https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-584-Miss-Winnie-s-Magical-Journey/13461947/
Chapter 583: 'Malfoy'
Chapter 583: 'Malfoy'
The three of them left Hagrid's Hut and encountered the young wizards who had been spectating earlier. They were not much older than Harry, Ron, and Hermione, brimming with curiosity. Harry had initially thought they would have scampered back to the castle, but they were still chatting excitedly by the roadside, debating whether to return.
"Those little brats", Ron remarked with a sigh.
Harry glanced back at them, wondering if they knew that he might soon be sewing clothes for Hagrid's dear brother in the Care of Magical Creatures class. The garment, currently hanging in Hagrid's hut, was larger than a tent.
As they walked up the stone steps, they saw Valen strolling near the castle entrance. Harry's spirits lifted, and he ran over to meet Valen's gaze.
"Is the Professor nearby?" he asked eagerly.
Since that long night, Valen had regained the Treasure Snake, which he carried daily, reassuring himself that all its treasures were inside. It looked up curiously, and upon hearing Harry's question, pointed in the direction of the Great Hall with its free hand.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the Great Hall but didn't find their target. "There", Hermione said, pointing towards the Staff Room. Harry realized where they needed to go but hesitated, knowing that Snape might be inside. He had been avoiding Snape recently.
"Let's go in and check", Hermione encouraged.
Just as Harry was about to push the door open, he heard Draco Malfoy's trembling voice from inside, "Yes, I'm sure." Harry withdrew his hand, and the three of them exchanged puzzled glances. Then, Professor Mcgonagall's stern voice echoed from the room, "Mr. Malfoy, do you understand the consequences of perjury?"
Draco didn't respond, seemingly stuck on the question.
Then, Professor Hup's voice joined in, "Let me ask a few questions—Malfoy, can I infer that you were unaware of Avery and Umbridge's true intentions, but you let your guard down because they claimed to be your father's friends?"
"…Yes, Professor."
Felix muttered to himself, "That makes sense. But when you followed them to—the, um, girls' bathroom—"
"Abandoned."
"Excuse me?"
"An abandoned girls' bathroom", Draco said, swallowing hard.
"Alright, so you followed them to the abandoned girls' bathroom. Umbridge forced you to help them and even made you sign a dangerous contract, but Hermione Granger's sudden appearance interrupted it?"
"Yes."
"Felix—" Professor Mcgonagall interjected sternly.
"You were scared and kept avoiding them?" Felix continued.
"Yes", Draco's voice lowered.
"Hmm, I see", Felix's tone lightened, sounding more confident. "I suspect that Avery must have secretly found Crabbe and Goyle and cast a Confundus Charm on them—"
"Felix, I must remind you that the Confundus Charm has a time limit", Professor Mcgonagall said irritably.
"I know, Minerva. But Crabbe and Goyle's minds—" Felix paused, "aren't the sharpest. They are perpetually confused and might even believe it was their own idea after the spell wears off. Only someone who knows them well, like Mr. Malfoy, would notice something amiss."
There was a sharp intake of breath from Professor Mcgonagall. Harry listened with bated breath, imagining her pursed lips and heaving chest, just like when he had mustered the courage to convince her to allow students to support Hogsmeade a few days ago.
She must be furious.
"Very well, Mr. Malfoy", Professor Mcgonagall said. "Thank you for your testimony. I will consider suspending Crabbe and Goyle's expulsion, unless new evidence emerges—indicating that they willingly acted as the Dark Lord's accomplices."
"Thank you, Professor", Malfoy said gratefully.
Footsteps approached the door, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione fumbled with the door handle. The door opened, and Draco Malfoy stared at them in surprise. Ron grinned, "Hello." Draco glared at them fiercely, slammed the door shut, and left without a word.
After the 'father-son sparring' at Christmas, Lucius had told him more than just their current situation; he had also discussed the future. According to his father, even if the war ended and the Hep side won, he planned to gradually reduce his influence.
"I am a spy, but also a Death Eater. As long as I remain active, both labels will stick. So, the future of the Malfoy family will depend on you."
Harry knocked on the door, but inside, Professor Mcgonagall was speaking loudly, and their knocking went unnoticed.
"Felix, there's no sign of any spell being cast on Crabbe and Goyle."
"… It's hard to say."
"Malfoy's testimony is full of holes, and he even claimed he had an argument with Crabbe."
"Hmm, it's a bit strange, but after my adjustments, it might make a bit more sense?"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood awkwardly at the door, watching as Professor Mcgonagall, hands on her hips, cornered Professor Hup against the wall. Professor Hup kept gesturing for her to calm down.
"Snicker." A laugh came from the corner, and Harry quickly turned his head to see Sirius sitting in an embroidered chair, holding a teacup and watching the scene.
"Potter, Weasley, Granger", Professor Mcgonagall noticed the three of them and stepped back a few paces. She took a few deep breaths, her expression returning to calm. "Very well, I will speak to Professor Dumbledore about this." She strode out of the room.
Besides Harry and his friends, only Sirius and Professor Hup remained in the Staff Room.
"Hmm—Can we ask what just happened?" Harry couldn't wait to ask.
Sirius pursed his lips. "Congratulations, you just witnessed a grand performance. Someone twisted the truth, treating school rules and the law as if they were nonexistent. They sheltered two potential Death Eaters, no, make that three."
"You mean Draco Malfoy?" Ron said. "He came to plead for Crabbe and Goyle? That doesn't sound like him."
"Exactly. When he realized these two not only broke school rules but could also face a Wizengamot trial, he wanted to back out", Sirius leaned back, lifting the front legs of his chair, and said with disdain, "Minerva pressed a few questions, and he panicked. That's when our upright and noble Professor Hup descended from the heavens, crafting a plausible excuse for Malfoy. What a noble act!"
"Tell me, Felix, how much did the Malfoy family pay you?" Sirius asked with a smirk.
"You should ask Remus. The Malfoys bought quite a few products from 'Future World' Inc. He knows the exact amount", Felix said lightly.
He walked over slowly, picked up the teapot from the table, and poured himself a cup of tea. Then he placed three cups next to three chairs and motioned for Harry and the others to sit down.
"Alright, Harry, what brings you here?" he asked.
Harry was taken aback.
He had many questions, but he doubted Professor Hup would readily answer them. Over the past few days, he and Ron and Hermione had discussed and analyzed various suspicious points.
If Headmaster Dumbledore had arranged for Order of the Phoenix members to infiltrate the school, it could be explained by their discovery of Voldemort's movements. But some things seemed too coincidental.
Why was Snape near the Headmaster's Office, and just coincidentally following Umbridge? But if his task was to deliver the password, it made sense. As for Professor Hup, his appearance was also dramatic, and a few seconds later, Umbridge would have disappeared with the Horcrux.
But if Professor Hup had been there all along…
"It's like the adults set a trap together", Hermione had said at the time.
Neville's parents seemed to know something, but they had left. Harry had casually mentioned it to Neville a few times, and each time, Neville became fidgety. When Ron asked, "Did you get a beating from your parents? Tell us, we won't laugh", Neville gave him a harsh glare.
Harry decided to let it go.
He cleared his sudden flood of thoughts and said slowly, "What will happen to Crabbe and Goyle?"
"Probably probation", Felix said nonchalantly.
"Their fathers—"
"Got caught on the spot", Sirius suddenly interjected. "Charged with assaulting the Ministry of Magic, they're probably sharing cells with the Lestrange brothers right now." He looked at Felix challengingly, as if expecting a rebuttal, but Felix remained unperturbed.
"Oh, um, what about Malfoy?" Harry held his breath and asked, "I mean, Lucius Malfoy?"
Sirius's face contorted.
"He got away."
"How?" Ron asked.
Sirius put his chair back down and looked at them. "We should be grateful for this outcome. Amelia said it was fortunate that the Anti-Apparition Zone was still in place."
"What's that?" Harry asked in surprise.
"Do you remember the Ancient Runic Script Exchange that was held in Hogsmeade?" Felix asked. The three of them nodded. They remembered it all too well. On that day, Voldemort had killed the Headmaster of Ilvermorny, stolen Salazar Slytherin's Snake Wand, and shortly afterward destroyed a significant part of Hogsmeade.
"… We speculated that Voldemort might take the opportunity to break into the Ministry of Magic—there was something very important to him there. For this reason, the Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix set up traps in advance, including the Anti-Apparition Zone. Unfortunately, he didn't show up last time."
Felix's tone was casual, but everyone present could sense the underlying tension. If Voldemort couldn't Apparate away and was trapped by Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Hup, the war might have ended that day.
"Professor?" Hermione asked, "I read in the newspaper about the Zabini Family—"
"Oh, I know about that", Felix interrupted, and Hermione fell silent.
Before leaving, Harry asked a question, "Do you still trust Snape after all this?"
"You should call him Professor Snape", Felix answered, seemingly avoiding the question.
Harry understood the answer.
…
"Lucius Malfoy is one of yours?" Sirius asked suddenly after closing the door.
Felix gave him a half-smile, half-smirk, "Did you catch a scent?"
"Don't use that metaphor", Sirius grumbled.
"I thought you'd like it—yes, you're right", Felix said.
Sirius sat up in surprise, "You're just telling me this?" He couldn't help but look Felix up and down, "He isn't being sold off because he's no longer useful, is he?"
Felix rolled his eyes.
"What kind of person do you think I am?"
"Cunning and devious", Sirius said without thinking.
Felix glared at him, considering whether to find an excuse to punch him. Sirius shivered and quickly changed the subject, "How are you planning to spend Valentine's Day? Any dates?"
"Of course."
"Really? With who?" Sirius asked, intrigued.
"Hah", Felix said dismissively.
February 14th. On Valentine's Day, students lined up to head to Hogsmeade for a fun day. They saw Filch standing at the school's main gate, glaring at the passing students and checking for forbidden items.
"Filch is still as unpleasant as ever, always looking for students to catch", Ron said.
"At least he's on our side, right?" Harry said.
"You set the bar pretty low", Ron replied. He suddenly hid behind Harry, "Help me hide."
"What's going on?" Harry looked in the opposite direction from Ron, seeing Parvati and Lavender Brown passing by together.
"She wants to go to Hogsmeade with me", Ron whispered. Once they were gone, he emerged.
"Lavender?" Harry guessed.
"Her", Ron said proudly, "Can't help it, too popular. Got a few cards."
Harry realized belatedly that he had received quite a few cards this year too. Ginny had said her hands were sore from opening them. Then they saw Professor Hup appear at the gate, dressed formally, and Apparate away.
"Someone got a date with a professor?" Ron asked, surprised.
"Don't know", Harry said bluntly. He saw Ginny coming over in a beautiful purple dress and pretended not to notice Luna, who was wearing a carrot earring and a sparkly outfit.
Having more people around was nice; it reduced the awkwardness, Harry thought.
Diagon Alley, Swordfort.
Felix stood at the door, examining it for a while before entering. In the spacious hall on the first floor, several people had already gathered, most of them with their faces covered by scarves.
These people kept their distance from each other, showing no interest in conversation.
Clemmy ran over.
"Everyone's here?" Felix asked.
"Everyone's here! Seven Squibs and twelve Wizards with Casting Impairments, all present", Clemmy said quickly. "Here are their files." She shoved a stack of parchment into Felix's arms and looked at him expectantly.
"Have fun—"
"Goodbye", Clemmy said curtly, turning and running off.
Felix clicked his tongue, feeling a bit down. He suddenly raised his hand, and the heavy door behind him slammed shut with a loud bang.
"Then, everyone, are you ready to feel the magic?"
(End of Chapter)
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