#4 Silver Keys make Silver Padlocks

The padlock clicked, then released itself from the cupboard door handles that otherwise had kept them firmly shut. Something rattled inside, like various objects being shifted around by something bigger. As if that something realised it was free to leave, the cupboard burst open. There was some magic to it, as it sent Gerald backwards onto the floor.

The cursed object revealed to be a biting book. This discovery was made by, first, the book sliding across the floor then turning around to chase Gerald. It opened and closed like a mouth, which then tried to "bite" any part of Gerald it could get close enough to. With any luck, he had the reflexes to get away in time.

The book was oddly fast and moved strange, almost as if it had a wheel underneath. It snarled at Gerald, ready to either attempt another bite or to flee from any grabbing hands. The book had no intention of being locked up again.

With Gerald's curiosity, and his relatively safe higher ground location atop a desk, he was able to notice more details about the cursed book. For starters, its cover gave no indication of what it was about - no title, no images - nothing. Yet it was dark, and rather old-looking. It had to have existed for at least a hundred years, if not a lot more. It was leather-bound and sturdy-looking though, despite its apparent age and unkempt care.

When it snapped its "mouth", he caught a fast glimpse of its pages. They were either old and blank, or just faded. It seemed a bit odd, but then again it could be magical. Gerald didn't have a lot of magical training yet, but he could make an educated guess that if the object was old and cursed then maybe the contents were only meant to be clear or read to those it deemed worthy?

The book didn't respond to his question at all, as if its sole goal and awareness was to bite him. If followed his voice, snarling and searching for any vulnerable part of him it could attack. Luckily, it seemed Gerald was safe where he was - it couldn't levitate, nor could it jump more than a few inches.

Of course, that didn't exactly help with the fact his task was to get it back into a cupboard...

The book followed any sound Gerald made, moving fast and eager - set on its goal to bite the boy at any cost. When it spotted the boy's hand, to lunged for it. Gerald's reflexes were either good, and it felt like a minor nip at worst, or his reflexes weren't as good at he got a bite hard enough to earn a bit of a bruise.

Then the heavy books fell on the cursed on, stopping it in its tracks. He wriggled and shifted, trying to free itself from the weight. It couldn't jump with them on it, though it wouldn't be long before it was able to shift and slide off the excess books. One toppled off already, and the book wanted to shred it apart - yet was still hindered in movement by the heavier ones still on it. For now.

The book made a groaning, squashed sort of sound when Gerald landed on it too. The weight was too much for it to wriggle free, though not from lack of trying. And as far as Gerald could tell, this was just a book that had a curse placed upon it.

From what he could tell, the only thing that was going to stop or pacify it was indeed locking it back in the cupboard. Somehow, he'd have to do that without being mauled by a cursed book intent on biting him and anything it could reach.

It was a heck of a task, getting the belt around the book without Gerald stepping off it or losing too many of the extra books keeping it in place. His fingers got nipped at least a few times, but he finally managed to have the whole cursed book bound by his belt. Once it was secured, he could step off the book.

It was agitated by being bound, yet remained so. The belt made a strange sound, as if it was being stretched tight. A few threads began to loosen at either side of the book - implying that whatever curse was on it would not allow the book to be bound for long.

Gerald had time to grab the book and carry it to the cupboard, but he'd notice a proximity reaction - the closer the book got to the cupboard, the more damage his belt took. If he threw the book into the cupboard, his belt would surely snap off onto the floor. Good for keeping the belt - not so good for holding up his pants with it. Surely an older year could repair it for him though?

It was risky. To throw the book in, he'd not only have to have perfect aim and use the right amount of thrust - but also he'd have to move super fast to shut the door or else start the whole thing over again if the book freed itself.

It all happened too fast for Gerald to really determine how it all happened, but his aim had been decent enough to get the book into the cupboard. Somehow, he'd retained his belt as well - it sat on the floor nearby while he held the door closed.

The book rattled and fought against the door, making it a struggle for Gerald to keep it shut. When the door remained shut long enough, despite the Book's fight for freedom inside, the padlock magically returned to the cupboard handles. Gerald just needed to connect it, then use Hathmore's silver key to lock it in place. The book certainly wasn't making it easy, so he'd have to be fast.

When he'd connected the padlock and managed to turn the silver key in its designated place, there was a click as everything did as they were supposed to. The padlock secured the doors shut, and a magical force seemed to calm the entire event because the book inside immediately stopped rattling for its escape.

After his entire struggle and being bitten a few times by a cursed book, suddenly the cupboard looked ordinary and not at all suspicious - if not for the large, silver padlock locking it shut. Gerald was able to retrieve the key, which he now had to return to Professor Hathmore.