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"You can't go out," said Neville, "you'll be caught again. Gryffindor |
will be in even more trouble." |
"You don't understand," said Harry, "this is important." |
But Neville was clearly steeling himself to do something desperate. |
I won't let you do it," he said, hurrying to stand in front of the |
portrait hole. "I'll -- I'll fight you!" |
"Neville, "Ron exploded, "get away from that hole and don't be an idiot |
--" |
"Don't you call me an idiot!" said Neville. I don't think you should be |
breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to |
people!" |
"Yes, but not to us," said Ron in exasperation. "Neville, you don't know |
what you're doing." |
He took a step forward and Neville dropped Trevor the toad, who leapt |
out of sight. |
"Go on then, try and hit me!" said Neville, raising his fists. "I'm |
ready!" |
Harry turned to Hermione. |
"Do something," he said desperately. |
Hermione stepped forward. |
"Neville," she said, "I'm really, really sorry about this." |
She raised her wand. |
"Petrificus Totalus!" she cried, pointing it at Neville. |
Neville's arms snapped to his sides. His legs sprang together. His whole |
body rigid, he swayed where he stood and then fell flat on his face, |
stiff as a board. |
Hermione ran to turn him over. Neville's jaws were jammed together so he |
couldn't speak. Only his eyes were moving, looking at them in horror. |
"What've you done to him?" Harry whispered. |
"It's the full Body-Bind," said Hermione miserably. "Oh, Neville, I'm so |
sorry." |
"We had to, Neville, no time to explain," said Harry. |
"You'll understand later, Neville," said Ron as they stepped over him |
and pulled on the invisibility cloak. |
But leaving Neville lying motionless on the floor didn't feel like a |
very good omen. In their nervous state, every statue's shadow looked |
like Filch, every distant breath of wind sounded like Peeves swooping |
down on them. At the foot of the first set of stairs, they spotted Mrs. |
Norris skulking near the top. |
"Oh, let's kick her, just this once," Ron whispered in Harry's ear, but |
Harry shook his head. As they climbed carefully around her, Mrs. Norris |
turned her lamplike eyes on them, but didn't do anything. |
They didn't meet anyone else until they reached the staircase up to the |
third floor. Peeves was bobbing halfway up, loosening the carpet so that |
people would trip. |
"Who's there?" he said suddenly as they climbed toward him. He narrowed |
his wicked black eyes. "Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are |
you ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?" |
He rose up in the air and floated there, squinting at them. |
"Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen." |
Harry had a sudden idea. |
"Peeves," he said, in a hoarse whisper, "the Bloody Baron has his own |
reasons for being invisible." |
Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock. He caught himself in time |
and hovered about a foot off the stairs. |
"So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr. Baron, Sir," he said greasily. "My |
mistake, my mistake -- I didn't see you -- of course I didn't, you're |
invisible -- forgive old Peevsie his little joke, sir." |
"I have business here, Peeves," croaked Harry. "Stay away from this |
place tonight." |
"I will, sir, I most certainly will," said Peeves, rising up in the air |
again. "Hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you." |
And he scooted off |
"Brilliant, Harry!" whispered Ron. |
A few seconds later, they were there, outside the third-floor corridor |
-- and the door was already ajar. |
"Well, there you are," Harry said quietly, "Snape's already got past |
Fluffy." |
Seeing the open door somehow seemed to impress upon all three of them |
what was facing them. Underneath the cloak, Harry turned to the other |
two. |
"If you want to go back, I won't blame you," he said. "You can take the |
cloak, I won't need it now." |
"Don't be stupid," said Ron. |
"We're coming," said Hermione. |
Harry pushed the door open. |
As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. All three of |
the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it |
couldn't see them. |
"What's that at its feet?" Hermione whispered. |
"Looks like a harp," said Ron. "Snape must have left it there." |
"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," said Harry. "Well, here |
goes..." |
He put Hagrid's flute to his lips and blew. It wasn't really a tune, but |
from the first note the beast's eyes began to droop. Harry hardly drew |
breath. Slowly, the dog's growls ceased -- it tottered on its paws and |
fell to its knees, then it slumped to the ground, fast asleep. |
"Keep playing," Ron warned Harry as they slipped out of the cloak and |
crept toward the trapdoor. They could feel the dog's hot, smelly breath |
as they approached the giant heads. "I think we'll be able to pull the |
door open," said Ron, peering over the dog's back. "Want to go first, |
Hermione?" |
"No, I don't!" |
"All right." Ron gritted his teeth and stepped carefully over the dog's |
legs. He bent and pulled the ring of the trapdoor, which swung up and |
open. |
"What can you see?" Hermione said anxiously. |
"Nothing -- just black -- there's no way of climbing down, we'll just |
have to drop." |
Harry, who was still playing the flute, waved at Ron to get his |
Subsets and Splits
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