Disclaimer: One Piece and Harry Potter does not belong to me, each belongs to their respective author. Only Mecha is mine.
Challenge by TheBlackSeaReaper.
Beta: TheBlackSeaReaper
-.-The Midnight Duel
Ace knew what hatred was. Ace hated his father and because of his father the world hated him, although he had some guilt in that, he could not deny it. He never thought that in this world could be someone who hated him as much as Akainu, until he met Draco Malfoy.
Ace really did not know what had happened, one day everything was happiness, talking animatedly on the train, laughing in the boats and the next day: cold stares, along with mocking comments.
Ron told Ace not to worry, it was normal that they did not talk, after all he was a Slytherin and they were Gryffindor.
Slytherin and Gryffindor.
To Ace it seemed ridiculous that whole house rivalry, and did not care if they wore red, yellow, blue or green. While the others, that affected them enough, especially when it appeared on the bulletin board that flight classes would be starting, and Gryffindor and Slytherin would take the class together.
"Great, all I ever wanted, flying lessons with Slytherin" Ron muttered discouraged.
"Come on! Who bad can it be?"
Beside him, Neville let out a dejected sigh: "Surely my broom will stay on the ground"
"If you keep thinking that way it will be like that"
But Neville wasn't the only nervous; Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was. This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book - not that she hadn't tried. At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called Quidditch Through the Ages. Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate foranything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, meanwhile Ace simply let himself fell in a deep sleep over the cereal.
At three-thirty that afternoon, all the Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first (and only) flying lesson.
The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground.
Fred and George Weasley had complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the they had said that an evening in the common room full of first year.
Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and, to the amusement of Ace, yellow eyes like a hawk. "The lost sister of Mihawk..."
"Who?" asked Ron.
"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."
Ace glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.
"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!"'
"UP" everyone shouted.
Ace glanced at his broom again, and with his hand raised, he said: "up".
Ace's broom jumped into his hand at once, taking him by surprise, but it was one of the few that did. Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all.
Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips.
In his opinion, use to the boats even when they were small, this was incredible uncomfortable. Especially in some parts…
"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle - three - two -"
But Neville, nervous and scare of being left behind pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.
"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up in the sky like Luffy all those years ago with the balloons - twelve feet - twenty feet. Ace saw Neville`s scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and - WHAM - a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay face down on the grass in a heap. His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.
Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his.
"Broken wrist," All heard her mutter. "Come on, boy - it's all right, up you get."
She turned to the rest of the class.
"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear."
Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.
No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter.
"Did you see his face, the great lump?"
The other Slytherins joined in.
"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.
"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Parvati."
"Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."
The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.
"That's enough, Malfoy" said Ace quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch.
Ace understand well what it was a joke, what was disturbing other in a non-offensive, he himself had done hundreds of times, and she had touched him too, but this was not the case, something in the voice of Draco and the laughter of the far left Slytherin good camaraderie.
Malfoy smiled nastily.
"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find - how about - up a tree?"
Ace glare at him, as Malfoy leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he could fly well. Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter! Unless you are scared"
That were the magic word, Ace grabbed his broom.
"No!" shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move - you'll get us all into trouble."
Ace ignored her. Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up...
Aceh ad never been a person of flying, that was Marco's thing, but the times that he had experience flying, with the help of the Mera-mera fruit, that sensation of being in the air, above everyone, even if it was a minute, and see the sea, shining under the sun, with his captivated color, from above, was something wonderful.
Now, being suspended in the air, with his own strange, even if it was a broom stick and knowing that you could stay there as long as you want, with the sun over your head, the wind caring his face, and the sensation of traveling an element of the nature, the captivating sense of mastering it and still be at its mercy, that any change in that element, your skills can be the difference between life and death… Despite how uncomfortable the broom stick was, Ace could get use to it.
He turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair. Malfoy looked stunned.
"Close your mouth or you will catch a fly" Malfoy did so, just to throw him a look of hatred "Now, Name your rules, for us to break"
He was a pirate after all.
"Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground.
The sphere flew, flew and flew but Ace saw it clearly as it rise up in the air and then start to fall.
Holding his broom he leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down. Faster and faster in an almost free fall where the wind push his hair backwards and everything around him faded, but all that did not matter, he needed to catch Neville's sphere. Wind whistled in his ears, mingled with the screams of people watching - he stretched out his hand - a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight. With the Remembrall securely in his hand he stays in the air, admiring the fragile object.
"PORTGAS! I mean... oh whatever"
Ace just directed his eyes to where the voice of Professor McGonagall came from, who was running toward them. He got to his feet, waiting.
"Never - in all my time at Hogwarts-" Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed Ace not sure if furiously, "- how dare you - might have broken your neck -"
Ace open his mouth.
"It wasn't his fault, Professor -"
"Be quiet, Miss Patil"
"But Malfoy -"
"That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Portgas, I mean... Potter, follow me, now."
Was he going to be… what was the word… expelled? He was not nervous but he felt the immense desire to get out of this situation.
"So..." Ace began.
"Don't even try it"
"Try what?"
"Try to make a conversation, so I can forget that I am angry"
"I was not going to do that"
Lie. That was exactly his plan. Now what? At least he wanted to know what was going to happened to him. It wasn`t that he wanted to stay in school, but he wanted to learn, at least he wanted to know how to do spells. Potions: piece of cake, but spells: Charms and transfiguration, he still didn't know what he was doing wrong, and they were not going to practice spells until some months, at least that what professor Mc...
"Can I call you Minnie?" Asked the boy
"WHAT?" This wasn't expected. The teacher stopped abruptly and turned to see the boy: No, it was not a joke, he was serious.
"Minnie" repeated the young pirate.
"Why would you want to call me that?" she said while she turned. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him.
"It's just a name Professor McGonagall is quite complicated" he said it as if it were something so casual.
"That will not be possible, Mr. Potter," said Professor while she open a door into a corridor.
"The name is Portgas, you were doing it so well"
"Maybe I made a mistake twice but It will not happen a third time."
"Well, but back to the topic: Can I call you Minnie?"
"No"
"Minerva, then"
"I am a professor"
"Ok, Professor Minnie"
"Mr. Portgas, please"
"See! Third time in a day, we are progressing a great time"
"Don`t make me regret my decision"
"What decision?"
Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.
"Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"
Wood? What the hell was...? Oh he is Wood. Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwicles class looking confused.
"Follow me, you two," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Ace.
"In here."
Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.
"Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys.
"Potter"
"Portgas" corrected the pirate.
She ignores him.
"This is Oliver Wood. Wood - I've found you a Seeker."
Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight.
"Are you serious, Professor?"
"Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?"
"Portgas, and yes"
He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled.
"He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."
Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once.
"Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked excitedly.
"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained.
"He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light - speedy - we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor - a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."
I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks..."
"Sorry for destroy all your excitement". This caught the attention of the two, who set their sights on the young pirate. "Bu I'm not interested"
And Wood fainted like any fair maiden would be proud of.
-.-
"A Seeker" Neville said with emotion.
"Are you nuts!" Ron exclaimed in a mixture of surprise and anger.
Ace had told them what happened, mostly to reassure Neville that everything was fine, who happened to hear what happened, so he had endured the pain and insisted that has was okay to be released from Hospilar Wing.
Both were clearly excited, although one, Ron, sounded rather irritated.
"You could be the youngest house player..."
"…in about a Century" Ace said starting to fell irritated too "I know, Wood told me."
Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Ace, and hurried over.
"Ace!" said George in a low voice. "Wood told us."
"In tears" added Fred
"And a storm cloud above him" suggested Ace.
"Now that you say it, yes..." said Fred
"From there came that gloomy atmosphere" answer his twin
"But we wanted to confirm that the information is true"
"And that Wood are not playing a joke on us"
"Although Wood never joke about Quidditch" Fred said placing his hand on his chin simulating concentration.
"But there's always a first time"
"Then he would be a great actor"
"Anyway" continued George looking at Ace
"Ace..."
Both twins bent and murmured as low as possible.
"... You refused to join the team?"
"That's right" Ace said between bites.
"Madness" muttered Ron
Fred and George had an expression of utter surprise.
"But ..." And Ron started talking about the game, describing plays, the teams and players, to a point where Ace stopped listening.
He was not getting anything; it was as if they had suddenly started speaking in different languages and as always, the food was more interesting. "See, that's why you have to enter..."
"Forget it, Ron" said Fred
"He is not listening" answer his twin
And indeed Ace had fallen asleep sitting at the table with his head slightly bowed.
"He slept all night." exclaimed the younger of the Red haired "How can he sleep so much?"
"Allow me, little brother" said Fred
"If we know Ace" continued George.
"And I think we already do"
"He will be easy to wake"
Fred then took seat next to Ace, opposite to Neville while George sat between Ron and Ace.
"Ace" Fred said as calmly as he could. "Your food looks good, I can eat it?"
"NO! Don't touch my food!"
Several Gryffindors and some Hufflepuff of the next table turned their gaze to the sudden scream let out by the young pirate as he lunged to protect his food.
Hermione Granger just roll her eyes in disapproval.
"That's the way" said Fred to Ron.
"Now, back to the topic" said George
"I know what the problem is, brother of my" and Fred put his arm around Ace shoulder" Ace, have you ever seen a game of Quidditch?"
"Now that you mention it, no."
"What?" exclaimed Ron in surprise as Neville watched the scene.
"Aja" cried the twins.
"It's the best ..."
"Hold that phrase there Ron," interrupt George "we will need it later"
"Ace that's your problem: You've never seen a game," said Fred
"The emotion"
"The adrenaline"
"The speed"
"It is simply:"
"Now, Ron." murmured George.
"The best sport in the world" exclaimed the boy.
Ace could only watch and see that gleam in the eyes of the three, a gleam he had seen in the eyes of so many people before in the Gran Line.
"Just watch a game," said George, "and if you still say no, we will understand and will not insist more"
Although the look on Ron's eyes said that he doubted Ace would say no.
"Fine"
"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?" Someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.
"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Ron coolly. There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.
"I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, Potter, if you want. Wizard's duel."
Duel, in Ace definition equal to fight "Are you sure about that?"
"It is you who I should ask that. Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"
"Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?"
Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.
"Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."
When Malfoy had gone, Ron locked at Ace, he didnt looked happy.
"Why the hell and seven seas you said that?"
"Oh, come on, we cannot let Malfoy get away with this."
"YOU cannot let him get away with his." Growled Ace "By the way, What is a wizard's duel?" said Ace. "And what do you mean, you're my second?"
"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie. Catching the look on Neville's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards." Said to Ace "The most you and Malfoy will be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."
"Boring" the new phrase of Ace since he woke up in this world "Wait, if I shot Malfoy a fireball, that's valid, right?"
"If it's magic, technically it is valid"
"Agh, but Draco is not very strong, he will not represent a great challenge in a battle"
"Excuse me."
They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger.
"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron.
Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry.
"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying -"
"Bet you could," Ron muttered.
"-and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."
"And it's really none of your business," said Ron.
The excitement of taking a stroll around the castle was huge, mostly because would go many, but that was a problem. For what he talked with the twins, they were already experts in the art of navigating the castle at night, and mischief. But Ron and Neville did not know of this delicate and beautiful art.
Ron was the first to sign up to go, and nothing else, but when the twins in a subtle tone said: "Little brother, you have to learn the gentle art of hanging around the castles. This is an excellent opportunity to educate you" Ace could not help but want to see the master prankster of Hogwarts in action. And Neville, sweet little Neville, not wanting to be left behind decided to go, besides, Ace insisted and convinced him to go. The boy had to learn trust and auto confidence, and this would be a good start.
All afternoon Neville and Ace, heard stories of the twins' excursions through the castle, although Ron intent to spent all evening giving him advice: such as "If I tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them."
Really, not helpful at all.
"Half-past eleven," Ron muttered at last, "we'd better go."
They pulled on their bathrobes (except Ace who used to sleep in shorts and a t-shirt), picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows.
Fred and George came down right behind them, dress in jeans and sweeter.
They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this, Ace."
A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown.
"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"
"I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy - he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this."
"Percy the Perfect" murmured Fred and George, antes they laugh.
"Come on," said Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole.
Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose.
"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."
"Do not you think this rivalry is ... ridiculous" Ace muttered and Hermione could not help but quickly turn to him with an expression of surprise on her face.
Meanwhile, Ron didn't paid attention and said, "Go away." to Hermione.
Hermione then directed her gaze to Ron with an expression of anger "All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so -"
But what they were, they did not find out, even if Ace could have an idea. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower.
"Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.
"That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we are going to be late."
They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them.
"I'm coming with you," she said.
"You are not."
"Do you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was tryingto stop you, and you can back me up."
"You've got some nerve -" said Ron loudly.
"Ok, come with us, but follow us the pace" said Ace.
"I do not think that's a good idea, we are too" George insisted.
"Come on, the more the merry" continued Ace "Any way, what is the worst that could happen?"
None wanted to say out loud, what was the worst that could happen, better to pretend that there were not something worse that could happen.
"If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you."
Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies, but Ace walked down the halls and had to catch him.
They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. They sped up a staircase to the third floorand tiptoed toward the trophy room.
Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet. The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room.
Meanwhile Ace dedicated his time to admire the objects that filled the room.
"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.
Then a noise in the next room made them jump. They heard someone speak -and it wasn't Malfoy.
"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."
It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror-struck, Ace waved madly at the other five to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.
"They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."
"This way!" Ace mouthed to the others and they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run -he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor.
The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.
"Portgas D. Ace, Run!" Exclaimed an armor that jumped behind the children. It was Ser Jozan.
the six of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following - they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Ace in the lead, being the faster runner, without any idea where they were or where they were going - they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.
"I think we've lost him," Fred panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.
I - told -you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I - told - you."
"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."
"Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Ron, "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you - Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."
"Let's go."
It wasn't going to be that simple, for the joy of Ace. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them.
It was Peeves. He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.
"Shut up, Peeves - please - you'll get us thrown out."
Peeves cackled.
"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties and Weasley? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."
"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."
"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."
"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves this was a big mistake.
"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BEDDOWN THECHARMS CORRIDOR"
Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door - and it was locked.
"This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!" They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts.
"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled. She grabbed Ace's wand from his pocket, tapped the lock, and whispered, 'Alohomora!"
The lock clicked and the door swung open - they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.
"Stupid armors, fighting in the gallery. Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me."
But Ace was not listening more; a figure and a presence, big and strong caught his attention. It was a dog, a big dog with three heads; each head staring at the intruders in complete surprise, the dog filled the space between the floor and ceiling.
"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!"
"He thinks this door is locked," George whispered. "I think we'll be okay- get off, Neville!" For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of George's sweeter for the last minute. "What?"
Everybody turned around - and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, they were sure he'd walked into a nightmare - this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far.
They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.
The dog was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and all of them knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.
"Sugoi!" exclaim Ace
Fred and George groped for the doorknob - between Filch and death, they'd take Filch. They pushed Ron, Hermione and Neville out - Fred grabbed Ace by the arm as the boy seemed mesmerized and started to move to the dog. They slammed the door shut, And they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they did see him anywhere, but they hardly cared - All they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. Fred almost carrying Ace, they didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.
"Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces.
"Never mind that - pig snout, pig snout," panted George, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs.
It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again.
"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."
Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on.
"The floor?" Fred suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."
"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."
"Ace are you alright" Neville muttered seeing Ace who stood staring at the portrait hole.
"Right! I have decided, I will tame that dog."
Hermione hit herself in the forehead, possibly to avoid a migraine. She stood up, glaring at them.
"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed -or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."
And Ace thought ... "And people say I am crazy."
-.-
Yes, I'm back! The good news are that I pass my exam so the break was useful and well spent.
And now, back to work!