From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 206 Ghoul

"The school is in such a mess!" Harry looked at the corridor full of footprints and the furious-looking old Filch at the end of the corridor.

He had just left the school hospital because his good friend Ron was injured and stabbed by poisonous tentacles that emerged from an empty classroom.

Poison Tentacles, that should be the name. Although Harry listened carefully to the Herbology class, he could guarantee that he had never heard this name from Professor Sprout.

But his other good friend Hermione is very different from him.

Almost before Ron was grabbed by the leafy, thorny vines of the poisonous tentacles, she screamed out the name of the plant.

Harry quickly closed the door, and called Hermione to use magic to cut the branches outside the door. Finally, the two of them carried Ron, who was covered in thorns, and ran to the school hospital.

After Hermione called out the name of the poisonous tentacle, Madam Pomfrey, who was originally worried about the crowded school hospital, immediately put down all the work in her hands and rushed towards Ron with an extremely urgent expression.

So Hermione was sent to find Professor McGonagall, and Harry was sent to find Professor Sprout, and they were accompanied by several portraits outside the hospital ward. There were originally more portraits hanging outside the hospital ward, but because of the commotion in the castle, many of the portraits left their frames.

Before this, Harry had not known that portraits would also want to watch the fun.

Perhaps Harry's exclamation was heard by old Filch, for his red, wet eyes immediately glared at him.

Reflexively, Harry hid himself behind the wall at the corner, and then he remembered that he had the responsibility to save people.

"Who?" Filch shouted. "I see you! Come out now!"

"Hello, er... Mr. Castle Administrator?" Harry decided to face this usually unpleasant guy. "I'm just on my way to find..."

"Detention!" Filch shouted before Harry could finish his words. It was obvious to anyone that he just wanted to vent his anger on someone.

As a Squib, Filch was undoubtedly unqualified for the position of castle administrator, which meant that he could not make the muddy footprints left by students in the corridor disappear just by waving his wand and talking. Therefore, he had to spend a lot of time and energy on cleaning every day. Although Dumbledore would not fire him even if he did his work so-so every day, the pressure from his colleagues and the school board was different, so Filch would do his job well every day, even if it would take him a lot of energy.

Because this is one of the few connections between him and the wizarding world. Leaving Hogwarts is almost like leaving the wizarding world for Filch, so he would respond with the most serious malice to any little wizard who did not respect the fruits of his labor - putting them in detention.

Harry was not going to give in. Last time, he almost became the culprit of the attack on faculty and staff just because of a little mud, not to mention that he had done nothing this time.

"Never!" Harry shouted back. "Ron's waiting for me!"

"... a lot of Chinese kale, Filius!" Professor Sprout's voice came from the stairwell. "I have never seen such a strong and vigorous plant. They almost messed up my garden. But they did one good thing - they bit all the carnivorous slugs near the sap grass. I dare say they are taking revenge for their other non-biting relatives in the vegetable garden."

Harry could already see the figures of the two professors. The short Professor Flitwick did not respond to Professor Sprout's words and was still looking down in thought.

"I should have given Mr. Doom 20 points for his Shrinking Charm!" Professor Flitwick said in annoyance. "If we take into account the ancient magic he performed in the Great Hall, perhaps 50 points would be more appropriate?"

"Professor Sprout!" Harry shouted, ignoring Filch's attempts to stop him. "Ron! Ron Weasley is waiting for you in the hospital wing! He's been stung by a poisonous tentacle!"

"Let Mr. Potter follow us, Filch." Professor Sprout made an immediate judgment, "Follow! Mr. Potter!"

"What?" Filch was puzzled. In his opinion, this was Harry's delaying tactic. "Professor! He has obviously violated the school rules!"

However, Professor Sprout and Harry had left him behind and were walking quickly down the corridor.

"Because poisonous tentacles can kill people, Filch." Professor Flitwick explained for Professor Sprout.

"And obviously Mr. Potter can't grow so many legs by himself. There are even horse hooves in here!" Professor Flitwick looked at the footprints of different sizes on the ground and took out his wand, "Let me help you! Clean it up."

The footprints in the corridor immediately disappeared without a trace, and a clean and bright corridor reappeared.

Filch leaned on his mop and stammered for a long time before saying, "Thank you... Professor Flitwick..."

----

Professor Sprout ran with Harry down the corridor, asking him what had happened.

After hearing that Ron was stung by a poisonous tentacle that came out from behind the door, the expression on Professor Sprout's face visibly relaxed a little.

"Professor!" Harry realized that they didn't seem to be heading towards the school hospital. "Ron is in the school hospital!"

"Of course I know, kid." Professor Sprout kept walking. "We need to go to the greenhouse to find a special ointment that can neutralize the poison tentacles. Fortunately, poison tentacles are a required course for sixth graders. In order to prepare for emergencies, I put a lot of special ointments in the greenhouse."

"Ron's life is in danger?" Harry was terrified. He didn't want to lose a friend like this.

"I would say yes, kid." Professor Sprout said soothingly, "But you handled it in time and prevented him from being bitten by the poisonous tentacles. The toxins on those fangs are fatal. But being stabbed by the thorns on the vines is relatively easy to deal with. As long as we treat him in time, the toxins will only make him suffer for a while."

The protective measures that Professor Sprout prepared for Herbology were indeed effective, and Ron was no longer in danger of death.

The riots that broke out in the school seemed to have stopped. Everything came so quickly and went away so quickly that it was confusing.

Harry lay in his four-poster bed, not wanting to join his roommates' bedtime chat, as they discussed the unicorn that appeared in the hall, the giant three-headed snake, and Ivy's magic that made everyone fly.

"So the poisonous tentacles that appeared in the empty classroom were also raised by Ivy?" Harry couldn't help but think. His friend was as dangerous as Hagrid. No, maybe Ivy was far more dangerous than Hagrid.

Hagrid just wanted to have a dragon at school, or maybe a few Chimera eggs.

Compared to the basilisk that Ivy wanted to raise and the poisonous tentacles that he had already raised, dragons and chimeras might be safer.

Harry had long discovered that magical life in Hogwarts was not safe, but in recent times, various situations had frequently broken out in the castle, making him a little overwhelmed.

Exhausted, Harry fell into a deep sleep.

----

"Where are you going, Hermione?" Harry asked. They had just finished Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class and Hermione grabbed her schoolbag and rushed out. "We should bring some lunch for Ron!"

"That's great, you can bring me one too!" Hermione said without turning back, "I'll go give him the notes! Your Transfiguration grades are really terrible! If you miss classes now, you'll never catch up in the future!" Professor McGonagall must have heard what Hermione said, because Harry found that she was staring at him with disapproval.

After giving Professor McGonagall a forced smile, Harry fled to the Great Hall.

The auditorium that was in a mess yesterday has been completely restored to its original state, and there is no sign at all that there used to be many horse-like magical creatures galloping here.

The students were eating heartily and talking about the various magical animals they had seen yesterday. Harry didn't have time to care about that. He walked through the crowd and came to the long table of Gryffindor.

The dishes on the long Gryffindor table were very rich. The most eye-catching one was the fried onion steak. The golden chopped onions on the brown steak gave off an appetizing aroma. Harry felt his stomach lurch rapidly.

Next to the steak was cream of mushroom soup. The round mushrooms looked particularly cute in the milky white soup, and no one could resist the urge to put them in their mouths.

Harry swallowed hard and packed up three steaks, a large pot of cream of mushroom soup, some fried fish, and several slices of perfectly toasted whole-wheat bread.

The food portions were quite large, so Harry had to be extremely careful as he carried the plates up the stairs. If he made a mistake, he would lose the meals for three people.

"Don't meet Peeves, don't meet Peeves..." Harry muttered as he nimbly jumped over the missing step. After a year and a half at Hogwarts, he had gradually become familiar with the stairs in the castle that could cause people to trip.

"Hey! Scarhead Potter!" A voice that was definitely not friendly sounded from behind Harry.

Oh - forgot Malfoy.

Harry thought bitterly.

"If you don't mind... Malfoy." Harry turned stiffly, "I'm in a hurry..."

"Of course I mind!" Malfoy laughed exaggeratedly and swaggered towards Harry.

Harry, carrying a pile of plates and food, would never be able to outrun Malfoy and his two lackeys, so Harry told himself to try to solve everything with words.

"Some people say you are the heir of Slytherin? Just because you attacked that old, dirty Squib?" Malfoy laughed viciously, "I know you do have some strength, but you are definitely not the heir of Slytherin!"

"You're right," Harry said quickly, "I'm not the heir of Slytherin."

Malfoy was stunned, obviously not expecting Harry to answer like this. In the eyes of Malfoy, who claimed to be a pure Slytherin, being called the heir of Slytherin was obviously an honor.

"Ivy is the real heir!" Malfoy thought for a moment, then continued, "Yesterday he subdued a giant three-headed snake in the Great Hall, using real Parseltongue! Not at all like a fake like you!"

"Yes, Ivy is indeed the true heir of Slytherin." Harry warned himself not to roll his eyes. He had known about Ivy being the heir a month earlier. But it seemed that Malfoy, a true Slytherin, had only received the real strong evidence of this news yesterday.

Malfoy leaned back slightly, feeling a little uncomfortable that Harry, who used to be confrontational, was now beginning to agree with his point of view.

"... Think about what the heir of Slytherin will do?" Malfoy regained the rhythm of the conversation and began his intimidation and threats. "Your two 'good friends', the Muggle Granger and the shame of pure-blood Weasley, they are both on the heir's hunting list!"

"Ron and Hermione are both friends of Ivy," Harry said lightly. He had never felt happy that he was friends with the heir of Slytherin, except now.

Malfoy choked, his face turned almost purple, and other words began to utter. Harry vaguely made out the names of Colin and Neville.

"If you don't mind... Malfoy, sir? I'm leaving?" Harry smiled fakely and slowly backed away. The end of the corridor was the school hospital, not far away. As long as Malfoy could maintain this state for another thirty seconds, no, fifteen seconds, Harry would be able to reach the door of the head nurse's office.

The purple color on Malfoy's face faded, and he began to stare at the plate in Harry's hand with malicious eyes. It seemed that he had guessed whose lunch it was.

"Expelliarmus," Harry whispered. He had learned this spell well, thanks to Professor Victor's teachings, and Malfoy knew it. He certainly hadn't mastered wandless spells yet, but he hoped this spell would keep Malfoy at bay.

Harry's threat had obviously worked. This place was too close to where the faculty and staff were, and chanting a spell would easily attract attention. And Harry, who didn't have a wand in his hand, obviously couldn't be the one who took the initiative to provoke trouble, so Malfoy needed a more reliable excuse.

He smiled maliciously at Harry and directed the two bodyguards behind him to charge at Harry. Sometimes, magic is not necessary to achieve a goal; "accidentally brushing past" can also be done.

"Be careful!" Malfoy warned hypocritically, the smile on his face becoming increasingly difficult to conceal.

As long as Harry can't help but fight back, they will be victims!

"Oh!"

Harry felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, and couldn't help but throw the plate in his hand upwards...

"Wingardim Leviosa!"

The fried fish, bread, cream of mushroom soup and steak did not fall to the ground, and even the chopped onions covering the steak did not spill at all.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and looked back gratefully. It was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Harry had heard people talking about the patches on his robes!
"You do need to be careful, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Goyle and Mr. Crabbe." Lupin's expression looked very happy, and even the suspected bullying incident in the corridor did not affect his mood.

"Yes, Professor." A professor was obviously intimidating enough. Malfoy quickly restrained the smile on his face, walked up to Harry and extended his hand.

Harry had no intention of relying on his help, but Malfoy clearly wasn't going to let Harry refuse, so he grabbed his arm and pulled Harry up from the ground.

"You should be careful too, Mr. Potter!" Harry heard Malfoy say through gritted teeth.

After watching the three Slytherins, two fat and one thin, leave the corridor outside the school hospital, Harry caught the food floating in the air again.

"Thank you, Professor." Harry looked up and saw the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor staring at his face with a strange expression.

"Ah." Lupin came back to his senses and looked at the plate in Harry's hand. "Sending food to a friend? Then you'd better be quick. The delivery window allowed by Madam Pomfrey is not very long."

Harry thanked him again and hurried away.

After entering the school hospital, the first words Ron used to greet him were about the professor in the corridor.

"Professor Lupin has caught a ghoul!" Ron said as quietly as he could.

(End of this chapter)