All the professors present at the staff seats that day pricked up their ears to listen to Dumbledore.
The four Heads of House-no, the three Heads of House. Voldemort, who was posing as Professor Snape, had not only failed to give the hardworking real Snape a holiday to return and enjoy the feast, but had also shut himself away in the laboratory to do research.
On hearing about the traces of immature magic, the Heads of House all turned to look at Douglas.
Douglas pursed his lips with an aggrieved expression and said to Professor Sprout:
"Professor, you know my character. That was a Gryffindor lion, in pure gold and red. Who in this school doesn't know that from the day I stepped into the castle, I, Douglas Holmes, have been a loyal, dependable, diligent, hardworking, and steadfast Hufflepuff? How could I possibly skip sleep in the middle of the night to go down to the fifth underground level and repair Gryffindor's front door?"
At the sight of his theatrics, Professor Sprout snorted with laughter. Her whole body trembled slightly, making the new witch's hat on her head wobble along with her.
Everyone more or less understood now. The basement was certainly no treasure left by Gryffindor, by Godric. They even caught Douglas's implication: there was more than just a Gryffindor challenge in the dungeon.
"Douglas, you're a Hogwarts professor now, not a child! Mind how you present yourself." Professor McGonagall glanced down at the students and noticed some looking their way.
Professor Sprout quickly patted Douglas's arm. "It's all right, it's all right. Little Douglas will always be a child to me! He's only a few years older than these children himself."
Professor McGonagall could do nothing about that, so she asked directly, "So what did Mr. Weasley stay