Hogwarts: This holy light is righteously evil

Chapter 155 Cerberus

In the eyes of the twins, this detour and avoidance plan was thorough and reliable, with almost no flaws.

After hearing the two's entire plan, Puni felt a headache coming on and sighed helplessly to himself.

The twins only wanted to avoid the troublesome Snape, completely unaware that they were deliberately heading towards Voldemort's hiding place.

When Puni learned that Quirrell was stationed to guard the right-hand corridor on the fourth floor, he was somewhat surprised.

According to the original course of events, Quirrell should have taken over the area later. Now that the defense line has been changed ahead of schedule, is this a butterfly effect caused by his interference in the plot?

Voldemort was hiding under the scarf behind Quirrell's head.

As Regulus's godson and Bellatrix's biological son, Puni's identity is exceptionally sensitive and special.

Voldemort personally attended his full moon baptismal banquet. Considering blood ties, faction, and past entanglements, he should rightfully be considered one of Voldemort's own and included in the Death Eaters' camp.

If we were to confront Voldemort, who is attached to Quirrell, at close range at this moment, many uncontrollable variables would inevitably arise.

In addition, Puni could never understand Dumbledore's considerations, allowing the mentally corrupted Quirrell to guard the Philosopher's Stone, which was extremely risky, as Quirrell could take the risk at any time to steal the Philosopher's Stone.

Furthermore, the Eris Mirror, which is used to protect the magic stone, should not have been transferred to the basement level yet, leaving a huge loophole in the overall defense chain, rendering the castle's treasure protection virtually useless.

With many thoughts swirling in his mind, Penny hadn't yet managed to sort them out, but the Weasley twins had already perked up and stood up straight.

With the route finalized, the two were unwilling to waste a moment and planned to use the secret passage to reach the second floor directly, shortening the detour time.

Before Puni could stop them, the twins grabbed his sleeves on either side and quickly walked out of the other end of the secret passage.

After landing, the three of them tread lightly, keeping their bodies low, and slowly ascend the stone stairs, paying attention to their surroundings.

Puni composed himself, composed himself, and entered a state of alert.

The central corridor connecting the floors was spacious and wide, with stone pillars arranged in a staggered pattern, creating many blind spots that allowed the three of them to hide flexibly and avoid the sight of patrolling personnel. It also made it easy for him to replicate the methods he had used to interfere with Snape's patrols and escape unscathed.

But things didn't go as planned. Just as the three of them stepped onto the third-floor platform, a figure wearing a dark robe and a thick scarf around his neck walked slowly toward them. It was Quirrell, who was patrolling the floors with a magic wand in hand.

The twins tensed instantly, quickly hiding in the shadow of the stone pillars behind the corridor, holding their breath and not daring to make a sound.

Puni simultaneously turned sideways to conceal himself, but his peripheral vision never missed a moment as he carefully observed Quirrell walking towards him.

His gaze was fixed on Quirrell's thick wool scarf, which wrapped around his neck and face in layers. His curiosity surged wildly, and he desperately wanted to lift the fabric to see if Voldemort's half-face was really hidden behind the scarf.

He fiercely restrained his impulse, gripped the wand tightly in his palm, forcibly suppressed the urge to step forward and probe, and patiently waited for Quirrell to walk away.

Puni only breathed a sigh of relief after Quirrell left the third-floor area, secretly praising himself for his self-control and composure, for not rashly doing anything that could backfire.

But as the three of them continued moving toward the fourth floor, no one noticed that Quirrell, who had walked a distance away, suddenly turned his head back very naturally. His gaze fell on the stone pillar where Puni had hidden, his eyes dark and deep. After lingering for two seconds, he turned his head back as if nothing had happened and continued to patrol forward at a steady pace.

An invisible whisper gently echoed in Quirrell's mind, carrying a seductive quality.

Someone was hiding on the third floor, heading towards the fourth-floor corridor.

Let them go ahead and scout out the obstacles ahead for me.

Afterwards, the three of them hid behind the stone pillars in the third-floor corridor and watched as Snape walked steadily up the moving staircase to the patrol point on the fifth floor. After confirming that there were no guards on duty in the fourth-floor corridor, they quickly stepped through and successfully entered the fourth-floor area.

The three passed by the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and the lower-grade Charms classroom in turn, and walked through the long, narrow armor corridor with its old armor and strong echoes, finally arriving at the right-hand corridor on the fourth floor, which Dumbledore had explicitly forbidden them to approach.

The journey of detouring and hiding had taken a lot of mental effort, and the twins, now relaxed, secretly reflected on how difficult the trip had been.

The right-hand corridor is lined with more than ten independent rooms. Some of the rooms are neat and clean and are used as spare club activity rooms. Most of the other rooms have mottled doors and windows, peeling walls, old and dilapidated furnishings, and have been neglected and unused for many years.

Hogwarts has most of its rooms unused, and club activities and classes rarely use the rooms in this secluded corridor.

The three of them split up and searched around. Fred was the first to stop and pointed to a solid wood door at the far end of the corridor. The door handle was secured with a metal latch and was locked.

"Found it, the room is locked."

Fred spoke in a low voice.

George raised an eyebrow and chuckled, then raised his wand, pointed it at the lock, and softly uttered the unlocking spell: "Alohomora open."

After enrollment.

Everything in sight brought Harry an unprecedented sense of novelty.

Even though he had heard countless rumors about Hogwarts in Diagon Alley and had imagined the appearance of this magical castle in his mind countless times, Harry still couldn't help but feel shocked when he actually stepped into the school's corridors and found himself in this magical world.

Everything here is far more fantastical and outrageous than what is described in the public or in my own imagination.

The ubiquitous portraits and drawings that possess independent consciousness and can move and talk are the most direct proof of this.

.

Harry recalled Penny's magical cultural and creative shop, where magical canvases could project real-time images, which was enough to overturn Muggle perceptions. However, it was ultimately just a fixed image that moved around, far inferior to the living portraits at Hogwarts that could socialize autonomously and move freely between frames.

Looking around the entire castle corridor, Harry was convinced of one thing: this place completely followed the laws of magic, completely deviating from the objective common sense of the Muggle world, and had no scientific basis whatsoever!

After the Sorting Hat determined that Harry was placed in Gryffindor, he instantly gained the attention and welcome of students from the entire house and even most of the other houses. This preferential treatment was very obvious.

The root cause is self-evident; it is the name he has carried since childhood: the boy who survived a great calamity.

At first, when Harry was surrounded by people who flattered him and spoke to him kindly, he felt a secret sense of satisfaction. He had never been so admired and valued by people since he was a child, having suffered cold looks and exclusion from the Dursleys.

As more and more students gathered around, many of them approached, wanting to get a closer look at the lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. Some even went up to examine and touch it. This sense of satisfaction dissipated, leaving only awkwardness and discomfort.

At that moment, Harry suddenly remembered the theory of rights and responsibilities that Penny had casually mentioned earlier, distinguishing between the rights that come with fame and the obligations that come with it.

At the time, he was not very interested and let it go in one ear and out the other, not understanding the deeper meaning at all. Only now does he vaguely realize the profound meaning.

Harry then followed Percy, the Gryffindor prefect and Ron's older brother, up the spiral staircase of the tower to the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, where he officially met his roommates.

Ron was someone Harry already knew well; the two had met briefly at Penny's magic shop earlier, and spent a lot of time together on the return trip, quickly becoming familiar with each other.

Harry was overjoyed to be able to share a dormitory room with Ron, a connection that made him feel at ease.

Ron's situation always resonated with Harry. His secondhand robes and worn-out wand reminded Harry of his own days living as a dependent in the Privet Lutherans' house, always having to scavenge for scraps.

However, the two are fundamentally different.

Ron's predicament stems from the large number of children in the Weasley family and the resulting financial strain on household expenses; however, he has a complete and loving family.

Harry, on the other hand, was all alone and had to rely on his mean relatives to survive.

Harry truly envied Ron for having parents who protected him.

Gryffindor boys' dormitories are all five-person rooms. Apart from Ron, the other three roommates are Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, and Dean Thomas.

Neville had a deep impression of him; he was the round-faced boy who had lost his pet toad on the train and was flustered and helpless. He had lingered at the Sorting Platform for a long time and completed the Sorting process in a state of panic. He was timid and docile.

Seamus was the boy who struck up a conversation during the dinner party. He would share his family background: his mother was an orthodox witch, and his father was an ordinary Muggle. On the day he received his Hogwarts acceptance letter, his father was shocked, as it was the first time he had learned that the magical world truly existed.

Dean's background is the opposite: his biological father is a wizard and his biological mother is a Muggle.

During the dinner, Simo kept pressing Dean about his family's past, and Dean quietly ate while calmly recounting his past.

His father was murdered and died in his early years while protecting his family from organized crime.

After hearing this story, the usually talkative Simo fell silent and did not utter another word.

The five teenagers have different upbringings, different personalities, and carry their own unique growth experiences.

Harry, who was withdrawn since childhood and had almost no playmates of his own age, had his first close encounter with people of all ages and witnessed different lives.

Puni once told him that by actively making friends, he would realize that he was never alone, nor was he a unique alien in the world.

Harry recalled the words again, still unable to grasp their deeper meaning, yet he kept them firmly in his heart.

After quickly packing his clothes, books, and wizarding tools into his suitcase, Harry invited his roommates to go for a stroll outside the dormitory and familiarize themselves with the Gryffindor common room.

The group left together, leaving only their pets behind in the dormitory.

Inside a cage, Ron's old, frail, and sallow-furred mouse, Spotty, lay listlessly in a corner, its vitality waning day by day.

"Are you going to open the door?" Puni, who had been secretly watching the two's movements, immediately stepped forward to stop them and prevent them from acting rashly.

However, Fred and George moved much faster than expected. Even though Puni immediately sped up and stepped forward to stop them, he still couldn't stop them outside the door. The twins slipped into the sealed room.

The next second, two short, suppressed gasps of fear burst from the twins' mouths at the same time.

Puni strode into the room, raised his hand to cover the mouths of the two people, cutting off the remaining sound.

Startled, the twins instinctively exerted their strength, twisting and struggling with their shoulders, their whole bodies radiating panic and resistance.

No wonder the two of them lost their composure and struggled; the entire spacious stone chamber was almost entirely occupied by a giant canine beast.

The strange beast lay prone in the center of the stone chamber, its body robust and heavy. Above its neck were three heads of different shapes, with sharp horns and slightly protruding fangs. It was the extremely rare three-headed dog from magical legends.

These beasts are incredibly powerful; an adult is strong enough to stand up to a fire dragon head-on. Their numbers are far fewer than those of fire dragons, and they are extremely rare in the entire British magical world.

Puni lowered his voice, his breath steady, and whispered a warning close to the twins' ears: "Don't move, don't make a sound. Luwei is extremely sensitive to surrounding sounds; any noise will wake it up immediately."

The twins froze instantly and nodded vigorously.

The screams just now were purely an instinctive reaction to suddenly seeing the giant beast. Now, facing the extremely imposing body of the three-headed dog, the two were filled with fear. Even if they let go of their hands covering their mouths, they dared not make the slightest sound.

With one hand firmly holding the twins and the other hand gently pulling on their sleeves, Puni moved very slowly and with his center of gravity low, leading them step by step backward to retreat.

Keeping a close eye on the three-headed dog's head, before its eyelids twitched and it was about to wake up and raise its head, they successfully led the twins out of the stone chamber, and the heavy wooden door quietly closed behind them.

After leaving the stone chamber and escaping the oppressive aura of the giant beast, the twins' legs gave way, and they collapsed onto the cold stone surface of the corridor, gasping for breath to calm their racing hearts.

George's throat was dry, and he spoke in a low voice. If Puni's senses were not far beyond those of ordinary people, he would not have been able to hear the words at all.

"What kind of monster is that? Its size is terrifying."

"That's a three-headed dog," Puni replied calmly.

Fred propped himself up, his voice also low and hoarse as he replied, his eyes filled with lingering fear and confusion: "Of course we recognize it as Cerberus, but how could such a legendary beast be kept in a sealed-off room within Hogwarts?"

"Dumbledore gave a warning at the opening banquet," Puni said calmly. "Students who are unwilling to endure a painful and tragic death are forbidden from entering the right-hand corridor on the fourth floor. You knew this place was off-limits, didn't you?"

George belatedly realized what was happening, his face turning slightly pale: "So, just now, we deliberately trespassed into a forbidden zone where death was certain?"

That's about it.

Puni raised an eyebrow and chuckled, nodding to add details, "The three-headed dog looks clumsy and slow-moving, but its neck strikes are incredibly fast; ordinary wizards simply don't have time to cast spells to dodge."

Fred stared intently at Puni, full of doubt: "You know it all so well? You just called it Luwei. Is this three-headed dog one of your pet beasts?"

"Of course it wasn't raised by me."

Puni chuckled and shook his head in reply, "Luwei is a beast kept by Hagrid. I saw it many times last school year, and it probably still retains my scent memory."