Days wandering around Hogwarts

Chapter 720 Discovering I'd Been Scammed

It's another Hogsmeade Week, and the Three Broomsticks pub is filled with a warm and cozy atmosphere.

The aroma of butterbeer and the crackling scent of burning pine in the fireplace, mixed with the students' noisy laughter, formed the unique background music of a Hogsmeade weekend.

However, in a quiet corner by the window of the bar, the atmosphere was somewhat gloomy, even resentful.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Seamus sat around a wooden table, each with a glass of butterbeer in front of them. But apart from Hermione taking a couple of sips, the other guys just stared at the thick foam swirling in their glasses, showing no interest.

Sometimes, when two people keep something to themselves and are unwilling to think about it, they don't realize the problem.

Now that new victims with the same identity have emerged, it's immediately clear what's going on.

"Charles, you tricked me!"

Harry sent the message, slammed the communication notebook shut, and squeezed out the words through clenched teeth, his voice hoarse from suppressing his anger.

Ron's face scrunched up as if he had swallowed a slug.

"I knew it! He was so kind as to help us out of our troubles, but it turns out he was just using us as guinea pigs!" He waved his arm, nearly knocking over Seamus's cup. "And with Veela, no less!"

“Or…or become Professor Umbridge’s Veela…” Neville added in a low voice, his round face drained of color, as if he had returned to the house in the back alley an hour ago, experiencing the terror and chaos of that absurd psychological counseling session.

That sensory assault, a mixture of extreme allure and extreme disgust, was an indelible psychological trauma in his young life.

Simo, who was also victimized, slammed his hand on the table, drawing the attention of students at several nearby tables.

"No wonder he ran so far!" Seamus said angrily. "Hiding in the Rocky Mountains, so he was up to something bad, afraid we'd catch him at Farbatton Castle!"

Hermione escaped unharmed, but she didn't look well.

Based on her understanding of Charles, she suspected that there were more than just these four victims of the experiment; there were probably others who hadn't even gotten their turn yet.

Her brow furrowed, clearly extremely displeased with Charles's actions, and she said unhappily, "Although I don't know his purpose, this matter seriously violates the ethics of magical research. He should at least have obtained your explicit consent beforehand!"

The victims nodded emphatically, their chests filled with resentment and anger at being betrayed by Charles.

But after the anger subsided, a deep sense of powerlessness enveloped them.

Revenge? How do I get revenge?

Charles is in the remote Rocky Mountains of America. Are they going to Apparate there to settle scores with him?

In the end, they could only channel their grief and anger into their appetite, ordering some snacks and gulping down large mouthfuls of butterbeer from their heavy beer mugs, as if the sweet liquid could extinguish the flames in their hearts.

After several rounds of drinks and several servings of snacks, the wine was finished and the snacks were served.

Just then, the bar door was pushed open again, bringing in a gust of cold outdoor wind and a tall figure.

Cedric stood in the doorway and looked around, his gaze quickly locking onto the corner where the victims were.

With a rare expression on his face, a mixture of exhaustion, frustration, and a lingering fear, he walked straight over without saying a word.

The area around the table was already full.

Cedric's gaze swept across the faces of the group, finally settling on Hermione, who seemed the calmest and most likely to know the inside story.

“Miss Granger,” he said in a low voice, with a hint of barely perceptible urgency, “can you get in touch with Charles?”

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately felt several strange gazes converge on him.

His gaze was filled with surprise, and a silent question: "You too?"

Harry practically jumped up, his eyes gleaming with the schadenfreude of someone who had found a kindred spirit. He lowered his voice and asked, "Cedric, you got tricked by Charles too?"

He pressed on to the core question: "Is it... also related to the Veela?"

Cedric's heart skipped a beat.

Seeing the shared misery and gritted teeth of Harry, Ron, Neville, and Seamus, he immediately understood what was going on.

A feeling of absurdity and anger welled up inside me.

Charles actually betrayed even Harry, whom he doted on. This shows just how utterly depraved he has become!
Cedric's handsome face twitched slightly. After everyone squeezed out seats, he gritted his teeth and said with resentment that seemed to come from the depths of his soul, "That's right! It's that despicable guy!"

“Just now, my father asked me to go to a small building in the back, saying that Charles had something important to discuss with me.”

"Although he gave my father one hundred Galleons as compensation for participating in the research, the psychological damage he caused me could not be compensated by those Galleons!"

After Cedric finished speaking, he took a sip of the freshly served butterbeer, at which point the Gryffindor victims around the table instantly erupted in uproar.

"One hundred Galleons?!"

"One hundred Galleons?!"

"Why didn't I have any?!"

"Why haven't I seen a single penny?!"

Harry, Ron, Seamus, and Neville practically jumped out of their chairs, their faces filled with disbelief and a sense of injustice at being treated differently.

That's 100 Galleons! For students who are always strapped for cash, that's an enormous sum that would make anyone envious!

The four of them were genuinely misled and terrified by "Umbridge," suffering severe mental trauma, only to end up as free laborers? And Cedric actually received payment?!
Cedric was taken aback by their intense reaction and looked at the four of them in surprise, especially Harry.

Given Charles and Harry's relationship, there's no reason for him to cheat them out of their money.
“Wait a minute.” Cedric suddenly realized the key point and raised his hand to signal them to be quiet. “Charles approached my father beforehand and persuaded him to agree to this research.”

"That hundred gallons was given directly to my father."

He paused, then added, "I suspect the agreement may have included a confidentiality clause regarding me, so I was completely unaware of it until I asked my father just now."

After he finished speaking, a look of unease appeared on his face, clearly indicating that his experience of being studied by the Veela was not pleasant.

This explanation was like a spark that instantly ignited a new fuse.

"Contact the parents!"

"Ask them quickly!"

"Did my dad sell me out too?!"

The victims immediately frantically pulled out their notebooks to contact their families.

Hermione tensed up instantly, fearing she would be the next one to be tricked.

She received good news: Charles had not been able to find a dentist.

After a brief, anxious wait, the answers were gradually revealed.

Harry's face turned pale.

Black readily admitted in his communication notebook that Dobby was in charge of the matter and that he had indeed received one hundred Galleons from Charles. Considering that Charles and Dobby would not harm Harry, he signed the agreement without reading its contents.

He added enthusiastically that he planned to use part of the money to buy Harry an amazing Christmas present.

On Ron's side, Mrs. Weasley replied with a hint of excitement, marveling that her sixth son could now earn money for the family.

She also admitted to receiving an agreement and a sum of money from Charles through Dobby, ostensibly to "invite Ron to participate in a harmless study of magical creature interaction that would help improve his Quidditch skills."

Mrs. Weasley thought Charles was a reliable and good boy who wouldn't harm Ron. In addition, the family's finances had always been tight, and with Christmas approaching, this windfall could solve many problems, so she didn't ask any more questions and agreed.

Neville's grandmother, Mrs. Longbottom, was much more decisive, signing without any hesitation.

Simo's mother thought it was interesting for her son to do research with Charles, and he could also earn some extra money to buy Simo Christmas presents this year, so why not?
Hermione's tense nerves finally relaxed a little as she confirmed once again that Charles had indeed not contacted her dentist parents.

This made her feel both relieved and conflicted as she looked at the group of boys around her who had been "sold out."

The truth is clear.

Charles cleverly exploited the parents' trust in him, bypassing them—the experiment subjects—and used Galleons to open every door to experimental permission.

The confidentiality clause in the agreement ensured that the mice would be kept in the dark until the experiment was completed.

Hermione tensed up, unsure whether Charles had truly not approached her parents or if it was a secret.

"I really want to punch him!" Harry slammed his empty beer mug on the table and growled in frustration.

However, Ron added insult to injury with a chilling remark: "You can't beat him."

Harry slumped like a punctured balloon, his shoulders buckling, and he sighed in frustration.

But soon, a stubborn determination made him straighten his back again.

He glanced around the table at the group of fellow "victims"—the indignant Ron, the still-shaken Neville, Seamus demanding an explanation, and Cedric, who, despite having received the money, also felt hurt and looked dejected.

Even Hermione, though unaffected, strongly condemned Charles's actions.

An idea gradually took shape in Harry's mind.

He took a deep breath, his gaze hardening, and lowered his voice to the people gathered around the table: "We can't just let this go!"

"If one person can't deal with him, we can join forces!"

His voice carried an inspiring power: "Let's join hands and start preparing now!"

"When he comes back after the Christmas holidays, we'll definitely give him a piece of our mind and let him know that we're not so easy to figure out!"

The proposal was immediately met with a positive response from everyone.

Ron nodded vigorously, Seamus rubbed his hands together, and even Neville gave a firm "hmm".

Although Cedric was mild-mannered, he felt it necessary to make Charles realize the seriousness of the problem, considering the psychological trauma he had suffered that even a hundred gallons could not heal. So he slowly nodded.

Although Hermione did not approve of violence, she also felt it was necessary to give Charles a profound ideological education and tacitly approved the formation of this "victims' alliance".

The setting sun shone through the bar's window, casting dappled light and shadow on the wooden floor.

Outside the window, Hogsmeade Village remained bustling.

In this corner of the Three Broomsticks pub, a secret alliance aimed at taking revenge on Charles was quietly formed amidst the froth of butterbeer and an atmosphere of shared hatred.

(End of this chapter)