The Night at Hogwarts

Chapter 172: A Night at Hogwarts

"Wait a minute..." George suddenly spotted a contradiction. "So you're saying... the reason that House-elf found Harry was because—"

"—he wasn't being malicious? He genuinely wanted to protect Harry?" Fred said almost simultaneously.

Wade nodded. "He probably truly believed Hogwarts was dangerous, so he didn't want Harry to come back to school."

"He has a rather unique way of protecting people, then."

Fred frowned. "If that's the case, why are you suspecting that House-elf again this time? His name was... uh..."

"Dobby," George said. "I remember Harry saying he called himself Dobby."

"House-elves live in different conditions and have different ways of thinking than we do."

Wade said, "Just like he thought Hogwarts was dangerous and would rather see Harry expelled than let him return; perhaps this time he was also worried something bad would happen if Harry stayed at school..."

"—so he sent him to St. Mungo's first?" Fred said.

George shook his head. "What danger could there be at Hogwarts? It's the safest place to... uh..."

Suddenly remembering Voldemort sneaking into the school last year, the usual phrase got stuck in his throat.

"The biggest danger this semester is our maze challenge..."

Fred turned to look at the massive maze in the darkness. "Could Harry encounter the Mysterious One in the maze?"

"Who knows?" Wade said. "Dobby is just one possibility for the culprit; or perhaps, as you guessed, it was a Slytherin student; or some Death Eater hiding their identity, or maybe it was just a simple accident..."

"In any case, rather than sneaking into the Slytherin Common Room, I'd rather first ask if Harry has any clues."

Wade suspected Dobby in his heart, but he didn't dare to state it directly.

Because his butterfly wings had flapped a bit too forcefully, many things in this world had become increasingly different from the original plot, and Wade's "foreknowledge" advantage was gradually diminishing.

Fortunately, Harry quickly gave him a definitive answer, letting Wade know that this world hadn't strayed too far off track yet.

"It was that House-elf, the one named Dobby."

Harry, lying in the hospital bed, said indignantly, "I ran into him in the maze, and I thought he was a school rescue elf. It wasn't until I saw his clothes that I realized it was him..."

"What did he say, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"He said he had warned me, and asked why I still came back to school..."

Harry's face showed the anger and disgust of someone being harassed by a stalker.

"He also said that since that's the case... being severely injured and sent home is better than staying here."

"Did he not say what danger there was at Hogwarts?" Wade asked.

"He seemed to mention something..." Harry recalled, taking a long moment before saying, "He said something about... history repeating itself, and the Chamber of Secrets being opened again... I don't understand what that means—what Chamber of Secrets?"

"As for chambers of secrets, there are far too many of those..." George said, stroking his chin.

"I think I've read something similar in a book..." Hermione frowned. "I'll go check it out right away."

The door to the Hospital Wing opened, and Neville, Theo, and others entered.

"Harry, are you feeling better? We brought you some food from the Great Hall..."

Lockhart, in the next bed, was awakened by the noisy chatter. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and sat up, asking, "Is it morning? Why is it so loud?"

Lockhart opened his eyes and saw Neville walking past his bed.

Their eyes met.

Neville could only say, "Good evening, Professor. Are you feeling better?"

"Much better, Longbottom. You came to visit me, and you even brought me cake? How very kind of you!"

Lockhart said, reaching out to snatch the cake from Neville's arms.

He looked around at the students, saying enthusiastically, "Don't worry, children, don't worry! This was just a small mishap. Your favorite professor—I, Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class—will still be in class on time tomorrow..."

The students looked at each other, then offered awkward but polite smiles.

Fred whispered to his brother, "If we switch his medicine, can we make him stay in the Hospital Wing for a couple more days?"

George squeezed out a reply through gritted teeth, "Do you want Madam Pomfrey to kill you?"

...

Hogwarts was completely enveloped in night.

Wade stood at the window, watching Hagrid, lantern in hand, patrolling near the maze. A Thestral followed behind him, occasionally flapping its bat-like wings.

Some students loitering near the maze were caught by Hagrid and sent back to the castle. It wasn't curfew yet, otherwise they'd have gotten several days of detention.

These students were like children who had just discovered online games at home. Even knowing the danger, they couldn't resist the fun the game offered.

As night deepened, the lights in the castle gradually became sparse, but the edge where the Forbidden Forest met the maze grew lively, with creatures peeking out from time to time.

Hogwarts' architecture had stood for a thousand years, but now it had a giant maze. This was probably a new thing for the creatures of the Forbidden Forest.

Glowing Unicorns, with their young, boldly wandered around the edge of the maze, and were even led by Hagrid to walk inside.

Several Centaurs stood under a large tree, bows in hand, their bodies hidden in the shadows, pointing at the maze and saying something, seemingly debating.

After a while, they left again.

At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, dim lights flickered on and off, signaling creatures from the forest venturing out under the cover of night to watch the commotion.

In the Black Lake, the giant squid surfaced once more, and a few strange-looking Mermaids poked their heads out, their heads resembling rocks in the water.

The daytime bustle belonged to the students, but the night seemed to be the domain of the animals.

Wade wondered if the school professors could convince them to voluntarily take on NPC roles in the maze…

He thought about it and decided it was unlikely.

While there was a magical contract that could prevent animals from harming students, intelligent creatures in the magical world were usually very proud. They feared Wizards yet looked down on humans.

Though Wizards often held similar views themselves.

Wade watched the maze disappear into the night, swallowed by the darkness. He heard rustling sounds from the room behind him, knowing it was the House-elves tidying up.

"Zoe?" Wade turned to look at the elf. "There's something I need your help with, if you don't mind?"

"Of course, Mr. Gray." Zoe bowed. "What can I do for you?"

"A House-elf might sneak into the school soon. Its name is Dobby, and it's dressed in rags," Wade said. "If you see it, could you bring it to me?"

The second update is still tonight.

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