Professor McGonagall would undoubtedly get to the bottom of everything today, but if the students settled the matter among themselves, the school clearly wouldn't interfere.
Percy had bravely taken responsibility and kept the matter from escalating. He had become Gryffindor's champion among the students staying at school, Professor McGonagall didn't have to deal with such an unpleasant affair during her rare holiday, Slytherin House had an excuse to retaliate and save face, and Andrew didn't have to work overtime—everyone won.
The outcome lifted Andrew's spirits even higher. After cheerfully dealing with the last document, he left Professor McGonagall's office, shut the door, and headed for the Library.
"This afternoon is going to be story time..."
Under Madam Pince's mildly surprised gaze, he borrowed three collections of fairy tales, put them in his bag, and headed for the Dining Hall.
But the moment he reached the entrance, Andrew sensed something off about the atmosphere inside. Only then, after a busy morning, did he remember what poor Percy had told him.
Compared with the sparsely occupied tables of the other houses, Slytherin House's table was packed. Everyone there wore the expression of someone who had just bitten into an earwax-flavored Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean.
Gryffindor's usually rowdy table, meanwhile, was unnaturally quiet. Andrew glanced over it and couldn't even spot the famous Harry Potter.
"Psst, Andrew, keep your voice down. The Slytherins have gone mad."
A first-year Ravenclaw student who had also stayed at school whispered, "I hear they're searching everywhere for Harry Potter, but the other Gryffindor students have hidden him. Also, apparently the Gryffindor prefect who stayed behind is in the Hospital Wing."
*That makes sense. If I were in Slytherin, I'd want to send Harry Potter to the Hospital Wing too. What a great way to bring the