The Rune Mage Starting at Hogwarts

"Completely cleaned up!"

With a few cleansing spells, Crabbe and Malfoy were finally clean again.

Professor Sprout also quickly used a spell to recover the fertilizer that could still be used.

Malfoy quickly stood up, while Crabbe tried to stand up, but forgot that he still had a tethering curse on his leg that hadn't been lifted, so his struggle looked somewhat ridiculous.

"Don't move, Mr. Crabbe!" Professor Sprout shouted sternly.

She waved her wand again, and a flash of light broke the spell on Crabbe: "Tethering Curse... Can anyone tell me why such a curse would appear in my Herbalism class?"

"Whoever deliberately played this prank, step forward right now!"

As Malfoy listened to the students around him pointing and whispering about them, his face began to flush red.

He looked down at his cuffs, which were now clean and no longer smelly, but he still felt an overwhelming urge to vomit.

He was 90% certain that Ritz was behind it all, but he had no evidence to prove it.

However, what's more important now is the leg-tethering curse on Crabbe.

He certainly couldn't admit that he did it, and at the same time, he actually wanted to frame Ryze, but he really didn't dare.

Over the past few months, Reese's reputation at school has grown increasingly prominent.

He not only returned to the Black family, but also gained a powerful backer.

Moreover, he was very close to several prefects in the upper grades of the school.

At the Spring Festival banquet at the beginning of the month, the school's prefects, including the student council president, all gave Reese face.

If he were to frame Ritz now, and Professor Sprout discovered the truth, he would likely face an even heavier price to pay.

Seeing that no one stepped forward, Professor Sprout first looked at Crabbe and asked him seriously if he knew which direction the curse came from.

Crabbe wasn't very bright, and he subconsciously looked at Malfoy. After all, he didn't know why Malfoy, who had promised to target Ritz, ended up being the unlucky one.

Sensing the doubt in Crabbe's eyes, Malfoy gritted his teeth.

He knows Crabbe too well; if no one keeps an eye on him, that idiot might actually tell the truth.

“Why are you looking at me, Crabbe?” Malfoy said quickly before Crabbe could speak.

He turned to Professor Sprout, trying to make his voice sound less guilty: "Professor... actually, I didn't see clearly who cast that spell either. After all, the Christmas cactus over there made quite a commotion... I saw several people draw their wands. Maybe someone tried to use a tripping charm to stop the Christmas cactus, but accidentally hit Crabbe instead..."

As soon as Malfoy finished speaking, the atmosphere in the greenhouse suddenly became a little strange.

After all, Malfoy was always the kind of guy who wouldn't let things go when he was in the right, and now that he and his underlings had been outmaneuvered, he should have been furious and gone berserk.

Now that their explanation is so weak and feeble, everyone can tell that there must be something wrong with it.

Chapter 171: Deduction of Points

As Malfoy explained, Professor Sprout's eyes lingered on Malfoy's face for several seconds.

Everyone could tell that Malfoy was lying; such a low-level curse as the tethering curse usually only appears in hallway pranks.

Professor Sprout's voice lowered, carrying obvious distrust: "Mr. Malfoy, in all my years of teaching herbalism, this is the first time I've heard of anyone using a tethering charm to control plants."

Malfoy's neck turned red, and he gripped his sleeves tightly, remaining silent.

Professor Sprout then turned to Crabbe and asked sternly, "Mr. Crabbe, you are the person involved. Do you really not know who cast that spell on you?"

Crabbe's not-so-bright brain was working at lightning speed.

Although he didn't know why Malfoy was attacking him, his Crabbe family needed Malfoy's support.

Before he enrolled in school, his family had already told him that he would be the servant of Master Malfoy at school, and that he should just do whatever the master wanted.

“I…I don’t know, Professor,” Crabbe said, his head bowed and his voice muffled.

He glanced at Malfoy furtively, then quickly looked away: "It was too chaotic at the time. I was only focused on looking at the herbs and didn't notice who it was... Maybe someone just accidentally missed."

He was almost mechanically repeating what Malfoy had just said.

Although he had just vomited and was almost dizzy, and even now he could feel a faint strange smell on his body, he knew he had no choice but to do as Malfoy instructed.

Upon receiving this answer, Professor Sprout sighed deeply.

She wasn't stupid; as a professor who had spent decades at Hogwarts, she had seen far too much.

She glanced at Malfoy, who looked guilty, then at Crabbe, whose face was full of fat but whose eyes were evasive, and finally her gaze fell on Ritz, who looked tired not far away.

Finally, her gaze fell on the fertilizer bin that shouldn't have been there.

The truth quickly came together in her mind.

It seems that Malfoy and his gang wanted to attack Raz again, but for some reason, Malfoy not only failed but also ended up in a very embarrassing situation.

“Since you both insist that this was just an ‘accident,’ let’s leave it at that,” Professor Sprout said, straightening up in an annoyed tone. “But such dangerous behavior in my class, resulting in the waste of teaching materials, is absolutely intolerable.”

“Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Crabbe, since you are not prepared to find the one who cast the spell, then you will have to take responsibility for it. Slytherin, deduct twenty points.”

She asked Malfoy one last time, "Do you have any objections to how I was treated?"

“No, Professor,” Malfoy nodded through gritted teeth.

He knew that Professor Sprout must have seen through the truth, but as long as the truth wasn't revealed, he could still accept it.

If things really escalate to the point of investigating the wand spellcasting records, he will not only face demerits and confinement from the academy, but he will also likely receive another yelling letter from his home.

“Very good,” Professor Sprout nodded. “Also, after class, I need you to stay in the greenhouse and help me prepare a new batch of dragon manure fertilizer!”

Upon hearing the words "dragon excrement," Crabbe's face paled even further. He had just managed to stop feeling nauseous, and now he had to suffer through it again after class.

Malfoy kept his head down, not daring to look Professor Sprout in the eye, and could only honestly indicate that they understood.

After dealing with these two troubles, Professor Sprout turned to look at Reiz, his previously serious gaze softening considerably.

She glanced at Ellie, who was perched lightly on Rizz's shoulder watching the show, and casually added five points to Ravenclaw's score.

"Now, go back to your places!" After dealing with the incident, Professor Sprout waved his wand to signal that the lesson would continue.

Crabbe followed Malfoy with his head down, like a defeated rooster, while Goyle, who had caused trouble on the other side, was now the most embarrassed person.

He wanted to get closer to the two people in front of him, but the horrific state of Malfoy and Crabbe was too obvious. Even though he wasn't thinking clearly, he hesitated whether he would be suffocated by their smell if he went back now.

Although Professor Sprout had skillfully cleaned the stains off Crabbe and Malfoy, the Slytherin students who had been standing around them would instinctively shrink back or cover their mouths and noses when they saw the two of them return, due to psychological effects.

All of this made Malfoy feel ashamed.

He glared at Reiz.

Ryze's reaction was much calmer; he was still carefully pruning the Christmas cactus's branches and leaves.

After all, this was all part of his plan.

After half a month of practice, he is now very proficient in light deflection magic and can easily deflect light within a three- or four-meter radius.

Moreover, with the power of magic, the disharmony caused by the deflection of light can be minimized.

Especially in dimly lit places, this sense of incongruity is almost imperceptible.

Malfoy thought he had precisely used the tethering charm on him, but in reality, thanks to Ritz's deliberate adjustment, he, Crabbe, and Ritz were in a straight line.

No matter what spell Malfoy wanted to use, it would only land on Crabbe.

In subsequent classes, the students in the greenhouse kept mentioning the story of Crabbe and Malfoy falling into the dragon manure fertilizer.

Ravenclaw's students were certainly not stupid.

From the location of the fertilizer bin and Rizzi, they quickly discussed the truth.

When the bell rang to signal the end of class, the students packed up and left, while the students at Ravenclaw couldn't wait to share the news with others.

Malfoy and Crabbe could only walk dejectedly to the fertilizer bins at the back of the greenhouse. Although Goyle was not so unlucky, he did not dare to go back alone at this time, so he could only stay behind with a bitter face to complete the task assigned to them by Professor Sprout.

By lunchtime, the news had spread rapidly throughout the auditorium.

This bad news for Slytherin naturally delighted the Gryffindor side, who actively helped spread the news.

Of course, various deviations are inevitable in the process of disseminating information.

When Ron excitedly ran over to Ridge to verify it, the rumor he heard had changed to this: "Hey Ridge, I heard that Malfoy tried to ambush you in the greenhouse this morning, but ended up diving headfirst into a bucket of dragon manure and taking a big gulp himself. Is that true?!"

Chapter 172: Snape's Unusual Behavior

Rizzi sat at Ravenclaw's long table, somewhat helplessly putting down his spoon, and briefly explained to Xing Su what had happened in class.

"It's not that he took a big bite; actually, Crabbe fell in, and Malfoy just tripped and scraped himself while running over... As for whether Crabbe got any in his mouth, you'll have to ask him."

“You’re the seventh group of people to come and ask me about this today, and each one of you is saying something more outrageous than the last,” Rhett said, rubbing his temples as he looked at Ron and Harry who had gathered around him. “If this keeps going on, it’ll probably turn into the story that Malfoy has pica and has been waiting for this opportunity to go to the greenhouse for a snack.”

"If this continues, it will probably become the story that Malfoy has pica and has been waiting for this opportunity to indulge in a feast."

"Pica? That's a good term!"

Two red-haired figures suddenly appeared from behind. George and Fred put their arms around their younger brother's shoulders on either side and greeted Rez at the same time.

“Special recipes for the Malfoy family heirs,” Fred gestured with an air of importance as he pointed to the title, “sounds like a real selling point.”

George then winked at Raz: "I guarantee that by dinner time this afternoon, even Hagrid's hound, Tooth, will know that Malfoy has a thing for dragon dung."

Ryze waved his hand, since it wasn't a negative rumor of his anyway, and let the Geminis do what they wanted: "Do as you please, just don't say that I saw him swallow it with my own eyes."

The twins chuckled and then ran off quickly, clearly having already decided who to start their promotion with.

Hermione sat down next to Rizzi, and her information was much more accurate: "So it really was Malfoy who attacked you? I heard it was a mess, and no one saw what happened. Then Crabbe was hit by the Leg Curse and fell into the fertilizer bin. That's so strange."

A slight smile appeared on Ryze's face.

"Malford probably saw that I wasn't in good shape today, and the greenhouse was dark, so he thought he had found an opportunity to get revenge."

“But he miscalculated one thing,” Ryze said, taking a sip of his hot soup. “Although my reaction and thinking speed have slowed down a lot due to my training, my sixth sense has become much sharper. The moment he cast his first glance at me, I sensed his malice, and then there were some small, ambiguous lights. It’s clear that this trick is indeed very useful in actual combat against wizards who don’t know this magic.”

Hermione has now learned the light deflection magic as well. After all, this magic is really simple, so she immediately realized what Ryze had done.

“I see... No wonder Malfoy’s curse hit Crabbe. It turns out they were part of your plan from the very beginning.”

Hermione nodded slightly, while Harry asked Malfoy with some curiosity why, after so long, he had suddenly started targeting Rizz again.

Rizz glanced at Harry: "Probably because they've had such bad luck these past two weeks."

"Bad luck?" Harry asked curiously.

Rhett casually mentioned a few unfortunate things that had happened to Malfoy and his gang in the last two weeks, many of which had occurred while Slytherin and Gryffindor were in class together. As soon as Rhett brought it up, Harry reacted.

"It seems that's really the case. In the past two weeks, even Snape couldn't help but scold Malfoy a few times, and last time during flight class, that guy even threw up on my clothes..." Harry recalled for a while, resting his chin on his hand, and realized that Malfoy had indeed looked much more unlucky than before in the past two weeks, to the point that he looked much more haggard than before.

“They deserve it!” Ron said gleefully. “People like Malfoy should stay in the dragon dung a little longer; maybe it will clear his rotten brain.”

Hermione, however, seemed to realize something. She stared intently at Ryze and asked in a low voice, "Ryze, you don't mean that all those unfortunate things that happened to them were actually caused by you, do you?"

Ryze, facing Hermione's suspicious gaze, simply gave a mysterious smile and did not answer directly.

Who knows?

"However, based on my judgment, their mildew will last for a long time, probably until Easter before it gets better."

Rizz continued, "Unlucky people always try to drag others down with them, so you guys better watch out and don't give Malfoy an opportunity."

Harry and his two companions are no longer afraid of Malfoy.

Harry has learned a lot at the Duel Club recently and is now eager to find an opportunity to have a proper wizard duel with Malfoy again and teach him a lesson.

Ron even said that if Malfoy tried to provoke them, he would punch him in the nose.

Seemingly because Slytherin had lost face in the morning, Snape was even more demanding of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff in the afternoon Potions class.

Before the students could even settle in, one of the Hufflepuff students was mercilessly penalized two points by Snape for making too much noise while setting down the crucible.

Ryze can feel it too.

Perhaps Malfoy finally couldn't help but complain to Snape. Ritz could clearly feel that Snape's gaze towards him that afternoon had become more scrutinizing, as if he wanted to see how Ritz had made Malfoy and the others so unlucky.

To Ryze's surprise, after Malfoy was tricked by him that morning, Snape, upon seeing Ryze's pale face, only mocked him, telling him not to fall into the cauldron, and then never deliberately made things difficult for Ryze again.

Given Ryze's current level, even if he's not in good shape, he can easily handle first-year potions, so he naturally didn't give Snape any chance to unleash his power.

Even when the bell rang, Snape's reaction was unbelievable to Anthony and the others.

“It’s a miracle. It seems your honey candy really has a lot of appeal to Snape. He’s been staring at you with murderous eyes the whole time, but he hasn’t done anything,” Anthony complained to Rez.

They knew that Ritz had been secretly targeting Malfoy for the past two weeks because of the curse Heka on Malfoy's side, making Malfoy and his group unlucky.

They already knew the truth in class this morning, and they all thought that Snape would definitely try to deduct more points from Ryze this afternoon while he was in a bad state.

They were all surprised that Snape could actually refrain from picking a fight with Ritz.