Hogwarts: This holy light is righteously evil

Chapter 178 This Doesn't Solve the Problem

That evening, Hagrid was taking a walk with his purple-horned beast at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

The purple sweet potato is no longer confined to the shed; after the fence was repaired, it occasionally runs around the open space a couple of times.

Hagrid walked beside him, carrying a bag of food, while Tooth followed at a distance, not daring to get too close.

Purple Sweet Potato suddenly stopped and pricked up its ears towards the depths of the woods.

Hagrid also stopped.

A sound of branches snapping came from the forbidden forest, as if something large had walked across the snow.

The purple sweet potato's horns began to shine, and its front hooves pawed at the ground.

"Don't be afraid."

Hagrid said.

The sound did not approach.

After a while, a few birds flew out from the treetops, and the forest became quiet again.

Hagrid didn't chase after them.

He took the purple sweet potatoes back to the shed, and after dinner wrote a letter to Puni, telling him the whole story.

After reading the letter, Puni did not reply immediately.

He remembered that there were many undiscovered caves in the Forbidden Forest, and that some things were more likely to go hungry in winter.

Qiu sat to the side reading a book and noticed that he kept holding the letter in his hand.

"What's wrong?"

"Hagrid said there was some commotion in the Forbidden Forest."

"Want to go see it?"

"Go during the day tomorrow."

Qiu He wrote a letter.

"I'll go too."

"no."

Why?

"I don't know what it is."

That's why we should be together even more.

Puni looked at her, wanting to say that this was not a reason.

But Qiu had already put the book into her bag, clearly not intending to be persuaded.

"I'm not going in."

She said, "I'll wait at Hagrid's cabin."

Puni remained silent for a moment.

"it is good."

The next day, they arrived at the edge of the forbidden forest, only to find a few sets of footprints scattered by the wind in the snow.

The footprints were large, unlike those of humans or common magical animals.

Hagrid squatted down and looked at it for a long time before finally shaking his head.

"They might have come out from deeper inside in search of food."

Puni used his wand to illuminate the roots of a nearby tree.

There was no blood, nor any trace of magic.

Purple Sweet Potato stood inside the fence watching them; the light in the corner had already dimmed.

Seeing Qiu approach, it slowly walked to the fence and leaned its head against it.

Qiu reached out and touched its forehead.

"It's alright now."

Puni did not speak.

He knew that this statement might not be true.

But at least for now, no one is injured.

As Hagrid left the Forbidden Forest, he promised to patrol it one more time that night and that Lu Wei would continue to guard the fourth floor.

Puni glanced back at the woods.

The snow was smoothed out by the new wind, and the footprints were no longer visible.

He kept this to himself and didn't tell Harry and the others.

Inside the castle, some people are still arguing about card games, some are laughing at a letter from France, and others are engrossed in searching for the Philosopher's Stone in the library.

Everything seemed the same as usual.

Kopni knew that many changes often began in this quiet manner.

After dinner, Qiu did not return to the lounge immediately.

Clutching the old French book, she followed Puni to the corridor beneath the Astronomical Tower.

It was already dark outside the window, and the shadows of the two people were reflected in the glass.

"Did you find something in the Forbidden Forest just now?"

Puni did not answer immediately.

"no."

Qiu looked at him.

You're lying.

"I just didn't want you to worry."

"But I'm already worried."

Puni leaned against the window.

There was no one else in the corridor. The sound of armor moving could be heard in the distance, but it quickly disappeared.

"That set of footprints isn't right."

He said, "Hagrid has never seen one before, and neither have I. It didn't hurt anyone, so there's no need to make a big deal out of it for now."

"What if it comes back?"

"I will handle it."

Autumn frowned.

"You're good at handling things, aren't you?"

Puni looked up.

"Otherwise what?"

"You can tell me what you're thinking. I don't want you to fight monsters or make decisions for you. At least don't always wait until things are over before saying it's all over."

The corridor fell silent.

Puni looked at her, as if this was the first time he had seriously considered those words.

He's used to keeping trouble out of his own hands and arranging everything before letting others know.

But Qiu stood there, neither asking him to lower his guard nor asking him to hand over the danger to her.

She just hates being excluded.

"it is good."

He said.

Qiu didn't expect him to agree so quickly.

"good?"

"I'll let you know first if anything happens in the future."

"real?"

"real."

Qiu stared at him for two seconds.

"Then tell me now."

Puni was cornered by her, and finally laughed.

"I think something is looking for food in the Forbidden Forest. It might be eyeing the purple sweet potatoes, or it might just be passing by. Tomorrow I'll have Kuai Kuai reinforce the fence and make sure Hagrid doesn't go deep into the forest alone."

Qiu nodded.

"That's right."

She hugged the book tightly and turned to walk towards the Ravenclaw Tower.

He took a few steps, then turned back.

"Also, Hibiscus replied that she doesn't dislike me."

"Congratulations."

"She also drew a very ugly fluffy thing."

"I still feel like it's a portrait of myself."

Qiu Chao made a face at him and ran away.

The next day, Puni called Kuai Kuai to the empty classroom.

After hearing about the Forbidden Forest, the little elf immediately took out a list from his pocket.

"I will add two layers of fencing, apply a repellent agent to the wooden stakes, and leave an alarm owl."

"Don't use anything that will damage it."

"Won't."

Quickly say it, "The purple-horned beast is smarter than the young master thinks."

"I know."

I quickly glanced at him.

"Young Master is actually very worried about it."

"I'm just worried that Hagrid will feed it badly."

Kuai Kuai didn't expose them, but simply lowered her head and wrote down the new arrangements.

In the afternoon, Hagrid arrived at the open space with a truckload of timber.

This time he didn't try to be strong. He first nailed the wooden stakes according to the drawing he had made, and then let Ya Ya stay in the hut.

Purple Sweet Potato watched from behind the fence for a while, and surprisingly, it didn't bump into anything again.

Hagrid secured the last piece of wood, wiping his sweat as he said, "It knows this is protecting it."

Puni stood to the side.

"It's also possible that it ate a lot today."

Hagrid laughed.

"You're always like this."

"What?"

"She was clearly happy, but she insisted on pretending nothing was wrong."

Puni did not answer.

In the evening, several birds flew out of the castle's owl shed.

A grey owl with a French postmark landed on the windowsill in Ravenclaw, with a new letter tied to its leg.

When Qiu opened it, besides the two lines of writing written by Furong, there was also a unicorn card that Gabriel had stuffed in.

The writing on the back of the card was crooked and messy.

This is the best autumn gift for Hogwarts. I'll come visit you next time.

Qiu showed the card to Puni.

"Exclusive card for the French branch."

"Where did Gabrielle get that?"

She said the store manager gave it to her.

Puni finally understood why the shop manager had suddenly become so generous.

Looks like I'll have to send him the bill.

Qiu put the card into the book.

"No."

"That's my shop."

"It's also Gabrielle's wish."

Puni looked at her.

"You're very good at reasoning now."

"I learned it from you."

It started snowing again outside the window.

An owl circled the tower above the castle once before disappearing into the darkness.

New letters, new cards, newly repaired fences—these are all small things.

But they will remind you that the holiday was not wasted.

On Monday morning, Filch opened the last gift box outside the administrator's office.

He originally intended to throw it directly into the fireplace.

Mrs. Lorris circled the box several times, her tail held upright the whole time.

Filch, fed up with its antics, had no choice but to cut open the packaging with scissors.

Inside was a large bag of cat food and a card.

Merry Christmas to the castle’s most dutiful caretaker and his smartest cat.

Filch stared at the line of text, his face first darkening, then slowly turning strange.

Mrs. Lorris had already stuck her head into the bag to sniff it, then looked up and called out to him.

"Don't eat too much."

Filch said.

Mrs. Lorris called out again.

Filch carried the bag into his office, glancing down the hallway before closing the door.

The twins were gone, and Puni and Qiu had long since gone far away.

The door slammed shut.

Half an hour later, students passing by the office heard off-key Christmas carols coming from inside, along with Mrs. Lorice's satisfied snoring.

No one knows whether Filch ultimately ate the instruction leaflet on the shampoo bottle, but at least the bag of cat food wasn't locked back in the locker.

Fred and George later heard about this and made a point of going to the office door to take a look.

Filch spotted them through the curtains and immediately drew them shut.

The two stood outside the door laughing for a long time before finally slipping a new note through the crack in the door.

Next time, I will clearly state the purpose of the gift in advance.

The next day, the note was returned to its original state, with an extra line of crooked writing on the back.

No more deliveries allowed.

After Fred finished reading the note, he handed it to George.

"He's already looking forward to the next time."

George nodded solemnly.

"We must respect the administrator's wishes."

Puni walked by and overheard this, offering only a brief reminder.

"Don't damage the hallway."

The twins looked at each other and laughed even harder.

At the end of the corridor, Filch's office door opened a crack again.

Mrs. Lorris poked her head out from inside and called out slowly to the twins.

Fred bent down.

"See? It likes us."

Filch immediately closed the door.

Another burst of suppressed laughter echoed down the corridor.

As soon as the Christmas holidays ended, Hogwarts was in an uproar again.

The auditorium was filled with students again, and people were running up and down the stairs every day with books in their hands. The snowmen on the ground had not yet been taken down, and not all of the Christmas trees had been moved. The ribbons hung on the branches, swaying in the wind, but the students no longer cared about these things.

The professors started collecting holiday assignments.

Those who hadn't finished writing did so at the breakfast table, while those who had finished were busy lending out their quill pens. The bolder ones even tried to change other people's homework into their own handwriting before class.

Puni doesn't need any more help.

The night he returned to school, he reorganized all the materials he needed to hand in.

The parchment was neatly arranged by course, with the edges pressed flat. The Herbalism assignment had a few dried leaf specimens tucked inside, and the Potions paper had a separate materials list next to it. The Transfiguration paper was the thickest, and he placed it separately on top.

When Roger entered the dormitory, he saw how the desk was arranged and immediately stood at the door, not wanting to go in.

"Is it too late for me to go home now?"

Puni did not look up.

"If your family agrees."

Roger threw his schoolbag onto the bed and collapsed onto it.

"I thought the end of the holiday would only be painful, but I didn't expect there would be humiliation as well."

"You haven't finished your homework?"

"Finished writing."

"Then what are you suffering from?"

Roger turned over and pointed to the stacks of parchment on Puni's table.

"After I finished writing, I felt that I had tried my best. But after seeing yours, I felt like a goblin who only knows how to smear ink on paper."

Puni put the last index in.

"Goblins usually don't do their homework."

"Thank you, that was very comforting. Don't do that next time."

Another student in the dorm burst out laughing, then quickly pulled his history of magic homework out from under his pillow. The roll of parchment was crumpled, and the first few lines still showed traces of jam that had fallen on it during breakfast.

Puni glanced at it but offered no comment.

His silence is more unsettling than any comment.

The next morning, when many students brought their assignments to the professor's office, the corridor resembled a temporary market. Some people were carrying three rolls of parchment and couldn't find who to hand them to, while others had mixed up their Charms and History of Magic assignments, only realizing it when Professor Flitwick pointed it out with a smile.

The Gryffindor area was the liveliest. Ron ran and shouted for Harry to wait for him, while Harry was still holding the paper that Neville had forgotten on the long table.

Hermione had already finished her homework and was standing at the top of the stairs with her book in her arms, looking like she had witnessed a disaster.

"Is this what you call completion?"

Ron was panting heavily.

"At least we paid it."

"Does crossing places count as crossing?"

Harry glanced down at the parchment in his arms, and his expression changed.

"This belongs to Neville."

Ron was stunned.

Hermione closed her eyes.

Puni happened to be passing by them when he heard this. He casually pulled the roll of parchment from Harry's hand and looked at the seal.

"Herbalism class, Professor Sprout."

Harry quickly reached out and took it back.

"Thank you, I need to go to the greenhouse."

Ron ran a couple of steps after him, then turned back and shouted to Hermione, "At least we haven't crossed paths yet!"

Hermione watched the two run away, her shoulders slumping slightly.

"How have they managed to survive until now?"

Puni thought for a moment.

"Luck, Quidditch talent, and you."

Hermione initially intended to keep a straight face, but in the end, she couldn't help but let her lips twitch.

She quickly composed herself.

"This cannot be an excuse for them to be lazy."

"So you can keep cursing."

"I'm not insulting you."

"Then continue to provide guidance."

Hermione snorted and walked downstairs with her books in her arms. After a few steps, she turned back to look at the stack of papers in Penny's hands.

"How much of your Transfiguration homework have you done?"

"Not including the appendix, it's fourteen inches."

Hermione remained silent.

After a while, she said, "Professor McGonagall won't like students competing against each other."

Puni said, "She dislikes students scribbling even more."

Hermione couldn't refute it, so she could only hug the book tighter.

His paper on transfiguration was completed long before he left for France, and it was now lying open on Professor McGonagall's desk. Professor McGonagall sat behind the desk, turning the pages one by one, her brows furrowing more and more with each page.

"Puni, I must remind you, this is just second-grade holiday homework."

Puni stood in front of the table.

"I know."

"Then why did you include a bibliography at the end?"

"For easy verification."

Professor McGonagall looked up at him.

Puni was calm.

"Some students like to argue about details; if the source is clearly stated, they'll at least try to find the book first."

Professor McGonagall knew without asking who he was talking about.

Hermione Granger has been trying to dismantle the so-called "work-sharing group" recently. In her view, the fact that several students relied on Puni's homework to get through the exams is not far from cheating. However, Professor McGonagall has to admit that Puni's homework cannot be copied directly.

It's too thin.

From the basic principles of transfiguration to relevant case studies, and even extended viewpoints in several advanced textbooks, everything is written clearly. If lazy students were to simply copy it, the professor would spot it the next day. However, in order to make the content resemble their own level, they had no choice but to consult the books, understand the concepts, and rewrite them.

In a sense, they did learn something.

Professor McGonagall put the last page back.

"Where did you learn this writing style?"

"The essay format for Muggle schools."

Puni said.

"I think they do a great job of citing sources. A lot of articles in the wizarding world are too casual, and readers can only guess when they want to trace the source."

Professor McGonagall rubbed her temples.

"You're only in second grade."

"Good habits can be formed in second grade too."

Professor McGonagall looked at him for a few seconds before finally placing the paper on top of a stack of assignments awaiting grading.

"Go out, and tell your friends that they should cite the source when they quote your views."

Puni nodded.

"I will pass on the message."

His supposed message ended up being a small note posted next to the bulletin board in the Ravenclaw common room.

There are only three lines of text above.

Please cite the source when quoting.

Please understand the text before rewriting.

Don't test the professor's patience with my assignments.

As soon as the note was posted, a group of students gathered around it.

Roger stood at the front and remained silent for a long time after reading it.

"Is this a warning or a lesson?"

Puni sat in the armchair next to him, flipping through a book.

"It depends on how you interpret it."

"What if I interpret this as you allowing us to continue referencing this?"

"Then you'd better understand the third line as well."

Several students nearby immediately showed pained expressions.

They had tried directly correcting Puni's assignments, but Professor McGonagall was too sharp-eyed. If a sentence contained an explanation that was beyond their level, the professor would make them explain the principle on the spot.

If you can't express it, rewrite it.

Rewriting it wasn't the end of it; I'd be called on to answer questions again in the next class.

This is much more frightening than simply deducting points.

When Hermione came in through the door, she saw a group of people gathered around the note.

She squeezed through the crowd to read it, her expression a mix of emotions.

"This doesn't solve the problem."

Puni looked up.

"What do you want to resolve?"

They still depend on you.

Hermione pointed to the paper.

"They should do their homework themselves."

Roger immediately took a half step back, pretending that the matter had nothing to do with him.

Puni closed the book.

"you're right."

Hermione was taken aback.

She was prepared to have a fight with him, but she didn't expect Puni to answer so quickly.

"But they won't suddenly become people who love doing homework just because you say they should."

Puni looked at the students in front of the bulletin board.

"They now have to read books, rewrite, and understand a few core points, otherwise their work will still be returned. It's not a perfect solution, but it's better than them scribbling three lines before bed."

Hermione frowned.

"So you think this is acceptable?"

"No."

Puni said.

"So you can continue to sabotage us."

Hermione was stunned again.

"What?"

"You're in charge of catching them slacking off, I'll be in charge of raising the bar for reference, and Professor McGonagall will be in charge of the final judgment."

Roger whispered, "It sounds like we're doomed."

Hermione glanced at Puni, then at the group of guilty students in front of the bulletin board.

She suddenly realized that although this method did not suit her taste, it was indeed more effective than simply prohibiting it.

"I'll keep an eye on it."

she says.

Puni nodded.

"welcome."

Once Hermione was out of sight, Roger whispered, "Why did you invite her to keep an eye on us?"

"Because you really need someone to keep an eye on you."

Roger clutched his chest.

You've changed.

"I've always been like this."

This note quickly caused a minor stir within Ravenclaw.

It's not that everyone wants to be lazy; there are quite a few people in Ravenclaw who do their homework diligently. However, being diligent and being able to write well are two completely different things. Some people read a whole book, take two whole pages, but don't know how to put the content into their own paper.

Some people are quick-witted, but their sentences are messy. When they hand them in, the professor always comments, "The ideas are acceptable, but the expression is chaotic."

Puni had no interest in turning the common room into a cram school.

But he didn't want to be cornered by the fireplace every day and asked the same question.

So on the third night, he simply set up an empty table next to the bulletin board and placed several pre-written sample sheets on the table.

That's not the answer.

It is a structure.

The first one reads, "What is the problem?"

The second page reads, "How is it explained in the book?"

The third one reads "Your own example".

The fourth sign reads, "Don't write words you don't understand."

Roger stood by and watched for a long time, his expression slowly changing from blank to shocked.

"So the paper isn't just a matter of rearranging the sentences from the book?"

Puni looked at him.

Roger raised his hands.

"I'm not talking about myself, I'm asking on behalf of some classmates who can't show their faces."

Several students near the fireplace simultaneously looked away.

Puni picked up a returned Transfiguration exercise book and read the first sentence aloud.

"Transfiguration is an extremely vast and complex field of magic, and studying it allows us to understand the mysterious connection between matter and form at a deeper level."

After he finished reading, the common room fell silent.

The owner of the homework blushed.

Puni put the parchment back.