Who would come visiting at this hour? It was well past the time when most students had returned to their dormitories for the evening.
Morris set down his book, feeling somewhat puzzled by the unexpected interruption.
He stood from his position on the bed, walked to the door and pulled it open.
"Oh, it's you, Prefect Robert," Morris said with some surprise.
The person standing in the corridor, hand still raised from knocking, was none other than Robert Hilliard, the Ravenclaw prefect who'd helped him settle in the previous night.
"It's quite late," Morris observed, noting Robert's somewhat rumpled appearance. "Is there something you need?"
"Good evening, Morris," Robert said politely. "There are two people waiting outside the common room looking for you. A pair of red-haired twins from Gryffindor third year. They were quite insistent that I fetch you."
"Looking for me?" Morris asked in surprise. "Did they say why?"
The Weasley twins coming to find him on their own initiative, this late in the evening... Could something have gone wrong with that Acromantula?
That seemed the most probable scenario.
"I don't know the details," Robert shook his head, his expression showing slight disapproval of late-evening visits from Gryffindors.
"They wouldn't tell me. But they found me in the corridor and asked me to notify you immediately. Also, I should mention—they looked quite anxious, even agitated. Perhaps you should go see them right away. Whatever's happened, they don't seem to be here to cause trouble or play pranks."
"Alright, thank you for coming to get me, Prefect Robert," Morris responded sincerely. "I appreciate you making the trip up here."
"You're welcome," Robert smiled slightly, though the expression was tinged with concern. "But please remember to return before curfew at nine o'clock, or I'll be in trouble too."
He paused, then added with a more serious tone, "Also, I'd advise you—don't go around causing mischief like those twins tend to do. Those two lost almost half of Gryffindor's house points last year through various pranks and rule violations. I don't want Ravenclaw to acquire similar troublemakers."
It seems these twins have quite the notorious reputation throughout the school, Morris thought with amusement. Even prefects from other houses know about their feats.
That was actually somewhat impressive in its own way, to be that memorable.
Morris quickly pulled on his shoes, grabbed his wand from where it lay on the bedside table, and followed Robert out.
Morris came out from the common room and descended the spiral staircase carefully. He immediately spotted two red-haired figures at the bottom, standing out even in the low evening light.
It was indeed the Weasley twins.
The two were pacing constantly back and forth near the entrance, their expressions were unmistakably anxious, and movements restless. Their steps were almost perfectly synchronized like mirror images of each other.
Morris was about to greet them cheerfully when he realized that he still couldn't distinguish which one was George and which was Fred. The lighting wasn't helping, and their worried expressions made them look even more identical than usual.
Truly twins—even their expressions of anxiety looked exactly the same.
"Morris!" One of the Weasleys spotted him immediately and stepped forward quickly. His tone was grave, urgent. "The worst has happened!"
"Don't panic," Morris said calmly, raising one hand in a calming gesture. "First, before we discuss any troubles, tell me if you're George or Fred. Otherwise, this conversation might not go anywhere. I need to know who I'm talking to."
"I'm Fred," the twin on the right replied somewhat helplessly, gesturing to himself. "And this is George. Can you remember that?"
"Good, seems I guessed correctly," Morris nodded with satisfaction. "So? What happened that's so terrible? Did that Acromantula escape?"
Upon hearing this direct question, the Weasley twins exchanged glances.
"How did you know?" Fred asked in surprise.
"A simple guess," Morris smiled faintly. "Because you two don't look particularly reliable.."
"What!" Fred put on a hurt expression, pressing one hand to his chest as if wounded. "Is that really how you see us? We're very responsible usually!"
"Usually being the operative word," Morris said dryly.
George silently produced the wooden box that had previously contained the Acromantula, holding it out for Morris to examine. His expression was apologetic.
On the side of this box, which Morris had originally created with hasty Transfiguration magic in the Forbidden Forest, there now was a large, irregular hole.
The edges of the hole were jagged and rough, broken, as if something had violently torn and chewed its way through the wood.
"We left the box in the Charms classroom," George explained quickly, "tucked in a corner behind some equipment where we thought it would be safe and undisturbed. We planned to study it after dinner."
"But the Acromantula escaped while we were eating," Fred continued the explanation, taking over seamlessly. "We were gone maybe thirty minutes, forty at most. Although it can't secrete venom yet, it used its mandibles to tear open a hole."
"We searched everywhere nearby," George added, frustration was clear in his voice. "All around the Charms classroom, the adjacent corridors, under desks, in cupboards. But we didn't find it anywhere. It's small enough to hide easily, and there are far too many places in the castle where something that size could conceal itself."
"Is this genuinely serious?" Morris asked. "I would think such a small spider, , should be relatively harmless."
"Probably harmless, yes," Fred agreed, though his expression remained troubled. "But there are always students who can't handle spiders."
"Like our youngest brother," George revealed with a sudden mischievous grin breaking through his worry.
"Ah yes, like our dear brother Ron," Fred repeated, his own grin matching his twin's. "He once climbed onto a table and refused to come down for an hour because he saw a tiny garden spider."
Watching the two smirk at each other face-to-face with identical expressions of amusement, Morris raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Then what exactly are you worried about? As long as someone eventually sees that spider and catches it, or it finds its way outside, we can just pretend we know nothing about its origin."
As far as he was concerned, this wasn't something that necessarily required them to specifically come find him and drag him into a search party. The situation seemed manageable.
Although the spider was larger than his head, it was still just a spider in the end, not a dragon.
He knew that the vast majority of spiders were actually beneficial creatures that controlled pest populations. They ate flies, moths, various insects.
If it was beneficial rather than harmful, why worry excessively about it?
"If a professor discovers it before we do, there could be serious trouble," Fred's smile faded completely, his expression became genuinely grave.
"Privately raising or carrying unauthorized dangerous magical creatures, even juveniles, violates multiple school rules. It might even break specific laws set by the Ministry of Magic."
He paused for a moment then continued. "If this spider runs around the castle, regardless of whether it's actually dangerous to anyone, as long as any professor discovers it and realizes what species it is, they'll definitely trace its origin to figure out how an Acromantula got into Hogwarts."
"No matter how well we cover our tracks or how carefully we hide evidence," George picked up the thread of explanation, "they can always find the culprit eventually. We've learned this lesson many times before through painful experience."
Morris understood the situation better now, seeing their perspective. The twins' concern wasn't really about the spider itself, but about the consequences of discovery.
The twins meant that once the professors discovered and identified this Acromantula, they could use various magical and mundane methods to trace it back to its source.
Then there would be all sorts of trouble.
Morris sighed, accepting the inevitable. "Alright, fine. It seems we have no choice but to try to find this spider ourselves before anyone else does. You said it disappeared near the Charms classroom, correct?"
"Right, that general area," Fred confirmed, nodding. "But we already searched there once pretty thoroughly. Maybe we should expand the search radius, check the surrounding classrooms and corridors?"
"Let's go then," Morris took the lead, gesturing for them to follow. He was already moving toward the stairs. "In any case, let's go search the teaching area first, do a more specific sweep. Three sets of eyes are better than two."
Most of Hogwarts' classrooms were concentrated on the second, third, and fourth floors of the main castle building, along with some specialized rooms in various towers. The layout was somewhat haphazard, reflecting centuries of additions and modifications.
New students, especially first-years like Morris, didn't find it easy to locate these classrooms initially. They could easily get lost if they weren't paying careful attention, turned down the wrong corridor, or took stairs that decided to move at untimely moments.
The teaching area was particularly quiet and somewhat eerie at night. The usual bustle of students rushing between lessons had vanished completely. Even the portraits hanging on the walls in frames had fallen asleep—Morris could see them snoring gently. Some had wandered off to visit neighbors, leaving empty frames behind.
Fortunately, the magical lamps on the walls still maintained their steady brightness, providing adequate lighting. The flames flickered occasionally but never went out casting shadows.
The three of them didn't plan to split up, despite the efficiency advantages of covering more ground separately.
Because there was a caretaker named Argus Filch who would appear and disappear throughout the castle at this time, patrolling corridors with his lamp and his suspicious nature.
If they happened to run into him unexpectedly, at least the three of them together could look out for each other.
Though even if they were caught right now, Morris reasoned, it wouldn't actually be a big problem.
It was now eight o'clock in the evening, still an hour before the official nine o'clock curfew for students. They had legitimate time to be in the corridors, technically.
Fred observed every nook and cranny where the spider might potentially appear as they walked—behind suits of armor, under benches, in shadowy alcoves.
He chatted casually despite his worry, perhaps to ease the tension. "At this time, students have basically all returned to their common rooms for the evening. Even if someone discovered the spider now, it wouldn't cause much widespread panic."
"The real problem," George interjected, checking the gaps behind a large suit of armor as he continued, "is tomorrow morning. When breakfast time arrives, the corridors will be absolutely packed with people."
He paused. "If our little friend jumps out then and scares a first or second-year student—or worse, say it somehow ends up in the Great Hall and crawls up someone's leg, or bites a professor, or Merlin forbid, bites Snape on the arse—we'll really be done for. Expelled on the spot."
"Snape?" Morris asked with curiosity. "Who's that?"
"Our Potions professor," Fred wrinkled his nose sensitively, his face showing clear dislike. "Severus Snape, head of Slytherin House. A greasy-haired git who likes to pick fights with anyone not in his house, especially Gryffindors. You won't like him when you have his class, trust us."
"He takes points away for breathing wrong," George added darkly.
Morris silently committed the name to memory.
After checking two empty classrooms thoroughly, the three of them returned to the main corridor, their search was so far fruitless.
They'd found nothing.
"Where on earth did it go?" Fred sighed with frustration, running his hand through his red hair. "It can't have just vanished. Spiders don't Apparate."
"Maybe it found a way outside," Morris suggested. "Through a window or a crack in the wall?"
"Ahh—!"
Just then, a sharp, piercing scream came from the adjacent corridor, breaking the night's quiet atmosphere like shattering glass.
The three of them froze instantly. They exchanged quick glances.
Someone had found the spider. Or rather, the spider had found someone.
"Let's go check it out!" The twins immediately ran toward the source of the sound.