Katie Bell

At that moment, McLaggen returned to the Room of Requirement, laughing loudly, his laughter filled with arrogance and excitement. Behind him followed a group of members of the Justice Inquisitorial Squad, Roger Davis, Skyler Fawcett, and others, all beaming with pride as if they had just won a great victory.

They dragged the struggling prisoners in, shoving them in without mercy— Ernie Macmillan, Hannah Abbott, Neville Longbottom ... The members of the Dumbledore's Army were now being led like lambs to the slaughter. Cho Chang glanced at them and shook his head inwardly; more than half of the Dumbledore's Army members were here.

However, she... wasn't here. Remembering Skylar's prior instructions, Cho Chang nervously held her breath, shifting her feet, wondering if she should leave immediately.

"Tie them all up!" McLaggen strode to the center of the group, his eyes gleaming with barely suppressed glee. He raised his chin and commanded in a loud, authoritative voice, "Take them to Professor Umbridge's office and await her decision!"

He felt his moment of glory had finally arrived—these self-righteous rebels, who had always proclaimed their opposition to the Ministry of Magic, were now captured by him, McLaggen, and utterly powerless. He swept his gaze across the prisoners in the room with a condescending contempt.

Then his gaze fell on Hermione, and a burning hatred instantly ignited within him.

This face, this girl who had embarrassed him on the train—she always thought herself clever, always stole the spotlight, always lectured others with that condescending attitude. The sense of superiority she displayed in front of him had always bothered him, and now, she had finally fallen into his hands, as vulnerable as a lamb to the slaughter. McLaggen could almost hear the vengeful fervor boiling in his chest.

He took a sudden step forward, roughly grabbing Hermione's chin and forcing her to look up at him. His fingers tightened so much that his knuckles turned white from the force, and Hermione's chin ached from the pressure, even leaving faint red marks on her skin. But she stubbornly gritted her teeth, refusing to make a sound.

"Granger..." McLaggen spoke in a low, cold voice, his eyes flashing with a fanatical vengeance, "You thought you were so smart? You thought you were so superior? Look at yourself now!"

He scoffed contemptuously, deliberately increasing the pressure on her hand. Hermione gasped, her face draining of color instantly. She instinctively struggled, but her hands were firmly bound behind her back, making it impossible to push him away. She was forced to lean forward, almost touching McLaggen, so close that his breath was practically on her face.

"What?" McLaggen let out a devilish laugh, his tone tinged with a morbid smugness. "Weren't you supposed to be so smart? Now you can't even argue back?"

Hermione bit her lower lip tightly, the pain causing her eyes to redden slightly, but she still didn't let the tears fall. Her cheeks were being squeezed hard by McLaggen's palm, her skin being roughly pinched, even leaving faint red marks. Her lips trembled slightly, as the muscles were forced into a contortion, making it difficult even to speak.

Her breathing was rapid and erratic, her chest heaving violently, like a trapped wild beast trying to break free, but McLaggen's fingers were like iron clamps, firmly holding her face, making her unable to move.

"Look at me!" McLaggen growled, his thumb slamming down on her chin, forcing Hermione to look up and meet his eyes, burning with hatred and vengeful pleasure. "Don't you always like to lecture people with that mouth of yours? Come on, try lecturing me now."

Hermione clenched her teeth, the pain bringing tears to her eyes, but she stubbornly stared at McLaggen, her eyes filled with anger and contempt, showing no sign of submission. Her cheeks were pinched painfully, burning hot, each breath feeling like it was tearing her flesh apart.

She tried to struggle, trying to shake off his hand, but her strength couldn't budge McLaggen at all. Instead, the rope on her wrist tightened even more as she twisted, digging painfully into her skin.

McLaggen sneered, a twisted sense of pleasure in his eyes.

He paused deliberately, savoring Hermione's stiffened expression from humiliation, the thrill of having her completely under his control flowing through his body. He could even smell the faint fragrance emanating from the girl and feel her body trembling with fear; all of this gave him an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

"I warned you, Granger," McLaggen licked his dry lips, a sinister pleasure in his voice, "You'll learn the consequences of going against me. This is just the beginning..."

He leaned down slightly, bringing his mouth close to Hermione's cheek, his lips lightly touching her earlobe, and whispered, "Now it's you, the next... is Skylar Malfoy."

Cho Chang had already left that place.

To be honest, she didn't like Hermione Granger. She loved to meddle in other people's business and always had a condescending attitude, as if she knew more than anyone else.

Most importantly, with a woman's unique intuition, she always felt that Hermione's gaze towards Skylar was a bit off, as if she harbored inappropriate feelings for her boyfriend.

Of course, she felt even more disgusted with McLaggen. After all, Hermione and he were both Prefect in the same house; there was no need for him to be so cruel to a young girl.

Even though she didn't like Hermione, she felt a pang of pity for her current plight. She simply couldn't bear to watch anymore, but remembering her mission, she decided to abandon them and leave first. After all, this was Hogwarts; they might suffer a little, but they wouldn't die.

She took out the Marauder's Map that Skylar had given her, her eyes quickly searching for her target among the densely packed names. A few seconds later, her eyes lit up slightly— Katie Bell's name was displayed in a corner on the second floor, surrounded by two other names—Eddie Cammitchell and Marcus Belby.

Katie Bell is a student at Gryffindor House, in the same year as her, one year ahead of Skylar and Harry. She is one of the Chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and is also an excellent pilot.

Most importantly, what many people don't know is that Cho Chang and Cassius Bell were actually childhood playmates and best friends. Their grandfathers, Cho and Bell (full name Cassius Bell), were both outstanding Auror in the Britain Ministry of Magic in the 1930s, serving under Theseus Scamander. They fought side by side against Grindelwald in Paris and were comrades-in-arms.

The two had played together frequently since they were three years old, and even trained in Quidditch together, until they gradually drifted apart after they entered different schools.

"What a coincidence..." Cho Chang closed the map, a cold smile appearing on her lips. Of course, she knew who Camitcher and Belby were; they happened to be classmates with her, and both were members of the Justice Inquisitorial Squad.

It seems Katie ultimately couldn't escape and was cornered by the two.

Without a moment's hesitation, she quickened her pace toward her destination, inwardly thankful for the foresight of the true leader she followed. If Skylar hadn't given her the Marauder's Map beforehand, today's mission would likely have been impossible.