HP: Supreme Potion Collector [Original Female Protagonist]

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Just as Orli thought she had grasped a thread of thought, an oily voice interrupted her.

"Having your last supper, Potter? When are you catching the train back home? Perhaps Waters could join you?" Malfoy stood behind them, flanked by his inseparable shadows, Crabbe and Goyle.

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground with your little friends," Harry said coolly.

Malfoy sneered, "I'd take you on anytime on my own. Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

"Of course he has," Ron interjected, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?"

Malfoy sized up his two cronies and finally chose Crabbe.

"Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room."

After they left, Harry turned to Ron. "What's a wizard's duel? And what do you mean, you're my second?"

"Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually. Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage."

"And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"

"Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron suggested.

"Excuse me," Hermione's voice cut in. She couldn't hold back any longer.

"I couldn't help overhearing what you were saying, and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night. Think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."

"And it's really none of your business," Harry and Ron said almost in unison.

Orli, exasperated by their childishness, put down her pasty and pulled Hermione back.

"If you two insist on going, you'd better have an escape plan ready, brave warriors," she said sarcastically.

Harry and Ron glared at her indignantly, as if she thought they would flee without a fight. But they quickly grasped Orli's true meaning.

"Given Malfoy's character, I think it's more likely he'll just have Filch catch you red-handed in the trophy room, rather than showing up for a duel with Harry like an idiot."

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, seeming to be swayed by Orli's words. But Orli knew they would still go ahead with their original plan that night, driven by boyish pride.

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That night, even after the dormitory clock had chimed eleven times, Hermione was still pacing anxiously on the floor in her dressing gown.

"I can't believe it, I still think they're going to go! Maybe we should tell Percy, have him keep an eye on them."

Orli yawned, hugging her blanket. "Give it up, Hermione. Even if there's a one in a million chance, they'll still go. They're worried that if Malfoy shows up and they don't, they'll be called cowards."

"I can't believe they can be so childish!" Hermione punched her pillow angrily.

"No, we have to stop them! We can't let the house lose any more points, we've already lost too many recently!"

Without further ado, Hermione dragged Orli downstairs. Orli didn't even have time to resist before being pulled into the common room, where they ran into Harry and Ron, who were just about to sneak out.

"I can't believe someone could be such a busybody!" Ron said angrily.

"Come on," Harry said simply, ignoring the girls. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and crawled through the hole.

"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves?" Hermione hissed angrily, keeping her voice down. "I don't want Slytherin to win the House Cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells!"

Orli shrank her neck, feeling a bit embarrassed. She had no doubt that Hermione's "you" included her as well. After all, she had lost more points recently than Ron and Harry combined.

Hermione jumped down the passageway, pulling Orli into the corridor with her. Orli vaguely remembered this part of the original story, following Hermione blankly, hoping to pull Harry and Ron back before they walked right into Filch's trap and lost points for nothing.

But soon, she remembered what happened in the original story at this point, and wanted to hit herself on the head in frustration - on this very night, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville accidentally stumbled into the forbidden area on the third floor and discovered the three-headed dog! Orli shuddered and turned to go back to the dormitory, but when she looked back, the portrait of the Fat Lady was already empty. She had gone to visit some other painting, and now they were all locked out of Gryffindor Tower.

"Now what are we going to do?" Hermione was shaking with anger.

"That's your problem," Ron snorted, turning away. "We're going to the duel."

"Shh! Don't talk!" Harry suddenly waved at them, putting his finger to his lips. "I hear something!"

Orli, who now roughly remembered this part of the original plot, walked over with a sense of resignation and slapped a dark shape in the corner.

"Neville! Wake up!"

"Professor McGonagall! I'm sorry! Don't hit me!" Neville woke up in a panic, only then recognizing their faces.

"Thank goodness someone's found me! I couldn't remember the password."

"Keep your voice down, Neville. The password is 'Pig snout', but the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere," Orli pulled him up from the ground, then said to the trio:

"There are too many of us now, we're too big a target, we'll definitely be caught. Neville and I will find an empty classroom near the tower to wait for you."

Neville didn't seem to mind, and as for Orli, she had no desire to join Harry and the others in their nocturnal encounter with the three-headed dog.

"Hermione, you stay behind too. We don't want you with us!" Ron glared at Hermione angrily.

"Absolutely not! I'm going to keep an eye on you. If Filch catches us, I'll tell him the truth - that I was trying to stop you," Hermione insisted.

Harry checked his watch and finally chose to compromise, taking Ron and Hermione downstairs with him.

They were lucky; they didn't encounter anyone or any ghosts until they reached the trophy room on the fourth floor. Malfoy and Crabbe hadn't arrived yet. Harry held up his wand as if expecting Malfoy to suddenly burst in and duel him.

As time ticked by, Ron whispered in confusion, "He's late. Maybe he got scared and chickened out."

Just then, a voice from the next room startled all three of them. Someone was speaking, but it wasn't Malfoy.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."

It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Harry panicked, frantically waving his wand at Ron and Hermione, urging them to leave.

The three were about to tiptoe away along a gallery full of suits of armor when disaster struck. Peeves suddenly burst out of an empty classroom in front of them.

"Ooh, naughty ickle firsties wandering around at midnight. Tut, tut, tut. You'll get caught!"

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please," Harry begged.

"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."

"Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves. This was a big mistake.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door — and it was locked.

"This is it!" Hermione snarled furiously, grabbing Harry's wand. "Alohomora!"

The lock clicked and the door swung open — they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.

Soon, Filch was drawn to the scene, but ultimately left empty-handed, cursing and swearing.

"I think we're okay," Harry whispered. "Let's go, Ron." He turned to look at Ron because Ron had been tugging on his sleeve frantically.

He followed Ron's gaze and finally realized that behind them, a massive dog with three heads was drooling at them hungrily.

Thick ropes of saliva were hanging like strings from its yellowish fangs, dripping from its three huge, stinking mouths.

Harry fumbled for the doorknob with trembling hands. They backed away nervously, step by step, then slammed the door shut and ran.

Merlin's beard, they no longer cared about Filch. Now, they just wanted to get as far away from that three-headed monster as possible, running with all their might until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the eighth floor.

The Fat Lady had already returned, and Neville had gone back to the dormitory. Orli had been waiting for them behind a statue at the corner. As soon as she heard the chaotic footsteps, she quickly came out to check.

"How did it go?" Orli asked.

The three were drenched in sweat, their faces flushed red. Their nightgowns hung messily on their bodies, each of them soaking wet.

"Don't ask... Pig snout, pig snout," Harry panted, calling open the door behind the Fat Lady's portrait. They stumbled back into the common room, and Ron and Harry immediately collapsed into armchairs, their bodies going limp.

"I — told — you," Hermione panted, still trying to lecture them even though she could barely catch her breath. "Orli — said — it was Malfoy — tricking you..."

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance. They had long understood this point, but they didn't want to admit their mistake in front of Hermione and Orli.

"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" Ron said stiffly, changing the subject.

"Yeah, Orli, you were lucky not to go. There's a huge dog on the fourth-floor corridor on the right-hand side, with three heads, really big." Harry stretched out his arms to demonstrate, but found his arms far too short.

"Didn't you see what it was standing on?" Hermione recalled.

"It seemed to be standing on a trapdoor. Like it was guarding something."

Her breathing had evened out a bit, but her anger quickly returned with it. She leaned on Orli, glaring angrily at Harry and Ron, straightening herself.

"We could all have been killed — or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."

"No one forced you to come, you know," Ron rolled his eyes.

This nighttime marathon had really drained their energy. As Hermione climbed the dormitory stairs, she was practically leaning her entire weight on Orli.

Orli was a bit worried that Hermione might want to discuss the three-headed dog with her, and what it was guarding. She even started to prepare mentally, wondering whether she should play dumb or give her some hints.

But in the end, nothing happened. Hermione fell into a deep sleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

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Author's note: This chapter overlaps quite a bit with the original work, so it's written a bit longer to avoid wasting everyone's energy. Thank you for your patience.