The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 44 Defense Against Dark Arts Lesson
Ada had no choice but to leave after getting nothing out of Snape, with a little tail following behind her. Watching Ada's departure, Snape also walked out of the dungeon and headed to the eighth floor of the castle. He thought he should have a good talk with Dumbledore.

Ada walked in front, and the house-elf Winnie followed respectfully behind her.

"Winnie, how long have you been in Hogwarts?" Ada turned around and talked to the elf Winnie.

Winnie raised her head, her tennis-ball-sized eyes twinkling, and she said, "Miss, Winnie has been in Hogwarts since she was born, and it has been eleven years."

"Then let me ask you, has Professor Snape always been like this?"

"Miss, Winnie is useless. Winnie doesn't know about Mr. Snape's situation. Winnie is only responsible for cleaning the school." The elf Winnie said self-reproachfully, with her big head lowered, as if tears would flow out at any time.

"It's not your fault. Snape is really hard to figure out. You said it would be great if he was like Hagrid. He could give me an answer and I wouldn't have to guess all the time." Ada said.

"Mr. Hagrid always makes a mess of the castle..."

Ada also thought of Hagrid's usual appearance. It was normal for the elf in charge of the castle not to like him, but Snape's greasy long hair should also make the elf feel uncomfortable.

When entering the common room, the elf Winnie handed Ada a tray full of food and a pot of juice, bowed to Ada before leaving.

On Saturday, the Gryffindor Quidditch match began. Gryffindor students gathered together, holding various banners and making loud noises to cheer for Gryffindor.

Ada and the twins mingled in the crowd, shouting "Come on!" and also sparing no effort.

The game was full of ups and downs and very exciting. Thanks to Charlie's efforts, Gryffindor's offense was very smooth and they took the lead at the beginning of the game.

Charlie is worthy of being the captain. Not only does he have superb skills, he can score points himself, but he can also use his own containment to help his teammates get opportunities. At the same time, he can command players in other positions and integrate all Gryffindor players into a whole.

Goalkeeper Wood also played very well today. He blocked many difficult shots from Ravenclaw and kept the goal ring intact. It was precisely because of his excellent performance that Gryffindor maintained the lead in the game and was not overtaken by Ravenclaw.

The other players also performed their duties and contributed their own strengths to the game.

After two hours of the game, the Golden Snitch was finally caught by Gryffindor's Seeker, and the united Gryffindor won the game.

The Gryffindor students in the stands cheered and stamped their feet. Fortunately, the stands were solid and were not damaged by the excited students. Professor McGonagall was also very happy. She clenched her fist and cheered, and her serious look disappeared.

Gryffindor students surrounded the team members and returned to the castle. They danced, made noises, and laughed along the way to celebrate the victory of the game. In the atmosphere of Gryffindor's celebration, the kitchen of Hogwarts was "ransacked", and the house elves bowed together to see off the little lions who returned with a lot of rewards.

These days, Ada has not forgotten Fuli, who is in poor health, and has been paying attention to his every move. It’s not that Ada cares about his health, but all Ada’s suspicions ultimately point to Fuli.

Especially in recent events, when four houses were forcibly broken into, Foley had plenty of time. After Foley stopped searching the castle, the Ravenclaw theft occurred. When Slytherin was robbed in March, Foley had already left the school infirmary, and he was fully recovered and could do this.

When the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor houses were visited by uninvited guests, Foley appeared in the school infirmary, which could have cleared his suspicion a little. But Ada knew Foley's secret, so Foley not only failed to clear his suspicion, but it aggravated it.

What's more, Foley's injury during that period was not serious and would not delay his actions. And Ada didn't believe that an excellent wizard like Foley had no tricks or trump cards.

What Ada was unsure about was the person who attacked Daniel, and who broke into the Forbidden Forest. That's why Ada asked Snape, but Snape didn't give her an answer at all.

Ada could only rely on her own findings to focus on Welfare, who was the most suspected. Whether he was wronged or not had nothing to do with her. She did not go to Dumbledore to complain, nor did she write to the Ministry of Magic or the Daily Prophet. It was not even a false accusation. Suspicion did not need any evidence to support it.

These days, Foley stays at home and you can hardly see him except in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Ada wishes that the Marauder's Map can record the changes that occur within a certain period of time in addition to the real-time function. Unfortunately, the Marauder's Map did not meet Ada's extravagant wishes. Ada could not stare at the map 24 hours a day. If Foley's actions happened to occur when Ada was not paying attention to the map, then Ada would not be able to find any evidence against him.

In the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Ada sat in her seat pretending to read a book, but her eyes kept glancing at Foley on the podium. Foley looked a little pale, and it was not known whether it was because he was always injured or because he did not get enough rest. The handsome man had become very haggard.

Ever since Benedict Foley was accidentally injured by a student in class, all practical sessions of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class had been cancelled. Although Foley had not explicitly forbidden students from taking out their wands, wands were now of no use in his class.

Foley was at the podium, reading the contents of the book word for word, which was in sharp contrast to his previous humorous and witty personality. He was now rapidly moving towards Professor Binns' style.

The recent Defense Against the Dark Arts classes have been like this, either they were suspended because of his injury, or they were just perfunctory like today. Everyone complained about this, but seeing his miserable appearance, many people softened their hearts.

People are all made of flesh and blood, and no one is willing to push the unfortunate welfare too far, so this course has become the lifeless state it is today.

The students were busy with their own things downstairs, some were sleeping, some were doing homework, and so on. Foley was on the stage, acting as a ruthless reading machine. Just like the History of Magic, the two sides did not interfere with each other.

It’s just that Foley’s hypnosis skills are far worse than Professor Binns’, and the sleep quality of students who choose to sleep is not as good as that of the History of Magic.

After class, Fuli, who looked haggard, stopped Ada who was about to leave.

"Miss Drizzt, wait a moment."

Ada was a little surprised when she was called, and almost thought she was in a potions class. She turned around and said, "Professor Foley, what's up?"

"Come with me, I need your help with something." Fuli said and walked into a small room in the classroom.

Ada frowned, she didn't know what Fuli was up to. Ada thought Fuli might have discovered her eavesdropping. But Fuli, who had left her behind in front of everyone, probably wouldn't do anything.

Ada followed Foley into the cabin calmly. She suppressed all her emotions and didn't let Foley see her expression.

"I borrowed two books from the library before, but I haven't returned them due to health reasons." Fuli took out two books from the bookshelf in the cabin. "You go to the library often, can you please return them for me?"

"No problem, professor." Ada took the book and said to Fuli, "Professor, you must take care of your health. We all support you." Ada pretended to be Fuli's fan club.

"Thank you, I will be careful." Fuli said with a smile, "I haven't finished my work yet, how can I give up?"

"Professor, is there anything else?" Ada said, holding the book in her arms. Foley's words made her think of something.

"No more, go ahead," Foley said, as he weakly held onto a table and sat down.

Ada started to walk out holding the book. She felt that Fuli's words were full of meaning, as if he was testing her.

Fuli, who was sitting on a chair, said to Ada who was walking to the door: "I heard that you were running around the castle a while ago?"

With her back to Foley, Ida felt cold sweat on her forehead. She tried to make her voice sound steady as she answered, "The whole Gryffindor was doing this at the time, so I followed them around the castle."

"I don't mean to blame you. You also want to do something for the school." Fuli said, "Go ahead, but don't take the wrong road when you help me deliver the books."

(End of this chapter)