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Chapter 137: Michael's Revenge
Chapter 137: Michael's Revenge
It seemed that the punishment for the Weasley twins this time was not as light as they had shown.
On Tuesday afternoon, as Fred and George were leaving their Herbology class, they saw the twins cleaning out the pigsty.
The two wore their scarves as masks, shoveling and sweeping the pig dung, with two large buckets by their side.
As Fred and George passed by, they saw Percy, the older brother of the twins, standing outside the pigsty. It seemed like an argument had taken place, as Percy's face was grim.
When he noticed the group of second-year students watching from a distance, Percy's pale face turned red.
He angrily said something to his younger brothers and then stormed off, his footsteps heavy.
The twins shrugged and continued their work, seemingly unfazed.
The Slytherins snickered and whispered, "Look at those stinky Weasleys, covered in pig dung..."
Fred and George expected it to be Malfoy speaking, but when they looked up, they saw him walking alone toward the castle, head down.
His two sidekicks, Crabbe and Goyle, were walking with the other Slytherin students, acting as if they hadn't noticed Malfoy's departure.
"Fred, I'll head to the umbrella shop later," Michael said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. He seamlessly blended into a group of Slytherin students, and within moments, he had a few girls giggling at his charm.
Crabbe and Goyle stood at the edge of the circle, their faces displaying their desire to join in.
Fred looked to his side and noticed Padma walking with her usual calm expression, seemingly unaffected by Michael's friendly interaction with the Slytherin girls.
"What are those two up to?" Fred asked, puzzled by their behavior.
"Don't tell anyone," Padma said, pulling him aside and lowering her voice. "Michael is taking revenge on Malfoy!"
"Revenge... on Malfoy?" Fred asked, surprised.
He had thought that the matter was settled after Malfoy had been punished for humiliating Michael, forced to serve detention under Filch, the most hated teacher by the students.
But for Michael, it seemed that it wasn't over yet.
"You know, Michael gets along well with the Slytherins," Padma explained quietly. "He said he would dismantle Malfoy's little gang and make sure he can't strut around like he used to."
"But how?" Fred asked, skeptical. "Doesn't he worry about his intentions being discovered? Slytherins hold grudges, too."
"He's not afraid," Padma said confidently. "He's not spreading rumors or making them misunderstand Malfoy; he's just stating facts."
Noticing Fred's doubtful look, she added, "Well, he might be using the art of language to nudge them a little, tapping into their own emotions like jealousy, insecurity, vanity, and anger..."
"You know, sometimes a slight change in wording can make people feel uncomfortable and create conflicts..."
"Haven't you noticed that Crabbe and Goyle haven't been following Malfoy around lately?"
"They used to enjoy being his sidekicks, but recently... they suddenly realized that Malfoy has always looked down on them, and they've decided to stand up for themselves and be dignified."
Fred was amazed at the turn of events.
He couldn't help but ask, "I remember their fathers were also Mr. Malfoy's sidekicks, right?"
"Yes..." Padma's eyes flickered. "But Crabbe and Goyle now feel that the Malfoy family is past its prime. Aside from having some money, they're not that impressive. This summer, Mr. Malfoy was even raided by Ron Weasley's father for Dark artifacts."
"So Draco Malfoy has no right to boss them around all the time... We're all students here, and they're taller and stronger than Malfoy..."
"As long as they're not always following Malfoy around like bodyguards, the girls will see their bravery and strength and be willing to talk to them, maybe even smile at them..."
Vic looked towards the courtyard.
Under Michael's guidance, some of the girls did smile at the two large boys, but it was unclear if it was out of mockery or politeness.
Crabbe and Goyle, however, were thrilled, their faces flushed, and they awkwardly said something that caused the group to burst into laughter.
Vic muttered to himself, "I really wonder... how did Michael manage to convince them... Did he badmouth Malfoy?"
Padma covered her mouth, her eyes sparkling with mischief, and smiled.
"No... He's never publicly disparaged Malfoy... He's been saying nice things about Malfoy instead!"
...
As Padma returned to the castle with her roommates, Vic no longer paid attention to Michael's revenge game.
If the insult had been directed at Vic, he would have countered it immediately, and that would have been the end of it.
But since Michael was the one insulted, and he didn't say anything at the time, his subsequent revenge was subtle and relentless.
Malfoy's verbal abuse and bullying were not uncommon, and he probably never expected that Michael, a non-pureblood with no notable family background, would be an untouchable ironclad opponent.
Malfoy was isolated by the Slytherins, but he probably didn't even realize why he was being ostracized.
Vic turned and walked towards the pigsty.
The Weasley twins had finally finished cleaning up the pig's feces. Fred was spraying detergent on the pigpen, while George scrubbed with a large brush.
As soon as Vic approached, he caught a whiff of the strong odor. He quickly cast a Bubble-Head Charm on himself to isolate himself from the foul air.
"Hey, Vic!"
Fred pointed to his head. "Do the same for us, or I doubt we'll be able to eat dinner tonight!"
George made a gagging gesture behind him.
Soon, all three of them had large, spherical bubbles on their heads, as if their heads were stuck in soap bubbles.
"Thank Merlin! I can finally breathe!" George sighed in relief.
Fred corrected him, "You should be thanking Vic."
"Of course!" George exaggerated a bow. "Thank you, Vic. You've saved two poor pig keepers!"
Vic asked, "Seems like you got a pretty heavy punishment this time?"
"Yeah." Fred proudly said, "Because we snuck into the Forbidden Forest on Friday night..."
"You know, there's a big guy in the forest, and we've always wanted to get to know him..." George added.
"Are you talking about the dragon?" Vic asked.
The students were all aware that a dragon had been added to the school grounds last year and had even been kept in the Quidditch stadium for several weeks.
Once it could hunt for itself, Hogwarts found a place for it in the Forbidden Forest and cast spells to prevent it from entering the school and harming students.
At the start-of-term feast, Dumbledore had reminded students that entering the Forbidden Forest was forbidden.
In the legends among the students, it was a terrifying place filled with vampires, werewolves, and dragons.
The Weasley twins were obviously not the type to obey rules obediently.
Chapter 2 will be a bit later
(End of Chapter)
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