Bring a fairy tale to Hogwarts!

In that instant, George felt a jolt run from his head to his tailbone, his hair stood on end, and he instinctively let out a scream.

"Aaaaaa, there's a ghost! Aa ...

As he yelled, he almost jumped up from where he stood, trying to shake off the icy hand.

He looked back at the same time—as he looked, many possible assumptions even flashed through his mind.

He might turn around and find a bloody severed hand clinging to his shoulder, or a blood-stained ghost like Barrow the Blood Man, or even a vampire that has sneaked into the Forbidden Forest...

The result is neither.

Professor Victor, though.

When George turned and saw the face clearly, the piercing scream he had been letting out instantly subsided and then stopped abruptly. He stared blankly at the familiar face before him, finally recognizing who it was—

"...Professor Victor? Is that you?"

"Otherwise what?"

Victor countered with a question, pulling his hand away from George's shoulder.

George had just jumped up in fright, like a chipmunk that had been accidentally poked in the back by a twig, and made a loud, desperate squeak.

But in the end, he was just scaring himself.

Besides, everyone knows Hogwarts is haunted, so why is George shouting so loudly?

"I didn't know you were afraid of ghosts," Victor said quietly. "There are quite a few ghosts in the school. You should observe them more often in the future; it might help you become braver."

"...This isn't a ghost problem, Professor! We just saw a terrifying shadow right in front of us!"

George then realized that his heart was still pounding in his chest and his breathing was still rapid.

That fleeting shadow was truly terrifying; anyone with a weak heart would have had a heart attack! They were clearly among the braver ones.

"You must be mistaken," Victor said, seemingly quite certain.

His certainty surprised both George and Fred, but they exchanged a glance and saw a similar look in each other's eyes—yes, they had indeed seen it.

"No," George's voice still carried a hint of self-doubt, "We really did see a dark shadow flash by in the classroom! It only lasted a second or two, but..."

Victor added casually, "It could be a reflection of something, or maybe it's just Pikachu's prank. There are so many windows in the school, it's normal for things to be reflected."

His voice was so calm that George was starting to believe him—though he probably didn't think so when he first saw the shadowy figure, but memories fade quickly. And most importantly, they didn't need to discuss this with the professor.

George gave Fred a look, and Fred immediately understood and obediently shut his mouth along with him.

Their gaze lingered for a moment in the dim, empty classroom where no candles were lit, then fell on the gray floor and black desks, and they said nothing more.

But a few seconds later, Victor spoke again.

"Give it to me."

He opened his hand and placed it in front of Fred.

"What?"

Fred wore an exaggerated expression of surprise, which seemed even more deliberate considering his beer belly.

“…Your cauldron,” Victor said, “I heard everything. There’s no need for you to play dumb. Hand over the cauldron and the potion inside.”

"Furthermore, for violating school rules by privately brewing a dangerous potion and attempting to damage school property, I have to deduct five Gryffindor house points and put you in solitary confinement—this is even considering that your plan did not succeed."

He gazed quietly and wistfully at the two red-haired Weasleys before him.

He wasn't actually interested in managing students.

But who would be willing to risk going out of the bathroom without a toilet seat and unexpectedly encountering a pile of poop in the hallway?

It's like two villagers sneaking into a witch's garden to steal food, or a dozen human thieves appearing in a dragon's lair—not very harmful, but extremely insulting, and something that has to be dealt with.

The only thing to blame is the Weasley brothers for their immense social harm!

Under Victor's threatening gaze, Fred obediently took the cauldron out of his robe—the cauldron even contained more than half a bowl of green potion, which was still bubbling away.

"Here you are, Professor."

Fred's expression changed back to a smiling one in just a few seconds, with a hint of ingratiation.

"It's not harmful at all right now, actually even if it's fixed, it won't. It will only soften the edge of the toilet seat for about ten seconds, allowing us to remove it intact. Once it's restored to its original state, all the damage it caused can be resolved!"

"...So, could we reduce the length of our confinement?"

"no."

Victor said coldly and indifferently.

"Because you were carrying half-finished potions, your detention time will be extended by one hour, for a total of two. I happen to be short-staffed around Christmas, and I remember you also signed applications to stay on campus for Christmas. So come to my office on the morning before Christmas."

After speaking, Victor waved his hand, signaling the Weasleys to stop trying to argue. After watching the Weasley brothers dispose of the potion in their hands, he quickly left the classroom, his figure disappearing at the end of the corridor.

Fred and George clutched their empty cauldrons with regret, staring resentfully at Victor's departing figure.

"I guess the professor is short-staffed, so he's arresting us. Otherwise, there's no suitable excuse to exploit the students' labor," Fred said.

"You're right," George said in a resentful tone.

But as he watched Victor's departing figure, and as he watched, he suddenly said:

"Wait, Fred, the professor heard our conversation, which means he's been here the whole time... So why does he say he didn't see the shadowy figure?"