Chapter 645: Scheming and Slyness
Chapter 645: Scheming and Slyness
News of the capture of the Slytherin heir spread quickly throughout the castle, and students who remained at school hurried out of their common rooms and rushed to the Great Hall to attend the celebration banquet.
As Albert and Hermione approached the Great Hall, they encountered Filch, the caretaker, at the entrance, holding a cat and flashing a creepy smile at Albert.
"I believe Filch wants to express his gratitude toward you," Hermione whispered as she entered the Great Hall, stealing a glance back at Filch. "If it weren't for the strong healing potions you provided, we might have had to stay in bed for another month."
Thinking about it made Hermione feel a bit scared. Waking up only to face the end-of-term exams with no preparation would have been a disaster.
The Great Hall was bustling with activity, as a group of people gathered around Harry, eagerly asking about what had happened in the Chamber of Secrets.
Fortunately, Fred and George had reminded Harry beforehand, so he didn't reveal anything.
"Hermione!"
Ron, standing outside the crowd, spotted Hermione entering the hall with Albert and quickly made his way over.
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan waved at Albert.
However, Albert temporarily ignored the three of them and made his way toward the Ravenclaw table. He walked up to Isabelle and reached out to remove the golden-framed glasses from her face. "You won't need these anymore."
While Isabelle looked more intellectually charming with her glasses, Albert preferred her without them.
"Is it resolved?" Isabelle immediately sensed the change in Albert's attitude.
"It's resolved. Truly worthy of the savior," Albert murmured as he gazed at Harry, who was surrounded by people.
"Our great detective, don't hide anymore. Everyone already knows it was you who caught the Slytherin heir and found the entrance to the Chamber," Katrina said loudly, causing many of the girls surrounding Harry to turn toward them and swarm around Albert, bombarding him with questions.
Isabelle glared at her sister, watching her boyfriend being surrounded by girls.
"That guy already has a girlfriend, yet he's still flirting with other girls!" Katrina had also seen Albert chatting and laughing with a girl as they entered the hall.
As for why they were late, it didn't take a genius to guess that he had gone to play the role of a prince waking up his princess.
Although Hermione Granger might not be a princess, Albert was certainly the white knight in the eyes of many girls at Hogwarts.
"Aren't you even a little angry?" Katrina asked, astonished.
"No," Isabelle replied.
She put away her glasses and looked at her sister, asking, "Why should I be angry? Just because he talked to a few other girls?"
Katrina stared at her sister in shock. "You two haven't broken up, have you?"
"Of course not!"
Isabelle's gaze shifted to Albert, who was still surrounded by the crowd, and she couldn't help but feel relieved. She probably guessed what Albert had done.
To be honest, Isabelle didn't like the idea of Albert going on adventures.
At this point, even if Katrina didn't use her brain, she could guess that something was being hidden from her. Something had definitely happened between the two of them that she didn't know about.
"You two haven't..." Katrina trailed off, remembering how Isabelle had gone to Sicily Island with Albert during the winter break and seemed to get along well with his family, and his mother seemed to like Albert as well.
"No!"
"Albert still has three more years before he graduates," Isabelle said, knowing exactly what her sister was thinking.
"Why aren't you wearing a ring?" Katrina asked, her jealousy flaring up despite her anticipation of this day.
If it was that guy, doing something like this wouldn't be surprising at all.
As for the lack of a ring, Katrina refused to believe it. Otherwise, why would Isabelle be acting like this?
Dumbledore's arrival provided Albert with an opportunity to extricate himself from the crowd.
The banquet began, and the tables were piled high with food, even more lavish than the feast at the start of the term. The house-elves in the kitchen must have pulled out all the stops.
Albert even spotted some foreign dishes among the spread.
"I have some good news to share with you all." Dumbledore gestured for quiet. "The Slytherin heir has been captured."
"Who is it?!"
Instead of quieting down, the Great Hall erupted in a clamor as everyone wanted to know the identity of the culprit.
"It's the same person as last time." Dumbledore smiled. "However, Voldemort was acting through another individual this time, using a diary he left behind."
A shudder ran through the students in the Great Hall at the mention of Voldemort, their faces filled with shock and unease.
"Now that the attacks have ceased, peace will return to Hogwarts. However, I have some unfortunate news to share. Professor Lockhart has suffered a severe memory charm at the hands of Voldemort and is no longer capable of teaching. Therefore, the remainder of the term's Defense Against the Dark Arts classes and exams will be canceled."
The banquet was interrupted midway through by an unexpected visitor.
Lucius Malfoy stormed into the Great Hall, providing everyone with a dramatic scene of public humiliation, his face contorted with rage as he left.
"Harry, do you know how to free a house-elf?"
Albert, watching Mr. Malfoy's angry departure, winked at Harry and said, "All a master needs to do is give a piece of clothing to the house-elf, and they will be free. If you want to help that poor house-elf, this is a good way to do it!"
"But what should I do?"
Harry asked, eager to help Dobby escape the Malfoy family.
"Why don't you ask the clever Miss Granger?" Albert forked a piece of beef and popped it into his mouth. "I'm sure she'll help you figure it out."
"We'll help you, too."
Ron, his mouth full, mumbled his support.
"We'll help!" Fred and George, waving their cutlery in the air, immediately agreed.
If they could get rid of the Malfoy family's house-elf, that would be fantastic. They hadn't forgotten that it was Lucius Malfoy who had caused Ginny so much suffering.
This matter couldn't be left unresolved.
Some were happy, some were sad, and some were a mix of both.
In the office of the Minister of Magic, Fudge was both pleased and annoyed as he read Dumbledore's letter. Dumbledore informed him that the Slytherin heir had been caught and Ginny Weasley, who had been taken to the Chamber, had been rescued. The attacks were truly over, and the real culprit was not Hagrid.
Fudge didn't really care about the fate of the oaf, but he hadn't forgotten that if Hagrid was proven innocent, the Ministry would have to publish a retraction in the Daily Prophet to restore Hagrid's reputation, forcing Fudge to admit his mistake. It would be more disgusting than feeding him flies.
Even though Fudge wanted to pretend he'd forgotten about it, Dumbledore had reminded him of it again at the end of the letter.
"He's doing it on purpose," Fudge grumbled, crumpling the letter and calling for his assistant. He instructed the assistant to publish the news in a small, obscure corner of the Daily Prophet where no one would likely notice it.
As long as the news was in the Prophet, he could claim he'd kept his word. Whether anyone paid attention to it or not was none of his concern.
(End of Chapter)
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