I ran down the stairs after the man that might be my dad, but there was no sign of him. I stopped in the middle of the archway at the bottom of the stairs, staring down an empty corridor. The tears that had started after seeing the memories were in full force now and I slumped against the wall and cried. I cried for being taken from my parents, for being lied to, for the life that should have been. 

I had apparently cried myself to sleep because I woke up freezing on the stone floor, my joints aching and my stomach rumbling. The windows showed the night sky, and a check of the time revealed it was 23:36. "Shit. I need to get to the dorm." I said to myself as I started to make my way through the castle. Half an hour later I was finally at the grand staircase. During the day it would have only taken fifteen minutes at a casual pace, but I was moving slowly so I could listen for any patrolling professors, prefects, or even worse Filch and his cat. 

I emerged at the grand staircase on the fourth floor and as I was making my way down the stairs I heard the first sign of other people. I froze for a moment, my senses on edge. They were too far away to tell who they were, but they were at the bottom of the stairs. I sat down on the steps and slipped off my shoes and hurried as sneakily as I could. 'If I can just get to the third floor unnoticed, I can take the long way around.' I thought to myself. I made it to the landing on the third floor without drawing attention to myself and proceeded on.

I passed the room that housed the mirror, another ten minutes, provided I don't run into anyone else, and I'll be in my bed. I knew I had to stay alert, complacency leads to mistakes and I was too close to get caught now. If I hadn't been so paranoid I probably wouldn't have heard anything, but I heard what sounded like metal scratching on wood. Curiosity got the better of me, and I tiptoed towards the sound. The door that the sound was coming from was different from the rest of the doors in Hogwarts. It was just a slightly lighter shade and didn't have the same amount of wear in the boards, almost like it was newer than the rest, but aged to match the rest of the castle.

"Alohomora!" I said in a loud whisper, and heard the clink of the lock open. I pulled open the door slowly and peered inside. There in the back of the room was a sleeping dog… a giant, three headed dog. It seemed to be dreaming, as one of its front paws was pawing at the air and it was letting out little huffs from two of its three mouths. Looking closer, it was chained to the back wall with a very thick chain and a large metal collar. I was about to leave, chalking 'Cerberus' up to just another weird thing at Hogwarts when the light shifted and something on the floor glistened in the moonlight. It was small and round and sunken into the floor. "Wingardium Leviosa" I whispered, flicking my wand at it. Slowly the handle rose and with it a trap door. I was now even more curious. After all, the only reason to keep a giant beast like this in doors is if it's guarding something, and whatever that something is, it's down that hatch. I was about to take a step forward when the eyes on one of its heads shot open and locked on me. The other two heads were quick to follow and the beast was on its feet and lunging at me.

"Depulso!" It was the first thing that came to mind, and I can't say it really did anything more than stagger it for a second, but that second was all I needed to take a step back and slam the door shut on one of its snouts, and a quick "Colloportus!" To keep the door closed. Breathing a sigh of relief, and taking a moment for my heart rate to return to normal, I continued on my way to the dungeons.

It was almost one in the morning when I finally snuggled in under my blanket, but I was still wide awake. The unexpected nap meant I wasn't tired, and between finding 'cerberus' and the encounter I had earlier with my dad and the memories he shared, my mind was far too busy for sleep. Maybe I can finally have a family. I know I was loved, it was obvious the way my mom was looking at me and from the tone of her voice, and I could feel the sense of love and pride my dad felt. But why was I taken away? Why was my name changed? And why can't he be with me now? My thoughts also went back to 'Cerberus'. Why would a dangerous beast be locked away in the castle? It's hardly the only dangerous thing around here, the Whomping Willow for one and all the creatures in the Black Lake, like the giant squid, but this one seems to be guarding something. Dumbledore had said at the start of the year that "certain death" awaits students on the third floor, and that is where 'Cerberus' was… and the Mirror of Erised. I decided that I had to know what was down that trap door. My curiosity is definitely getting the better of me I know, but after all those years locked in the cupboard at the Dursley's or the beatings that Vernon gave me, even if I'm caught the consequences of breaking school rules doesn't seem too bad. I'll need to do some research in the Library of course.

I still had a good amount of homework to do, and tried to get a start on it, but my mind was too focused on the events of the day. After muddling through my first reading twice, I realized I wouldn't actually get any work done and tried to get some sleep. I thought back to the song my mom sang in the memory I was given, the sound of her voice and the love and adoration in her words lulled me to sleep.

Author's note - I recently purchased Final Fantasy VII Remake, and as much as I'd like to post twice a week, the game is taking up a lot of my free time. I'm getting to the end of the game though, so that may leave me with more time for writing. As always, thank you for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you think, or any ideas you might have or things you want to see. I won't promise to include every idea, but I'll definatly consider them.