Chapter 724: The Sealed Floo Network
Chapter 724: The Sealed Floo Network
As expected, the Prophet Daily featured a two-part article on the attack on Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, at the Ministry of Magic. The incident immediately caused a stir at Hogwarts, and the Great Hall buzzed with discussion throughout breakfast.
Kyle scanned the tables and noticed that Susan was absent. Most likely, she was still in her dormitory, trying to calm herself down.
The previous night, Professor Sprout had visited the Common Room to inform Susan that she wouldn't need to attend classes for a few days, allowing her time to recover.
Under normal circumstances, Susan would have been overjoyed, but last night, she couldn't bring herself to smile. Instead, she silently kept her head down.
The entire day passed without anyone spotting her elsewhere in the castle.
"Slughorn is such a snob!" Mikael exclaimed during dinner, venting his frustration about a certain professor.
"You know, he held a gathering in his office over the weekend, but he didn't invite Susan."
"So what..." someone said dismissively, "If it's a gathering organized by Professor Slughorn himself, it's his choice whom to invite."
"You're too naive. You don't know the inside story." Mikael shook his finger, ready to enlighten the others.
"I heard that Professor Slughorn's Slug Club only invites students who are already exceptional or come from influential families."
"Susan was initially invited, but after he read the newspaper, he immediately snatched back the invitation. That stupid old slug!"
"That's hard to believe..." someone remained unconvinced, as it was difficult to imagine Professor Slughorn, a professor, resorting to such a rude act of taking back an invitation.
"Mikael, how do you know he took back the invitation?"
"Because I was right there, asked to deliver a message..." Mikael huffed, "He snatched the invitation right from my hand. How could I not know?"
After a moment of silence, the person continued, "Is it possible that Professor Slughorn wanted Susan to have some quiet time?"
"Think about it, with such a major incident happening, how could she be in the mood to attend a party?"
"I don't think so." Mikael scoffed, "What if Susan wanted to change her mood? He didn't need to take back the invitation."
Hearing Mikael's words, Cona curiously asked, "Is Professor Slughorn really like that?"
"More or less, but I think Mikael is exaggerating."
Kyle pondered for a moment before saying, "While Professor Slughorn does favor students from prestigious families and is quite pragmatic, he has never been impolite enough to take back an invitation. At most, he might not invite someone."
"In that case, should I go?" Cona looked down at the parchment scroll in her hand.
This was the invitation Mikael had just delivered, inviting her to a small gathering in the Potions office on Friday evening.
Cona had been curious about the gathering, but now she wasn't so keen on attending.
"It's up to you." Kyle poured himself some pumpkin juice, "To be honest, these gatherings are just for chatting, eating, drinking, and everyone flattering each other. There's no real substance, and you won't learn anything about potions from them."
"What? Then I'm not going!" Cona declared.
Not knowing Professor Slughorn and having not attended the train gathering, she had assumed it would be an academic exchange about potions.
It would be similar to the gatherings Snape took her to during the holidays... where everyone gathered to discuss their latest discoveries in potion ingredients or the pros and cons of different cauldron models.
"Sure, if you don't want to go, it's no big deal." Kyle took a bite of his fried pork chop, "But have you thought of an excuse?"
"An excuse?"
"Yes." Kyle said, "After all, Professor Slughorn is still a professor, and you should have a reason to decline his invitation."
"Hmm... What if I say I have homework to do?" Cona asked tentatively.
"That's possible, but it might not work." Kyle said, "Harry used this excuse, but the next day, Professor Slughorn formed a study group and invited a few people to help Harry with his homework.
"You don't know, Harry was so stunned that he didn't recover until the next day."
Cona shivered involuntarily at the thought of being surrounded by a group of people helping her with homework.
No, she needed a different excuse.
"I have an idea..." Kyle suddenly spoke up, "Here's what you can do. Go to Professor Snape and ask him to put you in detention on Friday evening. That way, you'll have a valid reason to decline Professor Slughorn's invitation."
Cona's eyes lit up.
Indeed, detention—how had she not thought of that? It was the perfect excuse, and Professor Slughorn wouldn't dare to show up at the detention room.
"Perfect, we have a Defense Against the Dark Arts class tomorrow..." Cona said excitedly, "I'll ask Professor Snape to put us both in detention on Friday..."
"No, absolutely not!" Kyle quickly stopped her dangerous idea, emphasizing, "Just ask for detention for yourself, not me. That's very important.
Kyle received a letter from the Ministry of Magic, signed by Fudge, requesting his presence at the Ministry to discuss matters. Having just finished Potions class, Kyle showed the letter to Professor Slughorn, who immediately urged him to go. Kyle, however, had his doubts about the nature of the request.
Since Amelia Bones, a Ministry official, had been attacked by Death Eaters, public trust in the Ministry had plummeted. Kyle believed the most effective solution was for Fudge to resign and be replaced by a more capable leader, like Dumbledore.
Kyle made his way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, which was still Snape's classroom in the basement due to the difficulty of relocating his extensive collection of potion ingredients. This room was previously occupied by Umbridge, who had installed a Floo Network connection to the Ministry. Although she had left Hogwarts, the line remained for exceptional students admitted to the Ministry's internship program. Dumbledore had placed an Armored Guard at the entrance, allowing access only to those who knew the password.
"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans!" Kyle exclaimed, and the guard turned to allow him entry. The password was in line with the Headmaster's Office, and thankfully, Honeydukes' extensive product range provided ample options.
The room had been stripped of its flamboyant decorations and cat plates, leaving only a bare table and a few chairs, a much more pleasing sight. Kyle ignited the fireplace and tossed a handful of Floo Powder into it, but instead of the expected color change, a head emerged from the flames, sporting a neatly trimmed beard.
"I need to go to the Ministry," Kyle said, producing the letter he had received. The man in the fireplace glanced at the letter and Fudge's signature.
"I'm sorry, but this Floo Network has been sealed off," he stated without acknowledging the signature. "Per the request of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts will be on high alert. All Floo Networks, except for the one in the Headmaster's Office, will be closed, including this one. This fireplace will be permanently sealed, and no one will be able to use it."
"Alright," Kyle replied, looking at the letter in his hand. "But what about this? The Minister wants me there as soon as possible."
"You are still a student," the man continued impassively. "You don't need to get involved in other matters."
With that, he disappeared, leaving Kyle alone with the crackling fire. Kyle glanced at the letter once more, tossed it into the flames, and sat down in a chair, watching as the parchment slowly burned away.
He speculated that the Floo Network might have been sealed due to Amelia Bones' incident. Although it was unclear how the Death Eaters had entered the Ministry, it suggested another possibility—they might have used the fireplaces within the Ministry to access Hogwarts via the Floo Network.
Dumbledore must have realized this, which is why he insisted on sealing the fireplace.
But Kyle was quite pleased with the outcome... He had not only avoided Slughorn's invitation but also the need to face Fudge at the Ministry of Magic. It was perfect.
A minute later, Kyle extinguished the flames and left the classroom.
This was a good excuse; if Slughorn invited him again, he could simply say he had to go to the Ministry. After all, it was unlikely that he would go to the Ministry to verify whether he had been there or not.
Of course, this was on the condition that Slughorn didn't catch him during this time.
Kyle went downstairs and made his way to the Hufflepuff common room.
Cona was there too.
"I thought you were going to the Ministry?" she asked in surprise as Kyle entered.
"The Floo Network at school is closed, so I can't get out," Kyle explained, briefly recounting what had happened earlier.
"What about you? Weren't you supposed to be in detention?"
"I am in detention," Cona said seriously. "Professor Snape insisted that I finish reading this book."
She picked up the book on the table, "Advanced Potions," and continued, "I asked if I could come back to read it, and he agreed."
"Um... okay then..." Kyle mumbled.
Indeed, Snape's detention was like being at home for Cona. Who else could make requests during detention?
"I remember you finished 'Advanced Potions' two years ago, right?" Kyle sat down in the armchair next to her. "Why are you reading it again?"
"I only read half of it back then," Cona explained. "Professor Snape thought I wasn't ready for the latter part, so he took it away."
She opened the page she was reading and showed it to Kyle.
On it was a drawing of a person whose body was severely distorted and out of proportion.
The Giant Potion... It could make an ordinary person as big as a giant, but it also caused immense pain, as if the person were being blown up.
Additionally, there were the Boiling Blood Potion, the Madness Potion...
In short, these were the dark potions of the magical world, not pleasant at all. However, some of the unique herb combinations were essential knowledge for learning potions.
This was the main reason why "Advanced Potions" was placed in the restricted section. As for the Polyjuice Potion, it was just a minor part of the book.
The two of them spent time in the common room.
The next day was the first weekend of October, and it was the long-awaited Hogsmeade visit day.
With the increasingly strict security measures around the school, they had thought they wouldn't be able to go to Hogsmeade, but now everyone was excited after seeing the announcement.
Despite the recent dangers, everyone was eager to get out of the castle.
The professors seemed to agree that it was a good idea to let the students have some fun occasionally, so they arranged the Hogsmeade visit day.
In the morning, a strong wind blew outside, carrying small raindrops, but it didn't dampen anyone's enthusiasm.
During breakfast, everyone was excited. Mikael and Ryan were discussing what they would buy in Hogsmeade, and they had made a long list that included almost every shop.
At the door, there was a commotion, and they could tell it was Harry and the others from the voices.
"Hermione, we've already tried it, and the notes are perfectly fine," the familiar trio entered the Great Hall.
Harry was excitedly saying, "I never thought I'd get extra points in Potions class; it's incredible."
"But that's not your ability!" Hermione said sternly.
"But there must be some part of it!" Harry argued. "I did look at Kyle's notes, but I did the process myself. Everyone follows the instructions in the book, right?"
"It's not the same!" Hermione said.
"What's the difference?" Ron said nonchalantly, still excited from something that had just happened.
"I get it, Hermione, you're just jealous that our Potions scores are better than yours..."
"That has nothing to do with it," Hermione said, her cheeks turning red. "I just think you shouldn't take shortcuts."
"But our potion turned out perfectly, didn't it?" Ron said. "Even Professor Slughorn couldn't find any faults. If the result is the same, isn't it better to have a simpler process?"
The three of them argued, and no one could convince the others. They didn't notice that they had become the center of attention.
"What notes did you lend them?" Cona asked curiously.
"Just some small tips Professor Snape taught," Kyle shrugged. "I guess when we had Potions class before, none of them noticed that the process Professor Snape wrote on the blackboard was a bit different from the book."
This wasn't hard to understand; Hermione must have been focusing mainly on the book.
As for Harry and Ron... When they took Snape's Potions class, they hardly dared to look up, let alone compare the book with the blackboard.
...
(End of Chapter)
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