Before Fel stood a gigantic black three headed dog.
Fel couldn’t even make out its full size because it was simply too enormous.
Even Hagrid would look like a dwarf in front of it!
Ron opened his mouth to scream, but Harry reacted quickly, locking an arm around Ron’s neck while covering his mouth so that all he could make was muffled “Mmph! Mmph!” sounds.
The three headed dog was asleep, all three heads resting on the floor, and each one was nearly as tall as Fel.
Cloudy saliva dripped from its enormous mouths like sticky slime.
Fel pressed both hands downward, signaling everyone not to move.
Everyone pressed themselves against the door, terrified that moving even a little closer would wake the giant dog.
Ron looked as though he was about to cry, his legs trembling uncontrollably.
Although only three minutes had passed, it felt longer than three years to them.
Finally, Fel peered through the crack in the door and saw that there wasn’t a single living thing outside.
He waved his hand, and everyone slipped through the gap one after another while Hermione remembered to lock the door again behind them.
Without saying a word, they sprinted all the way back upstairs and rushed into the common room.
“Merlin’s beard! That’s completely insane! Why would they lock a monster like that inside the school?!”
Ron was terrified, and his fear turned into anger as he shouted.
“Shh. Everyone’s asleep.”
Fel panted heavily as he collapsed onto the sofa, pulled out his wand, and pointed it at the fireplace.
“Incendio!”
The bright flames drove away everyone’s panic.
“Didn’t you notice? The three headed dog was lying on top of a trapdoor. It was guarding something!”
Hermione explained while opening the gift box.
Harry took out an apple and bit into it hard before suddenly remembering something.
“Dumbledore told us not to go into the forbidden area on the fourth floor corridor. That’s where it was!”
“And the thing Hagrid took from Gringotts, someone wanted to steal it!”
After connecting all the clues, Harry came to a conclusion.
“The thing the three headed dog is guarding is exactly what Hagrid took from Gringotts!”
Fel nodded.
“That’s right. Someone wanted to steal it, so Dumbledore moved it to Hogwarts.”
Hermione glared at them.
“Enough. Stop being so curious. If we break the school rules again and even go into that forbidden area…”
“We might die!”
“Or even worse, we could be expelled!”
Ron and Harry were both stunned by that statement.
Still, there really weren’t any more clues.
Fel had no intention of reminding them of anything.
Everything would become clear sooner or later anyway.
Giving them hints now might create completely unpredictable consequences.
After calming themselves down, they arranged everything neatly and placed the candles on the cake.
The beautifully decorated cake was covered with blueberry jam that Fel loved and strawberry jam that Hermione loved.
After everything they had gone through, all of them were already starving.
Harry said as he gazed at the candlelight with a hint of envy.
The only birthday cake he had ever received in his life was the one Hagrid had accidentally squashed.
And Dudley had even stolen some of it.
Fel and Hermione closed their eyes.
Fel thought, ‘I hope all of us survive and defeat Voldemort.
Not a single one of us is allowed to die.’
“My turn!”
After blowing out the candles, Ron eagerly volunteered to cut the cake.
The group smiled at one another.
After sharing such an adventure, their friendship seemed to have grown even stronger.
“Happy Birthday, Fel and Hermione.”
(…)
The following days passed peacefully.
The only excitement was that Harry was called away for Quidditch training.
November marked the beginning of the Quidditch season.
Before then, Harry had to go through intense training.
Fel was rather curious, so he went with Ron to watch.
Gryffindor’s captain, Wood, was already waiting on the training field.
When he saw them arrive, Wood simply greeted them before beginning to explain the rules of Quidditch to Harry.
“Is this where the balls are kept?”
Fel pointed at the large wooden chest by Wood’s feet.
“That’s right. Watch carefully.”
Wood opened the chest, and two balls bound by iron chains immediately began shaking violently as they struggled.
“Those are Bludgers, aren’t they? They’re pretty lively.”
Fel stared at the two Bludgers, but an unusual idea had already formed in his mind.
Wood explained, “That’s right. They move on their own and attack nearby players.”
“Bludgers are a little smaller than the Quaffle, but they’re much tougher and hit incredibly hard.”
“The first time I played, I got hit by a Bludger and spent a whole week unconscious in bed.”
Harry swallowed nervously, already beginning to lose his confidence.
Fel’s eyes, however, became even brighter.
They automatically attack anyone nearby?
Wasn’t that the perfect reaction training tool?
It was just like dodgeball.
Fel used to play games like that with his friends and Hermione all the time to improve his agility and reflexes.
Fel immediately asked, “Wood, does the school have any unused Bludgers? I’d like to borrow one to play dodgeball.”
Wood scratched his head.
“There are. There are some discarded Bludgers in the broom shed. You can use them if you want.”
“But discarded Bludgers usually have problems. Either they can’t move anymore, or they’re far too violent.”
Far too violent?
Perfect!
The shed was much larger inside than it appeared from the outside.
It had probably been expanded with the Extension Charm.
The outer room stored flying brooms, while another room lay deeper inside.
During flying lessons, Fel had only ever taken a broom from the front and had never looked into the inner room.
Pushing open the wooden door, beams of sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating countless floating specks of dust.
The entire room was scattered with broken brooms, rotten wooden crates, and all kinds of junk.
After searching for quite some time, Fel finally found several chests used to store balls.
“Creak…”
Accompanied by the unpleasant sound of rusty hinges, Fel opened several of the chests.
“Bang!”
Almost instantly, one of the chests began shaking violently.
Looking closely, Fel saw a black Bludger chained tightly inside, struggling like mad.
The entire chest rocked like a tiny boat caught in a raging sea, groaning under the strain.
This is it!
A legendary find!
Fel quickly slammed the lid shut.
Now he had the equipment, but where should he train?
Training outside would be too dangerous.
If it hit someone, it would be a disaster.
Judging by how ferocious this Bludger was, Fel was certain it could even send someone straight to St. Mungo’s Hospital!
That left only one option, the Room of Requirement.
Carrying the chest, Fel headed straight for the eighth floor of the castle.
‘I want a sturdy room for practicing dodgeball.
I want a sturdy room for practicing dodgeball…’
When Fel pushed open the door, he found himself in a spacious chamber surrounded by brick walls, with bright windows protected by iron bars.
There was almost no clutter inside.
Fel opened the chest, and the black Bludger immediately began struggling again.
“I’ll call you Friday.”
Fel gave the Bludger a name, took a deep breath, and removed the chains.
“Whoosh!”
Friday shot into the air like a rocket, and Fel could only catch a glimpse of its afterimage!
As Friday came flying toward him like an arrow released from a bow, every muscle in Fel’s body tightened, and he twisted sharply to the right.
A powerful gust swept across his face, causing his bangs to flutter.
Before he even had time to catch his breath, Fel heard another sharp whistle slicing through the air, making every hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
He rolled forward on the spot, and Friday once again grazed past his shoulder.
“Hehe, looks like my reflexes are still as fast as ever.”
Fel climbed back to his feet and grinned smugly.
“Thud!”
“Ow!”