54: Chapter 54 Infiltration on a Snowy Night

On Christmas Eve, the corridor outside the Dungeon was filled only with the sound of water and the wind.

Draco sat by the fireplace, holding a book he had barely flipped through.

"Are you really going to sleep this early tonight?"

Allen draped his robe over the back of the chair.

"If I don't sleep during the holidays, should I spend the time reciting family trees with you instead?"

Draco looked up at him.

"Cut it out. You haven't been acting normal since dinner."

Crabbe asked, clutching his plate.

"What's not normal?"

Goyle glanced at Allen's bed curtains.

"He didn't fall asleep after dinner."

Draco pointed at Goyle.

"Look, even he noticed."

Allen placed the book by his pillow.

"Then you can write a letter to Lucius tonight and tell him that a major incident has occurred at Hogwarts: Allen Potter remained awake after dinner."

Draco closed the book.

"Don't joke about my father."

"Then don't ask."

Draco stared at him.

"Are you going out?"

Crabbe's fork froze in mid-air.

"Now?"

Goyle looked towards the door.

"It's snowing outside."

Allen pulled the corner of his bed curtains shut.

"Have I gone out?"

Draco sneered.

"The way you said that implies you will."

Allen sat on the edge of the bed and took off his shoes.

"If anyone asks, what will you say?"

Crabbe said immediately.

"That you're sleeping."

Goyle added.

"Sleeping so soundly you can't be woken up."

Draco looked at the two of them.

"You two are certainly quick to answer."

Allen tucked his wand into his sleeve.

"Training pays off."

Draco walked to the bed and looked at him through the curtains.

"Potter, what exactly are you planning to do?"

Allen lifted the quilt.

"Sleeping."

Draco gritted his teeth.

"I'm warning you, Filch is patrolling the Castle tonight, and he hates students who stay during the holidays."

"I know."

"Madam Norris is out, too."

"I know."

"The Fat Lady had some wine for Christmas; I heard she's even more difficult than usual."

Allen looked up.

"You know quite a lot about the Gryffindor entrance."

Draco's expression darkened.

"I'm just reminding you not to bring trouble back to the Dungeon."

"You can keep reminding me."

Draco let the bed curtains fall.

"If Professor Snape asks, I'll say you haven't left the dormitory since dinner."

Allen's voice came from behind the curtains.

"Don't rush to say it this time."

"Why?"

"The more you say, the more loopholes you create."

Draco stood where he was.

"Then I'll shut up."

"That will be enough."

Crabbe asked in a low voice.

"Should we shut up, too?"

Draco turned his head.

"You two shut up from now on."

Goyle set his plate aside.

"Can I still finish the pie?"

"Finish it and then shut up."

The dormitory fell silent.

The fire in the fireplace dimmed, and the snow outside beat against the stone cracks.

Allen lay in bed, waiting for Draco's footsteps to return to his bed, and for the sounds of Crabbe and Goyle tossing and turning to fade away.

Inside the Portable Space, Void lifted its head beside the glass box, its tail tip touching the parchment marked "Christmas."

Allen spoke with his mind.

"Is the fake still alive?"

Void tapped the glass with its tail tip.

The grey rat huddled in the corner, its right front paw missing a section, and the tear by its ear covered in old grime.

"Don't scare it to death."

Void flicked its tongue.

"Tonight, we only swap, we don't interrogate."

The snake's tail rested on the words "Peter Pettigrew."

Allen closed his eyes for a moment.

"I know you want to bite him."

The snake's tail slapped against the stone surface.

"Be patient for now."

After a moment, the bedding inside the curtains sank and then returned to its original shape.

Allen's figure did not appear on the dormitory floor; only the sound of steady breathing remained by the bed.

Void swam to the edge of the space, its silver slit pupils aimed towards the top of the Castle.

Allen's feet landed in a dark corner at the end of the Slytherin passage.

The torches on the walls had burned low, casting a damp, cold light on the floor.

He steadied himself against the stone wall and listened to the movements outside.

The sound of chains echoed from far down the corridor.

Filch's voice was filled with irritation.

"Even on Christmas, there's no rest. If Peeves touches my armor again, I'm going to see the Principal."

Madam Norris's claws clicked across the stone tiles.

Allen did not move.

Inside the Portable Space, Void's tail tip tilted half an inch to the left.

"To the left?"

The snake's tail nodded.

Allen hugged the wall and slipped into the shadows, his blackthorn wand sliding into his palm.

Filch came around the corner with his lantern, the light sweeping over the armor and the open space.

Madam Norris stopped by a stone pillar and sniffed.

Filch bent down.

"What is it, my sweet? Is someone hiding?"

The cat walked toward the corner.

Allen raised his hand, and a knut slid out from the edge of the Portable Space, landing inside the boot of a suit of armor in the distance.

The armor rattled.

Filch spun around immediately.

"Who's there?"

Madam Norris ran after him.

Allen crossed the corridor from the other side.

Void's tail tip tapped the wall of the space twice.

"The stairs are moving?"

The snake's tail pressed to the right.

Allen stopped at the corner and saw the staircase shifting from the Third Floor to the fourth.

He didn't follow; he reached out to press against the wall, his fingertips sinking into the cold light within the stone cracks.

"Go through the wall."

Void coiled its body.

Allen's shoulder pressed against the stone wall, and his body was swallowed by a layer of grey shadows.

The stone wall blocked the outside world and muted his footsteps.

He passed through the narrow interstice within the wall, avoiding the edges of several old spells, and landed in another deserted corridor.

Someone in a portrait turned over.

"Who's out there?"

Allen paused.

The fat Wizard in another portrait rubbed his eyes.

"Probably the wind. It's noisy as hell today."

"The wind doesn't walk through the Castle."

"Then you go out and look."

"I'm not going; it's cold out there."

Allen passed under the portraits, the tip of his wand unlit.

Void pointed upwards.

"The tower."

The snake's tail nodded.

He moved up the stairs, avoiding the moonlight spilling onto the floor.

Laughter from Peeves echoed in the distance.

"Filch, Filch, your socks have holes in them!"

Filch cursed below.

"Get down here!"

Peeves laughed loudly and passed through the ceiling.

Allen stood in the shadows, waiting for the commotion to fade.

Inside the Portable Space, the fake rat clawed at the wall of the glass box.

Void looked back at it.

Allen whispered.

"Behave yourself; I'll need you soon."

The fake rat retreated beside the treacle tart.

At the corner of the fourth floor, a Christmas wreath hung on the banister.

Allen skirted around a string of singing mistletoe and stopped outside the corridor leading to Gryffindor Tower.

The Fat Lady's portrait was at the end, with wine glasses next to the frame.

She was humming a tune.

"Who's there?"

Allen didn't answer.

The Fat Lady narrowed her eyes.

"Password."

The corridor was empty.

She raised her glass.

"I heard footsteps; don't pretend."

Allen stood in the shadow of the wall where she couldn't see him, his fingers touching the edge of the Portable Space.

Void swam to the front of the space wall, its tail tip pointing to the outer wall to the right of the portrait.

"We don't need to use the door for the entrance."

The snake's tail nodded.

The Fat Lady was still muttering.

"Children always think I'm easy to fool; they can't even behave on Christmas."

Outside the wall, the wind and snow beat against the tower, and there were lines left by ancient magic in the stone cracks.

Allen retreated along the corridor to the window, pushed the narrow window open an inch, and the cold wind poured in.

The Fat Lady shouted.

"Who opened the window? Close it, it's freezing!"

Allen climbed out from the window ledge, his feet finding solid footing.

A thin layer of space supported him as he slid up along the outer wall of the tower.

The wind blew his robes to one side.

He asked in a low voice.

"Where is the seam?"

Inside the Portable Space, Void's tail tip traced the stone surface beside the ebony box, pointing to the middle section of the tower.

"Up another half-level?"

The snake's tail nodded.

Allen moved along the outer wall; snow fell on his shoulders, only to be quickly pushed away by the Spatial Displacement.

The stones on the outside of the tower were ancient, and the protective magic extended inward from the doorway, leaving a narrow gap at the junction of the outer wall and the window sill.

Void pressed against the boundary, its silver slit pupils fixed on that seam.

Allen pressed his palm against it.

"I can get in."

The snake's tail tapped on the stone surface.

"Don't touch the warning line, I know."

He held the blackthorn wand horizontally in his palm; the Thestral tail hair inside the wand warmed slightly.

The space spread out from his fingertips, and the thickness of the stone wall was dismantled into layers of lines that could be bypassed.

Allen's body faded, the edges of his robes sinking into the stone first.

From within the wall came the sound of the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room and murmurs in sleep.

A boy turned over on the sofa.

"Fred, don't take my chicken leg."

Another voice came from upstairs.

"That's George."

The Common Room was half empty, with colored paper piled beside the Christmas tree.

Allen did not drop inside.

He hugged the interstice within the wall, bypassing the fireplace and the banister, and moved directly upward toward the boys' dormitory.

Void's tail tip suddenly stopped.

"The stairs?"

The snake's tail tapped.

Allen saw low-level warning magic wrapped around the spiral staircase, designed to prevent students from wandering at night.

He watched for a moment.

"Something for first-years."

Void flicked its tongue.

Allen didn't step on the stairs; with a wave of his finger, his form bypassed the wooden supports within the wall, avoiding every single step.

Ron's sleep-talking came from behind the door.

"Scabbers, don't eat that."

Harry's voice was softer.

"Don't go, Hagrid will be angry."

Neville's snoring came from another bed.

Allen stopped outside the door.

"Here."

Void swam to the glass box and tapped the fake rat with its tail tip.

The fake rat shivered.

Allen whispered.

"Don't go to the wrong bed later."

The lock on the door panel did not turn.

A seam of space opened half an inch from the edge of the door, and Allen passed through it, dropping into the Gryffindor first-year boys' dormitory.

The room was filled only with the dim red light of the fireplace, with several four-poster beds arranged around the walls.

Old sweaters and gift packages were piled by Ron's bed, and there were nibbled biscuits on the bedside table.

Harry's glasses were placed by his pillow, and Hedwig was not in the room.

Allen stopped at the door, not touching anything.

Inside the Portable Space, Void's tail tip pointed to the side of Ron's pillow.

"There?"

The snake's tail nodded.

A ball of grey fur moved within the gap of the bed curtains.

Scabbers was lying beside Ron's pillow, its fat body rising and falling with its breath, its right front paw tucked under its belly.

Allen looked at it.

"Found you."