A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 265 The Twins and the Willow Trap

The next morning, freezing rain mixed with snowflakes fell from the sky, freezing into a smooth and transparent layer of ice on the ground, and the young wizards had to carefully move across the courtyard and open space.

"Ouch!"

Ron, who had just been discharged from the hospital, tripped and fell to the ground. He struggled to get up, but the ground was extremely slippery. Luckily, Harry pulled him up.

He watched enviously as the twins conjured up a pair of ice skates for him and darted around the students in the courtyard.

"Want to give it a try, Ron?" Fred appeared in front of him and winked.

"No, thank you—" Ron muttered, knowing he'd only fall harder if he went up there. "Don't you guys have classes?"

"Don't talk nonsense, of course we have classes," Fred said. "Hey, George, watch out—"

Harry watched as George slid over at high speed. He frantically waved his arms, "Oh no—", and then rolled over with Fred. The two of them plunged headfirst into the snowdrift, their clothes, cuffs, and collars filled with snow, even their eyebrows were stained white. They pointed at each other's comical faces and laughed.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged a glance. "Let's go, we still have a lot of classes today."

"Wait, Harry!" Fred caught up, put his arm around Harry's shoulder, and whispered to him, "Listen, the secret passage is sealed..."

"What?" Harry said in surprise, not quite understanding at first.

"The secret passage, the secret passage to Hogsmeade, Harry." Fred gave him a meaningful look, and Harry suddenly realized.

He stammered, "That map..."

"It has nothing to do with the map. We wanted to go to Zoko yesterday to buy some goods, you know—" Fred winked at him, "dung bombs, fireworks and the like, but the one-eyed witch statue on the fourth floor seemed to be dead, and then Filch's cat appeared, so we hurriedly ran away."

Harry suddenly realized that this was a chain reaction following Black's attack. The professors were on guard against someone suddenly breaking into the castle. If such a thing happened, the castle's defenses would fail, and he or Ron would likely be trapped in their dormitories.

"Harry—" Ron called out from a distance.

"Anyway, we can only hope for the passage behind the Whomping Willow. George and I are going to explore it. Wait for my good news." Fred said and left.

"No—" Harry reached out and watched the twins run away. He wanted to tell them that he had been confined to the castle by Dumbledore and could no longer go to Hagrid's hut except for classes and occasions where professors were present.

After noon, the weather finally cleared up. Harry, Harry, and his two friends finished lunch and came out of the Great Hall to breathe in the fresh air.

"By the way, Harry, what did Fred say to you?" Ron asked curiously.

Harry told Ron and Hermione what had happened. Ron was very disappointed. "So you can't even go to Hogsmeade wearing the Invisibility Cloak?" Hermione, on the other hand, was visibly relieved.

She said to Ron, "Don't forget, you're not either. Professor McGonagall told you herself that until Black is caught, you and Harry will be treated the same."

Ron's face contorted in pain. "I've been trying to forget this."

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance. They hadn't told Ron their guess about the rat yet. Although Ron kept complaining that Scabbers was useless, Harry knew that Ron still cherished it. He changed the subject, saying, "Maybe we can go to the Ancient Runes practice room this weekend. I heard it's very popular. We didn't get to visit much during the last club assessment."

"Actually, I'd rather try your fire crossbow."

Harry's mood darkened. "Forget it. Wood went to see Professor McGonagall, but it was no use. We can only wait."

Hermione immediately turned her head away, pretending to be interested in the distant scenery, but then she suddenly pointed into the distance, "Oh my god, look what that is—"

They were standing on the uphill side of the clearing, with a glimpse of Hagrid's hut and a corner of the Forbidden Forest below. At that moment, the temperamental Whomping Willow was wildly lashing its whip-like branches, and two small black dots came running over in a panic.

"It's Fred and George!"

They hurried toward the Whomping Willow, slipping and falling more than a dozen times along the way because the road was too slippery. When they arrived, panting, they found Professor McGonagall angrily yelling at the twins.

"I don't know what you were thinking—didn't you take Herbalism class?! How dare you flirt with the Willow Tree... Fifty points deducted from Gryffindor, plus a week of detention—can't you guys be a little more considerate at a time like this—"

Professor McGonagall's anger hadn't subsided. She turned around and said, "And you, Potter, Weasley, Granger, what are you doing here? I told you yesterday to stay in the castle."

"Professor, we've seen Fred and George in danger..." Harry said.

Professor McGonagall's furrowed brows relaxed slightly. "Alright, there's a reason for this. I hope you won't make similar excuses again. Come back with me—"

The Weasley twins, heads drooping, followed behind Professor McGonagall. As they passed the three, Fred mouthed an exaggerated gesture at them:

Trap

They didn't see the unfortunate twin brothers again until evening.

Fred plopped down between Harry and Ron, completely unfazed by his solitary confinement, and said excitedly, "You can't even imagine what we had today."

"A mad willow spirit?" Ron said, deliberately using a guessing tone.

“It’s much more interesting than that,” Fred said, his eyes lighting up. “George and I were actually being very cautious, ready to retreat at any moment, until we saw a very well-hidden entrance near the roots of the sapling tree, and George discovered something strangely green…”

"It should be some kind of branch. It looks familiar, but not much of it is showing, so I can't recognize it," George said regretfully.

Fred continued, "So we moved a little closer, and the Whomping Willow started writhing wildly, like a goblin that had taken weed killer. We quickly ran away, hoping it would calm down. But then..."

"We're surrounded. The professors have descended from the sky," George said with mixed feelings. "Principal Dumbledore, Professor Hyp, and of course, Professor McGonagall."

Harry and his friends listened in stunned silence; it was far more exciting than what they had seen.

Ron looked at him incredulously. "So you're still alive?" He reached out and lifted Fred's arm, but it suddenly fell down. Fred made a face at Ron.

George concluded, "Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Hyp glanced at us and left, leaving Professor McGonagall to clean up the mess—that is, us. I think she must have regretted becoming the Head of Gryffindor at that moment..."

The twins left quickly, having obtained some information from Harry, such as the Whomping Willow trap likely being aimed at Black. "Cool~" But they also became unusually serious, focusing their attention on the duel match that had been rumored before the holidays.

"We can take this opportunity to make a profit."

Ron stared at his two older brothers' retreating figures and suddenly said, "I know what they want: a shop in Diagon Alley. The family can't help them with that."

Harry opened his mouth, but didn't ask for the money; he knew the twins wouldn't accept it.

The door to the common room opened, and Neville walked in.

"Have you noticed that Neville is acting a little different?" Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Is there?"

"I can't quite describe it, maybe I'm more energetic?"

Harry observed for a while and concluded, "He's probably more confident now. I had a similar expression after my special training."

"Did Professor Hyp say something to him? Neville was the only one kept after class today."

(End of this chapter)