"Trapped"

"Trapped"

"So, let's review," Stephen said, pressing his forehead in exhaustion.

Around him were most of the Gryffindor students they had found along the way while asking for help.

"Lavender, Katie Bell, and Seamus came in, but Seamus and Lavender started arguing at the entrance and walked in without thinking," Fred said, helping recount the events.

"Dean Thomas and Neville were next. But Neville saw Trevor and pushed Dean inside," George added.

"And why the hell was Neville's toad here?" Stephen shouted in anger, while Neville hid behind his classmates. The others looked away to avoid becoming collateral victims.

"Well, moving on. Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Hermione saw the books, lost her mind, and pushed the two inside. The same thing happened with McLaggen and Percy. This time, the culprit was our dear Prefect Percy," Fred explained, while Hermione and Percy pretended not to hear, hiding among the books they were reading.

"And the last ones were Ginny and Luna. Luna walked in as if nothing happened and even closed the door to keep the cold out. And that's how we all ended up trapped in here," Fred finished with a smile.

"Well, obviously, the best course of action is to ask the professors for help," Percy said, standing up.

"Shut up, idiot. You were the one who let the door close."

"Screw you, Weasley."

"Moron."

"Troll-head."

Percy quickly sat back down after being insulted by everyone present. In the background, it seemed like the twins were adding fuel to the fire, but Stephen decided to ignore them.

"Alright, from what I see, we have two options. The first is to die here, locked up," Stephen said, raising one finger.

"WHAT?!"

"Boss, don't joke about that!"

"Just destroy the door!"

Obviously, that was something the group would not accept.

"And the second option is to ask McGonagall and the professors for help," Stephen said with a smile as he raised his second finger.

"Living here doesn't sound so bad."

"Maybe we have enough food. Longbottom brought his toad."

"Maybe we can last until next year when the new students arrive."

"Is cannibalism an option?"

When they realized they would have to face McGonagall for sneaking into the professors' lounge after curfew—especially since most of them were Gryffindors—they all chickened out.

"Alright, I'll go ask Professor McGonagall for help. She's probably still in her office. I'll go alone so it's faster," Stephen said, preparing to leave without taking anyone with him. Every time he went with other Gryffindors, they had to be stopped every few seconds.

After turning into his ghostly form again, Stephen hurried to McGonagall's office. When he phased through the wall, he found Flitwick and McGonagall in conversation.

When Flitwick saw Stephen, he was so shocked that he fainted. Though McGonagall stared at him seriously, she quickly realized Stephen wasn't actually dead, which made explaining things easier for him.

"Sigh. So, the missing students are all trapped, and you came out in this form to ask for help?" After waiting for Flitwick to wake up, Stephen explained everything as they made their way to the professors' lounge.

"I won't say anything about entering the professors' lounge without permission or students wandering after curfew, but if that room had been the Chamber of Secrets, WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED?!" McGonagall raged, thinking about what could have gone wrong.

"Don't worry, Professor. Everything was carefully planned," Stephen said.

"Shut up! We'll talk about that later. Let's go," McGonagall snapped as the door opened. Behind it, the students were trying to hide their ashamed faces. Some even ducked under a table.

"I can't believe all the Gryffindor students... You know what? We'll talk about this later. Let's get out of here first," McGonagall was about to give a long lecture but stopped herself, realizing this wasn't the place for it.

"These books are so ancient! They must be over a thousand years old. This is fantastic!" Flitwick quickly walked past McGonagall when he saw the massive library.

"Filius!" McGonagall yelled furiously as she watched the tiny professor step inside. Behind him, the door quickly shut again.

"..."

"Waaa, we're going to die here!"

"Sob We're doomed."

Seeing the students crying, Flitwick quickly became embarrassed while McGonagall shot him a murderous glare. He hurriedly joined the corner where Hermione and Percy were hiding behind their books.

"Everyone, calm down. No one is going to die!" McGonagall quickly reassured them before turning to Stephen. "Mr. Flamel, could you do me the favor of finding Snape and Sprout? They should be patrolling the second floor."

"Of course. Come on, Harry, help me," Stephen immediately agreed and called the surprised Harry to accompany him. Harry didn't understand why but was intrigued by the ghostly way he was addressed, so he quickly accepted.

"But before that..." Before transforming Harry into a ghost, Stephen flicked his forehead, leaving Harry confused. He didn't have time to say anything before feeling another flick and being forcibly ejected from his body.

Harry floated over, getting used to moving in this form. Everyone looked at him strangely, as he now had a band-aid with a monkey drawing on his ghostly forehead.

"What is it?" Harry asked, noticing the odd stares.

"Nothing. Good luck, Harry," George quickly said with a grin. Ignoring the strange looks, Harry followed Stephen out.

"Why me?" Harry asked, wondering why he had been chosen to accompany him to meet his arch-nemesis, Snape.

"Because it will be interesting to see Snape's face when he thinks you turned into a ghost after dying," Stephen replied with a mischievous smile as he hurried to find Snape.

However, when they found him, Stephen was disappointed that Snape showed no surprise and merely observed them calmly. It seemed that his travels in search of new assistants had been noticed by several ghosts, who had informed the professors—except McGonagall and Filius, since it hadn't been their turn to patrol the hallways.

"How boring," Stephen muttered, leaving Harry to explain to Snape while he went to find Sprout. Before Harry could plead for mercy and ask to go with Sprout instead, Stephen moved at high speed, leaving Harry alone under Snape's piercing gaze.

"Explain, Potter, and be quick about it. I don't have all day," Snape said coldly, while Harry, a bit dejected, began recounting what had happened.

Meanwhile, Stephen had already found Sprout, and they were on their way to the staff room, where they encountered Snape and Harry waiting for them. Harry was visibly relieved to see them, finally freed from being alone with Snape.

Snape merely darkened his expression at Harry's reaction, knowing now was not the time to torment his rival's son.

Stephen then explained how to open the room and repeatedly emphasized that the door must not be closed again. When the professors opened it, they found all the students inside, along with the two missing professors.

"Not a word, Sprout," McGonagall quickly said, seeing her colleague struggling to contain her laughter while glancing between her and Flitwick. She swiftly stepped out of the room and, just in case, transfigured a partition to block the door.

"Boss! Neville just got eaten by a toad!" Seamus suddenly shouted, watching as Neville's legs disappeared into the mouth of a large toad statue in the corner.

The professors immediately rushed inside, while Stephen lingered for a moment to add several security charms, anchors, and even half a desk to prevent the door from closing again.

When he reached the scene, the toad had fully swallowed Neville, leaving behind only one of his shoes.

"Is Neville dead?" Ron asked fearfully, keeping his distance from the statue.

"No one is dead, Weasley. We just need to figure out how to get him out," McGonagall said quickly, calming the students before they could panic. "Stay back, Mr. Flamel," she warned, seeing Stephen getting too close.

"Don't worry, Professor. I think I know what it is..." Stephen said, casting a revealing spell. As he analyzed the magic, he discovered that the toad was connected to a pipe leading outside the room, designed to shrink the person and transport them through the pipe.

"It seems to be a transportation method," Stephen concluded, reassuring everyone.

"So Neville was sent wherever that pipe leads?" Harry asked.

"Yes. I don't think he's too far. It must lead somewhere else inside the castle," Stephen reasoned. After all, creating a long-distance transport pipe would be impractical.

"It must be an internal transport system for the castle, similar to how Floo Networks were used before. As Stephen said, they weren't very effective and didn't cover long distances, so they were used in large buildings for internal movement," Flitwick explained. Before he could continue investigating, a voice interrupted him.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I found a student in the clock tower while walking around the castle. He told me you were here," Professor Dumbledore said, entering through the door, with Neville following behind him.

"Neville!"

"I'm so glad you're okay!"

Everyone quickly rejoiced at their friend's safety.

"I must say, this is a magnificent room you've discovered, students," Dumbledore said, glancing around with interest.

"Perhaps it could be put to good use. After all, Professor McGonagall receives many complaints about the destruction of the courtyard, especially from the professors," he added with a smile.

Hearing this, many students cheered, realizing this could become an excellent training ground.

"Of course, we must first ensure that there is nothing dangerous for the students. For now, I believe it's quite late for you all to be out of your dormitories. Don't worry, no house points will be deducted, as you were trapped before curfew," Dumbledore assured them.

Hearing this, the students immediately ran off to return to their dorms before any professor changed their mind.

Naturally, Snape was not pleased. It was clear that Dumbledore was ensuring Gryffindor didn't lose any points, giving them a free pass.

"Stephen, may I have a word with you?" Dumbledore asked as he walked toward his office, signaling Stephen to follow.

Meanwhile, Harry returned to his body and quickly ran off with the others, under Snape's threatening gaze.

In the headmaster's office, once inside, Stephen casually sat down on one of the sofas.

"So, what do you need, old man?" he asked, munching on some sweets he had grabbed.

"Forgive me for calling you so late, Stephen. It's about the magic the ghosts told me about—the one Harry was using to leave his body."

"No. You can't use it to make Horcruxes," Stephen interrupted immediately, leaving Dumbledore and the portraits of the former headmasters utterly shocked.

"I don't know why you're so surprised. You should've seen Harry. He has one on his forehead; even though he covers it with a band-aid, it still emits that ominous aura," Stephen said, staring at Dumbledore.

"Don't worry, old man. Astral magic doesn't work that way. Even if you were to cut your soul into pieces and hide them, they would still be connected; it's completely different from being torn apart with dark magic. You can't become immortal because if you're killed, you simply die," Stephen quickly explained.

"That's good, then. It puts my mind at ease," Dumbledore said with a sigh. He believed Stephen—after all, dark magic could be recognized, and the magic Stephen used didn't have that corrupt aura.

"The only way to extend your life is the way my master did. He left a portion of his soul in a timeless dimension. But that's impossible now since such a dimension no longer exists. And even so, my master was killed," Stephen said as he stood up and walked away without looking back, dropping a revelation that left all the portraits of the former headmasters speechless.

—-----------------------------

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