Back to School

The train pulled smoothly into Hogwarts station.

They followed the crowd out of the dark platform. This time, they did not need to take boats into the school.

Outside the station, a hundred horseless carriages awaited them... or rather, carriages pulled by Thestrals. Jon simply could not see the Thestrals in front of the carriages yet.

He and Astoria climbed into one of them.

The carriage passed through the gates and traveled along a broad avenue; soon, they could see the entrance to Hogwarts Castle.

Shortly afterward, the carriage stopped beneath the stone steps before the two oak doors. They got out, climbed the steps, and entered the cavernous entrance hall.

Returning after the Christmas holiday was nothing like the start of term, with its lavish opening feast. Jon and Astoria hurriedly said goodbye and were about to follow the students from their respective Houses back to their common rooms when a middle-aged witch in emerald-green robes stopped them.

"Professor McGonagall, what is it?" a Ravenclaw girl called out loudly.

"I'm sorry!" Professor McGonagall looked somewhat pale. "But you will need to wait for your Heads of House to take you back to your common rooms... Gryffindor students, come over here!"

"What exactly happened?" several older boys shouted.

"A new attack, just over ten days ago... There were two victims: Hufflepuff's Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Gryffindor's ghost, Nicholas-Porpington!" Professor McGonagall said heavily.

"What!"

"Justin was attacked..."

"Wait... it even got a ghost!"

The crowd immediately burst into discussion. Just as Astoria had said, most of them had not known about this news.

The Hufflepuff students in particular were overwhelmingly shocked.

Fortunately, Professor Sprout arrived soon afterward.

"Hufflepuff students, follow me..." she said with a worried expression.

"It was definitely Potter!" As soon as Jon climbed through the barrel and crawled along the underground tunnel, he heard Ernie Macmillan's booming voice.

Ernie had not gone home during the Christmas holiday, so he knew more about the "truth" behind Justin's attack!

Several Hufflepuff students who had gone home for the holiday quickly gathered around him.

"Did you know? Potter just happened to appear at the scene of the attack again... When we found Justin and Nick attacked, he and Weasley were at the scene!" Ernie Macmillan said animatedly.

"If once was a coincidence, then what about all three attacks? He appeared at every scene at exactly the right time... There has to be something fishy going on!"

Ernie's reasoning actually made a fair amount of sense. No matter how one looked at it, Harry Potter was the prime suspect in the attacks. And every time he heard a strange sound—the Basilisk's voice—he rushed over... Yet he had never once run into the Basilisk or Ginny. If he had, he probably would have died on the spot. He was absurdly lucky.

"Why would he attack Justin?" Hannah Abbott asked in confusion. "I remember Harry and Justin getting along quite well in Herbology class..."

"In Herbology class, Justin told Potter that he was Muggle-born. Potter must have held a grudge against him ever since!" Ernie said firmly. "During an extracurricular activity a few days before Christmas, Potter even ordered a snake to attack Justin. If Professor Snape had not stopped it in time, Justin would have been killed then... But that incident exposed Potter!"

"He's a Parselmouth?"

"That's right! Parseltongue is the mark of the most evil wizards... and Salazar Slytherin himself was a Parselmouth!"

"He hid it so well!" Hannah screamed.

"On the honor of the MacMillan family, Harry Potter is definitely the culprit!" Ernie Macmillan had already made up his mind.

However, Ernie's brilliant deduction was interrupted by Professor Sprout's arrival.

"Ernie, don't judge your classmates with such malice!" Professor Sprout said sternly. "Professor Dumbledore believes Mr. Potter is not the culprit, and that is enough!"

"Yes, Professor..." Ernie Macmillan slunk away.

Jon was surprised to find Professor Sprout's gaze turning toward him.

"Jon, could you come with me for a moment?" she asked gently.

"Yes, Professor!" Jon hurried over and followed Professor Sprout out through the barrel.

"Professor, what is it?"

"I wanted to ask about your two spiders!" Professor Sprout asked gravely. "How are they?"

"They died!" A sorrowful expression appeared on Jon's face.

"Professor, after you came to the common room and helped me catch them again, they had not been doing very well... Then one day in November, they suddenly let out a scream. When I went to feed them, they were already dead!"

"I'm sorry... but could you tell me what day they died?" Professor Sprout continued.

"Let me think..." Jon frowned. "It seems... it seems it was the day after Hufflepuff defeated Ravenclaw in the Quidditch match!"

"What?" Professor Sprout's expression changed at once.

"What's wrong, Professor?" Jon asked knowingly. That had been the day after Colin Cleever was attacked.

"Nothing, child... I need to find Professor Kettleburn..." Professor Sprout seemed to stammer as she spoke. "Sorry, I must be going!"

After taking two steps away, she turned back.

"Remember, do not leave the Hufflepuff common room alone."

"Yes, Professor!"

After leaving the castle, Pomona Sprout, the Herbology teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, hurried toward the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

However, when she reached the thatched hut, she found no one there.

Sylvanus Kettleburn, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, was not there.

Professor Sprout wandered around the hut for a while and spotted the broad-built Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts.

"Hello, Hagrid!"

"Hello, Professor."

Rubeus Hagrid carried a large cage in his hand, from which chirping sounds emerged.

"I came to see Sylvanus. He doesn't seem to be at school?" Professor Sprout asked softly.

"Professor Kettleburn?" Hagrid grinned broadly. "Looks like he went to London to get his prosthetic limbs replaced. He won't be back for another month; Professor Grubbly-Plank is teaching in his place!"

As he spoke, Hagrid could not help showing a look of envy.

"Is that so?" Professor Sprout sighed. She suddenly noticed the chirping cage in Hagrid's hand and asked curiously, "What's in there?"

"A flock of little roosters!" Hagrid answered casually. "The school's chickens were all killed before. Don't know if it was foxes or vampires, but all twelve of them were done in; now there isn't even a single crowing rooster left in the school..."