104: Lost Points, Again!

(づ￣ 3￣)づMany Thanks to ViktoriousVoyage and korishirou 999 for their Patronage!♥♥

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"Then how did you end up solving it?"

"Ran away, obviously. What else could I do…? One of these days, I swear I'm going to blow up Gringotts. Hagrid was absolutely right—those goblins are all shady as hell."

Kasenhis said chillingly.

"Eh? What's that?" Hagrid suddenly looked up and said.

"What's wrong?"

Kasenhis followed Hagrid's gaze, only to see a massive tree—completely uprooted—flying straight toward the Quidditch pitch from the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

Dumbledore didn't even bother pulling out his wand. He simply raised a hand, and the enormous tree instantly crumbled into dust. Then, he turned to the two professors who had the highest mobility.

"Kasenhis, Severus, go check it out."

"Got it."

In the blink of an eye, Kasenhis used an Ender Pearl teleport to appear in the Forbidden Forest, right at the direction from which the tree had come.

Meanwhile, Snape transformed into a streak of pitch-black smoke and flew after him.

"Any clues?" Snape, still hovering mid-air in his smoky form, asked Kasenhis.

"Nothing for now. Could be a Disillusionment Charm. But uprooting a tree that big in an instant… Whoever did it is no joke. Stay alert."

Kasenhis scanned the surroundings through his monocle and warned cautiously.

"Don't worry." Snape nodded and flew a bit higher.

Kasenhis continued to observe everything within his field of vision through his monocle.

[Wood] [Wood] [Earth] [Water] [Earth] [Wind] [Life] [Magic] [Order]

"?"

In the vast forest below, Kasenhis suddenly noticed three discordant elements. The next moment, he raised his hand, and almost instantly, chains of Order silently wrapped around the invisible presence.

Within seconds, the target was forced to reveal itself—a house-elf.

"Hmm? You're not a Hogwarts house-elf." Kasenhis frowned.

Snape quickly arrived as well, glancing at the house-elf restrained by the chains of Order, his brows furrowing. "It's from the Malfoy family."

"A house-elf can pull off something like that?" Kasenhis asked.

"Of course. This should be our culprit. Let's bring it to the Headmaster's office."

"Alright."

Meanwhile, on the other side—

"Nice shot!"

"Great catch!"

"Great charge!"

"Have you eaten yet?"

Harry, who had just successfully caught the Golden Snitch, was currently basking in the various praises of his fellow Gryffindors.

He was trying his best to control his expression—to appear a little more reserved, a bit more serious, and not too overly smug.

Then, Percy Weasley suddenly came rushing over.

"Harry, you need to head to the Headmaster's office. Professor Dumbledore is calling for you."

Before Harry could even respond, Percy grabbed his hand and started dragging him toward the castle.

"What's up with him? Why is he in such a hurry?" Oliver Wood asked, puzzled.

"Oh, you should know by now," one of the Weasley twins chimed in.

"As long as an authority figure gives him an order—" the other twin continued. "He'll carry it out with absolute and unwavering dedication."

"Who asked about Percy? I was asking about Harry." Wood said flatly.

"Uh… no idea about that."

Meanwhile, in the Headmaster's office…

"Professor, Harry's here."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley. Would you mind closing the door on your way out?" Dumbledore, still hunched over his desk, didn't even look up as he spoke.

"Of course, Professor."

Percy left Harry in the Headmaster's office, dutifully closing the door behind him.

"Uh… Professor Dumbledore, did I… do something wrong?" Harry asked hesitantly, his heart pounding. Though, to be more precise, it wasn't so much that he didn't know what he had done wrong—more like he didn't know which of his mistakes had been discovered.

"No, Harry, you haven't done anything wrong. However, something related to you has come up, and we need to take a trip to the Alchemy Office."

Dumbledore finally looked up, giving Harry a warm smile.

"Oh… Professor Dumbledore, how about we discuss it with Professor Kasenhis first? If there's something going on, we could just talk about it here in the Headmaster's office… I didn't bring my broomstick." Harry said awkwardly.

"Exercise is good for young people," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "But considering how much physical activity you've already had today…"

He stood up, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.

The next moment, with a loud whoosh, they both appeared inside the Alchemy Office.

In the work area of the office, an Enchanting Table was actively infusing magic into an Ender Pearl, radiating an eerie, space-warping magical energy that sent shivers down the spine.

The house-elf was locked inside a cage, unable to leave due to the interference from the spatial magic fluctuations.

"Wait… is that Dobby?" Harry furrowed his brows in surprise.

"You know this house-elf?" Kasenhis, sitting on the glass staircase, asked.

"Yeah, I met him during the holidays. Back then, he tried to stop me from coming to Hogwarts… and also completely wrecked my aunt and uncle's dinner party."

Though Harry was complaining, if he had even the slightest control over his expression—if he didn't look quite so… smug about it—he might have actually seemed a little upset.

Meanwhile, the house-elf locked inside the cage whimpered, "Dobby… Dobby only wanted to protect Harry Potter…"

"Hogwarts is very dangerous! I cannot allow—"

"Silence."

Snape lazily tapped his wand, and in an instant, Dobby's mouth was magically sealed shut.

"Let him speak, Severus. But Dobby, keep it brief, please," Dumbledore waved his hand, signaling Snape to lift the spell.

"Harry Potter will die if he stays here!"

"I won't die. If you're talking about the Basilisk, well—" Harry pointed to the silver-threaded monocle on his face. "I've got this."

"That monocle is completely useless. You will die."

"Actually, this monocle has been far more helpful to me than you ever were." Harry scoffed.

"Oh… Poor Harry Potter, I understand your admiration for your professor, but please, value your own life. On September 1st, you had a chance to stay far away from this dangerous vortex," Dobby said, his voice full of despair.

"September 1st? That was your doing too? The barrier at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters?" Harry's brows furrowed as he questioned him.

"What are they talking about?" Snape leaned in closer to Kasenhis and asked in a low voice.

"On the first day of school, Harry and Ron couldn't get through the barrier at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, so they decided to fly Arthur Weasley's enchanted car to Hogwarts instead. That was the time I deducted 200 points from Gryffindor."

Snape nodded. "Ah… That's not a simple matter.. So, due to Mr. Potter's and Mr. Weasley's reckless actions, Gryffindor loses 70 points, again… They could have asked for help from a nearby wizard or simply written a letter to a professor."

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