Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Chapter 315 Indictment

As if possessed by a demon, Katie floated more than three meters in the air, her limbs flailing wildly uncontrollably.

Her friend Lina was terrified, clinging desperately to Katie's ankles while screaming just as loudly as Katie.

Harry and Ron rushed over and helped Linney pull Kitty down, while Hermione waved her hand, casting a spell on Kitty that sent her crashing back to the ground. Linney and Harry tried to hold her limbs down, but they couldn't control her; Kitty was writhing too violently.

"What do we do? Hermione, is there any way?" Harry shouted, clinging tightly to Katie's legs. But in the short time he spoke, Katie's knees smacked his face several times.

"No, I don't recognize what kind of curse this is!" Hermione pulled out her wand and pointed it at the sky, emitting a red light. "Hang in there, someone will be here soon!"

"You'd better hurry, I can't hold on much longer!" As Ron spoke, Katie grabbed him several times.

Hermione had only been signaling for less than a minute when people arrived. Judging by his massive size, it was Hagrid. From the direction of Hogsmeade, Tonks and several unfamiliar faces also gathered, along with many students who had run towards the signal.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Hagrid shouted, shoving aside the students who were watching. He stared at Katie for a few moments, then without a word, bent down, picked her up, and ran towards the castle. Nearby, Tonks and the other Aoros also began to disperse the students.

After everyone had left, Tonks approached with a frown. Seeing Linney sobbing and Harry and the others comforting her, he asked, "Can anyone tell me what happened? How could she be cursed with such a vicious curse?"

Hermione was holding Linney and comforting her softly when she heard Tonks' question. Linney sobbed and replied, "I...I don't know, it just happened like this as soon as the box was opened..."

"A box?" Tonks looked in the direction Lini pointed and saw a beautiful little box on the snow not far away. The lid was open, and he could faintly see a light flashing inside.

Ron made a move to bend down and pick it up, but Harry pulled him back.

"Don't touch it!" He bent down and looked at the glittering object in the box with a very serious expression: it was a magnificent opal necklace.

“I’ve seen this before,” Harry said. “It was on display in Borginburgh a few years ago, and the label said it was enchanted. Katie must have run into it.”

Tonks nodded upon hearing this, then turned to Lini and asked, "How did that girl get her hands on this?"

"When she came out of the toilet with the three brooms, she was holding this box in her hand, saying she was going to give it to someone... At the time, her expression was very strange..." As she spoke, Linnie's expression suddenly changed, "I know! She must have been under the Apocalypse Curse! I didn't even realize it at the time..." Before she could finish speaking, she burst into tears again and buried her head directly in Hermione's arms.

"Did she say who gave it to her?" Tonks asked again.

"No, she wouldn't say..." Linnie revealed a tear-streaked face from Hermione's embrace. "We had a huge fight, and I told her she'd lost her mind and absolutely couldn't bring this back to school, but she wouldn't listen... Later, I thought I'd just take it from her, but who would have thought..."

Before she could finish speaking, she buried herself back in Hermione's arms.

Tonks nodded upon hearing this and said, "The matter is clear now. Someone wants to use Katie to smuggle this dangerous dark magic artifact into the castle... It's no longer safe here. You all need to return to the castle immediately!" He then turned to the two Aoros beside him and said, "We need to tell the captain to dismiss all the students and then quickly search the Three Brooms..."

"Hopefully, I'll gain something from this..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tonks nodded slightly to Harry and the others, and then hurriedly left with the two Aurora members.

"Let's go." Harry sighed, took off his scarf, and carefully wrapped the box inside. "Hagrid must have taken Kitty to see Madam Pomfrey. We need to bring this with us so she can see it."

Hermione helped Linee up and followed Harry and Ron toward the castle. Harry looked preoccupied the whole way, but when they entered the school grounds and stepped onto the open space in front of the castle, he finally couldn't hold back anymore.

“Believe me, Ron, this must have been Malfoy’s doing,” he told Ron. “Four years ago, when I was hiding in Borginburgh’s shop, Malfoy examined it closely! He must have gone to get this thing when we followed him during the summer!”

"Well... Harry, I can't say for sure. You know, a lot of people go to Borgin & Burke's... Besides, didn't Linney say that Katie got it from the toilet?" Ron hesitated and replied softly.

"It wasn't the girls' restroom, she just said Katie came out of the restroom with it in her hand..." Harry was interrupted abruptly by Ron before he could finish. Ron gestured with his chin in one direction, warning, "Professor McGonagall!"

"What?" Harry turned around and saw Professor McGonagall, wrapped in a dark green robe, walking towards them through the snow.

"Hagrid says the four of you witnessed the entire incident involving Kitty. Come to my office immediately!" Professor McGonagall said, noticing the scarf Harry was carrying, inside which was something. "What's that, Potter?"

"It's the thing that hurt Katie," Harry said, handing it forward.

"Oh my god!" Professor McGonagall quickly snatched the scarf from Harry's hand, looking somewhat anxious. "Quick, to my office right now..." She turned around and saw Filch approaching them excitedly with a Dark Arts Detector. Professor McGonagall hurriedly said, "No, Filch! They're with me... And take this to Professor Snape immediately, now! Don't touch it, just keep it wrapped in the scarf!"

Professor McGonagall, carrying her robes, quickly led Harry and the others to her office. She strode around the desk and sat down, looking at Harry and the others sternly, and asked, "Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Linney began to sob, but she was crying so hard that her words were broken and disjointed. She completely broke down when she got to the part about trying to snatch the box from Katie's hand. She buried her face in Hermione's arms, unable to utter a single word.

"Alright, alright," Professor McGonagall said, rubbing her forehead. "Lini, go to the school clinic and have Mrs. Pomfrey give you some medicine to calm your nerves."

Lina sobbed for a while longer, but finally calmed down a bit with Hermione's quiet comforting words. She nodded slightly to Professor McGonagall and Harry and the others, then turned and left.

After she left, Professor McGonagall looked at Harry and asked, "What happened after Kitty touched that necklace?"

"She rose into the air with a piercing scream," Harry said. "Professor McGonagall, may I see Professor Dumbledore?"

"He won't be back until next Monday, Potter," Professor McGonagall said, her expression somewhat serious. "You can tell me anything you want to say about it."

Harry hesitated for a moment, looking troubled. He didn't know whether he should reveal everything to Professor McGonagall. Although she was the Head of Gryffindor, to be honest, Harry's relationship with her wasn't as close as that with Dumbledore, who was always out of the public eye.

After a long pause, he slowly said, "Professor, I believe Draco Malfoy gave Katie this necklace!"

(End of this chapter)