The Strangest Person

The day after the conflict.

In the Slytherin common room, Betty found Linley again.

This time, Linley didn't avoid her; in fact, he was waiting for her there.

"I heard, Linley. Raphael gave you trouble yesterday, and he even used those foul words to describe you. Are you alright?"

Linley inwardly sighed, realizing that childhood sweethearts couldn't compete with a sudden arrival. Raphael had been taught a lesson by him yesterday, yet Betty's first concern was whether he was okay.

"I'm fine, senior." Linley felt he should express his gratitude for her concern.

"As for Senior Raphael, he's probably not doing so well."

Mentioning her ex-boyfriend, Betty didn't show any pleasant expression.

"He deserves it. After this incident, Professor Snape might even strip him of his Prefect status. Saying such things was truly despicable."

Betty twirled a strand of hair around her finger, pretending to speak casually.

"Why have you been eating at the Ravenclaw table lately? Are you free tonight? My family sent me some snacks, we could go to the Black Lake and eat them together..."

"I'm sorry, senior." Linley took a deep breath. Despite being reborn, he'd never been in a relationship, but this wasn't the first time he'd had to reject a girl.

If he had to use two idioms to describe it, it would be "practice makes perfect" and "effortlessly."

"I know you have feelings for me, but I'm still too young and don't plan on having a girlfriend for now. Besides... you're a good person."

Linley's rejection was too direct, leaving Betty no room for hope. She felt disappointed and awkward.

"Okay, okay."

It's better to be direct.

This way, it prevents any lingering feelings and avoids future melodramatic plot twists.

After Herbology class on Thursday, Linley decided to look for the Room of Requirement hidden within the castle.

He definitely couldn't go back to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom he'd been in before. Who knew if similar incidents would happen again?

The only clue he vaguely remembered about the Room of Requirement was that the wall it was on was opposite a tapestry of the one-eyed witch and the ballet teacher.

He wasn't sure of the exact location.

However, within the Hogwarts castle, there were plenty of "people" to ask for directions. He went along asking the portraits on either side of the corridors for clues, and before he knew it, he had arrived on the third floor of the castle.

There weren't many people here, and there was a statue of a one-eyed hunchbacked old woman.

As he passed by the statue, a hand suddenly reached out from behind it and grabbed his arm.

Linley wasn't alarmed because he recognized whose arm it was.

"What are you two hiding here for?"

He looked helplessly at the grinning Weasley twins, feeling like they were always appearing out of nowhere.

George slung an arm over Linley's shoulder.

"We heard about what happened. Well done, Linley! I've been sick of that Raphael for a long time. He always looks down on people, who does he think he is?"

Linley had no way to deal with these troublemakers who seemed to enjoy chaos. He glanced at something Fred was sneakily hiding behind his back.

"Don't change the subject. You still haven't answered my question."

The twins exchanged a look, as if they had reached an agreement on something.

"We're planning to sneak into Hogsmeade to buy some materials for making dungbombs," Fred said.

"Behind this statue, there's actually a secret passage that leads to the cellar of Honeydukes. We plan to go through there shortly."

Then, the twins pulled Linley behind the statue. Fred mysteriously brought out the item he was hiding behind his back.

"We were just observing people in the castle. If someone had passed by while we were opening the secret passage, it would have been a big problem."

Linley looked at the item in Fred's hand. It was a worn piece of parchment, covered in dense ink lines that clearly depicted every part of the castle, including all the secret passages.

What's more, it magically displayed the location of everyone in Hogwarts, and their names moved as they did.

Linley saw Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape in their offices. Professor Dumbledore's name didn't appear on the map; he might have left Hogwarts. Professor Sprout, as usual, was in the greenhouses tending to the precious magical plants.

As for Professor Foxx, he wasn't in the castle. His name indicated he was with Hagrid in the small hut near the Forbidden Forest, possibly discussing the Red Cap incident.

He also saw Raphael, who was in the Hogwarts school hospital, moving around. It seemed he was about to be discharged.

And the twins' biggest worry, Filch and his cat, were somewhere on the first floor of the castle, so there was no need to worry about them suddenly appearing.

As for their current location, besides themselves, there was no one else around. Clearly, it was safe for the Weasley brothers' outing plan.

"What is this?" Linley asked, feigning curiosity, even though he knew the name of the parchment.

"The Marauder's Map!" George said proudly, as if introducing a rare treasure to a friend.

"Fred and I found it in Filch's office when we were in our first year. At first, we thought it was just ordinary parchment, but it took us a lot of effort to figure out its function."

Fred also boasted.

"Thanks to it, George and I have never been caught by Filch during our nightly strolls or excursions. The whereabouts of everyone in the castle are under our watchful eyes."

Linley nodded gently, and suddenly he remembered something.

"Did you two pay attention to the Marauder's Map on the morning Hubert was attacked?"

George and Fred both shook their heads.

"No, we usually wake up just before class. We were still asleep when the attack happened."

"We're leaving now, Linley. Do you want to come with us? There are many interesting shops in Hogsmeade."

Linley shook his head. He wasn't very interested in the wizarding town.

"No, maybe next time."

George shrugged his shoulders.

"Alright then, but we hope you can keep this secret for us."

"No problem."

Just as the Weasley brothers opened the secret passage and prepared to crawl in, Linley suddenly spoke again.

"Have you noticed anyone with strange movements on the Marauder's Map since the start of this semester?"

Fred and George both thought carefully about Linley's question, and in the end, they both mentioned one name.

"If we have to say who was the strangest, it would definitely be Professor Foxx."

Thank you to Xiang Zi Ge for the reward, thank you, sir, for your support!