HP: I beat the otome game at Hogwarts

Chapter 21 The Upside-Down Cat

At seven o'clock in the evening, the school auditorium was brightly lit and illuminated by candlelight. Gold cutlery was set on the long tables of the four colleges, glittering under the lights and the starlight overhead, looking extremely tempting.

The entire auditorium was decorated with magical bats, and there were also giant pumpkin lanterns, some large enough to seat three people.

Lyra and her roommates Angelina and Aria all had their makeup done and wore beautiful new robes. They sat inside a giant pumpkin lantern and posed for photos in various ways. The twins had volunteered to be the photographers, and they took Lyra's magic camera, snapping photos of the three girls while occasionally whispering and giggling to each other.

Lyra began to suspect that the two of them were up to something sabotage. Angelina and Arya, who were on the same Quidditch team as the twins and knew them well, also began to stare at them suspiciously.

“Wait, stop taking pictures now,” Leila was already regretting agreeing to the twins’ offer. “You two show me the photos you just took.”

“George, this dark-haired lady doesn’t seem to trust you very much.”

"Fred, I think you're the one she doesn't trust."

“I don’t trust either of you equally—” Seeing the two of them dodge and weave, refusing to hand over the camera, Leila’s 50% suspicion instantly rose to 100% certainty. “You two, stop right there—”

The red-haired twins nimbly weaved through the crowd, but this time Lyra had two Quidditch experts as allies. The three of them chased after them and snatched back the camera, only to discover that the twins had captured all sorts of bizarre and embarrassing moments. Immediately, a new round of chase and fight broke out among the five of them...

*

While everyone else was happily attending the school's Halloween party and enjoying the spectacular performance by the Skeleton Army, Harry and his two friends were shivering from the cold while listening to eerie music popular in the ghost world: the sound of a thousand fingernails scraping across a giant blackboard.

Harry, Harry, and his friends had already put on their thickest coats before they arrived—although Harry was very reluctant, he took the advice of that annoying Ravenclaw boy.

However, they underestimated the eeriness of hundreds of ghosts gathered together. Their breaths formed puffs of mist, as if they had stepped into a freezer.

The frigid temperature quickly depleted the calories from the chocolate the three had eaten beforehand for the anniversary party. (Yes, Harry still took the annoying but useful advice of the Ravenclaw boys.)

As expected, there was nothing suitable for the living to eat at the ghost party. Harry, Harry, and his two companions could only feel nauseous and hungry as they faced the foul-smelling rotten meat chunks and maggot-infested meat tripe and other dishes.

To make matters worse, the three of them encountered Peeves, the mischievous ghost. Peeves overheard them talking about Myrtle, the ghost who lived in the girls' restroom on the first floor, and cruelly summoned Myrtle to humiliate and bully her in front of the three of them, making Hermione, who had first mentioned crying Myrtle, feel extremely guilty.

The three of them fled from the ghosts as if escaping, hoping to catch the tail end of the school's Halloween party.

"Maybe they haven't finished eating the pudding yet," Ron, who was walking at the front, speculated, rushing eagerly towards the steps leading to the auditorium.

Suddenly, Harry heard the same terrifying sound that he had only heard on the night he was in solitary confinement.

"...I'll kill you...I'll tear you apart..."

This was the same murderous, cold voice he had heard in Lockhart's office.

"Listen!" Harry stopped abruptly, strained his ears, and listened intently. At the same time, he kept looking around, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound.

"Harry, what's wrong?"

"Shh! Don't speak yet—" Harry continued trying to catch the terrifying voice, searching up and down the dimly lit corridor.

"...I'm starving...for so long..."

“Listen!” Harry said eagerly to Ron and Hermione, but they both stared at him blankly, at a loss for words.

"...It's time to kill..."

The sound grew fainter and fainter.

This means that this terrifying thing, whose exact nature is unknown, is moving!

Harry immediately started running when he thought of this.

"This way!" He ignored the two of them and took off running, running up the stairs and getting closer and closer to the Great Hall. Ron and Hermione, who were running after Harry, could hear the laughter and merriment from the Halloween party.

But Harry didn't stop. He followed the moving sound all the way to the second floor, where his two friends caught up, panting.

"Harry, what are you doing—"

"Kill...kill...kill..." Harry didn't bother explaining to the two of them. He rushed to the third floor and eventually followed the sound to an empty corridor.

Ron and Hermione stumbled after them.

“Harry, what did you hear?” Ron gasped for breath, wiping sweat from his brow. “Hermione and I didn’t hear anything…”

"Oh my god!" Hermione suddenly gasped, pointing down the corridor.

"Look!"

On the wall in front, a cat hangs stiffly upside down, and two lines of text are written on the wall:

The secret room has been opened.

Be wary of those who oppose your heir.

"Meme, meme, meme, ah—" Ron's voice cracked with fright.

“We have to get out of here right now,” Hermione said first, her voice trembling.

“Should we try to save this cat—” Harry hesitated.

"What are you doing?" A fourth voice suddenly rang out from the other end of the corridor, startling the three of them.

When they realized that the person who came was Leila, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Leila had a wild time with the twins at the dinner party, and the three of them set off a lot of fireworks.

Unfortunately, a spark landed on Lyra, burning several holes in her new robe. One small hole was in a rather awkward spot, so Lyra took advantage of the dessert time to leave early and go back to change.

They hadn't gone far when they encountered the trio standing in the corridor as punishment.

"Lyra, quick! Get out of here right now—" Hermione said anxiously.

Lyra was completely baffled, and Hermione tried to explain, but—

It's all too late.

The buzzing of voices and footsteps told them that the Halloween dinner was over and that the teachers and students were walking towards them.

Harry watched helplessly as the bustling crowd fell silent the moment they saw the cat hanging upside down.

By this time, Lyra had also seen the poor cat and the terrible words on the wall, and she fell silent as well.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Lyra, who was standing not far from her, stood alone in the middle of the corridor.

All eyes swept over the four of them like sharp swords, but no one spoke for a moment.

Soon, someone broke the silence.

Lyra saw the platinum-haired boy, Malfoy, jump out, point at her, and say viciously, "Beware of those who oppose the Heir! You're next, Mudblood!"