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"Good question!"
Why they ended up there… Dudley also wanted to know.
He was one hundred and ten percent certain that he had followed exactly the same route they had taken before. There was absolutely no way he was wrong.
On one hand, Dudley had complete confidence in his memory. On the other hand, leaving the Trophy Room on the third floor toward the Gryffindor common room, there was only one staircase.
It was obvious.
While they were inside the Trophy Room, the position of the staircase had changed.
The staircase that originally led to Gryffindor had been moved directly to the forbidden corridor on the fourth floor.
"Should we go through here?"
Harry asked, but deep down, he was already eager.
He really wanted to investigate.
Ever since he heard Dumbledore mention that place, he had been extremely curious. He just hadn't had the chance until now.
And now, by coincidence, they had ended up right there.
If they didn't go through that corridor, they probably wouldn't be able to return to Gryffindor.
Was this fate?
Curiosity killed the cat.
And, well, lions are felines too.
Fate, my ass.
Dudley sneered.
Where would that many coincidences even come from?
A situation that so clearly looked like a trap… there was no way Dudley would fall for it.
He turned to the others and said,
"Come with me to the Slytherin common room."
There were plenty of rooms in the Slytherin dormitories anyway. Adding three more people wouldn't be a big deal.
And since the Slytherin common room was below, they just needed to go back the way they came and find a staircase leading down.
"Look… the path behind us is gone!"
Malfoy's panicked voice rang out behind them.
Everyone quickly turned around.
Below them, where the staircase should have continued, there was nothing.
The end of the staircase was hanging in midair.
There was no way back.
Dudley: …
If they didn't go through the fourth-floor corridor now, the only option was to wait for the staircase to slowly rotate and connect somewhere else.
The problem was… no one knew when that would happen.
Maybe not even until morning.
Dudley let out a disdainful smile.
"Whatever the purpose behind this is, I, Dudley Dursley…"
"really enjoy saying 'NO' to people who think too highly of themselves."
"Hermione, hold on to me."
Hermione: ?
With a low grunt, Dudley wrapped his right arm around Hermione's waist, stepped firmly on the edge of the staircase, and pushed off with force.
Amid Hermione's scream, he leaped directly onto the nearest staircase.
The whole process was extremely smooth and took less than three seconds.
After that, Dudley jumped back like an agile ape.
Malfoy, Harry, and Ron were carried over one by one like chicks and dropped onto the other staircase.
At first glance, it looked like a simple jump.
In reality, there were at least ten meters between the two staircases.
"You almost scared me to death. Next time, tell me in advance."
Hermione's face was slightly pale. As she complained, she lightly tapped Dudley's chest, clearly dissatisfied.
Ron had also been quite frightened, his face a bit pale.
But expect him to complain to Dudley?
No way.
'That was way too intense.'
Harry and Malfoy were a little better off, but they had still been startled.
After the shock… both of them seemed faintly excited.
"Now we can continue."
Dudley clapped his hands and motioned for the others to keep moving toward the Gryffindor common room.
Harry turned his head and cast one last regretful glance at the corridor behind them.
Deep down, he really wanted to go in and take a look.
But now they had already reached the staircase on the fifth floor.
No matter how the stairs changed, there was no way back to the fourth floor… unless they went down themselves or the staircase shifted again.
"Meow~~"
Just as they were about to pass through the corridor, a sudden meow made Harry and the others' hearts jump into their throats.
A thin, dark-gray cat walked gracefully out from the end of the corridor.
Her bulb-like eyes were fixed on them.
"Damn! It's Mrs. Norris!"
Ron whispered, clearly recognizing the cat.
In all of Hogwarts, there was only one cat like that.
Filch's cat.
If Mrs. Norris was here, then Filch was definitely nearby.
If she called out, Filch would arrive in an instant.
They would definitely be caught.
"It's over… we're dead this time!"
Ron let out a desperate groan.
He didn't even know if it was his imagination, but he could swear he saw the corner of Mrs. Norris's mouth lift slightly.
She looked like she was actually smiling.
Was she mocking them for being about to get caught?
She definitely was.
"We can go back and hide somewhere on the fourth floor."
Malfoy reacted faster than Ron and stayed calmer. He immediately came up with a plan.
Even if Filch was nearby, it would still take some time for him to get there after hearing Mrs. Norris.
If they used that small window to return to the fourth floor and find a place to hide, there was still hope.
As for whether it was forbidden or not… that didn't matter anymore.
Right now, not getting caught was all that mattered.
Hermione was also panicking. She gripped her wand so tightly her knuckles turned white. In her mind, she was frantically going through spells that might solve the situation.
'Should I use Petrificus Totalus on her?'
While the other young wizards were completely at a loss, Dudley made another unexpected move.
Not only did he show no intention of running…
He crouched down and gently beckoned to Mrs. Norris.
At the same time, a strange sound came from his throat.
Because of the distance, Ron couldn't hear it clearly.
It sounded like… a purring noise?
'Has he gone crazy?'
But then something jaw-dropping happened.
Mrs. Norris didn't call Filch.
Instead, after hearing Dudley, she ran straight to him and began rubbing herself against his leg repeatedly, as if… trying to please him.
"Ten pieces? You're asking for too much."
Hermione, who was closest to Dudley, vaguely heard him muttering something.
Talking…
To Mrs. Norris?
'Talking to a cat? How is that even possible?'
That was Hermione's first thought.
But then she reconsidered.
This was the magical world.
So what exactly was impossible?
There were historical records of people who could speak with cats.
Rare, but they existed.
Seeing that the situation had changed, Malfoy and Ron were so excited they almost hugged each other.
But at the exact moment they were about to make contact, both of them reacted as if shocked, instantly pulled apart, and leaned against the railing, making disgusted faces.
Soon after, right before their eyes, Mrs. Norris… who was usually cold, cunning, malicious, and never accepted food from students, always sticking close to Filch…
Lay down right in front of Dudley.
And started rolling on the ground.
Back and forth.
Without stopping.
A steady purring sound came from her throat.
She even exposed her soft belly.
This…
Was she… acting cute?
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