The Evil Thoughts of Hogwarts and the Genie

Gerald burst into maniacal laughter before the Dementors could even float in. One of the Wizengamot members, unable to tolerate his rudeness, pointed a finger without moving his lips.

Three jet-black chains rose into the air, using Gerald as a winch to bind him tightly.

This seemed to open Gerald's throat. He cried out hoarsely:

"I did it—"

"Master, I have fulfilled... I have fulfilled one of your wishes!"

The chains got stuck in his mouth, Gerald was dragged out, and the boundless darkness swallowed him.

Gerrard will be handed over to Azkaban in three days at most.

In other words, Edmund will be able to meet Scrooge Barufeo on Halloween Eve or Halloween Day.

…………

"Edmund...Edmond!"

Edmund's consciousness continued to rise. He heard something rustling above his head.

Edmund looked up blankly, his face creased by the sleeves.

It was funny, but Pollyanna was so tired that she could only manage a weak twitch at the corner of her mouth.

"...What happened?"

Edmund stretched and looked around before remembering that he was supposed to be in a history of magic class.

Pollyanna swallowed a sigh. She stood wearily and helplessly before Edmund, clutching a rolled-up roll of parchment in her hand.

What do you think?

She tapped Travers' head, who was also fast asleep, with the parchment scroll.

"get out of class is over, let's go eat."

Travers was awakened by the knocking, and he cried out in pain, clutching his head. Pollyanna ignored him and handed the parchment scroll to Edmund.

Edmund showed a look of disgust, not wanting to take the stack of parchment that had been in close contact with Travers... well, and maybe even his own head.

"Here, this is today's notes on the history of magic," Pollyanna said sternly, her expression somewhat forceful.

"If you don't like it, then don't sleep—we agreed to take turns teaching, but every single time have you two not fallen asleep the moment your heads hit the pillow?"

Edmund knew he was in the wrong, so he sighed and reluctantly used his history of magic textbook to cover the stack of "precious" class notes.

"Okay, thank you, you've worked hard."

Edmund, who had just restarted his training, was a little sluggish. He spoke lazily, still showing no intention of standing up. The little witch was both amused and exasperated by his behavior.

"Get up! If you don't get up, there won't be any fresh food left in the auditorium!"

Ugh.

What she said made a lot of sense, and it was indeed he who had forced her to listen attentively in Professor Binns' class... Edmund suppressed his guilt, turned his head, and left the pleasant dream.

After he stood up, Travers wisely stood up a step later, and the two of them followed Pollyanna's footsteps.

"To be honest, I'm a little curious, Pollyanna."

"Besides you, is there anyone else holding the line, refusing to be hypnotized by Professor Binns?"

Travers chuckled obligingly, praising Edmund, "Always so funny!" Pollyanna glanced at him sideways.

"There are probably one or two left."

The expression on her face was unnatural, as if she was in pain because of it.

Who can study History of Magic without sleeping and without suffering?

Only truly eccentric people, such as:

"Two Ravenclaws, you should remember one of them... that eccentric boy, his name should be Lovegood."

Pollyanna sighed again, and Edmund laughed.

"Haha, I'm so sorry... really, just believe me for once, Pollyanna."

Pollyanna looked away without replying. Edmund, unable to suppress his guilt any longer, simply changed the subject.

"I heard Frank say in a mysterious way that most of the upperclassmen in their college know where the kitchen is, so they never have to worry about not getting a hot meal."

Travers yawned widely, failing to immediately echo the sentiment, and instead subtly criticized Frank; Pollyanna frowned.

"...That Longbottom boy?"

She had always been puzzled as to why Edmund could get along so well with Hufflepuff.

Could it be for intelligence?

"Is he implying that he has connections?"

Edmund chuckled upon hearing this, then shook his head helplessly.

"Come on, I find it hard to believe Frank could be so cunning. I was also curious why he didn't ask the upperclassmen at Hufflepuff for help, but he said it was a tradition at their college—legend has it that only hungry freshmen can find the kitchen on their own."

Travers chuckled dismissively, but Edmund ignored him and shrugged.

"If he weren't Hufflepuff, I would have almost thought it was the upperclassmen encouraging them to go out at night... Oh, speaking of which, I'm planning to stroll around the library tonight, anyone interested?"

Travers was as quiet as a dead man; Pollyanna pursed her lips and responded to him with her eyes.

Alright. Edmund nodded, knowing she wanted to go too, but didn't want Travers to know.

Edmund could understand. The Tuesday before last, at Travers's insistence—after feeling insecure… ugh—he also joined Edmund's nighttime stroll.

To avoid trouble, Edmund didn't use the inexplicable Illusion Charm; and for fun, he didn't use his Invisibility Cloak either.

The result was disastrous. Had it not been for Professor Sprout, who was on night patrol that day, making a great effort to turn a blind eye... Edmund suspects they would have been the second group of students caught on night patrol.

What? Who are the first group of unlucky guys?

That was none other than the great King of Gryffindor, the unrepentant magical monkey, and the forever correct school judge—James Potter and his entourage.

...Hmm? You're asking why it's not "James and Sirius," but rather James Porter and his group?

That was, of course, because for some reason, they dragged Remus Lupin, who was usually quiet and studious, out of the dormitory.

Legend has it that if the three of them hadn't been caught by Professor Slughorn so close to the Gryffindor common room, the old wizard would have only deducted ten points from each of them out of consideration for the Black and Potter families…

These three might arrive at the scene of the crime soon after, only to find themselves with two students dragging one down with them. Professor McGonagall will then deduct the points from the three unfortunate students.

It's hilarious to imagine the scene: under the furious claws of the lioness, the old snake has to plead for the cub.

James was downcast for a while, but his attitude towards Professor Slughorn improved.

This is hilarious.

"Oh, by the way, Pollyanna, I think you're also curious about the forbidden book section, aren't you?"

Pollyanna responded quickly; her vigilance was akin to that of a wild rabbit in the Sahara Desert.

"Not at all. I'm not curious at all. Let me remind you, Edmund, we're only in first grade."

Edmund remained silent. That's a real shame...

Sigh, since she's not interested in the restricted section, I'll have to ask her to be my bait tonight to attract the professors' attention and help me out.

Great, I feel like I'll definitely be able to sneak into the restricted book section today!

Edmund couldn't help but smirk as he thought of this.

But this joy was tripped up.

This is not a psychological description, but rather that something unseen truly blocked Edmund's path, causing him to lose his balance and fall forward.