Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall ultimately did not punish Horatio. After all, he had saved these people's lives.
Fred and George's dreams of getting rich were shattered. Crying and shouting, they were taken back to Hogwarts by Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.
Horatio was left alone to clean up the mess. With no other choice, he had the Basilisk bring the spiders back to the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets.
After turning Aragog's family tree into spider venom and injecting it into Bellocan, Horatio looked at the lantern stuffed full of souls and pondered how to deal with them.
Then inspiration struck Horatio. He had it—this was how he would do it.
Early the next morning, Horatio mysteriously sought out Fred and George. He handed them a white disk and a stack of cards with black-and-yellow backs, then whispered a few mysterious words to them. The three let out eerie laughter, frightening the passing young Wizards into trembling as they hurried away.
A week later, Horatio spotted Lockhart's invitation to the Dueling Club on the notice board. He quickly dragged Fred and George over and said, "Our chance has come."
The three of them planned out that night's operation and assigned their respective tasks.
That evening, Horatio arrived at the Great Hall and found that nearly every student in the school had come. The long dining tables had vanished, replaced by a gilded stage in the center.
Lockhart stepped onto the stage in a crimson-purple robe, with Snape standing beside him wearing an expression that looked ready to kill.
"So, Professor Dumbledore has allowed me to establish this little Dueling Club, to train you all thoroughly in case you ever need to defend yourselves.
"Allow me to introduce my assistant, Professor Snape. He has agreed to help me with a small demonstration