Chapter 67: Snape's Reaction
Chapter 67: Snape's Reaction
It was only halfway through lunchtime, and there were still quite a few students in the Great Hall, enjoying their delicious fried pork chops and roasted potatoes with friends, as they usually did.
However, at that moment, an incredibly putrid smell suddenly wafted in from outside.
The young wizards sitting closest to the entrance were the first to be affected, and they nearly emptied their stomachs on the table.
"Ugh...Damn, who dumped a dung bomb in the corridor!" a Gryffindor prefect with a badge shouted.
His outcry served as a warning to those inside.
The next second, they also caught a whiff of the foul odor.
Chaos erupted in the Great Hall, as students abandoned their meals and rushed towards the exit.
But when they got outside, they found the stench even stronger, and it was now impossible to turn back. They could only grit their teeth and head for their respective common rooms.
In the midst of the chaos, Percy keenly noticed that his two twin brothers, Fred and George, didn't seem to be in the Great Hall.
"Fred, George, I knew it was you..." Percy felt he had uncovered the truth. He squeezed out of the Great Hall and angrily made his way towards the Gryffindor common room. "I'm definitely writing to Mom about this!"
"My dear brother, what exactly do you plan to tell Mom..."
Just then, two identical figures appeared around the corner, blocking his path.
George teased, "Before you write to Mom, could you tell us what happened in the Great Hall? We were only gone for a while, and things seem to have gotten quite... lively."
"Don't play innocent," Percy fumed. "You think we don't know it was you who threw dung bombs all over the castle, affecting almost every student? You'll cause Gryffindor to lose a lot of points!"
"Wait, Percy..." Fred was equally angry. "Even if you are our beloved brother, you can't falsely accuse us like that."
"That's right," George nodded solemnly. "We were at the Quidditch pitch the whole time. How could we possibly have had time to throw dung bombs around the castle?"
"Don't make excuses," Percy snapped. "You..."
"Go ask the other players if you don't believe us," Fred interrupted angrily. "They can all vouch for us."
George gave him a disappointed look. "Percy, I never thought you'd stoop so low as to slander your own brothers just to curry favor."
"I will definitely be writing to Mom about this."
With that, the twins turned and walked away.
As Percy watched their retreating figures, he recalled their confident words earlier, and suddenly felt a twinge of doubt.
"Could I have been wrong?" he wondered, tugging at his hair anxiously. He considered chasing after them to apologize, but his pride got the better of him, and he stood there, conflicted.
Meanwhile, Fred and George had already burst into laughter the moment they were out of Percy's sight.
Fred took a deep breath, his eyes glazing over slightly as he inhaled the lingering stench. "Now that's what I call a dung bomb! Twenty galleons well spent—you certainly can't get this quality from the standard stuff."
"To be precise, nineteen galleons and ten Sickles," George corrected him. "Don't forget the bag of Bangers we got as well."
"My apologies, I forgot about those," Fred said, a hint of confusion in his voice. "But what does Kyle need those for? They pop at the slightest touch—they're the cheapest prank props around."
"Who knows.
Along the way, they also ran into Kyle, and the three shared a mutual glance, tacitly agreeing to not speak to one another.
By the time Kyle returned to the common room, quite a few people were already there.
"It was the Slytherin Quidditch team, including Rozier and Marcus," said a senior student sitting on the central sofa. "They were playing with a Dung Bomb in an empty classroom on the second floor and accidentally set it off, right when Peeves happened to be passing by. Peeves then started shouting in the corridor, attracting a lot of people. Now, Rozier and the others have been taken by Filch to Professor Snape's office."
"As for their claim that they're the victims, we actually believe them," he added.
After all, Rozier is a seventh-year student. No matter what, it's unlikely that he would lock himself in an abandoned classroom to play with a Dung Bomb. It's obvious that he was set up.
But that has nothing to do with them.
Harris, sitting next to him, took a big gulp of pumpkin juice and said with glee, "Serves them right!"
Someone in the crowd worriedly said, "Do you think Professor Snape will suspect us?"
"So what if he does?" Harris replied nonchalantly. "It wasn't us anyway. And the conflict between us and Rozier's group happened a week ago. Compared to that, Gryffindor is actually more suspicious."
...
"It must have been Gryffindor!" Rozier shivered in the Potions classroom.
Marcus and the others had been taken away by Filch to be locked up, leaving only Rozier behind. He stood in the corner, his face dark and dejected.
Aside from the direct impact of the Dung Bomb, he was also freezing.
When Filch had brought him here, Snape had rinsed him with clean water three times and did not allow him to use any spell to dry his clothes.
Only then could the putrid smell on his body be less noticeable.
However, the problem was that the Potions classroom was right next to the underground classroom, which was already cold. Plus, it was already November, and the slight breeze made it even more chilling.
In just a few minutes, a thin layer of ice had formed on Rozier's clothes.
"I don't need you to tell me that," Snape said coldly, glancing at him. "What I can't understand is how you could be so stupid as to not only buy a Dung Bomb but also set it off yourself... Did you lend your brain to a troll?"
"Professor, I didn't mean to set it off," Rozier stammered, shivering. "I just wanted to hide it, but I didn't expect Peeves to show up..."
Rozier explained the situation, omitting some unimportant details and successfully portraying himself as a good captain who cared about Slytherin's honor.
After listening to his explanation, Snape looked at him expressionlessly and asked, "Is that the truth?"
"It's the truth," Rozier asserted firmly. "I can assure you, Professor."
"Good, at least you're not completely idiotic."
Snape threw him a bottle of potion. "Now scram and find Filch."
Rozier felt like he had been pardoned. He took the potion and immediately poured it into his mouth.
The purple potion made his face turn even greener, and he started coughing uncontrollably.
To be honest, the taste wasn't much better than the Dung Bomb.
(End of Chapter)
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