Neville stood against the wall, his gaze fixed on the blond figure disappearing into the distance at the front door. He lowered his voice and said, "What do we do? Quirrell's gone out again; he's definitely continuing his scheme."
Hugo, standing next to him, adjusted her glasses. "That's right. I didn't see him in the Great Hall at noon. Now I don't know where he got some food, but he ran outside without even having time to eat."
Ron stood behind the two, clutching the hem of his clothes, his voice tense. "Now he's run out again, what do we do? Filch is watching the door, we can't get out either."
Neville frowned and glanced again toward the doorway. Filch stood there like a statue, and even if he did have the professor's permission, given Filch's personality, he would definitely make things difficult for him.
He lowered his voice and said, "The castle has several gates. Shall we go check out the other gates? We can't have someone guarding every single one."
Hugo shook her head. "All the other doors are closed, and there are portraits or statues guarding them. Haven't you noticed that the portraits on the walls have been behaving themselves these past few days? Even the Fat Lady hasn't run around. This is because Head of House McGonagall gave the order, and the entire school's defensive magic has been activated."
Neville frowned even more deeply. "Then what do we do? Quirrell is always out there, we can't get any evidence against him, how can we prove he's guilty?"
Ron stood silently for a while, then suddenly seemed to remember something, opened her mouth but hesitated before closing it again.
Noticing her expression, Neville said encouragingly, " Ron, just say whatever comes to mind. Don't worry about saying the wrong thing."
After a moment's internal struggle, Ron whispered, "Um... I've heard my brothers say that there are many secret passages in the castle that lead to the outside of the school."
Hugo's eyes lit up immediately, and she placed her hand on Ron's shoulder. "Where?"
Ron was startled and lowered her voice even further. "Um... I can't remember, it was somewhere near the garden..."
Neville noticed Ron's nervousness and gently patted Hugo's shoulder to signal him to relax. Hugo also realized he had been too hasty, and released his hand, apologizing softly, "I'm sorry, I was too hasty. It's okay, take your time thinking. Or we can go to the garden first; maybe you'll remember when we get there."
Ron nodded timidly, and the three of them left the corner close to the wall, heading towards the central garden of the castle. Neville led the way to scout the path, while Ron followed behind, quietly recalling the location of the secret passage entrance.
Meanwhile, Quirrell was leading Herman and his party along the path leading to the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
He walked very fast, hardly looking back. After leaving the castle gate, he maintained this pace of "I have something to deal with" and didn't say a single unnecessary word to Herman and the others, not even a polite question like "What do you want with Hagrid?"
Herman followed him for a while, wanting several times to ask what had happened in the Forbidden Forest the night before, but that question would seem too ulterior, and he couldn't explain how he knew Quirrell had gone to the Forbidden Forest.
He couldn't very well say, "A few students are eyeing you because they think you're a big bad guy." Although he did think Neville and his two friends' behavior was a bit extreme, it didn't warrant betraying them.
The group remained silent and followed Hagrid's Hut.
Hagrid emerged from the Forbidden Forest, still clutching his pink umbrella, his clothes covered in withered leaves and bits of grass, as if he had just crawled out of the dense forest.
He saw the group of people pause for a moment, then his smile immediately broke into a wide grin as he waved vigorously at them. Draco also bounced around and waved back, her pace quickening considerably.
As they approached, Hagrid nodded to Herman and the others as a greeting. Before he could speak, Quirrell stepped forward and asked Hagrid in a low voice, "How's the Forbidden Forest? Nothing's changed, right?"
Seeing this, Hagrid lowered his voice and began to reply with a mysterious expression, but it was clear that Hagrid was not aware of his loud voice.
Given his size and voice, even his lowered voice was still significantly louder than a normal person's. Herman, standing two steps away, could vaguely hear what he was saying, "Everything in the Forbidden Forest has returned to normal. The big guys outside seem to have given up their attack. Professor Malin is watching over things there; everything's fine."
Quirrell visibly relaxed upon hearing Marlene's name and nodded. "Then I'll head over first and relieve Professor Malin. I really hope Headmaster Dumbledore comes back soon; he's always rushing to the Forbidden Forest, he doesn't even have time to eat in the Great Hall. When I got back today, the food was already cleared away, I just grabbed a bite from the kitchen and hurried out."
He glanced at the children behind him, as if just remembering the matter. "Oh right, these kids said they wanted to see you, so I brought them along. Could you please take them home later? Deputy Headmistress McGonagall is being very strict these days, but it's for the students' safety."
Hagrid patted his chest and assured him, "No problem, I'll definitely get them back safely."
Quirrell nodded, not lingering any longer, even skipping the farewell to Herman and the others. He turned and strode quickly toward the Forbidden Forest, his golden hair flashing among the shadows of the trees before disappearing behind the bushes.
Herman watched Quirrell's figure disappear at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, then turned to Hagrid. Hagrid was already chatting enthusiastically with Draco: "What brings you here again today?"
Draco explained, "I was sent back by the dean last night before you came back, so I came here today to explain."
Hagrid quickly waved his hand, "It's alright, it's alright. I'm really sorry I didn't entertain you well yesterday. Sigh, last night was such a mess, I didn't get back until midnight."
Herman seized the opportunity to interject, "What happened last night? What exactly happened in the Forbidden Forest?"
Hagrid blurted out, "A bunch of Vampire are trying to kill my pet!"
Herman was completely bewildered when he heard this.
What grudge do your pet Vampire and the Acromantula have against each other?
Or have you taken up some strange new pet?
He couldn't quite connect the image of that high-class Vampire elder captured by Dumbledore to Hagrid keeping him as a pet; even in the magical world, it was simply too illogical.
Hagrid clearly realized he'd let something slip and quickly changed the subject. "Come on, come inside, don't stand at the door. I just prepared afternoon tea, but there are a lot of people today, so the portion might not be enough."
He looked everyone over as he spoke, then his gaze fell on Harry. He paused for a moment, then a brighter smile spread across his face, " Harry! You're here too!"