Chapter 25: Three-Headed Dog

After sprinting down the hall, Silven pushed open the classroom door just before the bell, and answered when the professor called his name.

Yes, though he was a ghost, Professor Binns took attendance every class—no one knew how he recognized the students.

Maybe he didn’t recognize them at all, and simply did it out of professional habit.

Once his name was called, Silven slumped onto his desk, his eyelids growing heavy, his vision blurring.

Sunlight streamed through the grid-like windows, strands of light interweaving as if entwined with runic script and silver unicorn tail hairs.

The weather was perfect—not cold, not hot—and with the ghost professor’s uniquely drowsy voice, it was a sin not to sleep.

But someone else didn’t think so.

Silven half-awake heard someone talking; he didn’t want to pay attention, but the voice persisted, growing louder and louder.

“Did Professor McGonagall really let you join Gryffindor’s team?”

“You’re amazing!”

“Did you see Malfoy’s face? He was stunned.”

“That’s a Nimbus 2000—the fastest broom.”

“Harry, can I ride it? Just ten minutes?”

The voices buzzed like a hundred Cornish pixies around Silven’s ears; he hesitated whether to tell Ron to quiet down.

But then, suddenly, the two changed the subject.

“Is he asleep?” Still Ron’s voice.

“Probably,” Harry said. “Neville told me Silven’s been busy with something these days—always sleeping past midnight. Last night too, remember? When we came back, his dorm light was still on.”

“He’s really… working hard,” Ron muttered.

“Forget it. As long as he doesn’t hear us.” Ron seemed to lower his voice.

“Yesterday was terrifying. I never thought Malfoy would be such a coward—he challenged us to a duel, then never showed up.”

“I suspect Filch was lured by him. Why else would he appear on the exact floor we were on?”

“It was my fault,” Harry said. “I didn’t think Malfoy would be so low.”

“His whole family’s low,” Ron sneered. “We nearly got eaten for dinner by that three-headed dog… but honestly, it was thrilling—we actually escaped from a three-headed dog.”

“Why would Dumbledore keep such a dangerous magical creature in the school?”

“Hermione said it’s to guard something.”

“Oh, don’t bring her up,” Ron snapped. “She’s crazy—thinks getting expelled is worse than being devoured by a three-headed dog.”

“Hmm… I think she’s right,” Harry seemed to side with Hermione.

“You’re crazy too,” Ron said, but dropped the subject.

“So what do you think it’s guarding?”

“I don’t know,” Harry said, lowering his voice again. “Could it be… something from Vault 713?”

“The one that was robbed at Gringotts?” Ron involuntarily raised his voice.

“Keep it down,” Harry hurriedly warned. When Ron quieted, he continued: “Yes, that one. Hagrid took something out of the vault, and then Hogwarts suddenly got a new room guarded by a three-headed dog. Isn’t that obvious?”

Thud!

It sounded like someone swallowing hard.

“It must be something important,” Ron said. “I bet it’s gold.”

“Probably not,” Harry said. “I caught a glimpse—it was a dirty little bundle. If it were gold, it wouldn’t be worth bringing back to school and guarding with a three-headed dog.”

Ron mumbled something, but his voice was too low to hear.

Harry didn’t hear it either.

“What did you say?”

“Ah… I said, what do you think’s inside?”

“I don’t know,” Harry thought of a more plausible answer. “Something that size… maybe diamonds?”

“What’s that?”

“A kind of jewel,” Harry explained. “More valuable than gold. Aunt Petunia has a necklace with a tiny stone—smaller than a bean—but she treasures it like a fortune, only wearing it on the most important days.”

“That must be expensive,” Ron said. “But Muggle jewels probably aren’t worth much to wizards—goblins haggle hard. I’d say it’s the recipe for Chocolate Frogs. Best chocolate ever.”

“But why would the Chocolate Frog recipe be in Hogwarts?”

“Maybe someone asked Dumbledore to keep it safe.”

…

The two chattered beside him, growing more excited.

Silven had pieced it together.

Yesterday, they’d arranged a wizard’s duel with Malfoy at midnight—but he stood them up.

Malfoy didn’t show. They only met Filch. To avoid being caught, they, along with Hermione who came to stop them, hid in the forbidden room and saw a three-headed dog guarding a trapdoor.

And Harry believed the thing the dog guarded was connected to the robbed Gringotts vault.

Hmm… three-headed dog…

Silven’s drowsiness vanished. He opened his eyes and stared at Harry and Ron, both pale with fear.

“Y-you weren’t asleep?” Ron’s voice trembled.

“I was kept awake by you two,” Silven yawned. “Next time you whisper secrets, remember to be quieter.”

Harry and Ron flushed, then paled again, staring at Silven, speechless.

“Don’t worry—I’ll keep it secret,” Silven guessed their fear and said outright.

“Th-thank you.”

“It’s fine,” Silven waved a hand. “But I’m curious—did you really go inside that room?”

“What?”

“The forbidden room on the fourth floor.”

“Ah, yes,” Harry said. Ron nodded beside him.

Seeing Silven’s keen interest, they gradually lowered their guard.

At eleven, kids love to boast—and they were no exception. Once Silven pressed, they told him.

“It’s clear why the Headmaster forbids us from going there—the three-headed dog is ten feet tall.”

Ron held his hand high in an exaggerated gesture, as if to prove how terrifying his experience had been.

“Impressive,” Silven clicked his tongue.

“Just lucky. We never want to go through that again.”

Yet the excitement and lingering thrill on their faces betrayed them—they’d gladly do it again.

“How did you get in?” Silven asked casually. “Didn’t you run into any professors?”

“No,” Harry thought a moment. “We ran from Filch for ages—had no choice but to hide down that corridor.”

“Yeah, we didn’t even know what floor it was.”

(End of chapter)