What am i doing here!?(Bllk Hogwarts AU)

The three of them stood in silence, staring at the glowing map in the floating book’s pages. The air around them was thick with ancient magic, the weight of it pressing down on their skin like an unseen force.  

Isagi’s fingers twitched at his side, excitement coursing through him. The catacombs. A part of Hogwarts so old and forgotten that even the most detailed maps of the castle didn’t include it. If the Astralis Beast was really there… then they were on the verge of discovering something that no one else in centuries had.  

Reo exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "Well, we’ve officially passed the point of no return."  

Rin shot him an unimpressed look. "That happened the moment we stepped through that door."  

Isagi smirked. "Come on. We’re not just going to sit here, are we?"  

Reo grinned back. "Obviously not."  

With one last look at the hovering book, they turned and made their way out of the Forgotten Grounds. The moment they passed the threshold, the ancient door rumbled shut behind them, erasing any trace that it had ever been there.  

Isagi didn’t know if they would be able to find their way back.  

But it didn’t matter. They had a new destination. 

And it was waiting for them beneath the castle.  

---

The Hogwarts dungeons were dangerous at night. Not because of any official rule, but because the deeper sections of the castle were home to forgotten spells, lingering enchantments, and—on occasion—creatures that most students never saw.  

The three of them moved carefully, their wands gripped tightly.  

"So," Reo whispered, eyes flicking around the dimly lit corridor. "How exactly are we supposed to find an entrance to the catacombs? It’s not like we can just ask a professor."  

Rin, as usual, was two steps ahead. "If the catacombs really exist, then the entrance would be somewhere no one would look."  

Isagi frowned, thinking. "Somewhere that’s always been there but never questioned…"  

Then it clicked.  

"The old dungeon staircases," he said suddenly.  

Reo and Rin both turned to him.  

Isagi’s heartbeat quickened. "Think about it. There are dozens of staircases in the dungeons that lead to dead ends, but what if they aren’t dead ends? What if some of them used to lead *somewhere else* before Hogwarts sealed them off?"  

Rin’s expression was unreadable, but Isagi could tell he was considering it.  

Reo smirked. "You know, I hate how that actually makes sense."  

They didn’t waste time. Navigating the dungeons was tricky, but they knew what to look for now. A staircase that seemed to serve no real purpose. A hallway that ended in nothing.  

And then, after nearly an hour of searching—  

"Here," Rin said, stopping in front of an ancient staircase.  

It spiraled downward into darkness, the stone steps cracked with age. Unlike the rest of the castle’s well-maintained architecture, this place felt wrong. Like it had been left to rot for centuries.  

Isagi swallowed. "Well. This looks promising."  

Reo chuckled nervously. "Yeah. Promisingly cursed."  

Rin ignored them both. "Let’s go."  

Without hesitation, he stepped onto the staircase and started descending.  

Isagi and Reo exchanged a glance.  

Then, together, they followed him into the unknown.  

---  

The temperature dropped the further they went. What started as a cold draft turned into a sharp chill that made Isagi’s breath fog in the air.  

The walls, once smooth stone, turned rough and uneven. The torches flickered weakly, barely holding back the suffocating darkness.  

Then, finally, the stairs ended.  

They stepped into a vast underground chamber, the ceiling so high it disappeared into the shadows. The walls were lined with ancient carvings, symbols that looked similar to the ones they had seen in the Forgotten Grounds.

But what truly caught Isagi’s attention was the massive stone door at the far end of the room.  

It was covered in the same glowing runes from the book.  

Reo let out a low whistle. "Now that is definitely important."  

Isagi stepped forward, his heart pounding. "This is it. The entrance to the catacombs."  

Rin’s eyes narrowed. "Then we’re not the first ones to find it."  

He pointed to the ground.  

There—half-buried in the dust—were 

𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬.

Fresh ones.  

Someone else had been here. Recently.  

Isagi’s stomach twisted.  

They weren’t the only ones searching for the Astralis Beast.  

And whoever had arrived before them might not want to share what they found.  

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