days at Hogwarts

Chapter 772 Night Tour Gathering
After lights out late at night, in the Gryffindor common room.

Loren mingled with the crowd and chatted to kill time. Not long after, Hermione came out of the girls' dormitory to meet him, ready to participate in this night tour. Almost all the seventh-year students of Gryffindor were present, except for the two prefects, Parvati and Neville.

Parvati disguised herself as Padma and infiltrated the Ravenclaw team.

Neville went to Hufflepuff to find Hannah.

The two prefects did not break the law knowingly, nor did they ignore the violation of school rules by their fellow students. They just happened to be absent from the scene and failed to stop it in time. They were conscientious and flexible in their duties, which was admirable.

Exit the common room through the portrait hole.

Loren was stunned when he saw the Fat Lady on the painting hanging at the entrance of the cave. He watched the students disappear around the corner of the corridor, raised his head to look at the corridor window, then looked at the students who left in an orderly manner. He frowned and scratched his head, somewhat doubting his life.

"It's still late at night, why are you getting up to go to school?

"Did I oversleep?

"Or was it the fake wine Violet gave me?"

These mutterings to themselves caused several students behind to chuckle.

After crawling out of the portrait hole, the originally noisy and boisterous voices in the common room suddenly quieted down. The group of people in unison lowered their voices and immersed themselves in strolling in the castle corridor late at night.

The moonlight poured through the windows evenly onto the corridor floor, which was bright and clear, like the lake water in early spring. The shadowy perch swimming in the water turned out to be groups of little wizards.

Arriving at the corridor on the third floor of the castle, they met the Hufflepuff team. Justin and Ernie stood behind the hunchbacked one-eyed witch, tapping their wands and muttering to themselves.

"[Alajo Cave Opens]"

"Open Sesame"

"..."

There is a secret passage under the base of the statue leading to Honeydukes candy store. It was filled and sealed during that time to prevent Death Eaters and Voldemort. I don’t know if it has been reopened.

The two colleges joined together and the team gradually grew stronger.

Loren roughly counted the number of people. Not all Hufflepuffs were out, and there were still some obedient children in Badger House. Seeing that his prefect and his girlfriend were lagging behind, he pulled Hermione to slow down and came to Neville and Hannah. A group of acquaintances greeted them warmly.

Neville looked at the dense crowd in front of him, laughed twice, and said with emotion: "With so many people swimming at night at the same time, even if he ran into Mr. Filch, he wouldn't be able to catch him."

"..."

Just one sentence makes people around him nervous.

Loren couldn't help but look at Seamus and Dean beside him. Their eyes were wide open and their expressions were particularly determined.

If an administrator is really caught, the others may be able to escape. However, as the planners and organizers of this event, the two of them will not be able to escape. Deducting points is just a small matter. They will probably be put in solitary confinement for the next few months.

Dean turned around and said calmly, "It's just detention. It's just chores like cleaning the trophy room, scrubbing the castle bathroom, or handling potion materials for Snape. We were prepared for detention before school started."

"..."

The people around him fell silent.

As if he could see what they were thinking, Seamus showed a deep and determined expression: "You know, my first experience of night outing was in my first year. Harry and Malfoy had a conflict and agreed to a duel late at night. At first I thought it was just a matter between Harry and Malfoy, and at most my assistant Ron, but in the end all my roommates went. I was the only one who stupidly stayed in the dormitory that night and went to bed very early..."

Loren and Hermione recalled the scene of that year, with a glimmer of reminiscence in their eyes.

"After returning to the dormitory, they told me about the wonderful adventure that night, the mysterious books in the restricted section of the library, the exciting chase between Filch and Mrs. Norris, and the three-headed dog Fluffy... It was so fascinating. At that time, I made up my mind to go on a great adventure too!

"So I joined their night tour group and took part in my first night tour in my life, and then..."

"What happened next?" Hannah asked curiously.

"..."

Seamus didn't answer, but turned to look at Loren, Hermione, and Neville beside him.

The three of them couldn't help but smile. Neville explained softly, "Then we ran into Headmaster Dumbledore. We were standing in an abandoned classroom and were too scared to speak. We thought we were going to be expelled."

Hannah smiled.

We continued to go downstairs and encountered several groups of Ravenclaw and Slytherin students. They did not gather together, but went out in twos and threes. Ravenclaw was smart, and Slytherin was cautious, thinking that this would be more flexible and easier to escape from when being chased by professors or Filch.

There were also a few students who felt that the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff teams were more lively, so they stayed and the night tour group grew larger and larger.

The students who stayed behind in Slytherin were all familiar faces, a small group led by Draco Malfoy, and in addition to Theodore Nott and Goyle, there were also Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass...

The group of people gathered together but did not speak, quietly looking at the brick and stone paintings on the castle walls, with a hint of nostalgia in their eyes.

Pansy Parkinson looked at Daphne Greengrass several times, her lips moving slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but she hesitated several times and never opened her mouth.

During the class, Draco came over to talk to Neville, mainly because of the messy things that happened in the lower grades, such as snatching the memory ball, laughing at his clothes, and even casting a curse to play tricks on people...

Draco apologized briefly and sincerely, and Neville responded with a smile, saying that he had a bad memory and had almost forgotten everything.

Then they shook hands, smiled, and went their separate ways.

Hermione held Loren's hand and blended silently into the crowd, as if recalling the time when she first entered school and also fell behind the team like this. She felt at ease knowing that he was by her side without saying a word.

In her blind spot, Loren was trying to prick up his ears.

Neville could vaguely hear him whispering to Hannah, saying something like "I actually remember everything, I just said I forgave him, but I didn't", and Hannah smiled, holding his arm tightly all the time.

People with kind hearts will seem gentle even when they hold grudges.

Justin and Ernie chatted with Harry, occasionally talking about the criticism and discussion against him in the lower grades, always saying sorry and complaining about their stupidity and shallowness back then. Harry didn't care, and replied with a smile, saying that he had done a lot of stupid things at that time.

Compared to the complicated human entanglements in the back row, the students on a night out in the front row are much more pure.

"Let me tell you! That's where we met the three-headed dog Fluffy. You know the three-headed dog? The left head can spit fire, the right head can spit poison gas, and the middle head..."

Ron was stuck for a moment, not knowing what to say in his head, but he had been telling stories to others for many years and had encountered this kind of question more than once or twice. With his accumulated experience, he quickly passed it off:
"Well, it's very difficult to deal with anyway. It's much bigger than a Hippogriff, even bigger than a Hebridean Black Dragon!"

"It can't fit, right? There aren't classrooms that big in the castle." An unknown Hufflepuff student asked weakly. "What do you mean it can't fit in the classroom? How come it can't fit in? Do you know the Invisible Extension Charm?" Ron glared at him fiercely, "You're a seventh-year student, but you don't even know this common sense. Stop talking and concentrate on listening to me."

The Hufflepuff students fell silent.

"That year, Voldemort attached himself to the back of Professor Quirrell's head and sneaked into the school in an attempt to steal the Philosopher's Stone. However, Dumbledore had already noticed his plot and set up several levels of defense to protect the Philosopher's Stone..."

Ron pinched his throat and lowered his voice. The story he had polished over and over again was concise and vivid. In just a few sentences, he created the tense and exciting atmosphere of the time.

"but!"

He suddenly raised his voice, "No one expected that several members of the school board were former Death Eaters. They plotted to lure Dumbledore away, and while the headmaster was teaching the school, Voldemort took action!"

Ron swallowed, thinking this part was particularly well said. He looked up at the expressions of the crowd and found that they were indeed shocked. Their faces were pale, their eyes were wide open, and their expressions were terrified.

Is the effect really that good?
Why haven’t I seen this expression when I spoke before?
While Ron was wondering, he caught a glimpse of the Hufflepuff classmate who had been silenced by him, winking at him with a distorted face and an expression of fear. The other students had also quieted down and stood quietly where they were.

Something seems wrong...

Ron had a bad premonition in his heart. He slowly turned around and looked carefully. Suddenly, his scalp went numb and his whole body went cold.

Filch, the administrator in a gray-brown robe, was standing at the corner at the end of the corridor, half of his body hidden in the shadows, the other half of his face exposed was gloomy and terrifying, and he stared at the students with narrowed eyes.

Mrs. Norris squatted beside it, raised her front paw and licked it slowly, just like the expression she would have when she caught a mouse.

"Mr. Filch."

Just as Seamus and Dean were about to step forward to confess, Loren came out from behind the crowd and greeted them gently and politely: "Good evening, Mr. Filch."

"..."

The students in the corridor suddenly fell silent.

Even Filch couldn't help but frown slightly.

He was no stranger to this Loren Morgan. Five years ago, when the Chamber of Secrets was reopened, Voldemort used magic to leave indelible stains on the wall. This Morgan and his girlfriend Granger once helped clean the stains on the wall.

He has excellent grades but a lazy attitude. Professors always talk about this name when dining at the guest table. Dumbledore seems to be very optimistic about this student.

Most importantly, he is the owner of the ugly ginger persimmon-faced cat. The damn Crookshanks always tricks his own Mrs. Norris into going out to play and comes back covered in dirt. He also swindles Mrs. Norris for her snacks. He is cunning and hateful.

Filch remained silent and stared at Loren, wondering what he was up to.

"Mr. Filch, George and Fred asked me to give you their regards."

"..."

Ron, who was standing next to him, immediately broke into a sweat for him and became secretly anxious.

Why mention George and Fred at this time?
Don't you know Filch hates them both?
There was a faint cold light in Filch's eyes.

"George and Fred asked me to give you a gift, Mr. Filch. This is a new product from Magic Joke Shop, the latest improved fake wand." Loren said, taking out a few thin sticks in the shape of wands from the pendant and handing them over. "Although they are fake wands, they can release some simple magic by waving them, such as making orchids bloom and water flow like a spring. They also plan to develop fake wands with more functions in the future."

The moonlight was cold and the corridor was silent. Dozens of seventh graders stared at the fake wands, almost as if they could hear Seamus and Dean's breathing.

"..."

Filch stared at the fake wand in his hand with a blank expression, and said in a hoarse voice: "According to the school rules revised last year, the goods in Weasley's Wizarding Joke Shop are prohibited items. The administrator is obliged to confiscate and keep them."

Loren didn't say anything, just nodded and smiled.

Filch took the fake wands, glanced at the students present, was silent for a moment, turned around unsteadily, and dragged his old and thin body towards the stairs. Mrs. Norris shook her soft fur, stretched her front paws, and followed him with light steps.

The students present were still somewhat in disbelief as they watched his back disappear around the corner.

"Just left like that? Filch, who has been clamoring to reinstate corporal punishment and hanging students up and whipping them since I started school, just left like that?" Ron muttered to himself, a little dazed.

"I thought I would be in solitary confinement for a few months?"

Seamus and Dean looked at each other, let out a long breath, and were filled with relief.

With the tacit approval of the administrator, the young wizard felt relieved. He no longer had to worry about being caught by the professor or the administrator. The pressure dropped dramatically, and he was no longer nervous about night walks. He felt more relaxed and leisurely.

The students present walked in groups of two or three along the castle, just like in the daytime, without rushing to the classroom in the tower, unsure whether the destination was the auditorium or the dormitory, aimlessly, with light steps. Ghosts inhabited the inside of armor, and portraits in paintings closed their eyes to rest.

After seven years at Hogwarts, many students still saw the Hogwarts Castle so clearly at night for the first time.

The moonlight shines on my shoulders, making me feel like a free man.

After telling his classmates the story of the past, Ron finally returned to the back row of the crowd with satisfaction and greeted a few of his friends: "Loren, was the gift you just gave really given by George and Fred?"

"of course not."

"Ok?"

Ron was a little confused, and the others looked at Loren with confusion in their eyes.

Loren spread his hands. "George and Fred battled wits and courage with Filch during school, and they were completely free of him only after graduation. How could they ask me to send him a gift?"

"Then...he...what?" Neville asked hesitantly.

"Remember, we once saw Filch's correspondence letter about his spellcasting crash course, so I guessed he would like this kind of thing, so I came up with the idea of ​​giving him a gift... Those fake wands were samples sent to me by Fred and his friends. They've been in the locket for a long time, and finally came in handy."

Loren said calmly.

The students around blinked.

Yes, Mr. Filch seems to be a Squib.

I don't know why, but I suddenly don't hate him that much anymore.

(End of this chapter)