You can't walk by a river without getting your shoes wet.
Allen felt the truth of that proverb at this moment, he had been trapped by the plot.
Standing before him were an excited Harry, an equally thrilled Ron, and a worried Hermione.
They had come seeking help.
And the reason was obvious, they needed help with the Philosopher's Stone hidden behind the trapdoor.
"Allen, sorry to bother you, but we have no choice. You know we've been investigating the Stone for a while. If nothing goes wrong, Professor Snape will cross the trapdoor tonight and steal it. So, Allen… we need you."
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
Director, the script isn't right.
Weren't they supposed to watch Voldemort and then execute the plan to take the Stone tonight themselves?
Why had it suddenly become that they came to ask for my help? Something about this scene feels off.
But Allen couldn't pull out a lame excuse like, "Haha, the weather's nice today, and I have stuff at home." Harry and the others were young, but they weren't stupid.
What could he do?
Resigned, Allen agreed, and immediately began a new calculation.
As Harry and the others cheered at Allen joining them, his voice suddenly rang out:
"So, you're saying, Professor Snape is going to steal the Stone tonight, right?"
Three heads nodded simultaneously.
"Then why do we have to wait until dark to act?"
"But we already told Professor McGonagall, she thought our plan was unbelievable, and she's keeping an eye on that door."
Allen shrugged. "That's not a big problem. I can handle Professor McGonagall. I think what we need to do is move now. By the time Snape gets there, he'll find nothing."
The plan won approval from the three plus Annie¹.
They moved quickly, Harry and the others returned to the dorm to fetch the Invisibility Cloak, while Allen went to find someone capable of "handling" Professor McGonagall.
By "handling" McGonagall, he didn't mean knocking her out cold. After all, she and Professor Kinlath together had barely managed to hold back Voldemort, and even then it had been messy.
Considering the analogy, her combat ability was substantial, even Allen himself couldn't guarantee a fifty-fifty outcome against her.
So, an alternate approach was required, finding the right candidates.
In a corridor, Allen intercepted Fred and George.
"What? Allen, are you joking? McGonagall will kill us!?"
Exactly, they were the only ones with the skill to draw her attention.
"No, no, no, absolutely not," Allen said, wagging his finger mysteriously, leaning in to whisper in their ears:
"You… have you heard of the Invisibility Cloak?"
The phrase instantly caught their attention. Misbehavior + invisibility = perfect twin combination.
"What? Allen, you have the Cloak?"
Not quite. "No, I don't, but Harry does. Today, we're going on an adventure, and he agreed to lend it to you for a week!"
The twins exchanged a glance and in unison said, "Done! Allen, you tell us what to do!"
Thus, Allen whispered a long series of plans into their ears. Their eyes glimmered with anticipation, Allen's ideas were just that cunning, and the twins were thoroughly satisfied.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
That afternoon, in front of the trapdoor, Professor McGonagall transformed into a cat, keeping a strict watch.
She didn't know how Harry and the others had discovered the Stone's location, nor why Harry knew about it despite its absolute secrecy. All she had to do was intercept the students.
As the trap's designer, she understood its deadly potential, lethal to students.
Compared to that, someone sneaking in was no concern, this was a trap built with the combined power of all professors, and the inner sanctum was personally set by Dumbledore. No ordinary wizard could breach it.
Moreover, Dumbledore trusted Snape completely. She couldn't doubt someone Dumbledore trusted just because of a few students' guesses.
But fate was against her today.
As McGonagall vigilantly guarded the trap, screams echoed through the castle, boys and girls alike.
Then Mr. Filch's furious roar filled the halls, but it was useless; it couldn't drown out the students' shrieks.
Hundreds of owls flitted through the castle, dropping sheets of paper adorned with images and text that made the young wizards blush. Occasionally, someone would sneak a few sheets into their robes.
These were gifts from the second-hand bookstore owner to Allen, torn up and scattered throughout the castle.
The owl operators, meant to be active during this time, had already been incapacitated by the twins' Stunning Spells, may Merlin bless them.
For some time, the papers were delivered to the original owl owners.
This spectacle drew almost every professor to investigate. Though harmless, no professor wanted these items circulating.
Yet, their investigation yielded nothing, covered by the strongest Invisibility Cloak, this event remained untraceable. Perhaps Dumbledore knew, but the blame would fall on Harry…
Meanwhile, under Allen's Illusory Body Charm, the five-person team began advancing toward the trapdoor.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
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