The news that Draco had been defeated by Harry spread throughout the campus in less than half an hour.
The reason was that he was foul-mouthed as always, so he deserved to be beaten.
However, some people don't think so. If Pansy can't handle Harry who hits people, surely she can handle that little third-year brat?
That night, she cornered Ginny, who was alone.
The result was somewhat unexpected. Her initial sneak attack with the Leg-Locker Curse did hit, but the other person reacted quickly, immediately casting a Spark Spell to summon a large number of small fireworks.
Pansy's clothes were covered in small holes from the explosion, and much of her hair was curled up.
"Filthy Pure-blood traitor!" she shrieked, intending to retaliate with a curse.
However, her usual spellcasting animation has a very long wind-up, making it impossible for her to be as fast as Ginny, who regularly practices combat at the club.
"Hot and spicy!"
Sparks flew!
A barrage of fireworks shot out from the tip of Ginny's cane, exploding on Pansy with a crackling sound, and a burnt smell filled the air.
"Who!" Filch's voice rang out, accompanied by a series of hurried footsteps.
Pansy, looking disheveled, had no choice but to put away her wand. "Very good, you learned it from Granger, that Mudblood, right? It's really good."
She laughed in exasperation and glanced back at the increasingly hurried footsteps behind her. "But so what? You've attracted Filch here, and in the end, you're the one who'll suffer."
Ginny tried her best but couldn't move her legs. If she couldn't break the Leg-Locker Curse, she would probably be caught red-handed.
"Stand still! Parkinson's, break the spell right now!"
Her wand pen was pointing at Pansy.
"Hehehe—" Pansy laughed in a particularly sinister way, "I suggest you save your breath. If I get caught by Filch along with you, who do you think will be punished more severely?"
One was unharmed, while the other was covered in soot and tattered clothes with small burn holes. Coupled with the charred marks on the floor and walls, anyone who saw them would think that Ginny had committed the violence unilaterally.
"Despicable! You're just retaliating against me because of what happened this morning?"
Pansy, who was passing by her, stopped. "Despicable? You and Potter are the despicable ones. Draco's injury has just healed, and all he did was curse at you a few times. Weasley, who lives in a rat hole, should be laughing it off."
Ginny's hand holding the wand trembled; she desperately wanted to give that big, poodle-like face a good whack.
"Parkinson, you really are a dog! I got yelled at by Malfoy for no reason, and Harry beat him up because he deserved it!"
Pansy's expression became even more ferocious, but she quickly regained her composure. "Trying to provoke me? Ha—do you think everyone is like the Weasley family, mass-producing idiots?"
She glanced down at Ginny with disdain, "You little bitch, you've made such a mess here, how do you think Filch will punish you?"
"It's none of your business!"
"Heh—look forward to it!"
Ginny didn't utter the spell until Pansy's figure disappeared around the corner.
She stopped her trembling hands and slowly lowered the wand.
The Spark Spell has little destructive power, but its strength lies in its large quantity and ability to leave behind large areas of charred marks from exploding fireworks.
Unfortunately, she didn't have good control and left scorch marks on the hallway floor, walls, and even the ceiling.
A short while later, Filch arrived with Mrs. Norris.
He grinned maliciously at Ginny, who stood motionless in place. "So it really is Gryffindor. I've finally caught you this time."
The next morning, the Little Lions discovered that the red hourglass in the Entrance Hall had mysteriously decreased in number.
If it hadn't been almost full, probably no one would have noticed.
The twins wanted to find out what had happened, but when they turned around, they saw Ginny walking in carrying a bucket and a mop.
Merlin's big shorts! Are their sisters being punished?
Who is it?! Who on earth has such audacity?!
Under their persistent questioning, Ginny recounted what had happened the previous night.
"Filch punished me by making me clean all the corridors and staircases in the castle every day until the Christmas holidays were over."
"Damn Slytherin!" Fred reached into his pocket. "George, don't bother looking for a dance partner yet. We need to get our revenge doubled."
George grinned mischievously and pulled out a Dungbombs. "I'll give her a little something extra at breakfast later. After she's full, we'll go find Filch together."
Ginny felt a warmth in her heart, but if her twin brother were caught, his fate would be many times worse than hers.
"Don't worry, Ginny, we're professionals. No one will find out it was us."
Unable to persuade them, she could only watch helplessly as they walked toward the Slytherin table.
"Well--"
"Why are you sighing like that?" Hermione stepped forward.
Ginny looked remorseful. "If I had dodged that Leg-Locker Curse last night, our college wouldn't have lost 80 points because of me."
Vincent and Harry then walked over.
It's just a point deduction, it's Gryffindor's routine.
The two big shots who scored the most points had no objections, and the Little Lions didn't care too much. They even cheered for Ginny to drive away Pansy.
After making a brief commotion in the Great Hall, Ginny returned to the Entrance Hall to begin cleaning.
Vincent patted Harry, who was unconsciously clenching his fist, and said, "If I were you, I would spend the entire holiday with Ginny."
"What?"
"If you don't understand, that's fine."
Harry stared blankly at his retreating figure, then suddenly turned to look at Ginny, who was mopping the floor outside the Great Hall.
If Draco hadn't been beaten, she wouldn't have faced Pansy's retaliation, nor would she have been caught and punished by Filch.
Whether it was self-blame, guilt, or something else, Harry felt that Vincent was right; he really should stay by Ginny's side.
Ron at the Gryffindor table was somewhat puzzled.
It's just learning to dance, right? When did their relationship become so good that they can even share punishments?
It's probably because Harry felt he had dragged Ginny down with him.
Yes, that's right, that must be it.
Midway through breakfast, a loud "boom" suddenly came from the Slytherin table.
Pansy, whose hair had been cut shorter, was firmly trapped in the yellowish-brown mist of Dungbombs.
Fortunately, the stench was only directed at her, but the sight of her trapped in the mist was particularly disgusting.
Especially the Black Swan sitting near her, although they couldn't smell the slightest stench, they all covered their noses and sat far away.
Draco remained motionless, his eyes still fixed on the two figures outside the Great Hall.
"Help..."
He couldn't hear Pansy's cries for help, nor could he hear the Little Lions' laughter.
Not long after breakfast ended, a heart-wrenching scream came from the corridor behind the four large hourglasses in the Entrance Hall.
It was Filch's dark and dirty office. Vincent glanced instinctively at the twins' seats and found that they were indeed gone.
As the only person at Hogwarts who doesn't use magic, Filch, the janitor, is actually quite lonely.
It's good that he has his twins with him; it would be even better if he could smile more.