Chapter 171
Doubt
Chapter 171 Doubt
When Wade came out of the maze, he saw the Weasley twins leading the students to block the entrance, waving their arms and shouting -
"Protest! Protest!"
"Give us back the ultimate challenge!"
"This is the result of everyone's hard work. The school can't just be closed down!"
"We want freedom! We want justice! We want the ultimate challenge!!!"
A group of adolescent boys and girls mixed together without any distinction between colleges, shouting slogans one after another, scaring the small animals on the outer layer so much that they trembled in fear and hid under the bushes in panic.
Wade was surprised to see a few pearly white figures among the students—
Most of the ghosts in the school had come and joined in the protest for some reason, even Peeves and the Weasley twins were standing shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm, yelling in unison.
Wade turned around, thinking that the headmaster would say something, but Dumbledore was gone.
Professor McGonagall stood in front of the students. The head girl of Gryffindor pointed her wand at her throat and shouted angrily: "Silence..."
The extremely loud sound was like rolling thunder and a lion's roar. The sound waves surged in all directions like a tide, and ripples appeared on the surface of the Black Lake.
There was a gurgling sound in the lake, and the giant squid that had floated to the surface to watch the fun dived down.
The forbidden forest suddenly became quiet, as if even the insects had stopped flapping their wings.
The wind stopped and the clouds died down. The students covered their ears with their hands, looking shocked. No one spoke anymore. It was so quiet around the maze that one could hear everyone's heartbeat.
Professor McGonagall put down her wand and clasped her hands together, looking dignified and elegant.
She looked at everyone and said, "A student has been attacked by a Thestral in the maze. We need to suspend all activities and investigate the cause of the incident."
Fred dared to whisper: "We are not afraid of getting hurt..."
Professor McGonagall narrowed her eyes.
Fred immediately changed his words: "No... I mean... we will be careful not to anger the Thestrals..."
"The Thestral was not angered by the rude behavior of a student. It was fed a large amount of Chat."
Professor McGonagall suppressed her anger and said, "This is a very bad behavior! Whoever did this prank had better turn himself in to me immediately! Otherwise, if I find out who did it, he will be sent home!"
She glanced meaningfully at some of the naughty students.
Most of the students looked at the Weasley twins, and of course some people stared at some Slytherin students with bad reputations with suspicion.
The twins immediately raised their hands and said in unison: "I swear, it wasn't us, Professor!"
George added: "Chat is expensive, I know that, but I wouldn't spend money on it to play a practical joke."
No one believed the twins' denial, but when George said this, everyone believed it.
Weasley's brothers and sisters are from the first grade to the sixth grade, and two of them have already graduated. Almost all of their classmates know what their family conditions are. Among the brothers and sisters, from Percy to Ginny, everyone uses second-hand goods.
The older Percy and the only girl, Ginny, occasionally had a few new things, but the Weasley twins and Ron had been wearing hand-me-downs for years, as if they had found them.
Of course, everyone knew that Fred and George were secretly trying to make money on their own, and everyone also knew that they had some savings.
But to say they would spend a lot of money on an impractical grass, to play a meaningless prank, to randomly hurt a student...
No one thought that the two of them would be so stupid.
Percy glared at the twins, raised his hands, and asked seriously: "Professor, who is the injured student?"
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. She didn't want to say anything, but when she saw the looks of the students around her, she finally said, "Harry Potter. He was scratched by a Thestral and was just sent to the school infirmary."
Ron and Hermione in the crowd turned pale, looked at each other, and ran towards the school infirmary.
With a "boom", a buzz of discussion exploded among the students, and many eyes were cast towards the Slytherin students.
In fact, even the Slytherins themselves suspected that it was someone from their own house who did it. They did not voice their guesses aloud, but subconsciously looked at several students who often insulted Gryffindor and advocated the pure-blood theory in the lounge.
For example, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott and others who often had conflicts with Harry and others in the past.
For example, seniors such as Foley and Yaxley.
So some Slytherins suddenly found themselves isolated by their classmates.
"Did you do it, Draco?" Pansy asked Malfoy in a low voice. She said excitedly, "It's okay, you can tell me, I will keep it a secret for you!"
"I wish I had taught that scarred man a lesson!" Malfoy said gloomily, "Unfortunately not... I guess it was some idiot who did it."
He glanced in a certain direction, and Pansy followed his gaze, seeing several Slytherin boys standing together with the same gloomy expressions. She couldn't guess who Malfoy was looking at.
"No matter what," she said to Malfoy, "I always support you." Malfoy nodded randomly, still looking unhappy.
Professor McGonagall certainly had her own suspicions in her mind, but without evidence, she couldn't say it out loud.
She gave some more reminders and loudly emphasized that certain students were prohibited from sneaking into the maze at night (Professor McGonagall glanced at the Weasley twins again), and that students who violated the rules would be severely punished.
The students dispersed in dismay, and as they went the Bowtruckles left and returned to the hedges.
"Can I keep it? I think it likes me, and I like it too."
Luna asked Professor Kettleburn.
The old professor did not refuse directly, but said with a smile: "You can ask it yourself. If it is willing, I certainly have no objection."
Luna was delighted and quickly asked the Bowtruckle for advice, but the little guy couldn't wait to get into the hedge, leaving her with only his back.
"Oh...it seems that it doesn't agree very much..." The old professor stabbed again with malicious intent.
Luna's eyebrows drooped in frustration. She stared blankly in the direction where the Bowtruckle disappeared, looking stupid.
"Um... do you like Bowtruckle?"
Rolf, who was nearby, saw them and came over and said, "Many people would think they have old people's faces."
Luna looked at him and said, "They're cute. I think they're like friends. Of course, Scimitar-Horned Snorkles are cute too, but they're bigger... I think."
"What is a Scimitar-Horned Snorlax..."
Rolf was stunned for a moment, but did not delve into the question further. Instead, he took out a small bowtruckle from his pocket.
"Look, this is my friend Ajel, my favorite of all the Bowtruckles."
Little Ajel held Rolf's fingers, and the two leaves above his head swayed slightly.
"That's great...it's willing to follow you." Luna said enviously.
"You can shake hands with it." Rolf suggested: "It's very easy to get along with..."
Fred and George found Wade.
"Hey, Wade, I have an idea..." Fred said, putting his arms around Wade's neck.
"What idea?" Vader asked.
"You know how to Disillusion, and we seem to be viewed as suspects by everyone—" said Fred.
"We're willing to take a small risk to clear our suspicions--" George said.
"And we have the courage to explore any part of Hogwarts—"
"There's a place that we've been curious about for a long time, but we've never had the chance to get in... ahem, explore—"
"While everyone is going back, you cast an Disillusionment Charm on me and we can take the opportunity to sneak in—"
Wade raised an eyebrow, "Don't tell me you guys want to sneak into the Slytherin common room?"
"I knew you would think the same as us!" George clapped his hands.
"Don't you think it's a good idea?" Fred also said: "This must have been done by Slytherin... After they return to the common room, they will definitely show off-"
"If we just sneak in and eavesdrop for a while, the truth will definitely come out--" George continued.
"What do you think?" Fred asked.
"not so good."
Wade walked towards the school infirmary and said, "You forgot someone... Didn't Harry tell him about this when school started? There was a house elf who wanted to stop him from returning to school..."
Fred and George looked at each other. "That should be some annoying guy... like Malfoy... who sent his elf to tease him, right?"
"That's unlikely."
Wade said, "If Malfoy could get his elf into Harry's house to play tricks on him, why wasn't he murdered by the remnants of the Death Eaters over the years?"
"I heard that many people escaped punishment. Isn't there anyone who wants revenge on Harry Potter?"
"Hmm..." George thought for a moment, and a vague idea came to his mind: "You mean..."
"I guess Dumbledore must have set up a very powerful protection spell or an expelling spell where Harry lives."
"People with bad intentions couldn't find him, which is why he was never retaliated against," Weider said.
(End of this chapter)