The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 30: Cunning Hunter

Filch took the twins to his office. All the way, he kept talking about how he would punish the brothers.

These punishments all sound bloody, but none of them can actually be used on students. Dumbledore abolished this practice long ago.

Ada lagged far behind the three men. She decided to follow them to check the situation. If the two were punished with labor service, she could help them.

When they arrived at the administrator's office, Filch pushed Fred and George into the office roughly and slammed the door shut.

The twins stood in the office. They no longer needed to observe the room. The cleaned chains and handcuffs did not scare the two people who came and went frequently. Their familiarity with this place was second only to Filch and his cat.

There was an oil lamp hanging from the ceiling, which made the office a little dim. The small room was filled with the smell of grilled fish. There was a filing cabinet against the wall for students' disciplinary records. There was a drawer in the desk with the words "Confiscated materials, extremely dangerous" written on it.

"See those chains and handcuffs?" said Filch sinisterly. "I'd like to hang you two up there, like two fish. Hang them for a few days, and you'll behave."

"That's a shame you can't hang us up there now," said Fred, who was not afraid of boiling water.

"If I were you, I would oil them regularly. Who knows, they might come in handy someday, dear Filch." George even joked with Filch.

"You will definitely experience its power first." Filch said fiercely, "Let me think about how I should punish you! The Forbidden Forest is a good choice. Believe me, you will be scared to pee your pants!"

The twins were indifferent to Filch's threats. They actually hoped that Filch would really punish them by sending them to the Forbidden Forest. This was when they were sleepy and someone brought them pillows.

"But before that, I have to inform Professor McGonagall," Filch said as he wrote his punishment suggestions on the parchment.

Hearing Professor McGonagall's name, the fearless twins finally changed their expressions. They were still in awe of Professor McGonagall. But Filch, who was enjoying himself on paper, didn't notice the change in the twins' expressions.

Meow! There was a cat's meow at the door. Filch quickly opened the door and carried Mrs. Norris into the room. Mrs. Norris kept meowing, and Filch remembered some things that he had forgotten.

"Tell me! Where is the other person? Who is he?" Filch asked the twins. "Is he the dark-skinned boy you usually hang out with?"

Catching the twins' joy made Filch temporarily forget that there was someone else wandering around at night. After seeing his cat, he finally remembered.

"You're wrong."

"Just the two of us."

"There is no third person." The twins said in unison, "Maybe he is a student from another academy. Your cat can't talk."

"You are lying!" Filch shouted at Fred and George.

Filch didn't bother to interrogate the twins anymore and hurried out to check, but Filch, who was standing at the door, didn't see anyone.

"Who's there? Come out?" Filch took a few more steps forward, but he still didn't see anyone. His shouting was just a bluff. Mrs. Norris also jumped out of Filch's arms and made a sharp cat cry.

As soon as Filch left the office, George quickly opened the drawer containing the "confiscated materials" and rummaged through it, while Fred used his body to block him as much as possible.

Filch found nothing and went back to his office. He was worried that if he was away for too long, the office would be destroyed by the twins.

Filch first looked around his office and found no signs of damage. The twins also stood in their previous positions. He said, "You two, follow me. We are going to see Professor McGonagall now."

On the other side, after Filch brought the twins into the office, Ada had been hiding nearby and eavesdropping, but there was no sound coming from the office.

After a while, the elusive Mrs. Loris appeared in front of Ada again, but she did not continue to "confront" Ada, but started barking directly at the door of the office.

After Filch carried it into the door, Filch's harsh questioning came from the office, and Ada no longer cared about the twins. She chose to slip away silently.

On the way back to the common room, Ada went to the fourth floor to pick up the evidence she had left behind.

After returning to the common room, Ada did not go to rest directly, but sat in the armchair by the fireplace, waiting for the twins to return.

Ada, who was taking a nap with her eyes closed, didn't wait long before she heard someone coming in. When she opened her eyes, she saw the twins walking in.

"Did Filch give you a hard time?" Ada asked with concern. The twin brothers looked solemn and shook their heads at Ada with a wry smile, leaving her confused.

"I knew you were the only one!" An angry female voice floated above Ada's head.

It's Professor McGonagall! As expected, when Ada looked up, she saw Professor McGonagall standing behind the twins with a serious face.

It turned out that when Professor McGonagall brought the twins back, she let the Weasley brothers enter the common room first. After they entered, Professor McGonagall followed them in, and sure enough, she caught Ada in the act.

"Professor McGonagall, please listen to me...explain..." Ada felt that she could still be saved and wanted to try to struggle.

"Hmm?" Professor McGonagall looked down at her, and Ada swallowed back the lie she had made up in an instant.

Seeing that Ada did not forcefully quibble, Professor McGonagall continued, "You three are truly role models for Gryffindor!"

Professor McGonagall was wearing pajamas and a cloak, but this attire did not affect her dignity at all. The three people lowered their heads and stood side by side in front of Professor McGonagall, accepting her criticism honestly.

"I'm very angry! You're not sleeping at night and you're wandering around in the corridor. Do you know what time it is now? Do you know how dangerous this is?" Although Professor McGonagall lowered her voice, her anger could still be felt.

"You! Miss Drizzt, I thought you would be more sober, but what did you do? What did you promise me in the office?"

Ada also felt very embarrassed. Professor McGonagall had not called her "Miss Drizzt" for a long time. One could imagine how angry Professor McGonagall was that night.

Moreover, Ada was almost crying because of her own stupid behavior. She exchanged glances with her twin brothers and knew that Fred and George did not "betray" her.

"Mr. Weasley, you have to pay the price for your dangerous behavior. Gryffindor will be deducted 30 points! Per person!" Professor McGonagall announced the punishment and officially announced that Gryffindor withdrew from the competition for the House Cup this academic year.

"As for you, Miss Drizzt, although you were not caught by Filch, you are still responsible for your stupidity." Professor McGonagall paused, "From today on, you must complete all your homework in duplicate, and there must be no duplication of content. Remember, this is for every subject!"

Ada and the other two sat in armchairs. The scene was extremely quiet. Professor McGonagall had just left, leaving the three of them relatively speechless.

"We didn't expect you to be waiting in the common room," said Fred. It turns out that the old ones are the wisest.

Professor McGonagall pretended to trust them both in the office, but when she returned to the lounge, she turned hostile and dragged Ada out.

"We trusted her so much." George said in disbelief. Professor McGonagall had put all three of them in this move.

"It's my own fault. If I had gone back to the dormitory, this wouldn't have happened. Even if I had hidden on the stairs in the dormitory, I might not have been discovered." Ada summed up herself and looked for the reasons in herself.

No matter how cunning a fox is, it can't beat the old hunter! Professor McGonagall has lived for so many years, and she has only lived for a few years in her two lives combined. Compared with Professor McGonagall, Ada is not even a fox.

The lesson she learned tonight made her realize two things: first, it was okay to violate school rules, but she couldn't be discovered. Not being discovered meant that she had not violated the school rules; second, it was her own shortcomings. At least she couldn't be plotted against by Professor McGonagall in the same way again.

Ever since she had the system, Ada always thought that she just needed to survive, survive until the finals, and make it to the top. But now it seems that she needs to adjust her mindset. In front of a bunch of old foxes, she is so naive that she can be squeezed out of water. She is still far behind and has a lot to learn.

"George, show us what you found from Filch. This is the only thing worth being happy about today." Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit dull, Fred quickly spoke up to ease the tension.

"Well, wait a minute." George reached into his pocket and pulled out a large treasure. "Ah, here it is!"

George pulled out a large square of parchment, badly worn and blank.

"Uh..." Fred was a little speechless. He glanced at his twin brother and made sure that George was not joking. Then Fred continued, "What is this?"

"I don't know." George scratched his head and said awkwardly, "But it is indeed in the drawer. Maybe we just haven't discovered its magical use yet..."

Ada once thought that George had taken the wrong piece of parchment, but now it seems that this piece of parchment is the treasure that George took from Filch.

That's it! That's it! That's it! Ada roared silently in her heart.

(End of this chapter)