#8 The unknown

The padlock clicked, then released itself from the door handles that otherwise 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 Hanna backwards onto the floor.

The cursed object revealed to be a biting book. This discovery was made by the book sliding across the floor, then it turning around to chase Hanna. It opened and closed like a mouth, which tried to "bite" any part of her it could get close enough to. With any luck, she 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 Hanna, ready to either attempt another bite or to flee from any grabbing hands. The book had no intention of being locked up again.

With Hanna's relatively safe higher ground atop a desk, she was able to observe details about the cursed book. 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 more. It was leather-bound and sturdy-looking, despite its apparent age and unkempt care.

When it snapped its "mouth", she 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. Hanna 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's sole goal and awareness was to bite her. If followed her voice, snarling and searching for any vulnerable part of her it could attack. Luckily, it seemed Hanna was safe where he was - it couldn't levitate, nor could it jump more than a few inches.

When she cast the levitation charm, the book stilled for a moment - in shock of is newfound ability to fly. Yet whatever magic was imbued in the book quickly overcame her spell, dropping it onto the floor where it resumed its frenzied search.

That didn't exactly help with her task to get it back into a cupboard...

The shoe clattered loudly on the floor. The book immediately reacted, thinking it was Hanna, and attacked it. She'd have holes torn through it, for sure. Perhaps there was some magic in its bite because the condition of her shoe made it clear she did not want that to be her bare skin.

Distracted, the book continued biting the shoe in a frenzy and hadn't yet realised it was only a shoe.

The sound of another shoe landing immediately drew the book's attention. It abandoned her other, now-ruined shoe, and hurried across the floor towards the other one. Once again, it's frenzy prevented it from realising right away that the shoe was not Hanna. She'd have to act fast though, as a second shoe was helping it catch onto that fact...

Though her size and weight gave her an advantage over the struggling book, which had released its shoe-victim when landed on, it remained a challenging task to get her tie around it without stepping off or losing grip. Her fingers were nipped at least a few times, but she finally managed to have the whole cursed book bound by her Slytherin tie. Once it was secured, she could step off the book.

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

Hanna had time to grab the book and carry it to the cupboard, but she'd notice a proximity reaction - the closer the book got to the cupboard, the more damage her tie took. If she threw the book into the cupboard, her tie would surely rip off onto the floor. It'd be worthless, though possibly repairable. 

It was risky. To throw the book in, she'd not only have to have perfect aim and use the right amount of strength - but also move super fast to shut the door or else start the whole thing over again if the book freed itself. And she'd be without a tie to use the second time.

Keeper reflexes certainly earned her favor, though it all happened rather fast. The book was returned to the cupboard, though somehow she'd retained her tie as it sat on the floor nearby almost torn in two. Hanna had hold the doors closed, which rattled as the book fought against it - making it a struggle for her to keep the cupboard shut shut.

When the doors remained shut long enough, despite the book's constant fight for freedom, the silver padlock magically returned to the cupboard handles. Hanna just needed to connect it, then use Hathmore's key to lock it in place. The book certainly wasn't making it easy, so she'd have to be fast.

When she'd connected the padlock and managed to turn the key in its designated place, there was a click as everything did what 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 her 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. Hanna was able to retrieve the key, which she now had to return to Professor Hathmore.