40 Three-Headed Doggy

That night, for some reason, Casimir had trouble falling asleep.

It was already nearly midnight yet, he was still wide awake. It was as if something was forbidding him to sleep just yet.

So, after confirming that Draco was already fast asleep, he got out of his bed, threw on a coat, and went out of their room to take a walk. For some reason, his instincts told him to bring his violin and so, he did.

His instincts were always right. No matter how weird it was.

Like a specter, he travelled along the corridors silently, exiting the dungeons within a few minutes. Without any hesitation, he stepped out.

Unlike in the day, the castle at night looked very ominous. The long corridors were dark and foreboding, as if they were the mouths of huge monsters, ready to swallow anyone who dares to venture whole.

Casimir sighed to himself. Better just satisfy his instincts so he could sleep soon.

He walked along the corridors and climbed the ever-changing stairs, arriving at a deserted hallway on the third floor, having resigned himself to his fate.

This door..?

Cautiously, he opened the door and entered.

...

"I'm not sure we should be doing this, Harry." Hermione said as they exited the Gryffindor tower through the fat lady's portrait.

"Well, Neville hasn't returned yet. Someone has to pick him up somehow." Harry replied, looking left and right to check if Filch was patrolling nearby.

"This is one of the times I wish Fred and George were with us." Ron grumbled to himself and led the way to the Hospital wing.

After a few minutes of getting lost and almost getting caught a few times by a patrolling Filch, they finally arrived to their destination and found Neville who was curled up on the floor.

"You've finally arrived! I've been waiting for hours already!" Neville exclaimed loudly.

"Shh!!!" The trio shushed Neville but, unfortunately, they were too late. Filch's footsteps were heard rushing to their direction so, in a hurry, the four of them took off in different directions to escape.

Hermione grabbed Neville's arm and ran towards the trophy room. Ron ran towards the washroom. And, Harry scrambled towards the staircase, running as fast as he could up towards the restricted third floor.

Suddenly, as he was running through the hallways, the door to his left jerked open and a hand grabbed his arm, pulling him into the room while another hand wound its way to his mouth, trapping the surprised shout that he was just about to release inside. Then, the door shut, trapping him in the room with his captor in darkness.

"Potter...?" His captor spoke in a whisper, sounding confused. "Whatever. Just stay quiet."

The two stayed still, so quiet that only their breaths were heard. Soon enough, an anxious set of footsteps passed by the door of the room they were in and disappeared.

Finally, Harry's captor released him from his tight hold and, the first thing Harry did when he regained his freedom was to take a good look at the person who seemed to have accidentally saved him from detention.

"Casimir?!"

"Fancy seeing you here on this lovely night, Potter." Casimir grinned at Harry mischievously.

"What are you doing here? And isn't this the restricted area on the third floor?" Harry asked, looking at Casimir in suspicion.

"You know, I could ask you the same thing." Casimir replied, equally as suspicious but still smiled to cover it up.

"... We were supposed to pick Neville up from the Hospital wing but-" Harry tried to explain.

"Filch caught you?" Casimir had an eyebrow raised.

"Almost! We ran in different directions to confuse him." Harry denied.

"... You have terrible luck." Casimir commented with a snicker.

"You haven't answered my question yet!" Harry said, pulling back Casimir by the sleeve just when the boy was about to exit the room.

"Well... Let's just say I was helping a puppy with sleeping problems." Casimir winked at Harry and left. Only then did Harry notice the violin Casimir was carrying.

A puppy with sleeping problems? Just what could that mean?

Outside the room, Casimir was surprised to see three people running along the hallways. Oh Harry's friends..? Looking for him, I suppose.

"Good evening, Miss Granger. Lovely night for a stroll, isn't it?" Casimir smiled at Hermione and ignored the other two people beside her, earning him scowls and an eyeroll. "If you're searching for Potter, he's in the room twenty two paces down to the left. Have a good night."

He then left, as silently as he came.

What he didn't notice though, was the look of suspicion Neville shot him.

...

"Harry? Are you in there?" Hermione whispered to the door which Casimir had pointed to them.

"Hermione?" Harry creaked the door open. "Is Filch gone?"

"I think so...?" Hermione answered, unsure.

"Bloody hell, Harry! What were you thinking, going here of all places! Don't you know that this is the exact room Dumbledore was forbidding everyone from entering?!" Ron exclaimed.

"It wasn't my idea! Casimir just pulled me in right when I was running away from Filch." Harry explained.

"Proulx did?! Why would he save you though? He's a Slytherin for Merlin's sake!" Ron was aghast.

"B-b-behind!!!" Suddenly, Neville stuttered out in horror, looking at something behind Harry.

Confused, the other three turned to look at what Neville was looking at and, similarly, their faces turned pale.

Deep inside the room laid a huge, three-headed dog. Fortunately, it seemed to be asleep but, to not take their chances in case it suddenly woke up, the four of them quickly ran out, heading back to the Gryffindor tower.