Chapter 100. Fluffy Has Been Killed
The three of them squeezed together beneath the Invisibility Cloak, edging warily along the corridor.
Along the way, Harry spelled out the details of his dream to Hermione and Ron at length.
"Now I'm starting to believe you," Hermione said. "No one remembers a dream that clearly."
At last, the three of them reached Adrian Wesson's office door.
Across the panel the familiar words still shimmered: Please knock, thank you.
Harry dutifully rapped the panel twice.
This time, however, there was still no response.
The words on the panel shifted to: No one here, please come back tomorrow.
The three exchanged a look.
"We're running out of time. Come on, let's check the fourth floor first," Harry said at once.
Meanwhile, in the Forbidden Forest—
Hagrid and Adrian Wesson were hurrying towards a particular direction.
Just now, there had been a disturbance there—judging by the sounds, likely centaurs.
"Quick! Just ahead!"
Hagrid's massive frame broke a path for Wesson, shouldering aside the shrubs with a noisy swish.
At last, they reached the site of the incident.
A tall figure stood there with his back to them.
From the chestnut-red tail, it ought to be the centaur Ronan.
From a distance, Wesson saw a mangled heap of flesh at Ronan's feet.
As they drew closer—
"A unicorn!"
Hagrid gasped and strode forward at once.
Sure enough, it was a unicorn.
Wesson looked at the unicorn's body, unable to bear the sight.
Had You-Know-Who found his chance after all…
The unicorn's body had withered in an eerie way, its silvery coat clinging to the bones,
forming ghastly folds.
"Merlin!" Hagrid's voice shook. "Its blood's been drained! Who on earth did this?"
At that moment, Ronan, who had been standing silent to the side, finally spoke, more mournful than last time. "It was like this when I arrived a few minutes ago… poor life… may the stars guide you."
Then Ronan glanced up at the sky and lowered his head again.
He began pawing uneasily at the ground, his chestnut-red tail lashing in agitation. "The track of the stars is already in chaos. We should have noticed… but it is too late…"
Hagrid ignored Ronan, crouching by the unicorn's body to look it over.
It was obvious this unicorn was utterly beyond saving, even beyond the faintest hope of rescue.
After a moment, eyes red, Hagrid stood again and said to Wesson, "I've got to inform Professor Dumbledore, Wesson. Do me a favour and look around—maybe the killer isn't far yet. No way this was done by any creature in the Forest."
Wesson nodded.
When Hagrid left, only Ronan and Wesson remained at the scene.
To be honest, being alone with Ronan made Wesson feel faintly ill at ease.
He could see the loathing in Ronan's eyes—aimed at all humans, not at him in particular.
"I'm going to look around," Wesson said to Ronan. "Do you want to come, or stay here? The killer might come back."
Ronan did not answer.
Wesson could only shrug and turn to leave.
Such coldness from a centaur was within his expectations.
Just then, Ronan's melancholy voice drifted to Wesson's ears. "That man has already left the Forest. You will not find him."
Wesson looked at Ronan in surprise. "How do you know?"
Ronan lifted his head again and spoke slowly. "The Dark wizard—you call him that, do you not?—he is close to his goal."
Wesson was even more taken aback. The centaurs knew more than he had imagined.
"Have you known for a long time that the Dark wizard would do this?" Wesson couldn't help asking.
Ronan shook his head, then continued to gaze at the heavens, his dark-red mane stirring in the night breeze.
"The stars cannot tell us everything," he said, voice low. "All is uncontrollable, unfathomable—that is fate. Go now, sir. You know what you ought to do. You, too, are one of those stars."
Wesson fell into thought at once.
In the original course of events, You-Know-Who would not make a move on the Philosopher's Stone until the end of term.
Yet from what the centaur had just said, he had acted ahead of time.
The story had veered drastically!
And Wesson could not be sure whether Harry would enter the room on the fourth floor tonight.
"Trouble…"
Wesson muttered under his breath, then strode quickly back towards the castle.
Inside the castle, Harry and the others had already reached the corridor on the fourth floor.
When they arrived at the door to that room, the lock had already been forced.
Plainly, someone had got there before them.
The three pushed the door open and slipped inside.
What they saw robbed them of breath.
Fluffy, the three-headed dog, lay on the floor, that massive body utterly still, its three heads lolling, six eyes shut tight.
"Is… is it dead?" Hermione's voice trembled; she shrank behind Harry and Ron.
Harry gripped his wand and carefully approached one of Fluffy's heads, testing a hand before its nose.
A moment later, he drew his hand back.
He felt no warm breath. "No breathing," Harry said to Hermione and Ron, his voice shaking. "It's really dead."
Ron sucked in a breath. "Merlin's beard! Who could kill a three-headed dog?"
Mustering her courage, Hermione edged closer, looked Fluffy over, and said, "There are no wounds on it.
How was it killed?"
"Never mind that," Harry went to the trapdoor. "We have to hurry, or once You-Know-Who gets the Stone, it'll be too late."
Harry took a deep breath, hooked his fingers under the edge of the trapdoor, and lifted it.
A chill draught surged up from below, carrying a stale reek.
"It's very dark down there," Harry said in a low voice. "I'll go first and have a look."
"Wait!" Hermione grabbed his sleeve. "I think we ought to inform the professors first."
"There's no time. You two go tell the professors—I'll go down now." Harry flicked his wand and cast the Levitation Charm on himself. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
His body felt a little lighter; it would cushion the landing.
Then he slid slowly through the opening.
"Wait for us!" Ron hurried to the trapdoor and peered down.
But Harry's figure had already vanished.
"What should we do?" he asked, uneasy, looking at Hermione.
Hermione sighed, helpless. "In any case, we can't abandon Harry. It's bound to be dangerous in there."
With that, Hermione copied Harry and cast the Levitation Charm on herself and Ron.
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