Because You Love Me

35. The Trap Door

The lights had been out in Gryffindor tower for about half an hour before Harry, Ron, and Hermione came down the stairs from their dormitories. Harry hadn't been joking about going down the trap door. If McGonagall wouldn't listen to them, he knew his mum probably wouldn't either, and he didn't want take the chance of Voldemort getting the stone. He didn't want him to come back. Harry knew what would happen if he did.

"We have to be very quiet," Harry said. "We'll put the Invisibility Cloak on before we go out of the tower."

Ron and Hermione nodded.

"We have to be careful," Hermione added.

"And stick together," Ron chimed in.

Harry smiled. "I don't think we'll have any problem sticking together."

"Do you think it will be difficult, Harry?" Hermione asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know."

They got to the bottom of the staircase and started toward the exit. Harry suddenly stopped short. There on the arm of the chair was a small frog. He recognized it right away. So did Ron and Hermione.

"Trevor," Ron murmured. He waved his hand at it. "Go. Shew. You shouldn't be here."

All of them gasped as Neville sat up in the chair. "Neither should you." He got up and studied them carefully. "You're sneaking out again aren't you?"

"Neville, listen-" Harry began.

"No," Neville interrupted. "I won't let you. You'll get to get Gryffindor into trouble again."  He put up his fists.  "I-I'll fight you."

Hermione sighed. They were never going to get anywhere if they kept this up. She pulled out her wand. She knew enough spells she could get Neville out of the way without hurting him. "Neville, I'm really, really sorry about this." Harry and Ron stared at her curiously. She waved her wand. "Petrificus Totalus."

The mist that came from the tip of her wand covered Neville in seconds. He stiffened like he had been frozen into a statue and fell backwards onto the floor. Hermione tucked her wand calmly back into her clothes.

Ron looked frightened. "You're a little scary sometimes, Hermione, you know that? Brilliant, but scary."

Harry gulped. He had to admit that she scared him a little, too, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. "Let's go."

They walked carefully past Neville and on out the door. The trio slipped on the cloak just before going out of the portrait and started on their journey to the third floor corridor. They didn't run into anyone along the way, though the silky voice of Professor Snape echoed through the halls. He had just given a curious Ravenclaw detention for being out of bed after hours. Harry, Ron, and Hermione picked up the pace. They would all be in a heap of trouble if anyone found out they were out of bed. When they finally went through the door on the third floor, the torches lit themselves as they walked by, still under the cloak. Hermione used the same spell as before to unlock the door and they went inside. They closed the door quietly behind him.

"Wait a minute," Harry said. "He's-" the wind from the three-headed dog's nose blew the Invisibility Cloak off of them. "-snoring," he finished. "He's already been here. Whoever it is." He looked over in the corner. There was a harp sitting there playing a lovely tune all by itself. "He put a spell on the harp."

"Who's 'he'?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Harry admitted.

The snoring dog blew it's breath at them.