I, Hogwarts Second Time Around.

Chapter 523 Abnormal Events

Ron's poisoning incident was quickly forgotten due to his indifferent attitude.

After all, this incident accelerated the progress of his relationship with Koyatl.

As for the culprit, it's destined to be impossible to find, because there are too many sources for those packages, and investigating them one by one would take a considerable amount of time. Besides, there aren't enough people to investigate these days.

However, both Koyatl and Owen understood that the culprit must be among the Purifiers and the fairies, because only these two forces harbored the greatest hostility towards her.

Hermione's situation is even more complicated.

There were simply too many suspects. However, because the poisoning method was not sophisticated, the Aurors were able to apprehend several murderers, all members of pure-blood families. The Department of Magical Law Enforcement concluded the trial in just one day. Since there were no casualties, they did not sentence anyone to death, and each person received an average of seven or eight years of Azkaban leave.

More important than the case itself are the consequences of this incident.

It exposes the hostility of many wizards in the current magical world towards merging with the Muggle world. Poisoning Hermione is just the result; this hostility is the breeding ground. As long as it exists, there will always be other conspiracies and schemes.

This is something she can't escape; she has to face it. Reforms always infringe on the interests of some of the existing privileged classes. Currently, there seems to be no good solution. The best approach would be for them to defeat Voldemort, completely purge the Death Eaters and other dark wizards, and then establish a new magical order based on their victory and prestige.

After a while, the storm in the castle subsided a little.

Harry then shifted his focus back to Quidditch matches.

However, after this incident, Slughorn's fondness for him increased several times over.

After all, if it weren't for Harry, he might have been branded as someone who killed a student.

Even if the Ministry of Magic doesn't put him on trial, for Slughorn, who values ​​his reputation, his life is practically over.

He began to seek out opportunities to be alone with Harry, constantly showcasing his extensive network of relationships to him, but unfortunately, none of them interested Harry.

He was just upset that his training time had been reduced.

March is drawing to a close.

Spring has arrived in the Scottish Highlands since April.

As the snow melted, Black Lake returned to its shimmering state.

Every now and then, some sirens would leap out of the water.

Young wizards could be seen everywhere in the open space outside Hogwarts.

Most of them were sixth or seventh grade wizards, and they were all anxiously practicing Apparition, as the Apparition test was about to begin.

Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

Class began with Snape's voice: "You're late again, Potter. Ten points deducted from Gryffindor."

Harry glared at Snape and stormed into the chair next to Ron. Half the class was still standing, getting their books and tidying up; he wasn't much later.

"Before class begins, I'd like to see your Dementor papers," Snape said, casually flicking his wand. Twenty-five scrolls of parchment rose into the air and landed neatly on his desk. "I hope this is better than that rubbish about resisting the Imperius Curse. Now, please open your books to Finigan. What is it?"

"Sir," Seamus said, "I have a question. How can we tell if a package is dangerous without opening it? Because this Christmas..."

"No one would want to poison you," Snape said coldly. "If you want to know how to cure it, then you should ask Professor Slughorn."

"But sir, the package might not be entirely poisonous; it could also be a magical trap, like Hermione did."

"I think you should focus on this lesson, Finnegan, because you're not worth attacking by Death Eaters or any dark wizards. Tell me, what can you do?"

"I," Seamus raised his head angrily; Snape's words were too hurtful.

"Look at their targets, either the magical princess or the Savior's friends," Snape scoffed. "The Savior himself escaped safely, which is commendable, but his entourage is doomed. Or rather, he's a jinx; the chaos in this castle began the moment he entered Hogwarts."

"Harry isn't a jinx!" Ron stood up angrily. He had been discharged from the hospital after two weeks. Madam Pomfrey originally wanted to keep him for a few more days for observation, but Ron was simply too impatient. Lying in bed every day was uncomfortable no matter what.

"I think we should focus our energy on finding the killer instead of making sarcastic remarks here. Maybe the killer is in the castle."

"Heh—" Snape looked down at Ron. "I didn't know that love potions could also enhance one's speech. You guys have really made great progress in potions. However—Gryffindor loses ten points. For offending a professor."

"Of course, our potion-making skills have indeed improved significantly," Ron persisted, "because there's no more sarcasm or ridicule."

"Ron." Hermione grabbed his arm, but Ron was acting like a warrior, perhaps because Harry had saved his life, so he was unusually tough at this moment.

"What a joke." Snape stared at him. "What do you think your progress is based on? Your brains that haven't picked up a single clue in five years?"

"Also, don't think I don't know who stole the precious herbs from my collection in the second and fourth years, and perhaps recently as well. If you and your friends had even a shred of conscience and shame, you would never say such things right now. As expected, simple-minded wizards have no idea what respect is. Therefore, another twenty points are deducted from Gryffindor. You deserve it."

"You," Ron is about to arrest you, we don't care to say it out loud.

But Hermione was faster; she grabbed Ron in an instant and covered his mouth with her hand.

She was afraid they would start fighting if she continued talking.

Although she didn’t think Ron could beat Snape at all.

And

How did Snape know that I had stolen his herbs?

But recently, what does that mean?

-

Seeing that Ron was silenced and controlled by Hermione, Snape also withdrew his gaze with a mocking expression.

"Now open your book to page 130 and read the first two paragraphs about the Heart-Piercing Mantra."

Ron sulked the entire class.

When the bell rang, he was the first to leave the classroom.

Koyatl followed, then Harry.

Owen then went to the library with a resentful Hermione.

The little witch is feeling sorry for her 40 points.

At noon, they met Ron again in the auditorium.

He was engrossed in reading a book titled "Common Mistakes in Phantom Manifestation and How to Avoid Them." Koyatl was watching him closely.

That's what he should be concerned about lately.

The Apparition exams are approaching. Harry won't be an adult until the second half of the year, so he can't take the exams this year no matter what. Owen is in the same boat; although his birthday is in June, the exams are in early May, so he won't be able to take them either.

Hermione is definitely fine.

Everyone else was also busy studying.

Ron's condition was the most dangerous because he had been delayed at the school hospital.

"You've finally done something worthwhile," Hermione said, giving Ron a reproachful look. "You knew perfectly well that Snape was just looking for trouble. And yet..."

"Bang—" Ron slammed the book shut. "I just can't stand it. How dare he treat Harry like that? Just because his dad took his mom away? Hah—if you ask me, he deserved it. No witch would ever like someone like him."

"Owen said something about Snape feeling guilty? Ha—I didn't see a single bit of guilt in him."

"The guilt is directed at Harry's mother, not at him," Owen said from the side.

"Stop—" Harry finally couldn't hold back any longer. "I have absolutely no idea what happened between my mother and Snape."

"Ron, you should be more concerned about the Apparition exam!" He rubbed his head and said impatiently. "Unlike me, even if I master Apparition, I can't take the exam until next year. That's really unfair."

"If the Ministry of Magic doesn't impose restrictions, young wizards who try this magic at a very young age will definitely get hurt or even suffer greater tragedies." Hermione opened the book beside her, then took out a piece of parchment, and started writing and drawing on it as she spoke.

"Why not change it to an application system? We can apply if we think we're capable. It's so outdated, they have no brains at all," Harry complained.

"Alright, tell me about you and Slughorn," Owen said from the side.

Harry looked tired. "I think our relationship is pretty good."

"It couldn't be better; he's been contacting you almost every day lately," Ron complained. "He's even more diligent than Ginny."

"But something's always missing. I think it's missing the right occasion. A bit of luck," Harry said, ignoring Ron's grumbling.

"Luck?" Owen was taken aback, then suddenly remembered that he seemed to have a bottle of Felix Felicis.

We can give Harry some at some time.

Hmm—Hagrid's eight-eyed giant spider, Aragog, seems to be dying.

Perhaps one day will be the right time.

"Oh, by the way, about the culprit who poisoned you," he said, glancing at Koyatl beside Ron.

"Not much information. They're hiding very well. I think they might be remnants of the Purifiers," the girl said. "I'll find the killer and drown him in the Black Lake."

"There are many sirens in the Black Lake, he might not necessarily die. He might," Ron suddenly said out of the blue, then immediately noticed the strange look in the girl's eyes beside him, and quickly changed his words, "Oh! I recently discovered a secret."

"A secret?" Owen looked at him. "What secret? Did Voldemort infiltrate Hogwarts?"

"What?!" Ron rolled his eyes at him. "It's Malfoy!"

"Malfoy?" Owen raised an eyebrow. "What happened to him?"

"I heard from my mother that when Professor McGonagall was talking to Snape, she overheard some information about the victims of the poisoning. Besides me, Coratl, and Hermione, there was another person whose Christmas present also contained some poison."

"Malfoy?" Harry turned around, surprised. "Him? But who would kill him? Although he is indeed quite annoying."

"Not necessarily," Owen said. "Lucius is now a complete traitor to Voldemort, and he's run off with his wife somewhere. The remaining Death Eaters can't find him, so they'll naturally target Draco."

"Hmph—it's just dogs fighting, ignore it." Harry snorted, completely unconcerned.

"He's safe at school, of course, but what about during holidays, summer vacation, and so on?" Owen suddenly remembered something. "Malfoy probably didn't go home for Christmas, right? Gifts sent to him would definitely have to go through Auror vetting before they could get into Hogwarts. How did the package get in?"

"I don't know," Ron said, "but the thing definitely appeared at Hogwarts."

"Okay." Owen shrugged. Maybe it had something to do with Snape.

"Hey, Owen." Just then, Ginny walked in from outside the auditorium.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" she said. "I just saw you. Well, maybe I was mistaken."

"Huh?" Owen looked at her.

"I just saw a silver-haired figure on the second floor, and I thought it was you," Ginny explained. "But a lot of people in the academy have dyed their hair silver; it's the trend you started."

"This kind of trend is not good," Owen scoffed, brushing a stray hair from his forehead. "It's a curse."

“Others don’t think so,” Ginny said. “Silver hair is practically the fashion at Hogwarts. Lots of girls are growing their hair long and dyeing it silver.”

"Thanks, but I still prefer my old black hair," Irving said.

"Black represents mystery, maybe." The person speaking was very soft, almost muttering to himself, but Owen's hearing was extraordinary, so he still heard it.

"Susan, what are you saying?" He turned around abruptly and looked at Susan, who was sitting with another girl at the Hufflepuff table behind him.

"Huh?" The little witch looked up in a panic, instinctively covering the parchment beside her. "Nothing, nothing."

"Nothing?" Owen stood up and walked straight toward her.

Susan hurriedly stuffed the parchment into her pocket and got up to leave, but no matter how fast she was, she couldn't outrun someone's spell.

Susan, petrified on the spot, looked panicked, her body still in a position as if she were about to run away.

Owen stepped forward and took the parchments from her pocket.

"."

He knew what it was after just one glance.

"Owen!" Hermione called out from behind, her voice slightly angry. She waved her wand, breaking the petrification spell on Susan. "What is this?!"

The little witch's gaze fell on Susan's parchment in Owen's hand.

That was a painting.

(End of this chapter)