Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 217: Taking Responsibility

A loud meow suddenly came from afar, startling Harry and the others who were inside the Invisibility Cloak.

They dared not move again, and could only huddle along the edge of the corridor wall, waiting for the slick-haired Mrs. Lorris to leave.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Lorris walked gracefully straight over and stood right next to Sheen's feet, letting out a loud shout.

Justin looked at Sheehan thoughtfully, while Harry and the others held their breath.

"We've been found out...we're going to be fired..."

Harry's mind was a complete mess.

He's finished now. He's only been here for less than a year, and soon he'll be packing his bags and leaving. What will the Dudley family say when they see him at the front door?

"Harry, don't say things like that..."

Hermione was also terrified and turned pale, but she still tried to remain calm and comforted Harry.

"I'm so hungry, will I be able to have one last meal at Hogwarts...?"

Ron stood there, stunned, as if he had already said whatever came to mind.

“Ron—”

Hermione glared at Ron.

"I'm really hungry."

Ron seemed to have given up entirely.

A turning point always comes so suddenly.

Sheen slowly dispelled his concealment, touched the lady's soft paws, and exchanged a glance with Justin.

Justin took a whole jar of dried silverfish out of his bag, and the lady gave a soft hum in the direction of Harry and the others, then walked away with the dried fish in her mouth.

“I should have known, Mrs. Lorice is so obedient to Sheehan…”

Ron whispered, almost overwhelmed by the joy of surviving the ordeal.

"Let's go quickly—"

Harry looked up as if waking from a dream, and exclaimed softly, now only wanting to get Norbert away as soon as possible.

"Coming!"

So they went down to the corridor on the ground floor of the tallest tower, Harry said, panting.

The steep, spiral staircase leading to the tower seemed to be the easiest path in the world. They watched as four brooms descended, and then Norbert's wooden chest was tied with ropes by a group of cheerful wizards.

They said the rope was enchanted and that Norber couldn't possibly have any problems, then let Sheen and the others say goodbye to Norber.

Under the night sky, Sheen saw Norber staring straight at him. Sheen walked over, and Norber's head touched Sheen's head.

Sheen placed an adhesive button on Norber and then watched the four brooms fly away.

Norber is gone… Sheehan stared down the corridor.

Seeing that Mr. Filch didn't seem to be there, and Malfoy, who was hiding in the shadows, hadn't been caught either, it seemed that Harry and the others' night out wouldn't be discovered... So he parted ways with Justin and the others in the corridor, as he needed to hurry up and "think" out the ritual.

The night passed quickly.

The next day, Sheen was preparing to go from the Great Hall to the Alchemy Office. He needed to discuss some details of the dragon ritual with Professor Terra and also find Professor McGonagall's notes on the analysis of dragon forms.

But then they saw Professor McGonagall take her seat in the guest of honor's seat with a grim expression.

Sheen looked toward the entrance of the Great Hall with a sense of understanding, where a group of young wizards were gathered.

"How could it suddenly be 150 points less than yesterday?!"

Sheen heard Gryffindor wizards shouting.

Professor McGonagall then relentlessly publicized Harry and his friends' nighttime outing, which violated school rules.

It turned out to be Malfoy, who had been searching for them yesterday, but Professor McGonagall had found him. After being discovered, he didn't hesitate to implicate Harry, and in the end, Harry, Malfoy, and their companions were captured by the enraged professor at the entrance to Gryffindor.

“I’m very angry,”

Professor McGonagall said,
“Three students staying up all night! I’ve never heard of anything like it before! You, Miss Granger, I thought you were more level-headed. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought you valued Gryffindor’s honor very much. All three of you will be put in detention—whatever the reason, you have no right to wander around the school at night; it’s very dangerous—Gryffindor will lose fifty points.”

"Fifty?"

Harry felt breathless; they had just caught up with Slytherin because of Quidditch!

"Fifty per person!"

Professor McGonagall exhaled heavily through her long, pointed nose.

That was the sentence Harry regretted most.

Not to mention the Gryffindors who are now resisting them, even Hermione doesn't understand why he would speak when the professor is angry.

Harry was isolated, that much was obvious.

Ron is slightly better off, as he's not as famous as Harry; while Hermione has been sulking lately, not actively participating in class and instead focusing all her attention on studying at Hope Cottage.

Undeniably, the three of them now not only hate themselves, but also hate Malfoy for informing on them.

"They thought they had done something wrong, they hated themselves, but they didn't hate Hagrid, and they didn't tell anyone about the dragon."

Justin whispered to Sheehan,

"Sheen, do you know what my mother will say?"

Never betray others for your own advancement—that's called integrity, and also courage.

And do you know what I'm going to say?

Justin looked at Sheehan as if seeking his opinion. Then he whispered something to her.

Sheen nodded thoughtfully.

Harry and the others are easily influenced by external factors, but it's different with two different people. Justin's method is quite good.

"Professor—I joined the night tour too! And Sheen too! Sheen went too!"

Justin was like a truck that charged forward and exploded, leaving the professors in the main seat stunned.

“Mr. Finley, oh—”

Professor Sprout seemed to understand something; she gently wiped her eyes.

"I'm deducting fifty points from Hufflepuff!"

“Mr. Green—really—”

Professor Flitwick pretended to be angry and pulled Sheehan away, then blinked as if to say, "It's alright, child, we'll be back soon."

Then he deducted fifty points from Ravenclaw's score.

This caused all four houses' scores to drop significantly (Malfoy also lost points), and Harry and the others were no longer ostracized.

Professor McGonagall was furious and immediately took Sheen away.

Previously, wherever Harry went, people would point at him and say insulting things without lowering their voices.

On the other hand, whenever he walked past the Slytherins, they would always clap, whistle, and cheer, saying, "Thank you, Potter, you've done us a great favor!"

Everyone's talking about Mr. Green getting points deducted for the first time, it's really rare!
They thought that a talented young wizard like him had no reason to break school rules.

Harry and his two companions stood frozen in place. Harry felt his eyes stinging and couldn't see anything clearly.

Hermione covered her mouth to stop herself from crying, while Ron lowered his head and trembled, lost in thought.

Justin, standing nearby, was surrounded by angry badger cubs. He had to honestly promise to compile the best Herbal Guide for the first-year final exams before the cubs would let him go.

Looks like I'm in for a busy day?

He said with a gentle smile.

Harry and his two companions were completely speechless and too weak to say that the joke wasn't funny at all.

　There's a chapter at midnight and another at 2 AM, so readers can read them after they wake up.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)