After learning from Professor McGonagall's brief remarks that Ron and Lavender had not been seriously hurt, both Harry and Hermione relaxed slightly.
But—
Looking at Ron on the hospital bed, still sleeping with his brows faintly furrowed and his face deathly pale, Harry's anger made the veins in his forehead throb relentlessly.
Guilt and frustration battered the defenses of his heart like towering tidal waves!
Harry's teeth ground together!
He should never have let Ron and Lavender follow Malfoy and Parkinson.
Ron was clever enough, but compared to Malfoy's cunning, he still fell short!
Creak—
The ward door opened. Madam Pomfrey entered, and upon noticing that two more students had appeared in the room, her expression immediately darkened.
"These two children need rest now, Headmaster. If there is anything important you need to clarify, you can wait until they wake up tomorrow morning!"
"I am just as concerned about their health as you are, Poppy—"
Dumbledore said gently.
"But I'm afraid there are some mysteries I need to clear up now."
Mysteries.
Hermione bit her lower lip.
Professor Dumbledore had put it far too lightly.
Professor Breen's office at Hogwarts had been burgled, and the Dark Witch's wand had vanished without a trace—this was the sort of story that could occupy the front page of The Daily Prophet for days!
Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey locked gazes for several seconds before Madam Pomfrey finally gave in.
"In ten minutes, everyone must leave these children's ward."
After giving Ron and Lavender their medicine, Madam Pomfrey swept her displeased gaze over them one by one and gave the instruction stiffly.
"Mr. Potter—"
The moment Madam Pomfrey left the ward, Professor McGonagall questioned him again urgently.
"Malfoy did it!"
Harry's bitterly spoken words stirred Hermione's expression, but after a flash of thought, she