"Are you sure?" Bill asked.
Ben Cooper nodded heavily. "That's all I remember. I don't remember what happened afterward."
Barnaby let out a long sigh.
"I'm sorry," Ben said guiltily.
"You don't need to feel guilty. It was the effect of dark magic, wasn't it, Bill?" Barnaby said.
Bill furrowed his brow and sank into thought.
The three of them were in the fourth-floor corridor where Ben had been frozen last time. It had already been designated a forbidden area.
Pomona was about to go over and warn them when Flitwick emerged first.
"What are you three doing?" Flitwick asked.
"Headmaster," Barnaby said at once.
Flitwick turned his gaze to him.
"I came to inform you, Mr. Lee, that you will not be going to Hogsmeade this weekend."
"What? That's not fair!" Barnaby shouted.
"In fact, it is not just this weekend. If you want to earn the right to go to Hogsmeade, I hope you will focus on your studies instead of coming to a place that endangers 'students' safety.'" Flitwick said. "Did it not occur to you that we have our own measures for handling this situation?"
"You already have a plan, Professor?" Bill asked.
Flitwick looked at Barnaby for a long while. "You must prove yourself through your studies, Mr. Lee, if you still remember which House you belong to."
Then Flitwick left.
"I think I understand what's going on," Barnaby said. "Sorry, lads, I'm going to the library."
"You think you can catch up if you start studying now?" Bill mocked.
Barnaby grinned and punched him, then headed in Pomona's direction.
She hurriedly slipped aside and hid. Only after Barnaby had left did she return to where she had been standing. By then, Ben Cooper had taken out the Time-Turner and was examining it in his