Chapter 426: Ambush
Chapter 426: Ambush (Request for Subscriptions, Favorites, and Votes)
Liam had placed the bottle filled with Wolfsbane Potion in the Room of Requirement because, even though he had used runes to solidify the Undetectable Extension Charm on it, he hadn't compressed the dimensions too much to avoid conflicts between the runes. As a result, the final product was about the size of a thermos.
This made it unsuitable to carry around. Since it was an alchemy product intended for use in this world, taking it to other worlds or storing it in dimensional equipment would affect the final test results. Therefore, Liam, considering safety, had placed it in the Room of Requirement, where Ravenclaw's Diadem was previously hidden. Now, Liam and the others were going to the Room of Requirement to check how the bottle was doing.
It was already quite late, and the corridor was empty, with no one else around. Only Liam and Hermione quietly walked down the corridor, the dim lighting stretching their shadows long. However, when they reached the stairs on the seventh floor, they suddenly noticed two Slytherin students hiding in the shadows. Fortunately, there weren't many torches in the corridor, and the dim lighting prevented the Slytherin students from spotting Liam and Hermione, who had quickly ducked around the corner.
"What are those Slytherins doing here?" Hermione peeked around the corner, scanned the area, and then pulled back to ask. This place was close to the Gryffindor Tower, and the Slytherins, who usually lived in the basement, rarely ventured here. Similarly, Gryffindors seldom went to the basement except for Potions classes. Therefore, the presence of two Slytherin students lurking here was quite odd.
"Have you seen Harry or Ginny after dinner tonight?" Liam suddenly thought of something and asked.
"No", Hermione shook her head after a moment's thought. "Ginny usually spends time in the library, but she wasn't there today."
"I think I know what's happening." Liam suddenly remembered the incident from the original story where a traitor led to the capture of Harry's D.A. before Easter. It seemed likely that this was the day. Realizing this, he quickly shared his theory with Hermione.
"That must be it", Hermione recalled the information they had gathered when forming the Study Group. "Damn it, ever since the Dark Lord organized the Volupis Knights within the school and tried to conquer the entire wizarding world, all wizards have been extremely sensitive to illegal organizations. Especially since Ginny told me that Harry and the others wrote a list signed as Dumbledore's Army, if Harry is caught, it could implicate Professor Dumbledore. We need to do something."
"Let me think", Liam rubbed his chin and then motioned for Hermione to lean in. He whispered a few words to her, and she nodded solemnly. She then pulled out a wand she had confiscated from a Death Eater and took a small test tube from Liam.
The test tube appeared empty, but upon closer inspection, a red hair could be seen inside.
"We'll split up. I'll handle the problem inside the Room of Requirement, and you can clear the area around it", Liam instructed. "By the way, be gentle. They are, after all, our classmates."
Hermione nodded, and the two of them used the Disillusionment Charm to conceal themselves and began to carry out their plan.
Meanwhile, Harry was hiding in the Room of Requirement, guiding the D.A. members in practicing the Patronus Charm. Everyone was working hard, and several had already mastered the summoning of a corporeal Patronus. Others could produce thick and thin silver mists.
Just as Harry was encouraging a few students to recall happy memories, the door to the Room of Requirement opened and then closed. Harry turned to see who had entered, but the doorway seemed empty. A moment later, he noticed that a few people near the door had fallen silent.
After that, he was surprised to find Dobby standing by his side, tugging at his pants. The house-elf was trembling and screaming, "Harry Potter, sir, Dobby has come to warn you, but the house-elf has been warned not to say—"
At this point, Dobby started banging his head against the wall, causing several girls to scream in alarm.
Harry quickly grabbed Dobby to prevent further self-harm. Dobby, now slightly more composed, struggled to say, "Harry Potter! She—she—"
Harry immediately understood and asked in a panic, "Umbridge? What happened to her? Dobby—did she discover this—discover us—discover the D.A.?"
Seeing the distressed expression on the pixie-like house-elf, Harry swallowed hard and asked his final question. "Is she coming?"
Dobby let out a wail and began pounding the floor with his bare feet. "Yes, Harry Potter, yes!"
At this critical moment, Harry displayed his characteristic decisiveness. He immediately shouted for everyone to disperse and instructed Dobby to hide in the kitchen.
"Harry is indeed a good person. It seems his role as Dumbledore's successor isn't solely based on the prophecy designating him as Voldemort's adversary", Liam, who had been invisibly approaching the Room of Requirement, thought to himself. He had just witnessed Harry arranging for Dobby's safety as he slipped through the open door.
The Room of Requirement had indeed transformed into a suitable space for practicing Defense Against the Dark Arts. Liam's eyes immediately fell on a list nailed to the wall opposite the entrance, with "Dumbledore's Army" written in cursive at the top.
"Harry and his friends are not very suited for covert operations", Liam mused, shaking his head. He then pocketed the list. As he was about to leave, he nearly collided with Pansy Parkinson, who was rushing in. Luckily, Liam used his Grapple Hook to grab the door frame and jumped over her head.
"Let's hope this time it's different", Liam thought as he retreated to the agreed-upon empty classroom outside the library to meet Hermione. As he opened the door, he accidentally caught Hermione adjusting her clothing after removing the Masked Transformation Spell.
"It's you, Liam", Hermione said, raising her wand in alert. She lowered it only after confirming it was him. "You came just in time. Could you help me check the back of my clothes? I think some of the seams have come apart."
Liam stepped forward and saw that indeed, a few seams on Hermione's back were coming apart. He raised his wand to repair them and asked, "What happened? Could those Slytherins actually harm you?"
"It has nothing to do with the Slytherins. I thought I might transform into a little girl like last time, so I planned to adjust my clothes afterward. But this time, it turned out to be an adult woman", Hermione said, subconsciously pulling at her chest.
"This is a priest under one of Rose Crystal's sisters", Liam explained. After the awkward incident with the female disguise, Liam had collected enough hair from several worlds to avoid similar mishaps. When Hermione was preparing earlier, Liam had randomly picked a test tube from the row in his Spatial Bag containing female hair, but this time, the template was completely different from the last.
"Next time, please give me a heads-up so I can be prepared", Hermione said after Liam had adjusted her clothes. "I knocked out the Slytherin members who were far from Umbridge, so I think many of Harry's group managed to escape."
Liam nodded. "I also took the list of Harry's group. It's a good thing Ginny told you about it. Honestly, in a situation like this, they should have thought to destroy the list first. It was a terrible oversight."
After tidying themselves up, the two returned to the Common Room. All they could do now was pray for Harry and the others.
(End of Chapter)
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