Ron-Weasly book 1. V2

"But what about us..." Hermione gasped for air. Harry and I, noticing that she was looking behind us, quickly looked around. Snape was standing behind us.

"Good afternoon," he greeted politely. We stared at him in silence, our eyes wide open.

"Do not miss the opportunity to enjoy the good weather," Snape said with a strange crooked smile. Then he touched Harry's forehead and cursed. "Potter, why haven't you been to the hospital wing yet?"

"We..." Harry began.

"You should exercise reasonable caution", Snape finished for him. The professor reached into his belt pouch and pulled out painkillers and anti-inflammatory potions. "Drink this and go for a walk. Lie down on the grass by the lake. You look like you're up to something. And your department can't afford another hundred penalty points, can it?

Harry blushed deeply. We had already turned our backs on Snape when he called out to Harry.

"I'm warning you, Potter, one more night walk around the school and I'll personally make sure you get expelled. And now, have a nice day."

Snape turned around and walked towards the staff room. Damn, how did he know that Harry was walking around the school? Or was he the only time McGonagall caught him?

We were leaving the castle, descending the stone steps, when Harry turned to us.

"That's what we have to do," he whispered fervently. "One of us has to keep an eye on Snape. You need to get up at the staff room and follow him when he comes out of it. This assignment is for you, Hermione."

"But why me?"

"It's obvious," I replied. "You can say that you are waiting for Professor Flitwick, you are his favorite, as well as many others, by the way. Even Snape tolerates you. And if Flitwick ends up in the staff room, you'll find something to say to him. "Oh, Professor Flitwick, I'm so worried, it seems to me that I answered question 146 incorrectly in the exam paper...""

"Shut up," said Hermione. I did a very similar portrayal of her and her voice, but Hermione didn't seem offended at all. "Well, I agree."

"And we will be on guard in the corridor of the third floor." Harry turned to me. "Let's go."

But the plan didn't work out. No sooner had we reached the door behind which Fluffy was, than Professor McGonagall appeared from nowhere. This time, she didn't hold back her emotions.

"I suppose you think you're much more reliable guards than a dozen spells?!" The professor was loudly indignant. "Enough of this nonsense! If I see you near this door again, or if someone tells me that they saw you here, Gryffindor will receive another fifty penalty points."

I had just opened my mouth to resent such an injustice when she interrupted me.

"Yes, Weasley, my own house!"

Harry and I returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, and before Harry could say that at least Snape was being looked after, Hermione came into the room.

"I'm so sorry, Harry!" She whimpered. "Snape came out of the staff room and asked me what I was doing here. I said I was waiting for Flitwick. And Snape went and called him. And I just got rid of him. And while I was talking to Flitwick, Snape left, and now I do not know where he is."

"Well, it looks like the hour has struck, doesn't it?" Harry spoke slowly. He was pale, but his eyes were sparkling.

Hermione and I stared at him in silence.

"I'm going to leave my bedroom tonight and try to get the stone first." There was a desperate determination in Harry's voice.

"You're crazy!" I exclaimed.

"You can't!" Hermione picked up the baton. "After what McGonagall and Snape told you? You're going to be expelled!"

"SO WHAT?!" Harry shouted. "Don't you understand anything? If Snape steals the stone, Voldemort will return! Haven't you heard about the times when he tried to seize power? Then no one will be kicked out of Hogwarts, because there simply won't be a school! Voldemort will level it to the ground or turn it into a school of the Dark Arts! So penalty points don't matter anymore! Let's say you win a competition between faculties. So what? Will Voldemort leave you and your families alone? If I get caught before I get to the stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait there for Voldemort to find me. I'm just going to die later than I could have died if I hadn't done anything today, because I'll never go over to the Dark Side! Therefore, today I will go to the place where the stone is kept. And no matter what you two say, it won't stop me! If you remember, Voldemort killed my parents. I can't sit back and wait for him to start killing others..."

After finishing his monologue, Harry stared at me and Hermione intently, as if he expected us to start arguing with him. We stared at him in silence. Well, what can I say if he's right. My knees are shaking from the possibility of meeting Voldemort, but I can't leave my friend alone in the lurch.

"You're right, Harry," Hermione replied in a low voice after a while.

"I'm using the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "I was lucky to get it back."

So, you can't let him go alone.

"Do you think the three of us can fit under it?" I asked.

"What do you mean, the three of us?" Harry asked.

"Come on," I said. "Did you think we'd leave you alone?"

"Of course we won't," Hermione confirmed fervently. "Do you think you can get to the stone without our help? And now I'm going to go and look through the textbooks, maybe I'll come across some useful information..."

"But if we get caught, you'll be expelled too," Harry pointed out.

"Oh, no," said Hermione gloomily. "Flitwick told me in confidence that I scored a hundred and twenty on his exam, even though no one gets higher than a hundred. I don't think they'll kick me out after that."

"If I get expelled, Grandpa Ignotus will get a refund for 6 courses, and I'll go to a Welsh magic school. Harry, you could go there with me."

Even though I might be expelled, I didn't want to leave my friend alone.

After dinner, we returned to the living room and sat apart from each other so that no one would think we were up to something. Although if Professor McGonagall had come here, she would have immediately assumed the opposite. But the teachers didn't come in here, and everyone else preferred to ignore Harry and his company — no one had talked to us until now.

Hermione flipped through her notes, hoping that it would help her to break the spells protecting the stone. Harry and I were silent, thinking about what we had to do.

Gradually, the room emptied. It was almost bedtime.

"Go get your robe," I whispered when Lee Jordan finally came out of the room, yawning and stretching. Harry darted upstairs to the dark bedroom, returning a few minutes later in a silver bundle."

"Let's put on the robe right here and make sure it hides us all." Harry suggested it. "If Filch suddenly sees one foot wandering down the corridor, he will..."

"What are you planning?" It came from the corner of the room. So, we sailed. And who is this?

The three of us turned our heads sharply when we saw Neville frozen in his chair. He was holding his freedom-loving toad in his arms. Apparently, she tried to sneak out again, and Neville ended up in the corner precisely because he was looking for her.

"It's okay, Neville, it's nothing special." Harry reassured him, hurriedly hiding his robes behind his back.

Neville looked closely at our guilty faces.

"Are you going to leave your bedroom in the middle of the night again" He stated confidently.

"No, no, no, no!" Hermione babbled. "Of course not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?"

"You can't leave here," Neville said stubbornly. "You'll get caught again. And our faculty will have even more problems."

"You don't understand," Harry couldn't stand it. "This is very important."

But Neville was clearly very determined.

"I won't let you out." He stood up, blocking the exit to the corridor with himself. "I... I will fight you!"

"Neville!" I exploded. "Get away from the portrait and don't be an idiot..."

"Don't you dare call me an idiot!" Neville retorted. "I don't think you should break the rules anymore! And you, Ron, taught me yourself that you need to be able to stand up for yourself!"

"Yes, but we're your friends." I spread my hands. "Neville, you don't understand what you're doing."

I stepped forward, and Neville let go of his Trevor, who fell to the floor and immediately disappeared in an unknown direction.

"Well, then try hitting me!" Neville raised his fists. "I'm waiting!"

Harry turned to Hermione.

"Do something," he said desperately. Hermione stepped forward.

"I'm sorry, Neville," she said softly. "I'm really, really sorry."

And she raised her wand.

"Petrificus Totalus!" She exclaimed, pointing her wand at Neville.

Neville's arms shot to his sides, slapping his body loudly. The legs jerked together. Neville stretched out and stood swaying. And then he fell face down.

Hermione ran over to Neville and turned him over. Neville's jaw was clenched tightly -he couldn't speak. Only his eyes moved, staring at us in horror.

"What did you do to him?" Harry whispered.

"It's body paralysis," Hermione replied sadly. "Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry."

"You forced us, Neville, we don't have time to explain everything to you," Harry added.

"You'll figure it out later, Neville," I put an end to the conversation. "Let's move him to the couch."

With difficulty, under Hermione's guidance, we laid Nev on the sofa and propped him up with pillows. A towel was placed under his head for saliva. Harry called Tilly and she stayed to look after Neville. Harry warned her that he was going to get the stone, and if he didn't return by morning, he would have to inform Professor McGonagall about it. Harry warned her that he was going to get the stone, and if he didn't return by morning, he would have to inform Professor McGonagall about it. But there's nothing to do, we have to go.

The robe covered all three of them securely. But we were nervous anyway, and in the darkness around us, we mistook every statue for Filch lurking, and any breeze, even the faintest and most distant one, for Peeves' approach. No sooner had we reached the very first staircase than Mrs. Norris appeared at the bottom of it.

"Maybe I should kick her, I've been dreaming about it for a long time," I whispered in Harry's ear, but he shook his head negatively. We carefully crept past the cat. And although Mrs. Norris was watching us intently with her lamp-like eyes, she clearly didn't see us because she didn't do anything.

We haven't seen anyone else yet. But as we approached the stairs leading to the third floor, we noticed Peeves. Humming, he was doing something with a carpet lying on the stairs. Apparently, he was preparing a surprise for schoolchildren who, having stepped on this carpet, had to stumble and fall. Part of the carpet had already been raked away and covered with an illusion.

"Who's there?" Peeves suddenly asked as we approached him. His evil black eyes became even angrier. "I know you're here, even though I can't see you. Are you a ghost or a ghost? Or maybe a schoolboy?"

Peeves rose into the air and hovered there, staring intently in our direction.

"We should get Filch," Peeves said thoughtfully. "Tell him that someone invisible is wandering around the school."

"Peeves," Harry said in a hoarse whisper. "The Blood Baron has his own reasons for being invisible." He also seemed to add magic to his voice, as it sounded truly otherworldly.

Peeves almost fell down the stairs out of fear. He was almost at the ground when he caught himself and hovered, almost touching the steps. Although my friend's whisper made my liver crawl. He sounded so sepulchral. There's something wrong with this robe.

Did the poltergeist really believe it?! Was it really some necromancer's old artifact? But the Potters are descended from the Perewells.

"I'm sorry, Your bloody Grace, Mr. Baron." He saluted obsequiously. "I was wrong, oh, I was wrong... I didn't recognize you... Of course, I couldn't see you, because you're invisible... Forgive old Peeves for his silly joke, please, sir."

"I've got things to do here, Peeves", Harry rasped in a sepulchral whisper "Don't come here tonight."

"Of course, sir, of course I will", Peeves muttered in fright, taking off into the air "I wish you success in your business, Mr. Baron, and I won't bother you anymore."

And Peeves hurriedly disappeared.

"Brilliant, Harry!" I whispered. "This robe was probably made by a necromancer from your family."

Harry looked at me in shock.

"But the Potters are artefactors." Harry didn't believe him.

"Yes, but the Rewells were necromancers, and your clan founder married the daughter of the clan head. Let's go."

A few seconds later, we were standing in front of the door leading to the forbidden corridor. The door was wide open.

"Well, then," Harry said calmly. "So Snape has already passed the Fluffy."

The sight of the open door reminded us all of what lies ahead. Harry turned first to Hermione and then to me.

"If you want to leave, I won't take offense at you," he said. "You can take the robe, I won't need it here anymore."

"Don't be a fool," I advised. "Did I just walk with you for company?"

"We're with you," Hermione confirmed.

Harry stepped inside, brushing against the door. There was a loud creaking sound, and a rumbling, thunderous roar reached us. The dog couldn't see us, but he turned his head in our direction, sniffing with all three noses. The mantle couldn't stop him from discovering us.

"What's that lying under his feet?" Hermione whispered.

"It looks like a harp," I replied. "Snape must have left it here."

"Fluffy falls asleep when he hears music, and wakes up when it stops," Harry reminded us. "Well, have we started?"

He raised the flute Hagrid had given him to his lips and blew. A friend would sometimes play simple tunes at Hagrid's hut at his prompting. Yes, and Hermione tried to play. At the first sound, all six of the Cannon's eyes began to close. Harry blew without stopping and barely had time to catch his breath, playing a simple lullaby. The growling grew fainter and gradually subsided. The dog swayed and sank onto its belly, and then fell on its side. There was no doubt that he was fast asleep.

"Keep playing!" I whispered as we took off our invisibility cloak and slowly moved towards the hatch, which was guarded by Fluffy. The hot, fetid breath escaping from the three mouths was felt more and more strongly. "I think we can open the hatch easily," I assured them, standing on tiptoe and glancing behind Flaffy. "Do you want to go first, Hermione?"

"No way!" She exclaimed, stepping back.