Chapter 784: Asking for Trouble
Chapter 784: Asking for Trouble
Most fifth-year students were keenly interested in the content of their O.W.L.S. exams, and they took the task of dealing with the Boggart very seriously. Whether or not the practical exam would involve banishing a Boggart again, they weren't going to take any chances with their grades.
After all, there had been two consecutive years of this happening, which was enough proof that mastering the expulsion of a Boggart was important. Who knew if their year would continue this trend?
With the experience gained from the last gathering to deal with the Boggart, most of the fifth-year students were well-prepared. They easily used the "Riddikulus" charm to defeat the Boggart within the trunk.
Once the majority of the students had successfully faced the Boggart, Albert encouraged those who were willing to stay and take turns practicing. It wouldn't do to have them just standing around; it was important to foster unity. Once again, the Room of Requirement was filled with joyous laughter.
However, Harry forfeited his chance to face the Boggart again, so people's wishes to see the mysterious man in a long skirt were not fulfilled.
Time always passed quickly when they were having fun. After the gathering, Albert put the Boggart back into the trunk, cleared his throat, and said to everyone, "At the next gathering, I will start teaching you the necessary curse-breaking and defensive spells. Well, today's gathering is over. Please leave in an orderly manner."
As they exited through the hidden passage, Harry stretched lazily and said with a smile, "Now that I think about it, today's gathering was really quite interesting."
"I thought you guys would find it boring," Hermione said doubtfully as she looked at Harry and Ron. To be honest, she had found it quite dull. She hadn't learned much useful information, and most of the time, she could only stand on the sidelines and watch others deal with the Boggart.
"Boring? How could it be?" Ron laughed, "This was the first time I've seen a group of troublemaking Slytherins carried out horizontally. It's truly impressive, Albert. You said you'd throw them out, and you really did toss them into the corridor."
Malfoy was one of those they had carried out together, and it had felt fantastic.
Harry looked at the Slytherin students lying haphazardly in the corridor, walked up to Malfoy, and looked down at the unfortunate, immobile boy. With a grin, he said, "I really don't understand why that bunch of idiots came to cause trouble. Were they asking for a beating?"
"What should we do with them?" Hermione frowned as she looked at the Slytherins lying in the corridor. "Would leaving them here cause trouble for Albert?"
"Everyone can testify that they came to cause trouble," Harry said, not believing that Albert would suffer any losses from this incident. From what he knew of Albert, that guy wasn't one to let himself be taken advantage of.
Ron agreed with Harry. Even if Snape was unreasonable, Professor McGonagall definitely wouldn't blame Albert. After all, this was like going to the library and disturbing others while they studied.
Moreover, Albert was Professor McGonagall's favorite student. Even Snape would probably just glare at him.
"If you're usually up to no good, you'll get what's coming to you," Harry said, punching Malfoy in the nose. "This punch is for Hagrid, and this one is for Buckbeak, who almost died because of you."
"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione was startled by Harry's actions and reached out to pull him away.
"I'm getting revenge, of course. If Buckbeak hadn't flown away on his own, he really would have been killed by this jerk. Beating him up a bit is not too much, is it?"
"Buckbeak is not..."
"Right, Ron," Harry interrupted loudly. "I remember that last time, Malfoy sent you a gift in the hospital wing. You forgot to return the favor. Today's a good opportunity. I remember he likes spiders and keeps a bunch of them. Maybe we can get some and send them to him."
"All I have left is this." Ron pulled out a Dungbomb from his pocket and, ignoring Malfoy's terrified gaze, was about to stuff it into the other boy's mouth. However, he was stopped by Hermione, so he decided to put the Dungbomb into Malfoy's pants instead, then turn him over and crush it.
A putrid smell immediately wafted from Malfoy's trousers.
"I learned this from Fred and George," Ron said.
"We heard that, and be careful, or we'll accuse you of slander," Fred said, grabbing Ron's shoulder. "If it were me, I'd put the Dungbomb directly into his underwear."
"Or you could wet his pants and let everyone know Malfoy peed himself," George added.
"Is there a need to go to such lengths?" Hermione frowned and asked. She wanted to hear Albert's opinion, but he seemed to have disappeared.
"You don't need to hold back when dealing with those troublemakers," George said indifferently. "This guy almost got Hagrid sent to Azkaban and nearly killed Buckbeak. Old Malfoy deliberately caused trouble for Headmaster Dumbledore. I can't think of any reason to go easy on him."
In the end, this incident attracted the attention of Professor McGonagall. Naturally, a group of students lying in the corridor at night wouldn't be ignored by Filch, and the outcome was predictable. The next day, Albert was summoned to Professor McGonagall's office, along with Fred, George, and Lee Jordan.
"Now, Mr. Anderson, what exactly were you lot up to?" Professor McGonagall asked angrily. She had been quite upset when she learned about the incident yesterday.
Albert glanced at Snape, who was standing beside the professor, and said calmly, "At eight o'clock last night, I was giving everyone extra lessons in Defense Against the Dark Arts. During our gathering, they came over to cause trouble. As you know, everyone is currently busy preparing for their O.W.L.S. exams, so tensions are high, and tempers are short. When they saw someone disrupting our session, they asked them to leave so as not to disturb us. However, they didn't seem willing to just leave, so..."
Fred, George, and Lee Jordan struggled to hold back their laughter, keeping their heads down to avoid eye contact with anyone else.
"So, you cast a spell on them," Professor McGonagall said, her expression softening slightly. She obviously didn't think Albert would lie, especially with so many witnesses present.
"No, Professor McGonagall, they were the ones who first attacked me with a Dark curse. Many students can testify to that," Albert said helplessly. "Then, they were forcibly removed by the other students because, as I said, everyone is under a lot of pressure and easily irritable, so it's understandable that they lost control when faced with such a situation."
"You threw them out into the corridor?"
"Well, the gathering had to continue, and everyone had taken the time to come, so it wouldn't do for them to leave without learning anything, right?"
"You were giving them extra lessons in Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Snape asked hoarsely.
"Is there a problem, Professor?" Albert countered. "We just wanted to make sure that our grades for the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam wouldn't be too terrible."
"Alright, that's enough about this matter. Just make sure it doesn't happen again," Professor McGonagall warned.
"No one wants a repeat of this, Professor," Albert said.
"Since you're all here, let's discuss the matter of career counseling." Professor McGonagall started shooing them out.
Snape left directly. As for causing trouble for Albert, there was really no way to do that. When others were busy preparing for their exams, deliberately causing a disturbance was just asking for trouble.
"Now, who wants to go first?" Professor McGonagall turned her attention back to the four students in front of her.
"Let Albert go first," Fred, George, and Lee Jordan stepped back together and pointed at Albert.
(End of Chapter)
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