Chapter 26: Familiarize Yourself with the Venue in Advance

Silven had considered targeting the three-headed dog before, and it was even one of the reasons he came to Hogwarts.

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 he was certain it didn’t include him.

So after term began, he made frequent trips to the fourth floor, yet never once saw the three-headed dog, not even getting close to the locked door.

Silven remembered his first attempt was the first weekend after term started, at two in the morning—the time when people were most exhausted.

He thought it was foolproof, then nearly ran into Professor McGonagall patrolling the corridor; luckily, Fred and George were also out after hours and quickly dragged him through a secret passage.

Otherwise, he might have been caught right then.

Afterward, Silven learned his lesson: since someone patrolled at night, he’d go by day.

So his second attempt was scheduled for Friday at 3:20 p.m.

Same corridor—he encountered Professor Aurora Sinistra, who taught Astronomy; but he picked his time well—her class started at 3:30, and he claimed he was lost.

Professor Sinistra didn’t suspect a thing; she even warmly escorted him to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

For his third attempt, he didn’t even go himself—he sent Tang Mu ahead to scout, and Tang Mu was caught by a tabby cat—Professor McGonagall in her Animagus form—and was locked up for several days… learning the school rules (pet edition).

Being easily subdued by a tabby cat—even though the cat was secretly a witch—left Tang Mu in low spirits for days; he only recovered after giving Mrs. Norris a good beating.

But none of that was the point.

The point was, Professor McGonagall was using her Animagus form to catch students on the fourth floor.

Really?

Treating students like Voldemort?

But after that, Silven gave up on getting near the three-headed dog.

And now that he thought about it—was he really just lucky to bump into Fred and George that night?

Dumbledore had specifically mentioned at the Welcoming Feast: “Those who don’t want to die in agony should stay away from the corridor on the fourth floor, to the right.”

Would Fred and George actually obey that?

Impossible. Given their nature, the more they were forbidden, the more they’d want to investigate.

Yet after all this time, Silven had subtly probed them several times—and never once heard a single word about the room on the fourth floor.

That meant they hadn’t gone in either… even though they had the Marauder’s Map, which showed the entire castle.

Who would’ve thought? Such a heavily guarded place—and Harry and the others walked right in so easily?

Could it be that the professor on patrol just happened to be away at the time?

The probability was nearly zero—they were deliberately let in.

Silven slammed his thigh in frustration.

How could he have forgotten something so important?

That room was Dumbledore’s “training ground” built for Harry—he naturally wanted Harry to become familiar with the terrain first.

And at the time, Harry was with Ron, Hermione, and Neville—meaning Dumbledore didn’t mind spectators.

If Silven had simply claimed he wanted to stop them from breaking school rules, he’d almost certainly have slipped in with them.

Then, in the chaos, plucking a few dog hairs would’ve been no problem.

Too bad—he missed it.

Silven sighed… Malfoy was a damn nuisance—why couldn’t he have challenged him a few days later?

“You—you okay?” Seeing Silven suddenly sighing and pounding his thigh, Harry and Ron exchanged glances and edged their chairs back.

Hitting himself? That was kind of scary.

“Oh, nothing, nothing,” Silven forced a smile.

Though he said that, neither of them dared continue chatting with him.

Silven wasn’t in the mood either, making the second half of History of Magic even more boring and dull.

The mood carried into Charms class—Silven didn’t catch a single word Professor Flitwick said; fortunately, the lesson was on Repairing Charms, which he already knew, and even earned Gryffindor two extra points during the final check.

One step closer to the full twenty points.

Morning classes ended. Silven joined everyone heading to the Great Hall for lunch, and he deliberately approached Harry and Ron.

“You… okay?” Harry asked hesitantly.

“What’s wrong with me? Just didn’t sleep well last night,” Silven said carelessly.

He’d just realized he’d been obsessing over nothing.

The three-headed dog was valuable, but McGonagall’s wand mattered too—especially its extremely rare [Disguise] trait; who knew if it’d ever appear again?

If forced to choose between the [Disguise] trait that boosted Animagus success rate and the three-headed dog, Silven would unhesitatingly pick the former.

Good traits were rare and unpredictable, but the three-headed dog would always be there.

And there was one more crucial point—he wasn’t without opportunity… there was one special time when he could slip in even without Harry.

Halloween.

It came to him during Charms class, when he saw the pumpkins used as teaching aids.

According to Hogwarts tradition, a grand banquet was held on Halloween, second only in importance to the Welcoming Feast and the Christmas Feast.

That night, performance troupes would be invited, and all professors—including Headmaster Dumbledore—would appear punctually in the Great Hall, meaning no professor would be watching that door.

As for Filch…

Simple: just let Tang Mu loose. After being beaten twice, Mrs. Norris now fled at the sight of him; once she ran, Filch would chase after his own cat.

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

Dumbledore and Snape might keep a constant eye on Quirrell, but they wouldn’t care about a first-year student.

Besides, Silven’s goal wasn’t the Philosopher’s Stone—it was the three-headed dog. No conflict.

Of course, he could also ask Hagrid, the three-headed dog’s owner, for help—that would be the safest method—but then he’d have to wait.

After all, Luwei was currently loaned to Dumbledore and had an important duty; Hagrid wouldn’t likely leave his post to help Silven pluck hairs.

He’d have to wait until the school year ended and everything settled.

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

Halloween was clearly better.

He’d pluck the hairs and leave—quick movements, perfect timing—and he’d never miss the moment Snape got his leg bitten off.

Perfect!

Once he made his decision, Silven felt instantly lighter, no longer drowsy, and chatted with Harry as they entered the Great Hall.

(End of Chapter)