Hogwarts: This Wizard is Unscientific 90
by adminChapter 90: This Phoenix, Should Belong to Hogwarts, Shouldn’t It?
Perhaps it was a case of telepathy, but the first thing Andy worried about upon seeing Snape wasn’t detention, but losing house points.
Losing points wasn’t so scary; it was who lost them that was embarrassing.
Andy still remembered what it was like for Harry and Ron after their night-time stroll resulted in a fifty-point deduction each. They were treated like outcasts, sneaking around everywhere, even their meals in the Great Hall were consumed furtively, only daring to approach once most students had left.
Andy valued his reputation; he couldn’t bear that kind of life.
“I wanted to send a letter to Headmaster Dumbledore.”
Andy decided to confess and honestly handed Snape the letter he’d written.
Snape received the letter with a dubious expression, felt it, then returned it to Andy.
Out of politeness, Snape couldn’t just read Andy’s private mail, but that didn’t stop him from deducting points. He smirked slightly, a hint of mockery in his eyes, “Collins, I never thought a Ravenclaw would…”
No good!
As soon as Snape started, Andy guessed what was coming next: a fifty-point deduction from Ravenclaw!
“Professor Snape, I just saw Malfoy,” Andy quickly interrupted, “He went to the Restricted Section on the fourth floor.”
Snape’s words were cut short. He sized Andy up and down, his eyes cold, “Do you think such a petty trick can fool me? Collins, slander…”
“It’s true!” Andy interrupted again. “I’m writing this letter to Headmaster Dumbledore because of Malfoy. I suspect his memory was tampered with after the attack he suffered.”
Snape always spoke slowly and calmly, giving Andy ample opportunity to interrupt. Anyone who’s played games knows that you should never use slow-casting skills in a PvP battle; otherwise, you’ll easily be interrupted.
Hogwarts is a place of magic, and Snape, as a professor, only needed to mention point deduction for Ravenclaw’s points to plummet. However, due to his relatively junior position, to deduct fifty points at once, he’d have to seek Professor Flitwick’s approval.
Understanding this, Andy wasn’t afraid at all.
“Hmm?” Snape looked at Andy nonchalantly.
Memory modification was Voldemort’s specialty, and Andy wasn’t like other ordinary witches and wizards. Since Andy said so, Snape didn’t mind listening.
If Collins dared to lie, that would be night-time stroll, slandering a classmate, and deceiving a professor—three offenses that would be enough to deduct one hundred points from Ravenclaw. This year’s House Cup was secure.
If Collins wasn’t lying, then Snape could not only expose Quirrell and Voldemort’s conspiracy but also save Malfoy. It was a win-win situation, Snape thought.
Andy organized his thoughts, “You know I got Malfoy to help in contacting students to drive Quirrell out of Hogwarts. Malfoy and I agreed to have a private talk after Quirrell left the school.”
“But Malfoy seemed to forget about it afterward and didn’t contact me again.”
“When Malfoy was attacked, you warned me about Quirrell. I guessed that Lucius Malfoy would take Malfoy to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries for treatment, allowing Quirrell to sneak back into Hogwarts.”
“But after Professor Trelawney’s attack, I realized something was wrong.”
Andy said seriously, “So I immediately wrote a letter to Headmaster Dumbledore, reminding him to pay attention to Malfoy. Unexpectedly, I ran into Malfoy on the fourth floor.”
Snape’s face was gloomy, “You say Malfoy went to the Restricted Section on the fourth floor?”
“Yes!” Andy nodded.
Snape frowned.
After the Christmas holidays, when Malfoy returned to school, Snape personally checked Malfoy’s luggage and Malfoy himself, finding nothing amiss. Then he learned from Dumbledore that Hagrid had reported anomalies in the Forbidden Forest.
This was almost a clear indication: Quirrell was hiding in the Forbidden Forest!
Months passed, and Dumbledore and Snape had somewhat overlooked Malfoy. They even thought that Malfoy’s attack was just Quirrell’s act of revenge.
But what if the Forbidden Forest’s unrest and Trelawney’s attack were all distractions by Quirrell?
Snape didn’t dare to take any chances, “No need to send the letter. Go directly to the Headmaster’s office. The password is: ‘Pile of cockroaches.'”
Having said that, Snape ignored Andy and hurried into the corridor leading to the Restricted Section on the fourth floor.
Andy: “…”
What kind of password was that?
Seeing Snape’s robes disappear around the corner, Andy breathed a sigh of relief. He could make excuses for the night-time stroll, but if Snape asked about the meaning of “SB,” Andy didn’t know how to answer him.
He only hoped time would dilute everything.
The Headmaster’s office was on the eighth floor, so Andy had to climb the stairs again. The entrance was a grotesquely ugly, enormous stone gargoyle statue. Andy stood before the entrance, “Pile of cockroaches!”
Click! Click!
The gargoyle jumped aside, and the wall behind it split into two halves.
Andy stepped inside, took the magical staircase, and arrived at an oak door.
Knock, knock, knock!
Andy politely knocked on the door.
“Come in!” A weary, old voice came from inside.
Andy pushed the door open and entered.
The Headmaster’s office was a spacious and beautiful circular room, illuminated by crystal and sapphires, bright as day. One wall was lined with mahogany bookshelves filled with magical books, while another wall displayed portraits of past headmasters.
Besides these, the room also contained many alchemical magical artifacts; just looking at them felt like they were priceless.
There was also a cabinet in the room, with the Sorting Hat resting on one of its shelves.
To the left and in front of the Headmaster’s desk, a tall, gilded perch held a phoenix, which was lazily perched there, curiously eyeing Andy.
Once I become Headmaster, all this will be mine.
Andy was envious.
“Headmaster Dumbledore, you’re still up so late,” Andy greeted as usual.
“Mr. Collins, you haven’t slept either?” Dumbledore looked at Andy with a kind gaze.
“I originally wanted to send you a letter, but I ran into Malfoy on the fourth floor, and also Professor Snape…” Andy briefly explained his purpose.
Dumbledore immediately turned serious.
He stood up from his chair, paced around the office twice, then looked sharply at Andy, “Collins, stay here; I’ll go to the fourth floor to take a look.”
“Okay!”
Andy replied, just as he was about to ask if he could return to the dormitory, the phoenix flapped its wings and landed on Dumbledore’s shoulder. A flash of fire, and the man and bird instantly disappeared.
“This phoenix, should belong to Hogwarts, shouldn’t it?”
Andy’s desire for the Headmaster’s position grew even stronger.
(End of Chapter)
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