Chapter 611
Toad
Chapter 611 Toad
Hogwarts in December was wrapped in biting cold winds, with sleet coming from time to time. The whistling draft blew through the corridors of the castle, making all the students passing by shiver with cold.
Every time Wade passed by the lawn on his way to the greenhouse for class, he could see Hagrid busying around.
His relationship with Madame Maxime seemed to be going very smoothly, so Hagrid was like a peacock with its tail spread out. Not only did he dress himself up beautifully all day long, he also tried every means to please her, and even those magic horses were within his favor.
Two days ago, Wade saw Hagrid build a large stable for the Rune Horses. In recent days, he has been busy knitting woolen horse blankets for them, and carefully made some patterns on them.
Care of Magical Creatures had also become a lesson on how to look after a Rune Horse - something the Thestrals at Hogwarts never got!
As soon as the class started, Hagrid came over with a huge barrel of wine. He said happily: "Look, this is a twelve-year-old single malt whiskey, the favorite of the magic horse. You have to mix it with the feed..."
After the class, the strong smell of alcohol alone made many students dizzy. Michael even secretly drank some of the alcohol that was assigned to him. By the end of the get out of class, his neck was red. He was so drunk that he almost bumped into a tree, but was stopped in time by Wade.
Michael squinted his eyes and looked at the person next to him for a long time, and suddenly said in surprise:
"Merlin's beard... Vader, why didn't you tell me...that you have a twin brother?"
Vader: "...You're drunk, Michael."
As soon as Hagrid came over with the barrel of wine, he alertly pulled out his wand and turned a piece of tissue into a filtering mask, thus avoiding getting drunk like these people.
Michael waved his hands repeatedly: "No... I'm not drunk... I just took a small sip..."
He stumbled over while speaking with a tongue tied, trying to hang on to Padma, but was pulled back by Wade in the girl's disgusted look.
Vader said helplessly: "Let's go, there should be sobering potions in the medical wing."
"Okay... okay... let's go to the medical wing..." Michael, who had just claimed that he was not drunk, burped and muttered: "I can't seem to find my feet..."
There was a thin layer of frost on the stone steps of the castle. Just as Michael was about to step up, his legs suddenly went weak and he almost fell to his knees, and then his arm was grabbed.
"Thanks, man...you saved my life..." Michael said vaguely.
He finally walked up the steps, and the oak door in front of him suddenly opened. Professor McGonagall stood at the door like a granite statue, looking down at the two of them, frowning slightly, and the corners of her mouth were pursed into a straight line.
"Mr. Kona, are you going to class with this attitude?" she asked coldly.
Professor McGonagall's voice was like a bucket of ice water poured over Michael's head. He looked around in confusion, then suddenly shuddered. A layer of cold sweat broke out on his back, and his drunkenness instantly disappeared.
“Professor!” Michael stood up in panic: “I… I was just feeding the divine horse and accidentally…”
"Accidentally?" Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows. "Did you accidentally drink the feed of the Rune Horse?"
Michael: “Uh…”
"Five points from Ravenclaw, Mr. Corner." Professor McGonagall said seriously, "Also, as a punishment for letting the Rune Horse go hungry, go to help Professor Hagrid prepare feed at 7 o'clock tonight. Do you have any questions?"
"No, Professor," Michael said dejectedly.
Then, Professor McGonagall turned her gaze to Wade, and her stern expression softened a little.
"Gray, I'm glad you're still clear-headed. But I hope that next time you see a classmate doing something... ill-considered, you'll be able to stop him in time instead of just watching him make a mistake."
"I understand. I'm sorry, Professor." Wade bowed his head and looked repentant.
Professor McGonagall nodded with satisfaction: "Go wake up! Don't delay the afternoon class."
After Professor McGonagall walked away, Michael relaxed and said, "Luckily it was Professor McGonagall... If it was Professor Snape, he would definitely deduct a few points from you." Before he finished speaking, a cold voice sounded from behind the two of them:
"It seems that Professor McGonagall's punishment is not enough to serve as a warning, right, Mr. Corner?"
Michael's whole body froze suddenly, his neck seemed to be rusted, and he slowly turned inch by inch. Halfway through, he saw the iconic black robe.
"Five points from Ravenclaw for disrespecting your professor; five points from Ravenclaw for violating the rule against drinking in public; and—"
Professor Snape spoke slowly, and finally sneered: "As you wished, Weed Grey witnessed an act of stealing teaching aids in school, but did not stop it. Ravenclaw will be deducted ten points!"
After saying this, without waiting for the two to argue, he snorted and strode towards the castle, his black robe billowing, making him look like a bat with its wings spread.
Only two people were left standing in front of the hallway.
Michael jumped up belatedly, "That's not fair! How could he deduct points from you?"
"Stop yelling, or Professor Snape will come back and deduct a few more points from us." Wade advised: "This is his style, aren't you used to it yet?"
"But Professor Snape was ten times more mean today than usual." Michael looked at Wade guiltily and said, "He never targets you for no reason... It's all my fault that you got into trouble."
"In fact, it's the opposite. It should be Gray who implicated you."
Daphne walked up the steps from behind and said gently, "Because Slytherin doesn't have a single warrior, and Gray and you all entered the second round..."
She stopped what she was about to say.
Michael thought for a while: "...jealous?"
Daphne said implicitly: "I guess that's the reason. As for what Professor Snape specifically thinks, I don't know."
As soon as Daphne arrived, she took over the responsibility of taking care of Michael. Wade felt relieved and turned to the umbrella house to do his homework.
……
In a pond more than two hundred miles away from Hogwarts, a toad who was trying hard to resist the severe cold was frozen stiff and missed the warm quilt, the fireplace burning pine wood, and the thick walls that could keep out the cold wind.
But in the end, it was unable to control its biological instincts and could only crawl slowly and clumsily in the wet mud, curling up in a narrow mud hole, listening to its heartbeat getting slower and slower, its body seemingly frozen into a block of ice.
Just before he fell into a deep sleep, he seemed to have returned to his warm home.
The flames in the fireplace danced, casting a soft amber hue on the entire living room. Narcissa sat in an armchair, stroking a teacup in her hands, looking sideways in front of her with a faint smile on her face.
In the direction she was looking, the chubby-faced Draco was riding a toy broom, flying around along the floor, shouting from time to time, and then being frightened by his own echo.
The snake-head cane was leaning against my hand, and the familiar, cold touch made me feel particularly reassured.
All ambitions, calculations and fears melted away in this warm illusion. The toad lay motionless in the soil, and darkness gradually enveloped his consciousness.
A tear rolled down its skin.
(End of this chapter)