The sun was about to set. Roy did not have time to worry about anything else; he grabbed his gear and rushed out of the headmaster's office.
"I need to find a professor first."
Roy ran straight to Professor McGonagall's office, but Professor McGonagall was nowhere to be found. Instead, he ran into Percy Weasley, a third-year Gryffindor.
According to Percy, after Professor McGonagall failed to contact Dumbledore, she had used Floo Powder to go straight to London. She had only left moments ago. Roy was so infuriated by having missed her by such a short time that he slapped his thigh.
With Professor McGonagall already off campus, Roy could only start searching Hogwarts Castle for Snape.
After searching for quite a while, he finally found Snape in the Great Hall. All the other professors were there as well, including Elias.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Snape roared furiously at Elias.
"I know you did it, Thorne. Don't think you can fool me. You'd better watch what you eat from now on."
The scene before him looked remarkably like the confrontation in the corridor outside the boys' washroom back then. The only difference was that, besides the enraged Snape and the relaxed Thorne, there was now a crowd of other professors.
A calm smile remained on Thorne's face. Facing the fuming Snape, he sounded exceptionally magnanimous.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Severus. Whatever you suspect, I have to tell you that you've got the wrong person."
Snape glared viciously at Thorne across from him, hiding the wand in his hand beneath his black robes. He was poised to strike at any moment.
Seeing this, Elias quietly rested a hand on the wand holster at his waist. Though he still looked as relaxed as ever, his body was already prepared