Percy's Little Secret

The Hit Wizard ransacked the office, taking almost everything, including portraits and autographed photos.

"Goodbye, Professor McGonagall, we'll be leaving now."

"I just don't want to see you at school, Had," Professor McGonagall said softly.

"I'm sorry, Professor, there's nothing I can do about it," Had laughed. "But I'll be Auror soon, and then I probably won't have to come back."

Unless, the school hires another Death Eaters to be the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

He made a joke, but Professor McGonagall couldn't laugh at all.

Death Eaters? Yes, there were last year... and even the Death Eaters ' master came.

After a few brief pleasantries, Had turned and walked out of the office, followed by two Hit Wizard were supporting Lockhart.

"Hey, where are you taking me?"

"Slow down, don't walk so fast..."

"Oh, this place is so beautiful..."

Lockhart's voice echoed down the corridor.

As Kyle watched his retreating figure, a strange feeling crept into his heart, as if he had been tricked.

Lockhart must have received advance notice and been waiting for the Ministry of Magic to arrive.

Kyle thought about it more and more and it seemed very possible.

No one would use Memory Charm in a direct confrontation when the other person is on guard; it's usually a sneak attack... Lockhart couldn't possibly be unaware of this.

But the move of erasing his own memory to avoid trial is hard to describe as either clever or overly clever.

After all, this method comes at a high cost, and it's not worth it for small matters, nor is it useful for big matters...

After Lockhart was taken away, news of his arrest quickly spread throughout the school.

Lockhart was not a legendary adventurer at all; he simply stole other people's experiences and attributed them to himself. He was a complete fraud.

Some of Lockhart's admirers were unwilling to believe it was true, but many more quickly accepted it.

It can only be described as unexpected yet reasonable; his performance in class is the strongest evidence of this.

"I told you long ago, he's a fraud."

At the end-of-year dinner, Ron looked at Hermione with an arrogant expression. "You just wouldn't believe me, now you've proven me right."

Hermione turned her head away and ignored him.

Ron was still rambling on and on, this was the first time he had surpassed Hermione in any way, and he couldn't be happier.

In his smugness, he didn't even notice that Hermione's expression was growing increasingly grim.

Harry tried to remind him several times, but to no avail.

"Ron ..."

Finally, Hermione, enraged, turned around and declared, "You'll never see my homework again!"

After saying that, she angrily switched places with Parvati Patil.

Ron sat there, mouth agape, staring at Harry, and muttered, "Do you think it's too late for me to apologize now?"

Harry chuckled dryly without saying a word; he had expected this to happen.

Soon, Dumbledore entered the Great Hall.

Because of the Chamber of Secrets incident, Kyle once again received the Special Award for Services to the School and earned Hufflepuff a 200-point bonus.

This large sum of points allowed Hufflepuff to overtake Ravenclaw and win the House Cup.

The cheers of the badger cubs almost shook a hole in the ceiling.

They never dreamed that their college would one day achieve a three-peat.

Professor Sprout blushed with excitement as he shook hands with the other professors while adjusting his new robe.

This was specially purchased for today from Hogsmeade; the materials and craftsmanship are of the highest quality.

This is a big day, Hufflepuff has won three consecutive championships... Professor Sprout doesn't mind spending a little money to make himself look more presentable.

After the banquet, everyone began to enjoy the most carefree time of the year.

It seemed like only a blink of an eye, and the exam results were already out.

Because of a few mistakes in the Muggle Studies exam, Kyle did not get a perfect score this time, but he still achieved the highest score in the grade, a score that others could only dream of.

Fred and George also achieved a good result, with nearly half of their scores being "O", enough to keep them from Mrs. Weasley's nagging during the holidays.

The next day, they would take the Hogwarts Express home.

As Kyle was about to board the train, Professor McGonagall approached him and handed him a note.

"This is Professor Dumbledore left for you," she said.

The note contained only a very short sentence.

"Your things have been sent, but Professor Snape seems a little unhappy."

Kyle was somewhat surprised; he had thought Dumbledore would be engrossed in researching the Time-Turner and would have forgotten about it.

"The headmaster also told me to tell you that the Chamber of Secrets mystery is over," Professor McGonagall said. "He said you know what that means."

"I understand, Professor." Kyle nodded.

Dumbledore's meaning was simple: he didn't want the Basilisk to reappear in the school, in any form.

"That's good." Professor McGonagall looked at Kyle, feeling somewhat puzzled, but didn't ask any further questions.

Dumbledore was always mysterious, and this wasn't the first or second time; she was used to it.

"Don't forget that paper, make sure you write it well," she added before returning to the castle.

By the time Kyle boarded the train, Kanna and Cedric had already found a compartment.

Ginny was there too; Fred and George were pressing her for answers.

What did Percy just say to you...?

"What is he hiding from us, and why are you not allowed to tell anyone...?"

"It's nothing..." Ginny hesitated, "You misheard."

"Two cans of Toothflossing Stringmints!" Fred held up two fingers.

"But I promised Percy I'd keep it a secret..."

"Add another bag of Pepper Imps!" George said. "And the new model, the kind that breathes blue fire, the kind only we can get our hands on."

"It's nothing," Ginny said immediately. "Percy just got a girlfriend."

Fred dropped the Exploding Snap he was holding onto George's head.

"What?"

"It's Ravenclaw Prefect named Penelope Clearwater," Ginny said. "Percy has been writing to her all last holiday, and yesterday I just happened to catch them having a secret date in an empty classroom."

"No wonder... he absolutely refused to lend us the owl before," Fred grinned.

"You won't go around telling everyone, will you?" Ginny asked anxiously.

"Absolutely not!" George replied, chuckling to himself.

After Ginny left, Fred and George huddled together and whispered for over half an hour before joining the others to play Exploding Snap and Wizard's Chess.

The Hogwarts Express passed through fields of wheat and villages, gradually slowing down before coming to a stop at King's Cross Station.

Thanks to FYZ331fot for the donation.