Discovered They Had Been Duped

It was another Hogsmeade weekend, and the Three Broomsticks Inn was filled with a warm, cozy atmosphere.

The scent of Butterbeer and the charred fragrance of pine burning and crackling in the fireplace mingled with the students' noisy chatter, forming the unique background music of a Hogsmeade weekend.

However, in a secluded corner by the window, the atmosphere seemed rather gloomy, even shrouded in resentment.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Seamus sat around a wooden table. Each had a cup of Butterbeer in front of him, but apart from Hermione, who had taken two sips, the other handsome lads merely stared at the thick foam swaying in their cups, completely lacking in enthusiasm.

Some things, when kept buried in the hearts of two people who were unwilling to think about them, would never reveal the problem.

Now that a new victim had appeared, they understood what had happened at once.

"Charles, you duped me!"

Harry sent out the message, then slammed the Communication Notebook shut. He forced the words through his clenched teeth, his voice hoarse from suppressing his fury.

Ron's face scrunched up as if he had swallowed a slug whole.

"I told you! How could he have been so kind as to want to help us relieve our troubles? It turns out he was using us as test subjects!" He waved his arms, nearly knocking over Seamus's cup. "And with a Veela, no less!"

"And... and it turned into Professor Umbridge's Veela..." Neville added in a small voice. The blood had drained from his round face, as if he had returned to the fear and confusion he had experienced an hour earlier during that utterly absurd psychological counseling session in the house in the back alley.

That sensory assault, blending extreme allure with extreme disgust, was practically an