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Chapter 175: New Letters
Chapter 175: New Letters
The Great Hall was filled with a festive atmosphere. Alongside the usual Jack-o'-lanterns and bat decorations, there were also some local specialties, such as monster models. On the tables, there were special treats like sugar skulls, blood-filled candies, and tombstone cookies.
"Isn't Halloween tomorrow? Why does it feel like we're already celebrating today?" Liam asked, a bit puzzled. The other students around him also looked confused.
Hermione, overhearing the question, replied, "It's different here from what we're used to in Britain. In South America, Halloween is celebrated from October 31st to November 2nd, a total of three days."
It seems that wizards and Muggles in South America both enjoy a longer holiday. This was a good thing for Liam, as everyone likes a break from routine. At least from a culinary perspective, the food during the Castrobrusso festival was much more sumptuous than usual.
However, Liam's good mood didn't last long. The next morning, on Halloween, he received several letters. Some were from the Weasley Twins, others from Percy, and even from Colin and Ron, whom he didn't often keep in touch with. All the letters told him about a terrifying event at the school: Sirius Black had somehow broken into Hogwarts and even used a knife to damage the Fat Lady of Gryffindor's portrait.
When Liam arrived at the Common Room with these letters, he found that most people were already there, each holding one or two letters. However, the information others had wasn't as accurate as what Liam had learned. For example, a Hufflepuff student confidently claimed that Black had invaded the Gryffindor Common Room and fought with a group of students for hundreds of rounds before being forced to flee.
As everyone stood in the room, uneasily exchanging the information they had, Professor Sprout entered. She quickly took a headcount and then addressed the group. "Alright, everyone is here now. There are some things I need to tell you. Many of you may have received letters from friends at school describing what happened last night at Hogwarts. To prevent the spread of rumors, I will give you the official notification."
"First, Sirius Black did indeed enter Hogwarts Castle last night and, unable to access the Gryffindor common room, he damaged the Fat Lady's portrait. Second, no one was injured during the incident, so please don't spread rumors. Lastly, we regret that we did not capture Sirius Black. I urge you to encourage your friends to cooperate with the school during this time and not to cause any trouble." Professor Sprout glanced at Liam as she finished speaking.
It seemed the Weasley Twins were notorious at school. Liam could only give an awkward yet polite smile in response, indicating that he understood.
After Professor Sprout dismissed them, everyone dispersed. On his way to class, Liam couldn't stop thinking about the security of Hogwarts Castle. In his previous life, he had read many fan theories suggesting that the Headmaster could monitor the entire school's activities. Technically, this wasn't difficult; after all, Harry Potter's father could do it, so it wasn't a stretch to assume Hogwarts had a similar surveillance system.
But if Dumbledore could indeed monitor everything in real-time, why didn't he intervene and capture Black?
Of course, Liam didn't buy into many of the Dumbledore conspiracy theories floating around in fan circles. After all, as the leader of the White Wizards, Dumbledore wouldn't condone letting criminals run free. And under those circumstances, it was even less likely that Dumbledore would knowingly let his innocent subordinates rot in Azkaban for years.
The most plausible explanation, then, was that Hogwarts' surveillance system could only show who was where, but it required someone to monitor it constantly. It didn't have an automatic alarm function. And as Headmaster, how could Dumbledore be expected to watch the monitors all day like a security guard?
With that in mind, Liam felt more confident about causing trouble in Hogwarts Castle in the future, as long as his luck held and he avoided the portraits and ghosts.
Naturally, everyone couldn't help but speculate on how Black had managed to break through the Dementors' blockade and sneak into the school. Most people believed he must have used some secret passages.
Since they were all in Brazil, Hogwarts seemed far away, and after a lengthy discussion, everyone eventually put the matter out of their minds. However, when they wrote letters to their friends at Hogwarts that night, they couldn't help but offer a few extra words of comfort.
Unfortunately, Hogwarts' troubles didn't end with that incident. Just as everyone was starting to forget about it, another unfortunate event occurred at the school.
It was mid-November, and Liam had just returned from dinner to find everyone in the Common Room discussing the upcoming house competitions at Hogwarts. The Ravenclaw students were particularly anxious this year, as Zhang Qiu was participating in the exchange program, and they had to find a substitute for the Quidditch match.
Although Liam wasn't particularly interested in Quidditch, he joined the conversation for social reasons, occasionally chiming in to pretend he wasn't a complete novice.
As the discussion was heating up, Hermione suddenly burst into the Common Room, holding an open letter.
"Liam, something's happened at Hogwarts. A Dementor went berserk and invaded the Quidditch pitch. Harry fell from the sky."
Hermione's words sent a shockwave through the Common Room. Everyone began asking her what had happened, and as she read the letter aloud, the details of the incident slowly came together. In summary, the excited and joyful atmosphere at the Quidditch pitch had driven the hungry Dementors to lose control. Harry, being too close, had passed out, but Dumbledore intervened and drove the Dementors away, saving Harry.
"I can't believe they let Dementors protect the school."
"These foul creatures should have been eradicated long ago."
"What is the Ministry of Magic thinking? This makes Hogwarts no different from Azkaban."
While everyone in the Common Room was heatedly discussing the matter, Liam and Hermione retreated to their compartment.
"This letter was written by Ginny from Harry's bedside. She said Harry was in bad shape when they took him to the Hospital Wing, pale and shaking. She wants to know how to deal with the situation", Hermione said, handing the letter to Liam.
"As far as I know, there's only one solution for Harry right now", Liam replied.
(End of Chapter)
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