Harry felt that Neville and Hermione were just getting in the way. One kept whispering nonstop in his ear, while the other occasionally made loud noises.
He suddenly felt that his safe arrival at the trophy room on the third floor was nothing short of a blessing from Merlin.
Finally, they safely reached the trophy room. The room was completely silent, with no sign of anyone.
"This isn't right," Ron stopped in front of a shelf full of trophies, then looked at the equally puzzled Harry beside him. "There's nobody here."
"Be careful of Malfoy," Harry warned, keeping his wand firmly in hand while vigilantly scanning the surroundings.
But after searching for a while, they still couldn't find anyone.
"Could it be that you were tricked? I bet Malfoy deliberately lured you here and then set some kind of trap..." Hermione said nervously, her eyes darting around as she was terrified that Professor McGonagall might suddenly appear from a corner.
Hearing this, Harry abruptly stopped, realizing something was wrong. Malfoy had specifically chosen this time and place, perhaps with ulterior motives.
Which meant...
Indeed, shortly after they entered the room, the sound of footsteps echoed from the corridor, startling everyone into immediate stillness.
"Where are you, little troublemakers..."
That familiar voice... it was Filch!
From the sound of the footsteps, Filch was heading straight for the trophy room.
By now, Harry was almost certain this was Malfoy's doing. Malfoy must have deliberately lured them here, then tipped off Filch!
Almost without hesitation, Filch opened the door to the trophy room. But by then, Harry and his companions had already left through another door.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
The group ran as fast as they could. Finally, after running for what seemed like ages, they reached an abandoned classroom. After confirming they had lost Filch, they leaned against the wall, sighing with relief.
Hermione felt like her legs weren't her own anymore. In any case, she was an accomplice now. If they were caught, it would be four of them!
The points deducted from four students, she didn't know how long it would take to earn those back.
"Are we safe?" Hermione crouched in the corner, drenched in sweat. "I told you this would happen..."
This was the umpteenth time she had repeated this phrase.
"That wretched Malfoy," Ron furiously waved his fist and told everyone, "When I see him tomorrow, I'll..."
Hermione glared at him. "You should have listened to me from the beginning."
After a short rest, they observed their situation. They were in a classroom filled with old junk.
"I can't run anymore..." Neville collapsed on a half-broken desk, panting heavily.
Harry had already pushed the duel with Malfoy far from his mind.
For them now, there was only one goal: avoid Filch and his cat nearby, and return safely to the Gryffindor common room.
The Hogwarts castle was a labyrinth of corridors, especially under the cover of night.
After wandering around, they reached a staircase with ups and downs.
"Are you sure this is the right staircase?" Ron looked uncertainly at Harry. "I don't remember it at all. Are we lost?"
Although Harry wanted to say otherwise, at that moment, he dejectedly realized that Ron was right.
They were indeed lost.
Had he known this would happen, he would have brought the simple map of Hogwarts.
Just then.
"Hello—are you there? Is anyone there? It's fine if you're not human..."
A faint voice came from the adjacent corridor. Harry and the others exchanged glances.
"Doesn't sound like Filch," Ron said in a hushed voice. "Should we check it out?"
When a group of Gryffindors stayed together, their courage tended to grow exponentially.
They tiptoed around the corner, and the sight in front of them left them stunned.
Peeves was tied up and hanging upside down from the corridor ceiling, swinging back and forth like a captured prey. His eyes were vacant, as if he had just endured some inhuman torture.
"Peeves? How did you get tied up like that?" Ron couldn't help but mock, feeling somewhat pleased by the poltergeist's misfortune.
Just two days ago, Peeves had obstructed their way to Potions class. Seeing him in this state now, Ron's mood improved considerably.
Harry, meanwhile, was looking at the ropes binding Peeves and found them strangely familiar.
Wasn't this the same magic that Professor Westeros used? He had seen it several times before.
Upon hearing Ron's words, Peeves' previously vacant eyes widened, and his entire body (though not human) became energetic.
He frantically twisted his bound body, shrieking, "I didn't do anything! I was just passing by! He hung me up here without a word for Hours! HOURS!"
"Let's ignore him," Hermione nervously scanned the surroundings, fearing Peeves' cries might attract unwanted attention. "We need to go. It's dangerous here."
Seeing them turn to leave, Peeves suddenly became desperate. "Wait! Don't go! You can't leave me here! Let me down, and I'll tell you a secret!"
"What secret?" Neville asked weakly from the side.
"Don't listen to him," Harry tugged Neville, ready to leave.
"Oh."
"Hey—wait! Wait!"
Peeves was still making a last-ditch effort, but no one paid him any attention.
The four were about to turn and leave when suddenly, the ropes binding Peeves' feet disappeared—the duration of the binding spell had ended.
Peeves fell to the ground with a "thud," bounced a few times like a soft jelly, then quickly floated up from the floor.
"Haha! Freedom!" Peeves laughed loudly with his hands on his hips, his voice echoing through the corridor. "You little brats, how dare you ignore the great Peeves! Now, you're in for some bad luck!"
Peeves immediately started shouting, so loudly that Harry had to cover his ears.
With this commotion, not just Filch in the vicinity, but even the Weasley twins wandering on the next floor would hear.
"Run!" Harry shouted, and they all immediately turned around, sprinting in the opposite direction.
They ran continuously, through corridors, staircases, and corners, until they could no longer hear Peeves' shouting.
However, Lady Luck didn't seem to be on their side.
Just as they were taking a temporary break in front of a suit of armor, thinking they were safe, a light suddenly appeared from around the corner, accompanied by the swinging sound of Filch's lantern.
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