Chapter 40: Detention
Chapter 40: Detention
Harry, Ron, and Hermione shakily lifted the Invisibility Cloak.
The three of them stepped forward, their faces downcast. "Professor..."
Felix's gaze shifted between the three of them. "Hermione Granger, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Weasley, could you explain why you are here?"
Harry mustered his courage and said, "Professor, we, we wanted to visit Hagrid. You might not know, but we are friends with him."
"This isn't on the way, and you've ventured too deep into the Forbidden Forest", Felix shook his head. "I believe your professors have warned you not to enter the Forbidden Forest without permission."
Ron stammered, "Professor, we were originally looking for Hagrid, but we saw you by chance and got curious, so we followed you."
"Got curious", Felix toyed with his wand, looking at the three of them without saying a word.
The immense psychological pressure weighed heavily on the three of them.
Finally, Hermione said with a quavering voice, "We're sorry, Professor. We've betrayed your trust—"
"That's nothing", Felix said calmly. "Adventure is a natural part of being young wizards, especially for Gryffindor students. But I hope you can distinguish between bravery and foolishness. Remember, life only comes once."
Felix didn't say anything more. He led the three of them back to the castle.
"Let me think. Curfew violation, unauthorized entry into the Forbidden Forest, and stalking a professor..." As Felix spoke, the three of them paled. "Ten points each, and a week of detention."
The Golden Trio returned to the common room in a daze.
Seeing Hermione's sad expression, Ron tried to comfort her. "It's nothing, it's even better than I imagined. I thought we'd each lose fifty points and be in detention until Christmas."
Harry nodded in agreement. If they had been caught by Snape, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
As they lay in bed, Ron suddenly said to Harry, "That was so cool, right?"
"What?"
"Professor Hup, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh! I couldn't even see his movements. He's definitely stronger than Snape, maybe even stronger than Dumbledore!"
"Dumbledore is the strongest", Harry said without hesitation.
"Maybe not. Dumbledore hasn't used magic in years. If it were decades ago, I wouldn't have doubted it", Ron muttered softly before gradually drifting off to sleep.
Harry, however, found it hard to sleep. Scenes of Professor Hup casting spells kept replaying in his mind, from the first spell he cast to his sudden appearance as a cloud of black smoke. Every movement was vivid and clear in his memory.
The next day, Hermione was still a bit upset, but she quickly pulled herself together and even began discussing the Chamber of Secrets clues with them.
The young witch said sternly, "It looks like Professor Hup isn't the Heir of Slytherin."
Ron replied, "Don't jump to conclusions. We've just ruled out one possibility for now. Although Professor Hup is a good person", he admitted.
Harry quickly changed the subject, feeling that their behavior last night had made Hermione, as an assistant, a bit embarrassed.
"I think Malfoy is still the most likely suspect."
"Agreed", Ron chimed in.
"But how do we get him to confess? He's not going to admit he's the Heir of Slytherin just like that."
Hermione nodded and whispered, "Perhaps we need Polyjuice Potion."
"What's that?"
"Polyjuice Potion. It can make you look like someone else", Hermione explained.
The two of them still looked confused.
Hermione, a bit annoyed, said, "Do you ever pay attention in class? Snape mentioned it in his lesson. The potion is very difficult to brew and requires several rare ingredients. The recipe is recorded in Advanced Potion-Making."
The three of them discussed it in hushed tones.
But they immediately hit a roadblock.
The recipe for Polyjuice Potion was hard to obtain because Advanced Potion-Making was in the Restricted Section of the Library.
To borrow a book from the Restricted Section, there is only one way: get a note signed by a professor.
“We have no reason to borrow that book,” Ron said. “It’s not something for our year to be messing with.”
“I think,” Hermione said, “if we pretend to be interested in that theory, there might be a chance…”
“Oh, come on, the professors aren’t that gullible,” Ron said. “Unless they’re completely dimwitted…”
Saturday morning.
The Golden Trio had breakfast and then headed to the Ancient Runes Professor's office to complete their detention.
Harry sighed a bit, knowing that the first Quidditch match was coming up and he couldn’t attend the practice sessions. Quidditch Captain Wood was not pleased about this.
When they knocked on the door, they were surprised to see Draco Malfoy already there.
Malfoy was hunched over a large, thick book, the pages nearly at the end. His quill was scribbling away, and a bit of ink had smeared on his nose.
Harry suddenly remembered that Malfoy had been given the punishment of copying a book.
Professor Hup closed the door and said in a relaxed tone, “I was originally going to separate you, but then I thought it would be too much trouble. I asked, and Mr. Malfoy doesn’t mind sharing the same table with you.”
Ron snickered, but Malfoy’s expression didn’t look like he was “not minding” it at all. Ron started to look forward to this detention.
Felix conjured three chairs and placed them in front of them. “I’ll go get the materials you need to copy.” With that, he left.
The four of them stared at each other in silence.
Harry teased, “Malfoy, your detention isn’t over yet? That’s quite a price to pay.”
Malfoy lifted his head haughtily. “Harry Potter!” He glanced at the three of them, and when his eyes met Hermione’s, he seemed to want to say something but quickly held back.
He said with a hint of arrogance, “On Professor Snape’s recommendation, Professor Hup allowed me to take a break so I wouldn’t miss Slytherin’s Quidditch practice, Potter! I’ll beat you on the field!”
Harry’s mood soured. With the Malfoy family’s financial support, the Slytherin Quidditch team had all been given Nimbus 2001 brooms, making them incredibly fast. On the field, they looked like seven pale green shadows.
Ron taunted, “The real game is about skill. Even if you cheated your way into being a Seeker, you’ll just be a laughingstock, rich boy!”
“Shut up, Weasley. Does your family’s vault have even one Galleon left?”
Ron’s face turned beet red, even his ears were burning. He pulled out his wand and shouted, “Say that again! Malfoy, say that again!”
Harry and Hermione quickly held him back. They didn’t need to consider the consequences of fighting in a professor’s office, but even if Ron did something, would it really help? Another afternoon of vomiting slugs?
Felix returned with a stack of thick parchment. Harry and Ron, seeing the pile over a foot high, lost all interest in arguing.
“I asked Professor Mcgonagall, and she had some materials that were too outdated and needed updating, so I took the job,” Felix said with a bit of enthusiasm. “It just happens to be relevant to your behavior—Student Violation List and Punishment Measures.”
Felix placed the materials on the table, and with a wave of his wand, the thick layer of dust was cleared away. “Start, children.”
Felix sat in a corner of the office, about seven meters away. “I’ll be deaf as a post.” He pointed his wand at himself, then opened a thick book and settled in for a leisurely weekend.
On the other side, Harry, Ron, and Hermione resignedly took their seats. Ron strongly resisted sitting next to Malfoy, but Harry had no choice and had to sit right beside him.
Harry opened a piece of parchment and began copying the material with his quill.
Malfoy whispered, “Potter! You know you’re going to lose…”
“Shut up, Malfoy!” Harry whispered back angrily.
(End of Chapter)
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