"Silence! Please keep order!"
As students from each house streamed in, the once-quiet Great Hall gradually filled with noise and confusion. Now and then, a muffled groan of pain rose from the crowd.
Faced with the chaos, Professor McGonagall found herself at a loss. She had never imagined that the entire student body would suffer such dangerous magical outbursts at the same time.
What frightened her even more was that it had not only affected the students tonight. Every professor at Hogwarts, herself included, had felt their magic grow unstable before arriving at the scene.
Fortunately, their age and experience gave the professors far greater control over their magic than the young witches and wizards, preventing more serious consequences.
"Minerva, how are the students?"
As Dumbledore hurried through the entrance, everyone in the Great Hall breathed a sigh of relief, their taut nerves relaxing a little.
"Albus, thank goodness you're finally back!" Professor McGonagall let out a long breath at the sight of him. "The students with unstable magic and those who were injured have all been sent to the Hospital Wing for emergency treatment. But Harry and his two friends, as well as Miss Ginny Weasley, are still missing!"
"Jerry Green is missing too. I searched the student dormitories and the Slytherin Common Room, but there was no sign of him," Snape added grimly from beside her.
Dumbledore frowned slightly. After a moment's thought, he turned to the heads of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. "Are any other students missing?"
Flitwick and Professor Sprout both shook their heads, as if to say that their students were all well-behaved, unlike that pack of reckless lions in Gryffindor.
Aside from the students injured during the magical outbursts, everyone in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff was accounted for.
At this, Snape could not resist adding sarcastically,