Hogwarts: The Witch Education Handbook

They proceeded along the planned route and soon arrived at their destination—behind a pillar in the right-hand corridor on the fourth floor.

They hid silently in the darkness, their eyes fixed on the end of the corridor, waiting for any unusual developments.

They didn't know how much time had passed, and the surroundings were completely silent. Just when they thought that tonight would be as peaceful as the previous nights, the shadow at the end of the corridor suddenly moved.

Suddenly, they noticed a dark figure moving at the end of the corridor, getting closer and closer.

By the light of the moon, they gradually made out the person's face.

It looks like... Malfoy?

All three of them saw Malfoy's signature blond hair, which gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

"What's he doing here?" Ron muttered under his breath.

"Shh!"

"Shh!"

As Malfoy approached, the three men gradually became tense, holding their breath for fear that their presence would give away their location.

Malfoy walked along, glancing around warily.

He was holding a magic wand in his hand, poking and prodding here and there, as if he was looking for something.

This strange behavior continued until he reached the trapdoor, where he looked at the locked door with a puzzled expression.

He lowered his head and carefully examined the door lock, seemingly searching for a way to open it.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione felt a chill run down their spines; they knew that behind this door lay Fluffy, who protected the Philosopher's Stone.

If Malfoy had opened that door, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

However, Malfoy didn't seem to have found a way to unlock the door. He appeared somewhat impatient, and just when the three thought he would give up and leave, he suddenly raised his wand and chanted, "Aloho—"

"No!" Harry blurted out in desperation.

But he immediately realized his mistake, because they were currently in stealth mode and any sound could reveal their location.

However, Malfoy didn't seem to really intend to cast the spell. Before he finished speaking, he abruptly turned his head, his gaze fixed on the direction where Harry and the others were hiding. A sly smile appeared on his face, as if he had already sensed something.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione's hearts raced. They knew Malfoy might have spotted them, but they remained still, trying not to make a sound, hoping it was just a hallucination.

As Lu Xun once said, the difference between children and adults lies in the fact that children always have unrealistic fantasies about things with extremely low probability, immersing themselves in the lies they weave for themselves like burying their heads in the sand.

This may also be the reason why he matured after experiencing certain events and chose to abandon medicine for literature.

Of course, if the above words were not spoken by Lu Xun, you can certainly find the relevant source in Sean Phillips' new book, "My Life as a Hogwarts Professor".

However, there was another sentence in that book—"The tea is sweet, youth is wonderful." (Chapter 33)

Getting back to the point, Malfoy's next move made it impossible for the three little ones to remain invisible.

He suddenly walked towards them, saying as he went, "I knew you were here, Pott, Weasley, Granger. Did you think I couldn't see you just because you're wearing an invisibility cloak?"

As he finished speaking, he suddenly waved his wand, and a levitation spell shot towards their hiding place.

Under the influence of the spell, the invisibility cloaks seemed to be lifted by a gust of wind, gently sliding off their bodies. As the cloaks fell away, the figures of the three gradually became visible, exposed in the dimly lit corridor.

A smug smile flashed across Malfoy's face as he slowly approached them, his wand still pointing at them. "Looks like I've finally found you."

Malfoy had already prepared everything for tonight after hearing their plans at lunch, and because of Filch's poor performance last time, he even took matters into his own hands tonight.

He had prepared himself to return empty-handed, but he hadn't expected things to go so smoothly.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood together nervously, knowing that there was no escape this time.

Ron gripped his wand tightly, ready to respond to Malfoy's attack at any moment; Harry watched Malfoy warily, trying to find a way out; while Hermione was quickly thinking of a solution, hoping to find a way to resolve the problem.

Meanwhile, Malfoy smiled smugly and slowly approached, "Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, you're still wandering around here so late. This is against school rules."

Before things could escalate further, Hermione spoke first: "Malfoy, don't forget you're out at night too."

"No, no, no, Granger, I'm not like you," Malfoy chuckled dismissively. "I'm here to catch you unruly students. And you? Hmm? Sneaking around here in the dead of night, you must have some ulterior motive."

While the four were facing off, none of them noticed that a dark figure had quietly appeared in the darkness behind them.

"I've caught you, you four disobedient little wizards." A deep voice suddenly rang out behind them.

The four of them looked over at the same time and saw Filch wearing a brown coat, hunched over, and grinning at them menacingly.

Ten minutes later...

Filch led them to Professor McGonagall's study on the second floor, where they sat without saying a word.

Hermione trembled, while Harry's mind raced, conjuring up numerous excuses and reasons to defend himself, and even fabricating some lies to try and fool her, only to find that each one was more untenable than the last.

He didn't know how they could get out of this predicament.

"I can't believe it's just a few of you. Filch said you were loitering near places Dumbledore explicitly forbade. Don't forget it's one in the morning. Explain yourselves."

This was the first time Hermione couldn't answer her teacher's question. She stared down at her slippers, motionless like a statue.

"I went out at night to catch the three of them," Malfoy hurriedly explained.

Professor McGonagall, however, seemed not to hear him and continued her tirade: "I'm furious! Four students staying up all night! I've never heard of anything like this before!"

"You, Miss Granger, I thought you were more level-headed. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought you valued Gryffindor honor very much."

After speaking to the two students who were somewhat salvageable, McGonagall turned her head to look at Malfoy. "As for you, Mr. Malfoy, no matter what happened, you have no right to wander around the school in the middle of the night. It's extremely dangerous."

"So not only will the four of you be put in solitary confinement, but you will also have fifty points deducted from your college's score."

"Fifty?" Harry felt breathless—their lead was over, a position he had painstakingly earned in the last Quidditch match.

"Fifty points each," Professor McGonagall said, exhaling heavily through her long, pointed nose.

"Professor—please—"

"You can't—"

"I don't need you to tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Alright, you can all go to bed. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students as I am now."