Chapter 42: Won't Do Bad Things
Chapter 42: Won't Do Bad Things
After Halloween, the day students looked forward to the most was undoubtedly the upcoming Christmas holiday.
Strictly speaking, Hogwarts divides each academic year into two semesters, and the holiday that separates them is the Christmas break.
Before the holiday began, the first Quidditch match of the semester, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, was set to start.
From September to December, the Gryffindor Quidditch team had been training in the rain almost every day. Their robes had barely been dry, all for today's match.
Captain Wood placed a great deal of importance on the outcome of the match. He would be graduating from Hogwarts in two years, and his sole wish before leaving was to lead the Gryffindor team to win the Quidditch House Cup.
"We'll make them regret letting that little brat Malfoy buy his way onto the team!"
Before the match, he repeatedly told the Gryffindor team this, using harsh words to motivate Harry.
Malfoy, seemingly unafraid of provoking Harry, started the match by mockingly calling him "Scarhead."
Because of this, even when the Gryffindor players noticed that the Bludgers had been tampered with and were relentlessly targeting Harry, they did not ask Madam Hooch to stop the match. Instead, they decided to continue and win, to give Malfoy a good slap in the face.
In the end, Harry did just that.
He risked being knocked off his broomstick by a Bludger and caught the Golden Snitch right above Malfoy's head.
By winning the match, he not only secured victory but also delivered a significant insult to Malfoy.
However, Harry's arm was broken and sent to the hospital wing under the care of Madam Pomfrey.
A broken bone was nothing to Madam Pomfrey; she could mend Harry's arm with a simple spell, allowing him to later celebrate the victory with his teammates.
That night, however, the house-elf Dobby found him and admitted that both the incident at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters and the tampered Bludger were his doing. He claimed he was trying to protect Harry, wanting him to leave Hogwarts to avoid danger.
Harry was furious but could do nothing about it. The next day, he told Hermione and Ron about his encounter with Dobby.
"I think this confirms something", Hermione said with a serious expression.
"Dobby is so determined to have Harry leave Hogwarts to avoid being harmed by the monster in the Chamber of Secrets. But Harry is a half-blood, so he wouldn't be the monster's target. Why would he be so worried about this?"
Harry and Ron exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison.
"Who knows."
Hermione looked at them with a frustrated expression.
"He must know something. He thinks the Heir of Slytherin will direct the monster to attack Harry. Who in all of Hogwarts would have such a grudge against Harry?"
This time, Harry and Ron immediately knew the answer and said it in unison.
"Draco Malfoy!"
"From what we know, he's the most likely suspect. We need to investigate this further", Hermione said firmly.
Harry, however, was pessimistic.
"Your previous plan won't work. We can't get a professor to give us a note to borrow restricted books, especially about potions. Expecting Snape to give us a note is like hoping Malfoy will come forward and confess everything. Even if other professors are more lenient, we have no excuse."
"And a single slip can only borrow one book. There’s no way we can cheat the system", Ron added.
Hermione looked thoughtful.
"I have a more daring plan."
Harry and Ron’s eyes lit up as they looked at Hermione, as if she were a seasoned veteran who could lead them to victory.
"We can try to get Professor Forrester involved."
"Professor Forrester? Impossible. If we ask him for a slip, he’ll definitely ask what we need it for."
Hermione hesitated about whether to continue, but their plan to investigate Malfoy had already broken several school rules. Adding one more wouldn’t make much of a difference, right?
"I’m not talking about getting a slip the normal way."
She lowered her voice.
"Recently, Professor Forrester seems to be researching some magic. He often has students borrow books from the library for him, most of which are from the Restricted Section. We can use this to our advantage..."
After Hermione finished explaining her plan, Harry and Ron couldn’t help but get excited.
"It’s completely feasible!"
"There’s a risk, but as long as we deny everything, no one will find out!"
Hermione looked conflicted.
"But we’d be deceiving Professor Forrester."
"We’re doing this to protect the entire school, Hermione", Ron said.
Harry nodded in agreement.
"Even if Professor Forrester finds out the truth, he’ll understand."
In the end, Harry and Ron convinced Hermione. Over the next few days, they hung around outside Professor Forrester’s office immediately after classes ended.
Finally, one afternoon, Professor Forrester called Hermione into his office.
Hermione carefully entered the room. Professor Forrester was grading sixth-year assignments and looked quite busy.
"Do you have time now, Miss Granger?"
Hermione swallowed hard and tried to sound calm.
"I only have one History of Magic class this afternoon, and it just finished, Professor."
"Could you do me a favor and borrow a book from the library?"
"Of course."
"The book is in the Restricted Section. I’ll write you a slip. You can give it to Madam Pince, and she’ll get the book for you."
Professor Forrester took a piece of parchment from the side and wrote down the book title, signing his name.
Hermione took the slip from Professor Forrester and left the office.
Harry and Ron, who had been waiting outside, quickly gathered around her, and they all went into an empty classroom.
They looked at the slip in Hermione’s hand, their eyes full of tension and excitement.
"I’ll do it."
Hermione pushed Harry’s hand away, laid the slip flat on the table, and pointed her wand at the book title, muttering the spell.
"Scourgify."
The book title disappeared from the parchment, leaving only Professor Forrester’s signature.
The three of them cheered.
"He really didn’t use magic ink!"
"We just need to write the title of a powerful potions book on it. Keep this slip safe and don’t borrow the book yet. I’ll go to Professor Forrester and explain everything first."
After spending five minutes in the empty classroom, Hermione took a deep breath. With Harry and Ron’s encouraging looks, she headed back to Professor Forrester’s office.
(End of Chapter)
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