Chapter 26: Familiarizing Himself with the Venue in Advance

Silven had not failed to entertain thoughts about the three-headed dog—in fact, it was one of the reasons he had come to Hogwarts to study.

One of the ancient and powerful magical creatures, as rare as a phoenix—what wandmaker could resist such a temptation?

Silven didn't know, but it certainly didn't include him.

So after school started, he ran to the fourth floor more than once, but he never once saw the three-headed dog, nor could he even get close to that locked door.

Silven remembered that his first attempt was the first weekend after school started, at two in the morning, when people were at their sleepiest.

He had thought it was foolproof, but then he nearly ran into Professor McGonagall patrolling the corridor. Luckily, Fred and George were also out roaming that night and promptly led him away through a secret passage.

Otherwise, he might have been caught right then and there.

Afterwards, Silven summed up the lessons learned—since there were patrols at night, he'd go during the day.

So he chose three-twenty on Friday afternoon for his second attempt.

Still in that same corridor, he ran into Professor Aurora Sinistra from Astronomy class. But he had timed it well—class started at three-thirty—and he made the excuse that he was lost.

Professor Sinistra not only didn't suspect a thing, but enthusiastically led him to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

The third time, he didn't even go himself, but sent Tom to scout ahead. Then Tom was caught by another tabby cat—Professor McGonagall in her Animagus form—and was locked in detention for several days... studying school rules (pet edition).

Being taken down so easily by a tabby cat—even knowing the other party was truly a wizard—left Tom in low spirits for several days. He only cheered up after giving Mrs. Norris a thorough beating.

But none of that was the point.

The point was that Professor McGonagall actually used her Animagus form to catch people on the fourth floor.

Was that really necessary?

Using students as a defense against Voldemort?

But after that incident, Silven gave up on the idea of approaching the three-headed dog.

And thinking carefully—was it really by chance that he ran into Fred and George that night?

Dumbledore had specifically mentioned at the opening feast, "Anyone who does not wish to die a most painful death should stay away from the corridor to the right on the fourth floor."

Would Fred and George really be that obedient, just not going because they were told not to?

Impossible. Given their personalities, the more they were forbidden, the more they wanted to investigate.

But school had been in session for so long, and even though Silven had probed them several times, he hadn't heard a single word about the fourth-floor room from them.

This meant they hadn't gotten in either... even though they had the Marauder's Map, which could observe the entire castle.

Who would have thought—a place guarded so tightly, yet Harry and the others got in so easily?

Could it be that the professor in charge of patrolling just happened to not be nearby at the time?

One can only say the probability is almost zero—Harry and the others were deliberately let in.

Silven vexedly thumped his thigh.

How could he have forgotten something so important?

That place was the "training ground" Dumbledore had set up for Harry, so naturally he had to let him familiarize himself with the venue in advance.

And at the time, Harry was also surrounded by Ron, Hermione, and Neville, which showed Dumbledore didn't mind others watching.

If Silven had also found an excuse of "wanting to stop them from breaking school rules" back then, he could very likely have slipped in with them.

When the time came, plucking a few dog hairs in the chaos would certainly have been no problem.

Too bad, he missed his chance.

Silven sighed... Malfoy really deserved to die—why couldn't he have waited a few more days before arranging that fight!

"You, what's wrong with you?" Watching Silven suddenly sighing and thumping his leg, Harry and Ron exchanged a glance and couldn't help but scoot their stools backward.

Someone who even hits themselves is a bit scary.

"Ah, nothing, nothing." Silven forced a smile.

Even though he said so, the two of them didn't really dare to keep chatting with Silven.

Silven wasn't in the mood either, so the second half of History of Magic was even more boring, and a bit gloomy to boot.

And this state of affairs carried over into the next period's Charms class. He didn't catch a single word Professor Flitwick said, but luckily the lesson was on Mending Charms, which he already knew. During the check before the end of class, he even earned two points for Gryffindor.

One step closer to filling the twenty points.

The morning classes were over too. Silven headed to the Great Hall for lunch with everyone else, and even took the initiative to approach Harry and Ron.

"You... you're okay now?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"What could possibly be wrong with me? I just didn't rest well last night." Silven said dismissively.

He had just suddenly realized he seemed to be overthinking things.

Although the three-headed dog was good, Professor McGonagall's wand was also very important—especially that extremely rare 【Disguise】 property. It might not be available if he waited for another time.

If Silven really had to choose, between the 【Disguise】 property that could increase the success rate of becoming an Animagus and the three-headed dog, he would definitely choose the former without hesitation.

After all, a good property is a matter of luck and cannot be sought, but the three-headed dog will always be there.

And there was also the most important point—he actually wasn't without opportunity... there was a very special time when, even without Harry, he could find a chance to sneak in.

Halloween.

This was what Silven thought of in Charms class when he saw the pumpkin being used as a teaching prop.

According to Hogwarts tradition, a feast was held on Halloween, and its importance was second only to the opening feast and the Christmas feast.

At that time, the school would invite a performance troupe to perform, and all professors, including Headmaster Dumbledore, would appear punctually in the Great Hall, which meant no professor would be watching that door.

As for Filch...

That was simple—just let Tom out. After being thoroughly beaten twice, Mrs. Norris now ran at the sight of Tom, and when she ran, Filch would definitely go chase his own cat.

The more Silven thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

Perhaps Dumbledore and Snape would keep an eye on Quirrell at all times, but they certainly wouldn't pay attention to a first-year student.

Besides, Silven's goal wasn't the Philosopher's Stone, but the three-headed dog—the two didn't conflict.

Of course, besides that, he could actually also ask Hagrid, the owner of the three-headed dog Fluffy, for help. That was the most reliable method, but it would mean having to wait.

After all, Loudy was currently seconded to Dumbledore and had important duties; Hagrid was unlikely to go over midway to pluck Silven's feathers.

They could only wait until the school year ended and everything settled.

But that would take too long—Silven didn't have that much patience to wait half a year.

Halloween was clearly better.

When the time came, he'd pluck the feathers and leave; as long as he moved quickly and timed it right, he definitely wouldn't miss Snape's leg being bitten off.

Perfect!

Once he made up his mind, Silven instantly felt much lighter, no longer sleepy, and walked into the Great Hall chatting with Harry.

(End of Chapter)