Susan.

"Yes," said Daphne. "But you still need to remember, Harry was allowing his magic to overflow for quite some time that night. That, alone, means he's actually quite powerful. We just don't know how powerful yet."

"I hope it won't make you fear me," said Harry, not a little concerned.

"Never!" said Daphne with a firm smile and a hug.

That morning Harry had also convinced the others to take a look at the 'banned' third floor corridor 'on the left'.

"That seems quite the odd description of the corridor," said Harry. "I would have thought he'd say the third floor corridor in the east wing, or something like that."

"How are we going to sneak in there to take a look?" ask Hermione.

"Sneak?" asked Harry. "Why on earth would we need to 'sneak'?" "But, it's forbidden!" exclaimed Hermione. "No, it's not," said Harry.

"The Headmaster's remarks were that we were to stay out of it unless we wanted to die a horrible death," said Daphne. "So, it's quite alright to go there if that's what sort of death we actually want, right?"

Frowning, Hermione was at a loss for words for a few moments. "But, I doubt that's what he meant."

"Too bad!" smiled Harry, to take the sting out of it. "The man is a master politician, for Merlin's sake. He knows how to choose his words. He can't now say he misspoke. It just makes him look like an idiot."

So, straight after lunch, The Seven, bold as brass, simply walked up to the third floor and into the corridor 'on the left'. They simply walked down the corridor checking each room as they passed. The rooms appeared to be another set of common rooms and dormitories. For which house, they didn't know.

Walking in to one room that was clearly full of dust and hadn't been cleaned in they didn't know how long, Harry indicated quite the number of different sized footprints across the room and to another door.

Harry went to open the door and found it wouldn't budge. "It's locked," he said.

Quick as a flash, Hermione had her wand out and, with a twirl and swish, cast "Alohomora!"

Harry grinned and said, "Nice." He opened the door and, seeing it was dark within, drew his own wand and cast, "Lumos!"

Harry found himself staring at the middle head of a giant Cerberus. The Cerberus was staring right back with all three heads and started to growl in a weird form of harmony.

"Yikes!" he exclaimed. The other six agreed with his expression.

He pulled the door shut and cast "Finite!" to allow the door to relock itself.

"Well, at least we know what was going to deal us that painful death," said Susan, ever the pragmatist.

"Why would anyone want to put a Cerberus in a room inside the castle?" asked Tracey. "Cerberuses are used as guard dogs in the wizarding world in other parts of the world," said Neville. "I'd say it's guarding something." None of them heard the sound of two other students enter the room and quietly walk towards them. Until...

"Well, well, brother dear," said one of the Weasley twins, startling the group.

"It appears we have a group of firsties..." said the other.

"... coming to find out the big secret... " "... the Headmaster is hiding... " "... under the Cerberus."

"Okay, that's just plain creepy," said Tracey, never really one to mince words. Both grinned and, in almost perfect sync, said "Thank you," and bowed.

"Clearly you two have been here before," said Harry.

"Of course!" said one.

"A few times," said the other.

"Alright, spill!" said Harry.

The twins glanced at each other before one said, "Below the Cerberus..."

"... is a trapdoor leading down to..."

"... a giant Devil's Snare!"

"... beyond that and through a door ..."

"... you come to a room full of flying keys... " "... and a couple of brooms."

"We don't know what's beyond that yet," they said together.

"It's like watching a tennis match," said Hermione in awe.

"I know!" exclaimed Harry. "How do you do that?" asked Susan of the twins. "It must be some kind of passive mind link between you."

"We don't know," said one.

"We just do," said the other.

"It's magic!" they said together.

"And how do you get past the Cerberus?" asked Daphne, trying to get things back on track.

"Music soothes..."

"... the savage beast."

"And the Devil's Snare?" she asked.

"You can burn it out..."

"But that would destroy the trap."

"We just use the Solar Light Charm..."

"... Lumos Solem, to make it back away."

"It's not so much a block to stop anyone getting through. After all, you could cast wards to block students out," said Harry, musing. "It's more like a series of challenges." "And, as the Headmaster didn't say no one was to come here, it's obviously a competition of sorts," said Daphne.

"A dangerous one, at that," said Hermione. "You can be killed by either the Cerberus or the Devil's Snare, if you didn't know what you were doing. And that takes no account of whatever is behind the keys. Probably more dangerous traps or puzzles."

"Well," said Harry with a bit of a sigh. "We came, we saw, we were unimpressed." "Homework, now?" asked Hermione.

The others of The Seven grinned in response. Tracey said, "Sure. Why not."

"Library in ten?" asked Susan.

Tracey replied, "Again, why not."

As they were walking back out of the room the caretaker, Argus Filch, walked in with his pet cat, Missus Norris, at his heels. "Ah! See here, my pet?" he smirked. "Children out of bounds in the forbidden area."

"What are you on about, Mister Filch?" asked Harry walking up to him; the others, following.

"You're in the third floor corridor on the left, and it is forbidden for you to be here," he continued to smirk.

"Rubbish!" snapped Harry. "Who told you that nonsense?"

🧿Visit my site at tiendup for more advanced content...🧿

🧿Read the complete novel in PDF, available at my Store!…🧿

✨🪄https://fictiontopia.tiendup.com/🪄✨