Succubus System At Hogwarts

Ian lagged behind, running at a much slower pace. Watching the five people sprint ahead at full speed, he couldn't help but feel helpless.

Really? Can't you lot slow down?

What's the rush? The "game" doesn't even start until tonight.!

Forget Harry, Ron, and Draco—they were predictable, but why were Hermione and Cassandra so invested too?

As he ran, Harry shouted urgently, "Voldemort already knows how to get past Fluffy! We have to find Professor McGonagall immediately, or the Philosopher's Stone will be in danger!"

"Things shouldn't be that bad," Draco tried to reassure Harry—but his pace was just as fast. "Don't forget, Dumbledore left multiple enchantments protecting the Stone. Even if Voldemort gets past Fluffy, that doesn't mean he'll actually get the Stone."

Harry considered this for a moment.

He had to admit—Dumbledore's security measures wouldn't be that easy to bypass ....right?

"But what if Snape and Voldemort are working together?" Hermione pointed out. "Don't forget—Snape was one of the professors who helped set up the protections."

"Hermione's right! We need to hurry!"

Harry couldn't argue with that logic, so he picked up the pace even more.

They had to find Professor McGonagall—fast.

Meanwhile, in her office, Professor McGonagall sat at her desk, calmly marking essays.

Suddenly, a loud, frantic knocking broke the quiet atmosphere.

"Come in," she called, her tone still composed.

The door burst open, and six panting students stumbled inside.

"Professor McGonagall!" Harry gasped.

McGonagall blinked, looking at the group of out-of-breath troublemakers standing before her.

"What on earth—? Why are you six so out of breath?" she asked, eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"Professor McGonagall!" Harry blurted out. "We need to see Professor Dumbledore—right now!"

"I'm afraid that's not possible. Professor Dumbledore is not here," Professor McGonagall said as she adjusted her glasses, her tone still composed. "He received an urgent letter from the Ministry of Magic and left for London immediately."

"He left?!"

Harry panicked the moment he heard that Dumbledore wasn't at Hogwarts.

"But this is extremely urgent!"

Professor McGonagall frowned, now eyeing them more seriously. "What has happened that has you six in such a panic?"

"It's not about us, Professor," Ian said urgently. "It's about the Philosopher's Stone."

Sure enough, the moment the Stone was mentioned, Professor McGonagall's expression turned grave.

"How do you know about this?" she asked sharply.

"That's not important right now, Professor!" Harry cut in, too anxious to answer her question. "We have reason to believe that someone is going to try and steal it—tonight!"

Professor McGonagall's lips pressed into a thin line.

"I don't know how you six found out about the Philosopher's Stone, but it is very well protected." Her expression darkened, and her voice turned stern. "This is not something students should concern themselves with. You six had better go back to your dormitories! Right now!"

"Professor! The Philosopher's Stone really is in danger! It's Snape—he's—"

Harry was cut off before he could say anything more.

"Mr. Potter!" McGonagall snapped. "Do you realize what you're saying?! A Hogwarts professor would never do such a thing!"

"But—" Harry tried again, but McGonagall raised a firm hand.

"Enough. **All of you—**now, immediately, return to your common rooms!"

Under McGonagall's unwavering insistence, the six of them had no choice but to leave the office—utterly defeated.

Once outside, Harry looked completely dejected.

"What do we do now?" he muttered. "Professor McGonagall doesn't believe us."

"That's normal," Ian replied, arms crossed.

"After all, we don't have any actual evidence."

Ian could understand why Professor McGonagall reacted that way.

Honestly, it'd be more surprising if she actually believed us outright.

"The person Hagrid met wasn't some random stranger!"

"It was Snape!"

Harry clenched his fists, his frustration evident. "A black robe is his signature look! He must have figured out how to get past Fluffy!"

Ian's mouth twitched.

Damn, I actually feel bad for Snape. He's taking the blame for everything.

"But Dumbledore isn't here," Hermione pointed out, her voice laced with concern.

Just as she finished speaking, a familiar, cold voice came from behind them.

"Good afternoon."

The six of them froze.

They slowly turned around, only to see Snape himself, standing behind them in his signature black robe, his expression as dark as a storm cloud.

"Professor Snape!" Ian immediately pulled the group into a hastily assembled greeting.

"Good afternoon, sir."

Snape's gaze flickered to Ian for a brief moment, his expression softening just slightly—before he turned his sharp eyes to Harry.

"Harry Potter," Snape drawled, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

"It's such a pleasant day outside… yet here you are, lurking around the castle."

"You'd best be careful…"

Snape paused, choosing his words carefully.

"Otherwise, people might start to think you're tempting my Slytherin students into mischief."

"We weren't—" Hermione began to protest, but Ian cut her off immediately.

"Professor Snape!" Ian said cheerfully, grabbing Hermione by the arm. "We're just about to go for a walk now!"

"Bye!"

Without waiting for a response, Ian turned on his heel and marched away, dragging the other five along without hesitation.

Nope. Not staying here. Snape is in full snake mode today.

He didn't stop until Snape was completely out of sight.

As soon as they reached a safe distance, Harry spoke with determination.

"Tonight. We're going under the trapdoor—tonight!"

Draco hesitated a little. "Uh… tonight?" He glanced at the others before narrowing his eyes at Harry.

"You're saying… tonight… the six of us are going to fight Voldemort? Or Professor Snape?"

Ron didn't indulge Draco's hesitation for a second.

"Don't forget," he said, crossing his arms, "Ian held his own against Voldemort for a long time and wasn't even at a disadvantage. Malfoy, are you scared?"

Draco's face flushed red instantly.

"Who said I was afraid?! Let's go!"

"Then it's settled!" Harry declared, sealing the decision.

...

Later that night, Ian leaned lazily against the door, arms crossed, as he watched the Gryffindor trio rush over, looking flustered.

"Why are you so late?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Draco huffed, arms crossed.

"If you three had taken any longer, the opportunity would've been gone!"

Harry let out a breath. "We ran into Neville."

Ian blinked. "Neville?"

"Yeah," Ron said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "So… we had to knock him out first."

"Wait, knock him out?" Ian frowned.

Ron pointed at Hermione with an odd expression.

"Your Hermione completely petrified Neville."

Draco's eyes widened.

"You know," Ron muttered, shaking his head, "Hermione's really smart sometimes, but she's also terrifying."

Hermione huffed, crossing her arms. "He was going to stop us! We didn't have a choice!"

"Alright, enough chatting!" Harry cut in, urgency in his voice. "If we wait any longer, the Philosopher's Stone will be gone!"

"Alohomora."

Ian casually flicked his wand, unlocking the door before pushing it open carefully.

The moment the door creaked open, they were met with the booming sound of snoring—and a soft, eerie melody filling the air.

Ian's expression darkened immediately as his gaze landed on Fluffy.

The massive three-headed dog was already unconscious, its enormous paws twitching slightly in sleep.

And next to it… an enchanted harp strummed a gentle, automatic tune.

Hermione's jaw tightened.

"Someone got here before us."

Harry's eyes hardened.

"Then we need to move—now!"

He gestured urgently for everyone to help push aside Fluffy's massive paw, uncovering the trapdoor beneath.

With all six of them working together, they slowly but surely managed to lift Fluffy's massive paw off the trapdoor.

Ian pulled it open, peering down into the darkness below—but it was pitch black, making it impossible to see what was waiting beneath.

Harry took a deep breath, his expression firm.

"I'll go down first," he said. "If there's any danger, you lot turn around and run—got it?"

Ian, of course, never missed an opportunity to stay in character.

He immediately stopped Harry.

"Excuse me?" Ian raised an eyebrow. "I'm the one who held my own against that noseless freak—not you."

Rolling up his sleeves, he added, "I'm going first, you lot follow. That's it. End of discussion."

Before anyone could protest, Ian jumped straight down—not bothering to check for danger.

As soon as he landed, he felt himself sink into something soft, damp, and… slimy.

Oh great.

Devil's Snare.

"Ian!" Several voices shouted in alarm from above.

"I'm fine!" Ian's voice echoed from the darkness. "Hurry up and jump down!"

Hearing Ian's assurance, Harry hesitated for only a second before jumping in after him.

He landed next to Ian, let out a relieved sigh, and called back up, "He's fine! Come down, quick!"

Hermione and Cassandra followed next, landing without issue.

Finally, it was Ron's turn.

But, unfortunately for him—Fluffy chose that exact moment to wake up.

The three-headed dog opened its massive eyes, blinked a few times—then immediately roared.

Ron panicked, his foot slipped, and he plummeted straight down with a scream.

"Aaaaaahhh!"

He crashed into the others in a heap, groaning in pain.

Ian sighed, dusting himself off.

"Alright, everyone good?" he called out.

A chorus of muffled groans answered from around him—but no one seemed too injured.

Only Ron's voice broke the momentary silence, sounding like it was squeezed out through clenched teeth.

"I… I said…" Ron swallowed hard, his voice trembling.

"Did… did none of you notice that these things are tightening around us?"

"I feel like—I feel like I'm suffocating!"

As soon as Ron said it, the realization hit them all at once.

The vines coiling around their bodies were slowly constricting, squeezing their breathing space tighter and tighter.

"It's Devil's Snare!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed, recognizing the vines immediately.

"Don't struggle! The more you struggle, the tighter it gets!"

"Relax! Just relax, and it'll let go!"

"RELAX?!" Ron's voice cracked, on the verge of panic.

"YOU SOUND SO RELAXED!" he half-sobbed.

"I feel like I'm about to get mummified!"

Hermione let out an exasperated sigh.

"PLEASE, JUST RELAX!" she snapped. "It's literally the easiest way out!"

"Ok, Ron, check this out." Ian was the first to stop all resistance and let his body go limp.

Sure enough, the vines began loosening—until he fell completely free.

Hermione and Cassandra followed suit, landing straight into Ian's arms.

Harry was next, though he wasn't as lucky.

Instead of a soft landing, he landed flat on his backside—hard.

Well, to be fair, his brother was preoccupied checking on the two little witches.

Priorities.

Meanwhile, Draco and Ron were still shrieking in the grip of the Devil's Snare.

The high-pitched screaming was starting to get on Ian's nerves.

With a completely deadpan expression, he pulled out his wand and pointed it at them.

"Lumos Solem."

A brilliant white light burst from the wand's tip, flooding the chamber.

The Devil's Snare instantly recoiled, retreating like a frightened rat.

Within seconds, Draco and Ron came crashing down, landing in a heap on the floor.

"Owwww!"

"Bloody hell, that HURT!"

Cassandra crossed her arms, looking down at them unimpressed.

"You two… do you even pay attention in class?"

"We literally covered Devil's Snare in Herbology." Hermione shook her head, disappointed.

Ian, not interested in their excuses, lightly kicked both of them.

"Get up. We're moving."

With that, the six of them pressed on, passing through the corridor until they reached the second challenge.

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