Letting Them Off

In Amosta's office, Fred was honestly explaining why they had broken in, while George lay dazed on Amosta's bed, letting out soft groans. However, after taking the restorative potion Amosta had brewed with Venomous Tentacula seeds, his nosebleed finally stopped.

"Professor McGonagall did warn me to watch out for you two—"

Amosta sat in his office chair, wearing an expression caught between laughter and tears as he listened to Fred's explanation. "But she only told me not to be too surprised if I discovered through the surveillance that you two were wandering around the castle in the middle of the night. She never mentioned that you might break into my office. I have to say, you two are very lucky. Since the person who opened the Chamber of Secrets was most likely an underage wizard, the magic I left in this room was mainly meant to restrain intruders. If I'd set things up according to my usual habits when working outside..."

Amosta looked solemnly at the mischievous-looking Weasley twins and warned them in a very stern tone, "Then perhaps Headmaster Dumbledore would be writing condolence letters to your parents right about now!"

Even without Amosta's warning, Fred and George had realized that their actions this time had indeed been far too reckless. Amosta Breen was not a professor at the school. They should not have rashly broken into his office before figuring out what sort of person Breen was.

Having lost too much blood, George looked so haggard that he seemed on the verge of death. Yet after hearing Amosta's warning, he still forced himself to sit up in bed, putting on a pitiful expression. "Profess—no, Mr. Breen, since we've learned our lesson, could you please not mention this to Professor McGonagall? We promise, this will absolutely be the last time!"

Fred hurriedly nodded in agreement. "Please, Mr. Breen. While we were trapped in here, George and I already discussed it. We've decided to turn over a new leaf and become little wizards who love studying and follow the rules. Could you let us off this once?"

Amosta rolled his eyes, practically amused by the pair of live treasures. Did he really look that foolish?

"So, in any case," Amosta did not immediately give them a definite answer. He leaned back leisurely in his chair, interlaced his fingers over his knees, and looked at them with a half-smile. "You two have figured out my secret, haven't you?"

At those words, George immediately stopped looking half-dead, while Fred no longer pretended to be reformed. Their eyes shone with admiration as they eagerly offered Amosta their flattery.

"You're the most brilliant wizard I've ever seen, Mr. Breen. Even Headmaster Dumbledore can't compare to you," Fred, one of the twin brothers, loudly praised Amosta's intelligence. "The method you use to monitor the school is something we could never have dreamed up!"

"In order to gain an even deeper understanding of your greatness!" The two brothers reached an agreement the instant their eyes met. George respectfully asked, "Could you explain in detail how that thing works?"

"Don't even think about it!"

Amosta rolled his eyes even harder. Thinking of the well-rounded Bill and Charlie, who possessed outstanding Quidditch talent, he could not quite understand how the Weasley family had produced these two... Well, Amosta had to admit that Fred and George were actually rather interesting.

The moment Amosta refused, George flopped back onto the bed with a thud, looking deeply wounded. He weakly stretched out a hand toward his brother, his voice incomparably frail. "Looks like my final wish can't be fulfilled, Fred. If you ever figure it out someday, remember to tell me at my grave."

In the end, Amosta still did not tell the twin brothers how the surveillance system worked. It was not because he was unwilling to share his secrets, but because the thing really could not be explained in just a sentence or two. It involved many profound principles of Transfiguration magic and alchemy. Even if he explained it, the twins would not understand, much less be able to make one themselves.

Still, he generously decided not to pursue Fred and George's offense of breaking into his office. After all, neither of them had anything to do with the Chamber of Secrets.

"Remember to keep what you saw a secret, you two little fellows!"

Before driving the Weasley twins out of his office, Amosta narrowed his eyes. The chill in his voice made Fred and George shudder. "If I find out that you've leaked the secret, or if I discover that you've damaged the surveillance points I placed around the castle... Gentlemen Weasley, if I set my mind to dealing with someone, I'm afraid even Headmaster Dumbledore won't be able to stop me!"

"We swear on Percy's Prefect Badge, sir, we won't breathe a word of this to anyone else!" the twins promised in unison.

I hope they keep their word...

Before closing his eyes to rest on the bed, that thought passed through Amosta's mind.

Amosta actually knew full well that it was impossible to expect the Weasley twins to keep the secret completely. At the very least, they would certainly tell Harry, and Harry would certainly share it with his two best friends. But apart from that, they were unlikely to spread word everywhere that he was monitoring all the young wizards.

There could not possibly be a problem with the trio of main characters, and the Weasley family was trustworthy as well—because of Amosta's preconceived and mistaken notion, he had to spend much more effort before discovering what he otherwise might have found quickly.

That evening, the moment Harry and Ron returned from the Hospital Wing and entered the common room, Fred and George pulled them aside. They dragged Harry to a spot near the stairs leading to the girls' dormitory. There were few people there, making it convenient for them to talk.

As the twins spoke, Harry's expression gradually turned solemn, while Ron's mouth opened wider and wider in stunned disbelief.

No one noticed that at the entrance to the girls' dormitory stairs, a pale figure stood silently for a long time before quietly retreating back into the dim shadows.

"Wait here for me, Ron."

Having figured things out, Harry jumped up and ran toward the dormitory without looking back. He needed to get his Invisibility Cloak. It was foreseeable that he and Ron would be spending a little more time in the Hospital Wing tonight.

It was not yet curfew, and a few young wizards still wandered through the castle. But Harry and Ron had already draped themselves in that marvelous Invisibility Cloak. As they walked, their gazes repeatedly swept over the corridor ceilings, as though pairs of hidden eyes were staring intently down at them.

"What do you think about this, Harry?"

Oddly enough, after hearing this shocking news, Hermione did not rush to give her opinion. She sat on the bed with her arms folded, and her tone sounded very cautious.

Harry lowered his head without speaking. Hesitation flickered in his emerald-green eyes. Only after a long while did he speak uncertainly. "I don't think it's that hard to accept."

"Are you mad, Harry?" Ron, who had been holding in a bellyful of opinions, looked at Harry in shock. "Or did you not hear what Fred and George said? That Breen is secretly monitoring everyone, without informing them beforehand. If that kind of violation of freedom shouldn't be stopped, then I don't know what despicable means. And by the way, I think Fred and George may have been controlled. They actually think this sort of thing is interesting?"

"There are plenty of things you don't understand, Ron," Hermione accused him bluntly. "Why can't you try looking at it from Harry's perspective?"

From Harry's perspective?

A strange sort of stupidity shone in Ron's eyes. He looked from the irritated Hermione to the troubled Harry, suddenly feeling that his intelligence could no longer keep up with the group's average level. "Could someone please be kind enough to explain it to me?"

After waiting for quite some time and still hearing no one offer an opinion, Ron muttered disgruntledly.

"Isn't it obvious, Ron?" Hermione said, twirling the dark fur on her face with her fingertips—this was a habit she had recently developed. "Monitoring every young wizard's daily activities without informing them beforehand is indeed not exactly noble, and it may even break the law. But Ron, you can't deny that it's a very effective method, can you? As long as they catch Slytherin's Heir, all the rumors Harry is burdened with will collapse on their own, and he won't have to face those stupid accusations anymore. Besides, do you really think Mr. Breen would use this method without the permission of Headmaster Dumbledore and the Heads of House?"

"At least if someone gets attacked again, this thing could prove my innocence," Harry muttered, ashamed of his selfishness. "I really don't want to have anything to do with this anymore."