Hogwarts: This holy light is righteously evil

Chapter 181 But Snape definitely has a problem.

"Sorry, Harry, but you know what? You just shook off Cedric, and Diggory flew really steadily. To catch the Snitch at that angle was just—"

"Wood".

Angelina reminded her from the side.

He's still panting.

Wood then shut up.

Fred and George rushed over, one grabbing Harry from the left and the other grabbing his arm from the right.

"We announce."

"Harry Potter officially becomes Mr. Five Minutes today."

Harry had just laughed when he heard the second half of the sentence and then didn't know whether he should laugh or not.

Ron ran down from the stands, his shoes covered in mud, and he almost slipped on the grass.

He lunged at Harry, and seeing the burglar still in Harry's hand, his eyes lit up as if he had caught it himself.

"Did you see Snape's face? He looked like he'd just swallowed a whole pot of spoiled potion!"

Hermione arrived shortly after.

"Ron, don't shout here."

"He can't hear."

Are you sure?

Ron immediately glanced in Snape's direction.

Snape was walking past the pitch, his black robe sweeping across the wet grass.

He didn't look in Gryffindor's direction, but Ron immediately lowered his head.

"Okay, maybe I can hear you."

Harry felt a warm glow inside as they surrounded him.

The wind was cold, and so was the snare in his hand, but he didn't want to let go at all.

He almost fell off his broom during the last competition, and the fear of being pulled down from a height hadn't completely disappeared.

He won too quickly today, so quickly that fear didn't even have time to catch up with him.

Just as his teammates were making a ruckus, he saw Dumbledore standing beside him.

The old man did not come down from the teachers' seat.

But Dumbledore stood there, as if he had walked out of thin air, his robes so light that not even a blade of grass bent them.

Harry was stunned.

"professor?"

Dumbledore looked at him and smiled gently.

"Well done, Harry."

Harry instinctively looked at the thief in his hand.

"Just lucky."

"Luck will also favor those who are willing to fly forward."

Dumbledore's gaze fell on his face.

"You didn't linger in front of that mirror, and that's more important than today's victory."

Harry's throat moved.

He wanted to ask Dumbledore how he knew, and also where the Mirror of Erised would be moved to.

But as he was about to speak, he remembered what Puni had said that night.

Some things only need to be seen once.

He whispered, "I will remember."

Dumbledore nodded.

The next moment, he disappeared.

Harry looked up abruptly.

In the teachers' seat, the real Dumbledore was still sitting there, and he even slowly waved to him.

Harry stood there, holding the Snitch in his hand, and didn't say a word for a long time.

Ron leaned closer.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Professor Dumbledore was just here."

Ron looked toward the teachers' table.

"He was clearly on top."

"I know."

Hermione glanced at the teachers' table, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"It might be some kind of projection magic."

Ron immediately said, "I want to learn this too, so that I can sit in the classroom and actually go to sleep."

Hermione looked at him coldly.

"Once you learn it, Professor McGonagall will be the first to discover it."

"Never mind then."

When Puni and Cho came down from the stands, Gryffindor was still causing trouble.

Harry stared at Puni as soon as he saw him.

Puni stopped in front of him.

"Congratulations."

Harry didn't move.

"Are you serious?"

Puni raised his hand and tapped his forehead.

Harry covered his forehead, but instead laughed.

"It's true."

Ron stared wide-eyed at him.

"Are you so sure?"

"Very effective."

"I think this could also be imitated by Phantom."

Puni looked at him.

Ron immediately changed his tune.

"I was just saying."

Cho looked at the Snitch in Harry's hand.

"That was a beautiful catch."

Harry was a little embarrassed.

"I just happened to see it."

"The goal of a seeker is to see what others cannot."

Harry paused for a moment, then his smile relaxed considerably.

Cedric then walked over from the Hufflepuff group.

He had just lost the match, but there was no unpleasant expression on his face. He only looked at the Snitch in Harry's hand with a hint of regret.

You're faster than me.

Harry quickly said, "I'm lucky."

Cedric shook his head.

"I saw the thief when he appeared, but you judged it earlier."

He reached out his hand to Harry.

Harry shook hands with him.

On Hufflepuff's side, some students sighed, while others shouted that they would win back next time.

Cedric turned around and waved, telling his teammates to go back and change first.

Qiu said earnestly, "You started very well, and that turn around the pillar just now was also very stable."

Cedric looked at her, his smile noticeably less intense.

"Thank you, at least there were viewers who saw what I did."

Puni took half a step to the side.

"Many people saw it."

Cedric looked at him, then at Qiu, his expression knowing but not saying anything.

"I'll head back now. Hufflepuff needs hot soup, or the dressing room might turn into a funeral."

After he left, several Hufflepuff students did not follow the group back to the castle, but instead took a detour along another path.

Puni's brow furrowed slightly when he saw the route.

Qiu followed his gaze.

Where did they go?

"kitchen."

"Go to the kitchen after losing the game?"

"They need comfort."

Ron perked up immediately upon hearing the word "kitchen".

"Where is the kitchen?"

Hermione immediately grabbed him.

"You just had lunch."

"The competition will consume a lot of physical strength."

"You didn't even play."

"I was nervous for Harry, and it took a lot of energy."

Fred and George appeared from behind.

"Ron is right."

"Tension is a form of high-intensity exercise."

Hermione looked at the bags in their hands.

"What is that?"

Fred hid the bag behind his back.

"Academic materials".

George nodded.

Regarding post-match nutrition.

Puni saw the cream pie peeking out of the bag but didn't expose it.

Qiu saw it too and said with a smile, "If you're going to take the snacks that Morty left for me, at least leave a note."

Fred immediately became serious.

"We are polite robbers."

George added, "I will write a thank-you note."

Will it still be signed?

The twins both fell silent.

"No, not at all."

Puni turned and walked toward the castle.

"Let's go, if we wait any longer, there will probably only be plates left of the pastries in the kitchen."

Upon hearing this, Ron broke free from Hermione and ran forward.

Hermione was so angry that she called out to him from behind.

Harry watched them run off noisily into the distance and quickly followed.

Still basking in the excitement of winning the game, he even felt that the fact that Snape was the referee wasn't so scary anymore.

But as he passed Snape, he still subconsciously slowed down.

Snape didn't look at him.

He simply left out a cold sentence.

"Porter, don't assume luck will always be on your side."

Harry pursed his lips.

Normally, he would feel extremely upset.

But today he had the Snitch in his hand, Ron and Hermione behind him, and his teammates calling to him from afar.

He didn't reply.

They simply continued walking towards the castle.

Snape turned and glanced at him.

That glance was quickly looked away.

Puni happened to see it.

There's no doubt that Snape disliked Harry.

Disliking someone and wanting to kill them are not the same thing.

In the evening, Harry went to the broom shed alone.

He held the Nimbus 2000 in his arms, his feet stepping on the wet grass, his mind still savoring every detail of the race.

But as he approached the broom shed, a dark figure in the distance made him stop.

Snape exited through the side gate of the castle, avoided the main road, and headed alone toward the Forbidden Forest.

Harry's good mood slowly faded.

He glanced at the broom in his arms, then at the retreating figure.

What was Snape doing in the Forbidden Forest?

A moment later, Harry leaned the broom against the door and followed quietly.

He dared not get too close.

The snow outside the Forbidden Forest was trampled and messy, and Snape's black robes appeared and disappeared among the shadows of the trees.

Harry hid behind a tree and heard low voices coming from ahead.

There is another person.

Quirrell.

Harry's heart started racing.

He couldn't hear every word, only that Snape coldly asked Quirrell if he had thought it through, and that Quirrell stammered that he didn't know what to do.

Philosopher's Stone.

Trapdoor.

The Dark Lord.

A few words drifted into Harry's ears intermittently.

He dared not go any further.

Snape's voice was low, yet more dangerous than it was in class.

"Don't play dumb, Quirrell, you know what to do."

Quirrell seemed terrified.

Harry hid behind a tree, his palms sweaty.

He initially thought Snape was trying to force Quirrell to hand over some clues, but Quirrell sounded too scared to be faking it.

In the distance, tree branches have been broken by trampling.

Harry immediately stepped back.

He wasn't sure if he had made the sound himself, or if it was something else in the woods. Snape's voice stopped.

Harry didn't dare wait.

He turned and ran back to the broom shed, grabbed Nimbus 2000, and rushed back to the castle.

In the Gryffindor common room, Ron was telling others how he and Neville had gotten into a fight with Malfoy, while Hermione sat...

He stood by the fireplace, his face still bearing the excitement of the game's end.

Harry was so out of breath he couldn't speak when he crawled into the portrait hole.

Hermione immediately stood up.

Where did you go?

Ron looked over too.

"We've been looking for you for ages. Fred and the others brought some cake from the kitchen, but the Hufflepuffs grabbed it too fast, and a lot of it is gone."

o

Harry waved his hand.

"I saw Snape."

Ron's expression changed instantly.

"What is he doing now?"

"He went to the Forbidden Forest and spoke to Quirrell."

Hermione frowned.

"Quirk?"

"Snape is threatening him."

Harry said aloud the few words he heard.

The Philosopher's Stone, the trapdoor, and the Dark Lord.

Ron sat up straight.

"I knew it! Snape was definitely trying to force Quirrell to help him get through those challenges!"

Hermione did not draw a conclusion immediately.

She remembered what Puni had said before.

If you know there's danger, you should find someone who can handle it.

But what if the professor himself is involved?

"Should we tell Professor McGonagall?"

Ron's face was full of resistance.

"And then she'll say we were eavesdropping on Snape? She'll deduct points from our score first."

Harry bit his lip.

"Puni might know what to do."

Hermione hesitated.

"He will tell us to tell the professor."

"Maybe."

Harry looked down at his hands.

He had already entrusted the invisibility cloak to Puni for safekeeping. At this moment, he was actually glad that the cloak wasn't with him, otherwise he might have put it on and gone up to the fourth floor immediately.

"But I still want to ask him."

Ron sighed.

"Ask him tomorrow. You just won today; you shouldn't be rushing off to your death right away."

Hermione, unusually, did not refute Ron.

She pushed the cake in front of Harry.

"Eat something first, you look terrible."

Harry picked up the cake, but didn't have much of an appetite.

Ron took a bite for him, though.

"Don't waste it even if you don't eat it."

Hermione glared at him.

With cake in his mouth, Ron mumbled, "I'm just helping out."

Harry was slightly jolted back to his senses by his appearance.

"Ron."

"Um?"

"You just said you guys beat up Malfoy?"

Ron immediately perked up.

He put the cake down, rolled up his sleeves, revealing a bruise on his elbow.

"He brought Crabbe and Goyle to cause trouble. Neville didn't dodge this time; he pounced on Goyle and grabbed him around the waist. You should have seen the look on Goyle's face; it was like he'd been hit by a bag of potatoes."

Hermione added, "Neville is very brave."

"right."

Ron nodded.

"Although he was later pinned down by Gore, that move was particularly brilliant."

Harry remembered Neville sitting in the armchair, almost crying, during the day, and imagined him rushing towards Goyle. Suddenly, he felt a little lighter.

"He would be happy to hear you say that."

"Then tell him tomorrow."

Ron said.

"I told him tonight he definitely wouldn't believe me."

He will believe it.

Hermione pushed the small blanket by the fire toward Neville.

Neville was still in the corner, surrounded by several classmates who were asking him how he had pounced on him.

He spoke haltingly, his face flushed, but this time he didn't hide behind his back.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He was startled for a moment, but then he smiled.

Harry looked over there and suddenly felt that the joy of winning had a more tangible meaning.

They used to say that Malfoy was annoying, Snape was suspicious, and the fourth floor was dangerous.

Those things were like a pile of stones pressing down on my head, making it hard to breathe.

It's true that Neville dared to pounce on Goyle, Ron dared to stand by, and Hermione was willing to teach them how to counter-curses.

The danger has not lessened.

But they didn't stay in one place forever.

Hermione steered the conversation back on track.

"But the Forbidden Forest matter can't be delayed any longer. Snape and Quirrell mentioning the Philosopher's Stone means they're already taking action."

Harry lowered his head.

"If we tell Professor McGonagall, will she believe us?"

"There is too little evidence."

Hermione admitted it.

"We only heard a few words. And you followed them secretly."

Ron immediately said, "So ask Puni first."

Hermione looked at him.

"You seem to trust Puni quite a bit now."

"He hates Snape, but he doesn't speak ill of Snape."

Ron shrugged.

"If he says Snape is dangerous, then he really is dangerous; if he says don't move, then at least it means we won't die immediately."

Hermione was momentarily speechless.

Harry put the cake back on the plate.

I'll go see him tomorrow.

"Let's do it together."

Hermione said.

Ron was about to nod when he suddenly remembered something.

"There's a potions class tomorrow morning."

All three fell silent.

Snape.

Philosopher's Stone.

Forest ban.

Potions class.

With all these things coming together, tomorrow won't be easy no matter how you look at it.

Hermione hugged the book tightly.

"Then after class."

Harry nodded.

"After class."

The celebrations continued in the common room.

Fred and George have somehow acquired a paper hat that sprays confetti and are taking turns putting it on other people's heads.

Neville sat in the corner, surrounded by several Gryffindor students, his face flushed, but he no longer kept his head down as he had during the day.

As Harry watched this scene, he suddenly realized that today's victory was not just about winning the game.

Some things are changing.

Neville dared to fight back.

He did not go to the Mirror of Eris again.

Meanwhile, Snape and Quirrell were talking about the Philosopher's Stone in the Forbidden Forest, and Voldemort's shadow might be lurking somewhere they couldn't see.

Harry sat by the fire, his hands slowly clenching into fists.

He didn't want to be someone who just waited for others to tell him the answer.

But this time, he didn't want to rush in recklessly.

I'll ask Puni tomorrow.

Then decide on the next step.

Hermione looked at him for a moment, then suddenly said, "You've become cautious."

Harry looked up.

"Is there?"

"have."

Ron nodded.

"You might have already put on an invisibility cloak and rushed out."

Harry did not refute it.

If the invisibility cloak were still in his box, he really couldn't guarantee he wouldn't do it.

That outfit was so convenient, and so easy to forget the consequences.

"Giving away the Invisibility Cloak might be the right thing to do."

He said.

Ron looked pained.

"That's an invisibility cloak."

"I know."

"If I had one, I would probably even sleep with it."

Hermione said irritably, "So you should hand it over even more."

Ron wanted to argue, but found that he didn't seem to have any grounds for his argument.

Harry looked down and chuckled.

He still felt uneasy, but this unease was different from before.

In the past, when he encountered problems, he felt that he had to rush to the scene immediately, as if he would lose something if he was slow.

He still wants to find out the truth, but he is beginning to understand that some things cannot be accomplished by courage alone.

As Puni said, knowing something is valuable and knowing whether or not you should take it are two different things.

The same is true now.

Knowing that someone is after the Philosopher's Stone and immediately rushing down to the fourth floor are two different things.

Hermione reopened the alchemy book and wrote a few words on a blank parchment.

After she finished writing, she added another line next to it.

I'll ask Puni tomorrow.

Ron leaned closer to take a look.

"You're still keeping records?"

"certainly."

Hermione capped the quill.

"If we're going to ask questions, we should explain what we know clearly, instead of just shouting that Snape has a problem, like you do."

Ron disagreed.

"But Snape definitely has a problem."

"This is not a proper way of recording."

Harry felt a little more at ease watching them start arguing again.