"Tom! Are you—are you okay?!"
Ariana was startled by Tom's sudden reaction. Even her normally solid-looking ghostly form turned a bit transparent.
[I'm fine. That noise was just way too loud and way too sudden—it scared the life out of me. No big deal. I'll take you to find Dumbledore first, then we'll go check out what's going on upstairs!]
Shifting out of his spiky, dragon-backed battle pose, Tom shot a vicious glare toward the source of the noise upstairs. Whoever caused that racket… if he figured out who it was, he'd make sure they understood what happens when you provoke Tom the Cat—and you're not even named Jerry!
"Okay~"
Hearing Tom's plan, Ariana gave up on her questions immediately. Compared to her brother, everything else was secondary.
But just as they were about to continue—
"Sweetheart, why'd you bring me here? Didn't Master Draco say there'd be some kids sneaking into the trophy room tonight? I swear I heard something. If we look around a little more, I'm sure we'll find those brats!"
"Meow~"
(I can chase rule-breakers any time, but I only get one shot at settling my love life!)
"Oh? So you're saying those naughty students ran over here? Perfect. I'm gonna catch every last troublemaker and teach them a lesson they'll never forget!"
"Meow…"
(Yeah, whatever… just stick to cleaning up after me, man.)
While a cat sighed and a man grumbled, an elderly, exhausted-looking caretaker with thinning hair walked down from the third floor, dragging along a scrawny, dull-furred gray cat.
"No one here? Impossible! Mrs. Lorris said they're hiding somewhere! Sweetheart, sniff around—find those brats!"
Filch squinted his pale eyes and looked around, but somehow failed to notice Tom and Ariana standing right there in the middle of the hallway.
Yes—they were literally just standing there.
In the open.
Covered by nothing but a white bedsheet.
Despite how ridiculously obvious they looked, neither Filch nor Mrs. Lorris sensed anything unusual—other than the vague "something's off" feeling Mrs. Lorris got from her nose.
Ariana's eyes widened.
"That's amazing! Tom, how did you do that?!"
"Hmm? Noise?!"
Tom's "disguise" was "perfect"… but it was still nighttime in a silent hallway. Even though Ariana's voice was heavily muffled under Tom's magical bedsheet, sound still echoed a little.
Filch locked onto the noise like Spike hearing a bone hit the floor and marched straight toward them.
"Uh!"
Realizing she messed up, Ariana slapped a hand over her mouth and stared at Tom in panic, completely clueless about what to do.
[Don't worry. Stay silent and don't move. He won't be able to see us.]
Tom wasn't worried at all. As a comedy-type character, his stealth was practically cheat-level. Even most wizards couldn't detect him unless he wanted to be found.
Sure enough, even when Filch's wrinkled old face was practically pressed against the bedsheet, he found nothing.
After circling the area several times, he scratched his head and retreated, confused.
He was sure the sound came from here—so why couldn't he find anything?
'Was I imagining things? Stupid troublemakers… If not for them, I wouldn't be suffering like this!'
[!!! Tom, that was incredible! Was that magic?]
Ariana buzzed with excitement. Her heart even felt like it was beating again.
This time, learning from her earlier mistake, she wrote everything on the whiteboard:
[Was that a Disillusionment Charm? My mom taught me one, but you cast it without a wand or incantation!]
Tom didn't notice that as she wrote, both their bodies flickered faintly before stabilizing again.
Before he could reply, a new "guest" emerged—right through the wall.
"A student out of bed, wandering the Charms corridor late at night! Filch, why aren't you catching them?!"
It was Peeves, who had chased them from upstairs. He'd planned to team up with Filch after getting punched earlier—but why was Filch all the way down on the second floor?!
"Great, those kids—hmm?!"
Unfortunately for Tom, Peeves didn't rely on normal senses. He zipped through walls and ceilings all day long. Coming from the wall at just the wrong angle, he slipped right under the bedsheet's blind spot.
He spotted them instantly.
If it were just Tom, fine. Pets weren't bound by school rules.
But Ariana? Peeves saw her as a fully alive student sneaking around with her pet.
And after those other students got away, Peeves desperately needed someone to bully.
"Hehehe! Look what I found! A sneaky little witch in her invisible cloak, out for a walk with her pet! Now let me think about how to punish you two—"
"H-huh?"
Ariana froze.
"Witch?"
Her?
The word dragged up memories she'd rather forget—being attacked by kids from a non-magical family after they discovered she could use magic.
(Oh no…)
Tom missed her emotional shift—he was too busy panicking about something far more dangerous:
He didn't mind punishments…
But he did mind the green-eyed, lovesick Mrs. Lorris sprinting toward them with predatory enthusiasm.
Filch was tolerable.
Mrs. Lorris was not.
He scanned the area.
Behind them: a wall.
In front: Peeves.
Left: Filch and Mrs. Lorris.
Right: a dead end leading to the infirmary.
He had nowhere to go…
Or did he?
'You all just wait!'
Tom grabbed the still-shaken Ariana, glared at Peeves, and charged straight into a painting on the wall.
They passed through it like a curtain of water—vanishing completely.
The bedsheet, now empty, dropped gently to the floor.
"…Where'd this sheet come from?"
"Meow?"
(Where's my husband?!)
"Humans can walk through walls now?"
Filch, Mrs. Lorris, and Peeves all stared, dumbfounded.
---