Chapter 116: Escaping the Chase

"Meow—"

The sharp, grating cry of a cat pierced through the thick walls with startling clarity. Mrs. Norris prowled the doorway, pacing back and forth in confusion. Her sharp claws scraped against the bricks, producing a sound like nails on glass, sending shivers down the spines of the students inside. They flinched but dared not cover their ears.

"Damn it," Fred and George said in unison. "Our brilliant design has a flaw—this painting doesn't repel animals. If that cat gets her claws on it, she'll trigger the secret door."

Beside Jane Yu, Draco shifted uncomfortably, looking as though he wanted to storm out and berate the twins for their idiocy. However, he gritted his teeth and restrained himself.

"Meow—meow—"

Mrs. Norris's cries grew louder, and the students could vividly imagine her patrol stance—her skeletal frame pressed against the wall as she sniffed meticulously, her bulbous, lamp-like eyes glinting with malice. She would rear up on her hind legs to scratch at the wall, repeating the action to alert her master, Filch, to the hidden base concealed within.

"What do we do?" Ron asked in panic. "Did she smell our scent?"

Beside him, Harry tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to stay quiet.

The classroom fell into an uneasy silence. No one spoke; even their breathing was subdued.

"Who's there?! Show yourselves!!"

Filch's hoarse, gravelly voice rang out, unmistakably irritated. His years of coordination with Mrs. Norris had clearly paid off—he had sensed something was amiss. Finding no immediate response in the corridor, he began tapping his knuckles against the walls, searching for concealed doors or passages to flush out the students hiding inside.

"Knock, knock—"

Each knock felt like a hammer striking their hearts. As the sound grew louder, they realized Filch was now pounding the walls with his palms or fists, evidently having found something suspicious.

"I'll string you up! The chains and manacles hanging from my office ceiling are ready—"

His sinister voice was like the hiss of a snake, slithering into their ears.

Amid the faint glow of repeated Silencing Charms, Jane Yu noticed everyone's faces had turned pale.

Draco's face was scrunched up, resembling Slughorn's many chins. Blaise was sweating profusely, his brows tightly furrowed. On the other side, Harry and Ron clutched the table legs as if they could draw boundless courage from them. The huddled Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs clung to each other for comfort, muttering under their breath.

"Merlin—we're going to get caught and expelled!" Ron's trembling voice broke the silence, earning a fierce glare from Draco, who muttered angrily:

"Idiot! Is that all the brains Gryffindor has? Dumbledore can't possibly expel this many people at once!"

Jane gave him an approving glance.

Surprisingly, Draco seemed to have developed some sense in their third year.

Indeed, it was impossible. Only the ringleader would be singled out for punishment as an example—

And that would be her.

Outside the wall, Filch had already discovered the painting at the corner. His voice carried a note of confusion:

"Has this painting always been here?"

As the castle's caretaker, Filch prided himself on knowing every painting within its walls. Yet he had no memory of this one.

His heavy footsteps halted as he appeared to scrutinize the painting for flaws.

Inside, the dung bombs were primed and ready, waiting for Filch to touch the painting and trigger the trap.

Sure enough, he reached out to tap the frame—

The Red Cap sprang to life, shouting gleefully, "Crazy old fool!" as it began to dance. In its hands, it held dung bombs, which it hurled out of the frame. Caught off guard, Filch was drenched in the explosive mess—

"Disgusting scum, filthy brats!" he bellowed furiously. "Did Dumbledore move this painting here without a word?"

The stench spread through the corridor, and Filch quickly realized it was one of the twins' pranks, as he had encountered this foul odor many times before.

"Those damned Weasley twins! One day, I'll string them up by their ankles and hang them from the ceiling!"

Cursing under his breath, he stormed off, driven away by the mess and the stench.

"It's over. We're safe!"

Hearing Filch's heavy footsteps fade into the distance, the students heaved a collective sigh of relief and crawled out from under the tables.

Relief and triumph lit up their faces, as if they had just completed a billion-dollar project together.

Unanimously, they turned their gazes to Jane Yu, filling her with a sense of foreboding. Her sixth sense blared warnings like an alarm.

Her premonition proved correct.

The students grinned "wickedly" at her before pouncing like starving wolves, forming a human pyramid on top of her!

Crushed at the bottom, Jane felt as if her internal organs were being squeezed out. Her soul nearly left her body once again.

After a strenuous struggle, the Weasley twins eventually managed to pull her, nearly foaming at the mouth, out from under the human pile.

But before she could catch her breath, she was enveloped in a bear hug. The students celebrated with hugs and cheers. Some were so overwhelmed they burst into tears, dancing with joy.

They exchanged glances and broke into cheers:

"We are victorious!"

"We resisted Filch!"

"We defended the club's base!"

"This is the power of unity!"

Even Draco and Blaise wore faint smiles. The thrill and joy of defending their base seemed to have momentarily erased Draco's urge to mock Harry and Ron.

"Make sure to enchant the walls and door to repel animals!" Draco said awkwardly. "I'm talking to you, Weasleys. You Gryffindor idiots—how could you forget Filch has a cat?"

Fred and George rolled their eyes but refrained from retaliating with a dung bomb, which showed they were in a good mood.

"Alright, Malfoy boy, don't tempt us to smack you on such a fine day—"

Fred whistled to grab everyone's attention. He shouted:

"Hey! We need to retreat now, unless you want to be strung up by Filch when he comes back to clean up this mess—how thrilling!"

George chimed in:

"Wow, Fred, chains and manacles—so thrilling I almost want to try it!"

No one dared linger any longer. They hurriedly bid each other farewell and returned to their respective common rooms.

But everyone's lips curled into smiles that even an Avada Kedavra couldn't suppress.

This battle to defend their base ended without casualties. The only one injured was Jane Yu.

She felt as if she had sustained internal injuries from being crushed.

Why couldn't Filch persevere a bit longer and discover the secret behind the painting?

She thought dejectedly.

Getting expelled was no easy feat, Jane sighed.

But at least the professors and her guardian hadn't let her down—

While the warriors convened their first "Anti-Confiscation of Game Consoles" conference, their professors were gathered in the headmaster's office, discussing the students' unusual behavior.

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