A/N:
I'm pausing this fic due to another project I have in mind. It's gonna be in the same universe, but starts about two years before this one does, which is why I thought it'd be better to finish that one first. It won't be about Jack either and it will have a bunch of OC's considering the time its set in.
With that being said, once I get to this, I'll be making some edits. Idk why but you never see your errors until you've posted it and come back to it after a few days. I think averaged like 20 words per sentence lol.
EDIT: Never mind. I almost paused it but I got about ten people following the story so I decided to keep it running. Heavy revising for the first four chapters should be expected still. Some changes too, I realized I made Aaron's sister a fifth-year instead of seventh. To clarify things, she is a seventh-year. Other than that, I won't make any changes besides wording.
Sorry for the late update and the shorter than usual chapter.
5. Ouch, My Leg
Gryffindor's first quidditch match went well with us grabbing the win. It's a shame I wasn't able to play, being a reserved Chaser and all. For the whole game, I sat among the stands with my fingers crossed, hoping a Gryffindor would fall from the heavens.
Only joking, obviously.
But I at least was finally able to see Potter fly. I admit, he was great and he lived up to expectations. Although, I'm not sure what happened towards the end. It must have been a malfunction with his broomstick, but it did make quite the spectacle since he was able to secure the Snitch with his mouth. It was a historical catch. It made me feel better about him taking the Seeker position, knowing I likely would never do that myself.
After supper, the Gryffindors held a celebration in the tower. One that I didn't plan on attending.
The idea came to me when Aaron, who was convinced that we would win tonight, mentioned the party Gryffindor House held after each victory. Except ever since the night with Fred and George, I've been waiting to return to the room in the restricted corridor.
I had an inkling that now would be the perfect time.
Two days before the match, I got together with my friends so we can coordinate. I carefully explained to them that I will be bringing just Aaron, reason being the two of us having the same route back, but mainly because three other bodies was too much to be sneaking around with. Naturally, they refused to listen to reason and now all four of us were in front of the library.
It took a bit of brown-nosing, but I was able to exchange tutoring sessions for one night with Sir Pembleton, a small, white Shi Tzu belonging to Buckett.
Somehow, the dog was immune to Silencing Charms. So Aaron cleverly used its chew toy to transfigure a muzzle on the wretched thing. It worked for the most part.
"Why does she have a dog," he asked as we made our way up the steps.
"Shut up," I told him.
"Doesn't she hate muggles," he continued. "Why would she have a muggle's pet?"
"Shut up."
We were able to get there undetected. Now, the door was our issue.
It didn't respond to any Unlocking Spells. I see now why Fred and George resorted to breaking it. I, on the other hand, didn't want to break it because then I had to fix it. Which I suppose isn't too hard, but...
"Wait a minute," I told the three, who were persistently casting Alohomora. "Finite Incantatem..."
It didn't work. "Well, it was worth a try."
"What were you trying to do," asked Cho.
I figured that Potter had to have repaired it using magic, but apparently, Finite Incantatem did not reverse those kind of spells, which made sense.
While we stood there, brainstorming ideas, Peeves appeared out of the corner.
Aside from Filch, Peeves was the biggest git in the whole school. I didn't know the specifics about his death, but I'm sure it was by fellow student.
"Well, well, what do we have-..." His lips continued to move even after we struck him with three different Silencio's.
"Look here, Peeves," said Aaron, waving his wand threateningly. "We need to get to the other side of this door, and we're only gonna undo our spell if you help us."
"We're doing this to get back at Filch," Cho quickly added.
"Yes, to get back at Filch."
Peeves broke into a wide grin. He nodded his translucent head and proceeded to gesture wildly with his hands, trying to teach us how to get in, it seemed like.
Eventually, we gave up with the charades and undid our spells.
"Oh, Fiiiilch! Students in the Forbidden Corridor!"
The git flew off, cackling as he turned off a few lanterns along the way.
"What now," asked Cho frantically.
But Aaron was already two steps ahead, slamming himself against the door and opening it. We all followed in, stepping over Aaron and the door.
As Adrian and I stood the door up in place, Cho cast a quick Reparo, bringing us to safety. There was a short moment of relief for all of us which ended quickly when we heard a familiar drawl.
"What are the four of you doing in here?"
It was Snape. He wasn't shouting, but he was visibly furious.
"GAH!"
I watched as one of the dog's heads grabbed Snape by the leg and tossed him upwards. For a split-second, I had a familiar feeling that only occurred to me once so far and it was in this very room. I was torn between two options: either I try to save Snape or assume he was done for and forget I saw anything.
Adrian saw his Head of House in desperate need and made the decision for me. He snatched Sir Pembleton from my arms and chucked him towards the much larger canine.
The giant dog was undoubtedly about to have a greasy meal in Snape until he saw his little friend. With a bark full of joy, it left the professor to play.
"Are you alright, sir," asked Cho, running to his aid.
"The four of you will leave this instance," he demanded, his blood spilling out of the wound in his thigh.
"But sir, your leg-..."
"Out!"
Cho ran back to us as we prepared to leave.
"What about Buckett's dog," asked Aaron.
It pained me just thinking about revoking the cerberus of its only joy. On top of that, it would leave Snape defenseless.
I turn back to him. "Uhm, professor? Are you leaving as well?"
"Out," he repeated.
"Accio dog."
His words, not mine.
Once we got Sir Pembleton back, we left the corridor, eventually separating as we all returned to our respective houses. While Aaron and I navigated through the hidden tunnels of the school, I continued to shudder at the thought of how my Summoning Spell just then could have gone horribly wrong.
The next morning, we were at our usual balcony on the west side of the castle, trying to make sense of what we learned from last night's events. Adrian had the whiteboard, adding things and erasing other things as he went on with his lecture.
"We all know Snape would never mind losing a few students, so any heroic intentions from him are out of the question. Although, in regards to one of Aaron's pitches, Snape may be cold but he would never let the dog feed on any human being. As the only Slytherin here, I should not be argued with on this."
I raised my hand. "I wouldn't put it past him."
"As the only Slytherin here," he said once again. "... I should not be argued with. Now, the fact that the dog has been in the same room for two months now, it's safe to say that it is restrained and secured." He started erasing lines on the board, circling certain words and then erasing those circles along with the words. "... and another thing, Snape did not come with the intent to kill the dog. If he did, I'm sure he would have gotten past it. If the Weasley twins could do it, I'm sure any professor at Hogwarts could..." Adrian went on, ignoring Aaron's comment about Trelawney foreseeing a way through. "... which brings us back to here."
To finish his case, he circled the words, "There is a dog on the third floor."
"So, nothing," Aaron reviewed, looking for clarification. "Your point is nothing?"
"Sorry if that took a minute," Adrian said, setting the whiteboard down. "I needed to thoroughly crush the theories you idiots came up with."
Aaron: "I'd like to circle back to 'Snape wants to kill himself.' "
"Snape was was not trying to kill himself, you twat," argued Cho.
I disagreed as well. Snape was all things but an idiot. If he wanted to kill himself, he wouldn't have been limping through the halls just earlier. He'd be underground. I'm sure he would poison himself if he was truly miserable.
"Maybe we should ask him what the deal is with that room," I thought out loud.
The three of them looked at me with blank stares.
Aaron: "Sure. Tell us how that works for you, yeah?"
"Look at it this way," I reasoned. "If there's a giant man-eating dog, there's clearly something else."
"Yes," said Adrian. "A vine-monster, you confirmed that."
"Well, it's not guarding a bloody plant," I replied.
Cho: "Well, yes, it's clearly guarding something. But still, Jack. What makes you think that he'd tell you anything?"
I, Jack Black: "Well, I'm much more competent than other students for starts."
Aaron scoffed. "That's why it never slipped my mind that you used to be a Slytherin. Because you say things like that."
"That's a Gryffindor trait," argued Adrian.
Cho: "Ravenclaw..."
"Mate, you're not getting a puff out of Snape," Aaron continued. "If anything, trying to push it with him will only make it harder for us to find out. They could be transporting whatever that thing is right now as we speak."
"It'd be fairly difficult transporting a giant dog with three heads," said Adrian.
Our brief discussion led to nothing with Adrian's pitch taking the cup. But on a more serious note, Snape's involvement in this led me to wonder.
Clearly, the giant dog was there to prevent students from going down the hatch and into the room where the monstrous plant was, which clearly serves as yet another obstacle to students. But seeing that Snape himself had suffered a wound doing whatever he was doing, then I'm sure it's not just students Dumbledore was worried about.
Whatever was down there was clearly of value. The more sensible part of me urged me to stay away from it and keep my head down. It was the same voice that told me I'd get expelled. And after considering every aspect, I decided that I'll be going for it.