The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 19 Nightmare
The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and Ada's heart was beating harder and harder, as if it would jump out of her throat at any time. Sweat was dripping down her forehead, but she didn't dare to wipe it off.

Regret, very much. If she had not been bewitched, she should be sleeping soundly in the warm and comfortable bed at this moment, instead of hiding here and eavesdropping on the secrets between Snape and Foley.

This is much more serious than being caught by Filch! Even if Filch caught him, it would be nothing more than deducting points, doing labor service, and at best a detention. In this situation, who knows what the outcome will be.

If the two were just discussing something insignificant, the punishment Ada received would not be a big deal. However, the two of them had a private conversation in the middle of the night in a deserted place. No matter how she thought about it, she didn't think that what they were discussing was a trivial matter!
Ada wanted to turn around and run, but she couldn't do that because she would expose herself and show her back to two adult wizards, which was a very stupid thing to do!

Don't say that Hogwarts is safe and that the greatest wizard Dumbledore is here. The castle has stood here for thousands of years, and the number of people who died here is not small. Even when Dumbledore was there, there were still incidents in the school!
Ada was making preparations silently. She knew that she could not be a match for the two people opposite her, but as long as she could delay a little, make more noise and attract other people's attention, then she might be rescued.

She forced herself to calm down and held the wand tightly in her right hand. This was Ada's last resort. She had never been one to sit and wait for death.

"What...what's wrong, Severus?" Foley asked, he didn't seem to notice anything unusual.

Ada's grip on her wand tightened; she could already smell the potion on Snape.

"Nothing, I heard it wrong." Snape stopped and did not approach any further.

"Did I hear something wrong?" Foley asked, and then Ada heard Foley's footsteps moving towards her.

"I said, it's nothing!" said Snape, standing slightly higher up the stairs and watching Foley coming forward.

Foley stopped and said doubtfully, "What happened..." Foley did not finish his words. He really wanted to know what Snape had discovered, but he had something to ask of Snape, so he did not go directly past Snape at the top of the stairs.

Snape stopped looking at Foley and returned to the platform below. Then he said to Foley, "I am not very interested in what you are talking about. Now, I will go back to rest."

Hearing this, Foley, who was standing on the stairs, quickly returned to the platform, followed Snape, and said anxiously: "I need your help, Severus, if we work together to find that thing, we will be able to welcome..."

Now, the most important thing for Benedict Foley is to find that "thing". As long as he can find it, he can change the world and put it back on the right track. He can put his curiosity aside for now.

Ada didn't hear the rest of the words clearly, because she had already left secretly. When Snape and Foley were away from her one after another, Ada slipped away.

Ada walked very carefully, fearing that her footsteps would attract the attention of the two again. Only after she was far away did she dare to walk quickly. She unconsciously increased the power output of the fluorescent spell, illuminating the corridor in front of her.

"Kid, turn off the light!"

"You disturb people's sleep so late at night. Do you have any sense of public morality?"

The portraits hanging on the wall were awakened by the dazzling light and made various complaints, with various top scorers in Zaun's liberal arts appearing one after another. However, Ada ignored them and turned a deaf ear to these beautiful words. She just wanted to get back to the common room as soon as possible!

Ada finally returned to the dormitory. Angelina and Alia were still sleeping soundly. They had no idea that Ada had left, nor did they know how frightened she was that night.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Ada fell weakly on the bed. Her pounding heartbeat finally slowed down. Ada let out a long breath, but she still didn't put down the wand in her hand.

Ada closed her eyes and tried to deceive herself into forgetting everything she had heard today. For weak people, knowing too much is usually not a good thing.

The more you know, the faster you die!

However, the conversation between the two people kept ringing in her mind, and Ada's brain was constantly thinking about what was hidden in the words. What was Foley looking for? Why did he need Snape's help? What was Snape's position?

Ada had too many questions that she couldn't figure out, and she couldn't tell anyone else about it. Telling the Weasley brothers would only put them in danger. Telling Professor McGonagall would exclude the vice-president. A twelve-year-old first-year student versus two professors, who would be more credible? Even a fool would know which one to choose. She wasn't Harry Potter, she was just an ordinary first-year student, without the aura of a protagonist. What's more, Ada didn't have any evidence, and she didn't even know what their purpose was!
Severus Snape has been teaching students at the school for a long time and has served as the head of Slytherin. He is a person who is trusted by everyone. Although he is sharp-tongued, protective of his shortcomings, and not liked by his classmates, Ada has never heard of Snape doing anything out of line. If Snape really had any second thoughts, how did he hide it from Dumbledore?

Snape must have noticed something unusual just now, so he came over to check. Two people were talking about such an "earth-shattering" matter, and he clearly found someone eavesdropping, so why didn't he say anything, nor did he choose to expose it on the spot?
After that, Snape forcibly took Foley away, and it was because of his actions that Ada had the opportunity to escape.

When she was outside, she was always worried about being caught, so she didn't think about these things, nor did she think Snape's behavior was abnormal. Now that she had calmed down, she carefully went over the situation in her mind and discovered Snape's unreasonable behavior.

Snape is covering up for the eavesdropper, is he protecting me? After thinking about it, Ada had such a thought in her mind.

The extraordinarily long night finally came to an end. When the light of dawn shone on Ada's face, she had just fallen asleep. However, her sleep was not peaceful. In her dream, she was constantly running away, and behind her was a man with a hood and whose face could not be seen clearly, chasing her. Spell after spell was fired from that man's wand, and the power of each spell was enough to kill Ada...

When Angelina woke Ada up from her nightmare, she looked as if she had just been fished out of the Black Lake, and was soaked all over.

"Ada, what's wrong with you? You look like you're not feeling well." Angelina asked with concern.

"It's okay... I just had a nightmare." Ada, still in shock, forced a smile.

"If you're not feeling well, I'll ask for leave for you." Angelina put her hand on Ada's forehead, "You don't look well."

"I was just frightened by a nightmare and didn't rest well," said Ada.

"Today is Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions. If you are not feeling well, don't force yourself to attend." Alia said. In her opinion, Ada looked really haggard, like a broken rag doll. It would be really pitiful if Ada was bullied by Snape again in this state.

Ada had to attend the Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions classes, both of which were classes for the two parties involved last night.

Ada forced herself to cheer up and went out, and even took out the pair of glasses that the system had rewarded her with, and used them to cover the bloodshot eyes.

While having breakfast in the hall, the Weasley twins noticed that Ada was abnormal. Ada just said some perfunctory words such as "I had a nightmare" and "I didn't rest well".

The Weasley twins were skeptical, but didn't ask any further questions. They just thought that Ada might not be feeling well today.

Fred and George kept playing tricks and telling jokes to cheer Ida up, which touched Ida very much, although she was really not in the mood to laugh out loud at the moment.

When they arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, thanks to the Weasley brothers, Ada looked much better than when she had just woken up in the morning and looked much more normal.

If Ada just looked normal, Benedict Foley didn't seem abnormal at all. This class still adhered to his usual humor and humor, and presented this class vividly to the students. His every move was what an excellent professor should be like. The look of being at a loss in the corridor last night seemed to be just a dream, a fantasy of Ada.

In the afternoon potions class, Snape was still normal, still wearing a black robe, wandering in the dim underground classroom, with the hem of his robe fluttering. Snape was still spraying venom wantonly, and the little lions of Gryffindor were equally affected.

The only difference was probably that today Snape did not make things difficult for Ada as usual. He just stayed in front of Ada's cauldron for less than ten seconds and then left.

Everything seemed so normal, as if what happened last night had never happened. Unfortunately, the huge [Night Tour 1/10] in the system task completion reminded Ada that last night was not a nightmare, and everything that happened last night was real.

I sent the contract out today...Tangyuan will continue to work hard

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(End of this chapter)