The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 24 Blushing Puberty
The students who had left the auditorium earlier were still feeling uneasy. A student had been attacked in school, and it was hard not to be frightened by such an incident.

Charlie Weasley led the way with his wand in hand and several senior students who also held wands. He loudly comforted the Gryffindor students.

"Don't be afraid, the professors will definitely find the murderer. You have to believe in Professor Dumbledore, he is the most powerful wizard in the world!"

Led by the seniors, the team slowly moved forward. Several timid students lost control of their emotions and began to cry softly.

Several senior schoolgirls squeezed through the crowd and came to their side, soothing their emotional breakdown in gentle voices. They gradually stopped crying with the comfort of the older sisters.

Ada, Angelina and Alya were protected by three boys, Fred, George and Lee Jordan, and the six of them were surrounded by others in the middle of the entire Gryffindor team.

Gryffindor placed all the first and second year kids in the middle of the team so that they wouldn't get lost and would be easier to be protected by the seniors.

"Percy really cares about you two!" Ada said to the twins. Just now, Percy Weasley squeezed through the crowd and came over to show concern for his two little brothers.

Seeing that the two brothers were fine, Percy returned to his classmates. But before leaving, he specifically told Fred and George not to go anywhere and to follow the team back to the common room, otherwise he would tell Mrs. Weasley.

The twins were also a little surprised by Percy's unexpected behavior. The annoying Percy actually began to care about their safety, although his tone was as unpleasant as usual.

"Maybe his conscience has been awakened."

"Finally they realized how good we are."

Fred and George made full use of their twin advantages and sang the same tune. The twins were actually quite happy that their brother cared about them, but they were stubborn and refused to show it.

"I think he just doesn't want you two to go out and cause trouble," Lee Jordan put in. This was actually unnecessary, although what Lee Jordan said might be close to Percy's idea.

"Lee, if you shut up now, we can still be good friends." The twins said together. Fred and George wanted to cover Lee Jordan's mouth and then give him some "inhumane" care.

"This is Hogwarts. Who dares to attack students here?" Angelina asked. She and Alia Spinnet beside her held hands and gave each other courage.

I can only say that Angelina is still too young. She will get used to this kind of thing after experiencing more.

"I don't know, but since the murderer dared to do this, it means he has the courage and determination to face everything." Ada said.

In her mind, Ada tried to connect the attack with Snape and Foley. It wasn't that Ada cared much about the truth, she was more worried about her own safety.

She sincerely hoped that this matter had nothing to do with Snape and Welfare, so that she could be relatively safe and would not have to live in fear.

If there is a connection between the two, she will have to be extremely careful. Until the day when the truth comes out, she will have to be alert to prevent possible attacks.

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore can take care of everything," said George.

“He may be an old bee with a sweet tooth, but he can do anything,” Fred said, high-fiving his twin brother.

Angelina and Alia nodded in agreement, and Lee Jordan felt the same way.

Seeing how much trust people have in Dumbledore, Ada couldn't help wondering if Dumbledore had been to the far east and learned some great magic there. Everyone Ada knew trusted and admired him unconditionally.

"Do you know who was attacked?" Ada asked. She wanted to think about the problem from a different angle and see if she could find a breakthrough from the victim.

"It is said that it was Daniel Bell, a fifth-year Hufflepuff student." Lee Jordan whispered, "I just heard from the Hufflepuff students."

Ada looked at Li Jordan with some surprise. She had just asked casually, adhering to the spirit of trying her best to get the answer. She really didn't expect that Li Jordan could actually give her an answer.

Lee Jordan's little loudspeaker is pretty good. It would be a shame if the young man didn't work in radio in the future.

"Is the news accurate?" George asked in a low voice, and the way he whispered looked like someone in an underground meeting.

"This is the most reliable news at the moment. His roommate said he didn't go to class in the afternoon, and everyone thought he was resting in the dormitory, but they didn't find him when they returned to the dormitory," said Lee Jordan.

"The same goes for the others. We haven't seen him since the afternoon. At the banquet, Filch said that a student was attacked, and they immediately thought of Daniel Bell..." Lee Jordan shared the Hufflepuff's discussion with everyone. After listening to Lee Jordan's words, Ada thought about it carefully: Daniel disappeared in the afternoon. If he was really the victim, then does it mean that the attack took place before the banquet, or even earlier!
But Ada didn’t quite understand why he was attacked?
From Li Jordan's subsequent words, we can hear that Daniel is a good student, or even a person with little sense of existence. Why would such an "inconspicuous" boy be involved in the attack?
The marching crowd finally returned to Gryffindor Tower. When the Fat Lady saw everyone coming back, she opened the entrance directly without even asking for the password.

The senior students at the front of the line made way for the junior students to enter the common room first, and they followed in after the junior students had gone in.

As students poured in, the common room became crowded and the armchairs were filled with people. After everyone returned to the common room, their tense expressions finally eased.

Charlie Weasley and another female prefect began to call the roll and check the number of people in each grade to ensure that everyone had returned. After the check, most people returned to the dormitory, and a small number of people chose to stay in the lounge.

After everyone left, Ada and the Weasley brothers occupied two armchairs closer to the fireplace.

Charlie Weasley and several other senior students stood near the entrance to the common room passage, preventing anyone from coming in, and also preventing students in the house from leaving.

The senior students were divided into three shifts to stand guard. Charlie and his friends were the first group, and others would come to replace them in the middle of the night.

These people were also whispering to each other, and they were also very concerned about this matter. After all, since they entered this school, the only high-risk profession has always been the teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Charlie, who was standing guard, glanced at Ada and the other two who were sitting next to the fireplace. He was relieved that his two mischievous brothers did not run around, but stayed around Ada obediently.

Ida sat in an armchair, hugging the cushions to her chest, and said to Fred and George, "Have you heard of any other attacks at the school?"

"No, Charlie didn't say that." Fred recalled that he had indeed never heard anyone mention anything like that.

"Bill didn't say anything, and neither did Mom and Dad," George went on.

"You seem to be particularly concerned about this matter?" asked the twin brothers. Ada, who was usually indifferent to many things, was very abnormal today.

Although it was not certain whether this matter was related to Snape and Welfare, Ada still had no intention of telling the two brothers about it. She did not want to drag them into it.

"I'm just a little worried. A student was attacked. Aren't you worried?" Ada leaned back in the armchair and spoke perfunctorily to the two of them.

"I am worried, but not to the extent that you are. You are worrying too much." Fred said, "It's as if the person being attacked is you."

"When did your courage become as bad as Percy's stinky rat? You look weird today! No, you've been acting weird lately. You're not like yourself anymore, and you often look worried unintentionally." George said.

The twin brothers are actually very smart, they just don't focus on studying. At the same time, they are very observant. They know that Ada is hiding something in her heart, but since Ada doesn't say it, they didn't ask. It's normal for friends to have some little secrets.

"At first we thought you were unwell," Fred said. "But it just felt like the timing was wrong..."

George stopped talking halfway through his words. The brothers' faces turned visibly red, like crabs that had just been cooked.

Ada, whose face was as red as a ripe tomato, suddenly understood what it meant to be "most afraid of the sudden silence in the air, most afraid of the sudden concern of friends..."

Silence, silence is Hogwarts tonight.

"I just have some troubles recently, but I can't tell you for the time being." Ada, who was thick-skinned enough, took the lead in breaking the awkward atmosphere.

The brothers Fred and George sat on Ada's left and right.

Fred put his hand on Ada's left shoulder and said, "Ahem... I don't want to say it for now. Wait until the day you want to say it."

George on the right also put his hand on Ada's shoulder and said, "We are your friends and your strong support!"

"Although this shield is a little small now, it is still a shield no matter how small it is!" The twins patted Ada's shoulders vigorously.

The two brothers' actions and words warmed Ada's heart, but their hands were a little too strong. Ada felt lucky to have someone to rely on when she was helpless.

Ada said to the two of them in a muffled voice, full of apology: "I'm sorry, Fred and George, I will tell you the first time I think about it!"

(End of this chapter)