The castle didn't really go to sleep at midnight; it just kind of changed gears and started humming along in a different way.
Arthur stood in the shadows of the hallway of the 2nd floor, testing his recent findings on his new discoveries on some spells; every time he walked, it was without any inefficiency, but what was interesting was, of course, not a single sound could be heard beside him, as if his surroundings were silenced.Then he tried his second spell; his figure disappeared for a few seconds and then reappeared in a different location.
Over the past couple of days, he'd been spending a lot of time at the library, and it had really paid off. He hadn't just learned a bunch of theory; he'd actually stumbled upon some spells that weren't being used to their full potential. So, he'd figured out how to repurpose them, and now they were perfect for sneaking around undetected.
[Magic: Beginner (07%)
• Disillusionment Charm: Beginner (15.8%)
• Imperturbable Charm: Beginner (22.07%)
He was messing around with the Disillusionment Charm, trying to see how far he could push it, when his ears caught something weird.
Four distinct sets of footsteps. Elevated heart rates. Urgent, hushed voices.
Arthur turned his head slowly, ensuring his camouflage didn't ripple. Down the hall, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom were creeping through the dark.
Arthur thought that Malfoy's challenge was all show and no substance. It was loud and public, but he didn't really mean to follow through; In conclusion, 'Malfoy had a 2% probability of attending the duel and a 98% probability of utilizing the school's security (Argus Filch) to eliminate his rivals.'
The Gryffindors were heading straight into trouble. Arthur wasn't really concerned about Potter or Weasley's reputation, but Hermione was likely the only sensible one in the group. If she got expelled for breaking the midnight curfew rule, he'd have to find someone else who could keep up with him in his studies. Hermione was probably the only one who had a level head on her shoulders, and Arthur needed someone like that to work with. He wasn't too bothered about the others, but losing Hermione as a study partner would be a real problem.
He didn't intervene. He simply adjusted his camouflage and followed them.
Arthur walked quietly, about ten steps behind, making his footsteps completely silent; he seemed like a ghost that you could see through.
He stood there, watching as Hermione tried to make sense of things, her soft voice hitting a brick wall of stubbornness from the boys. They finally made it to the Trophy Room, and Arthur hesitated, lingering in the doorway. Just as they had thought, Malfoy was nowhere to be found.
The sound of Argus Filch's heavy, plodding footsteps could be heard coming from the hallway next door, his dragging gait echoing off the walls as he made his way towards them.
"Sniff around, my sweet," Filch wheezed to his cat, Mrs. Norris. "They might be lurking in a corner."
Panic seized the Gryffindors. They bolted.
Arthur didn't move a muscle; he was completely still. His disillusionment charm was not perfect at this moment. Only at 15% proficiency; it needed him to be perfectly motionless at close proximity to work properly.
Filch and his cat walked by him without noticing a thing. But Mrs. Norris, the cat, stopped and looked around, her bright yellow eyes scanning the area where Arthur was standing, her whiskers twitching as she caught the scent of magic in the air. She seemed to sense that something was there, but she couldn't see Arthur, and after a moment, she moved on, leaving him hidden.
Once the caretaker passed, Arthur resumed his pursuit.
The Gryffindors' flight path was chaotic, a textbook example of panic overriding spatial awareness. They blundered through a secret tapestry, scrambled up a hidden staircase, and suddenly found themselves at the end of the third-floor corridor.
The Forbidden Corridor.
Arthur watched from the shadows as Hermione pushed past the boys. She drew her wand and cast Alohomora at the locked door.
'Wand arc too wide. Incantation rushed. But effective,' Arthur noted silently as the lock clicked.
The four friends from Gryffindor house rushed into the room, banging the door closed behind them to escape the watchful eye of Filch. Arthur moved quickly,using the spell to blend in allowing him to speed up without being seen. He slipped through the solid oak door just in time, passing through it as it clicked shut, and joined the troublemakers inside.
The Gryffindors had frozen. Their breathing had stopped.
Arthur looked at the beast, eyes narrowed with recognition.
The creature was enormous, its three huge heads barely fitting under the ceiling. Drool oozed from its yellowish teeth, forming a puddle on the stone floor. It stood guard over an old wooden door in the floor.
As Potter frantically searched for the doorknob, the Gryffindors were frozen in terror, their voices trapped in their throats. They stumbled backward, desperate to escape the room, and slammed the door shut behind them. Then, fueled by adrenaline, they sprinted back towards the safety of their tower as fast as their legs could carry them. The fear that gripped them was palpable, and it drove them to move with a speed and urgency they never thought possible.
Arthur did not run.
He remained in the room, his back pressed against the stone wall. He held his breath, reinforcing his Imperturbable Charm to ensure the beast couldn't hear his heartbeat.
The middle head of the creature lifted up, taking a big sniff of the air where the Gryffindor students had just been. At the same time, the left head let out a low, rumbling growl that was so strong Arthur could feel the vibrations all the way to his teeth.
Arthur's eyes narrowed as he thought to himself, 'This is really interesting.' His mind was moving fast; he wasn't scared at all. He wondered, 'Why house an apex predator in a school? 'It is not a pet.' Then he noticed where the predator was positioned—right over a trapdoor. 'That's not a coincidence,' Arthur thought. 'It's guarding something, but what?'
He activated [Observe].
He took a closer look at the muscle structure in the front legs of the creature. Next, he figured out the blind spots between its three heads, which seemed like a pretty important thing to know. The beast's ears also caught his attention, twitching all over the place, which made him think it could probably hear even the faintest sounds.
'A creature with hyper-developed hearing can likely be neutralized via localized acoustic overload, or conversely, lulled into a dormant state via rhythmic audio frequencies.'
After collecting all the information he needed, Arthur quietly got up and made his way to the door. He slowly turned the old brass knob behind him and let himself out of the room, carefully closing the door so it didn't make a sound.
Arthur made his way through the constantly changing staircases to get back to Ravenclaw Tower, and his mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts and numbers.
As he walked towards the bronze eagle, he switched off his camouflage, revealing his presence. Without hesitation, he gave the answer to the riddle and kept moving, stepping into the common room with a sense of ease and familiarity.
He sat at his desk by the window, pulling out his notebook. He wrote a list of discoveries.
[NIGHT OPERATIONS LOG]
* Stealth Proficiency: Disillusionment and Imperturbable Charms are viable for active infiltration. Latency must be reduced to allow for faster movement.
* The Third Floor Anomaly: Cerberus is guarding an asset of extreme value. Headmaster Dumbledore might have a hand in this.
Arthur closed the notebook. The school was no longer just a place to learn theory. It was a puzzle box, and someone had hidden a very dangerous variable right in the middle of it. Arthur intended to find out what it was.