Friendly Exploring

It was midnight at Hogwarts. The castle was slumbering, except for the owls who were enjoying the night. A figure moved silently in Gryffindor, taking care not to wake anyone up. He stood beside the bed of one Ron Weasley, and gently opened the curtains.

"Hey!" Ron whispered from his bed cheerfully. "Got everything?"

"Yup", replied Harry.

"Well then let's go."

They slowly and silently left their room, and went down to the common room. There, sitting on a chair beside the fire, was Hermione Granger, reading a book. She looked up and beamed. "Let's go!"

—-

It all started a few days ago. Harry, Ron and Hermione were returning to the common room after dinner. As they were walking, Ron turned around to tell them a joke. As he was walking backwards, he tripped over the leg of the statue and fell.

"Ron! Are you ok?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Guys! Look!" Harry pointed towards the wall, where a door was opening.

"wow!" Hermione said. Where there had been a blank wall, there was now an unlit hallway. There were a few empty portraits along the walls, and the hallway went on for a while before leading onto the base of what clearly looked like a spiral staircase.

"Let's explore it!" Harry said.

"Not now!" Hermione put her foot down. "It's already getting late, and I have to do my homework."

"Tomorrow?"

"We have Astronomy class tomorrow…oh yes!" she brightened. "We can come here on Saturday night! That way we can sleep till late!"

"Perfect!" Ron exclaimed!

As they were about to resume their walking, Ron slipped the turned leg of the statue back into the original position, and the hallway disappeared, leaving no trace.

"Well, we don't want anyone else finding out, do we?" he said.

—-

Harry, Hermione and Ron were under Harry's invisibility cloak as they sneaked out of the common room, and towards the statue. The castle was quiet, and the hallways were only lit by the moonlight shining through the windows.

They reached the statue without much difficulty, and turned its leg. The sound of the wall opening, which was barely audible in the day, felt disturbingly loud in the quiet of night. They flinched, fearing that they'll be caught. Luckily, no one came. They made their way inside, and Harry noticed that a portrait beside the entrance was tilted. He turned it upright, and soon the door closed behind them.

"lumos" Hermione whispered, even though she was sure that no one would hear them. Her wand lit up, and the trio got a proper glimpse of the hallway.

It wasn't too long - by Hogwarts' standards at least. The hallway looked just like any other hallway in Hogwarts - with stone walls and a tall, arching roof. There were a few portraits on the walls, but they were all empty. The hallway was also lined with doors.

"Why are the portraits empty?" Ron asked.

"They must've moved to other places. It seems like no one has come here in ages." Hermione replied.

"They too must get lonely." Harry said.

Most of the doors were just empty storage cabinets. However, one door, which looked more dignified and polished than the rest, gave way to a room.

Harry saw a hanging lamp, and lit a fireball inside it. Hermione and Ron did the same to the other lamps in the room. Soon enough, the entire room was lit.

"Oh wow…" Hermione whispered. The room was a classroom, perhaps centuries old. There were some tables and chairs, perhaps for students. There was no chalkboard though. There were shelves on the side, containing books, parchment, quills, and some other random objects. There was a tall, arching roof, and a chandelier graced the classroom.

Harry lit the chandelier as well, and now the classroom was in its full glory, like how it had been centuries prior.

Hermione quickly went to look at the books. There were books of various subjects - though they were old. She picked up what looked like a book of Charms. She opened it, and read the year in which it was written.

"1691" she whispered. She flipped the pages. It seemed to be a book of charms, written in Latin, and there were notes written in some places in old English. She picked up a few other books, and found that they were also written during a similar time period. This classroom must have been used during the late 17th/early 18th century.

"This place is 300 years old." Hermione said to Ron and Harry, who were also looking around the shelves. They both stopped, and looked at the classroom once again, this time with even greater wonder and a newfound sense of amazement. Harry sat on a chair and just thought about the age of the classroom. The chair he was sitting on probably had dozens of students sitting on it and attending classes over the years. Each student had a backstory, their own dreams and ambitions. Perhaps 300 years later, another group of students will look at the classrooms they use today and wonder the same.

After being in the classroom for a while, they decided to leave and explore the stairs. They turned off the lamps, closed the door and headed for the stairs. The stairs were circular, and after climbing a while they could see moonlight coming in from small windows in the walls. They climbed and climbed, chatting idly, not caring how much they climbed. Finally, they reached the top.

It wasn't much – the stairs gave way to a circular landing, surrounded by a circular wall. There was a door on the wall, which upon opening gave way to a circular balcony.

They went on the balcony and just stood there for a while, taking in the sights. The vast expanse around Hogwarts could be seen under the light of the full moon – the forbidden forest, which went as far as the eye can see; Hogsmeade on the other side, yellow lights; and the green grassy ground around Hogwarts. They could feel the cool breeze gently hitting their faces. It was simply magical.

Hermione and Ron began talking; Hermione saying something she read in Hogwarts: A History, and Ron telling some funny anecdotes he had heard from his brothers. They both looked so relaxed, as if there were no worries in their lives. No homework to do, no mysteries to solve. Harry simply stood and watched the conversation flow by. He wasn't much of a conversationalist, and his friends respected that. As he looked from Hermione to Ron; from the vast expanse around Hogwarts to the very place he was standing in, he felt it. He felt a feeling which he rarely felt; the feeling of peace and tranquillity. He was finally at home with his family.

-END-

AN: Thanks for reading! This is my first ever story, I hope y'all like it! If you have anything to say, please let me know in the comments. Bye!