Hearing Charlie's name, Professor McGonagall felt a sudden realization. She glanced subtly at Professors Flitwick and Sprout, then decisively changed the subject.
She couldn't allow the matter of "someone raising a dragon inside the castle" to come to light.
If the issue of illegally keeping a dragon were investigated thoroughly, someone would surely end up in Azkaban, and that was not what Professor McGonagall wanted—whether it was a student present or some other reckless individual.
Detention would be punishment enough. With the most crucial risk eliminated, the remaining issues were inconsequential, and she trusted that her two colleagues would also remain discreetly silent on the matter.
"Regardless of your intentions, wandering the castle at night is always a mistake," Professor McGonagall declared, glossing over the reason for their outing.
Hearing this, Daphne felt her courage and wisdom returning. She boldly said, "But the four founders actually encouraged students to patrol the castle at night. I believe if they were alive, they wouldn't blame us."
Rhys's words echoed in her ears, and though his evidence was little more than whimsical "ancient wizard correspondence," Daphne firmly believed him.
"The era of the four founders had its unique circumstances, but times have changed. The founders' era has passed with them, and the rules should change accordingly," Professor McGonagall said, looking at Daphne.
She had a strong impression of this child—highly talented without the generally annoying traits of most Slytherin pureblood students.
Her opinion of Daphne was even better than of many Gryffindor students.
Quiet, gentle, elegant, with excellent academic performance, respectful and polite to teachers, she had never seen Daphne argue or fight with other students. In her free time, unlike other mischievous young wizards, Daphne spent her time reading in the library.
With so many admirable qualities in one person, Professor McGonagall liked Daphne even though she was a Slytherin.
However, seeing her at the same "crime scene" with Harry and Ron today caused a small crack in McGonagall's favorable perception of her.
To "save" this good girl, Professor McGonagall decided to offer some advice.
"And Miss Greengrass, I advise you not to associate with certain unsavory students. Behave like a proper lady and don't break school rules every day like some students do."
Harry and Ron: "..."
The unsavory wizard Professor McGonagall mentioned must be Rhys Chassala Lint, right? We are students from your own house! How can you call us unsavory?!
Professor McGonagall glared at them: Yes, I am talking about you two! You've picked up none of your brothers' good traits but learned all the bad ones!
In her eyes, Ron's image was merging with Fred and George's instead of Bill and Charlie, well, percie is something....ehm*. To prevent this alarming trend, she decided to impose severe punishment on them.
Of course, Daphne would also be punished.
"I'm really angry," Professor McGonagall said. "Breaking curfew and wandering around the castle, all three of you will serve detention, and that is just part of your punishment. Gryffindor will lose fifty points for each of you, and the same goes for Slytherin."
Professor McGonagall's decision not to dig deeper into their activities made Harry and Ron slightly relieved, but her punishment immediately made them feel like they were drowning.
Harry opened his mouth wide like a fish out of water, taking a few futile breaths, feeling a dizzying sensation: Gryffindor's chance at the House Cup was now in serious jeopardy. How would he face his housemates tomorrow morning?
"Professor—"
"You can't—"
Harry and Ron spoke simultaneously, trying to get Professor McGonagall to retract her decision.
"Are you trying to tell me how to do my job? Enough, Potter, Weasley! Off to bed with you, and you too, Miss Greengrass!" Professor McGonagall waved her hand, sending them back to their dormitories.
On the way back to the common room, Harry and Ron gradually regained their composure. They even felt a bit fortunate that Daphne had been caught too, meaning that while Gryffindor lost a hundred points, Slytherin also lost fifty.
The two houses, originally in first and second place, were now overtaken by Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, but not by too much, leaving hope for a comeback.
Unexpectedly, Ravenclaw emerged as the new frontrunner, becoming the biggest winner in this scenario.
The next day, news spread quickly about Harry, Ron, and Daphne being caught by Professor McGonagall while wandering the castle at night.
Losing a hundred points at once!
For the young Gryffindors, this was a shocking blow, but what comforted them a bit was that Slytherin had also lost a significant amount of points. In their distress, just thinking about the state of Slytherin made them feel a lot better—they had only dropped from second to fourth place, while Slytherin had fallen from first to third, with the potential to lose the House Cup they had held for seven consecutive years.
With this perspective, it didn't seem so bad after all. Fred and George even came up with a theory of "it's not a loss" to alleviate the public pressure on Harry and Ron.
Surprisingly, the idea of "bringing Slytherin down with us" resonated with many Gryffindor students, and given Harry and Ron's generally good relationships, the public opinion about them started to improve.
In contrast, Daphne's situation was much worse. Gryffindors could console themselves with the notion of dragging Slytherin down, but there was no such consolation for Slytherin.
Daphne had truly brought them a lot of trouble.
In this case, even her prestigious background was of no use. The students of Slytherin suddenly didn't want to talk to Daphne, and some girls would even make sarcastic remarks when they encountered her.
Seeing Daphne looking so haggard, Rhys took out a piece of chocolate, broke it, and handed it to her.
"Eat this, it'll make you feel a bit better."
"No, thanks..."
Rhys didn't withdraw his hand, so Daphne reluctantly took the chocolate and began to eat it in small bites.
To her surprise, as the chocolate melted into sweet syrup, some of the gloom in her heart began to lift.
"Don't take these things too seriously. The House Cup and the like are insignificant. Slytherin would also agree with me if he was here." After a little thought, Rhys prepared a draft to comfort Daphne.
"I have a story here, do you want to hear it?"
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Hearing that Rhys was about to tell a story, Daphne perked up immediately. She couldn't help but tease, "Is it one of those stories mentioned in the old letters?"
"Not at all," Rhys said, keeping a straight face. "It's a tale I heard from a little snake yesterday—the snake told me it's a story passed down through its family for generations." Without waiting for Daphne to say anything else, he began his tale.
"Long, long ago, even before Hogwarts was established, in the western wilderness of the British Isles, there was a swamp. In that swamp, there was a small village made up of a few wizarding families..."
Such an ancient story, rarely told even by her father, immediately captured Daphne's attention. She listened intently, savoring the chocolate as she focused on Rhys's words.
~Life in the swamp was difficult, and to make matters worse, there was an evil dragon deep in the swamp.
A group of goblins served the dragon willingly, acting as its minions, causing trouble and committing misdeeds under its banner.
The villagers both hated and feared the dragon and its goblin minions, but they were powerless against them.
As the wizarding families grew in number, the goblins feared that one day they might unite, kill the dragon, and settle accounts with them for their complicity.
So the goblins came up with a sinister plan and suggested it to the dragon—they proposed that the village should offer a person to the dragon each year as a sacrifice.
If they failed to comply, the dragon would fly over the village, drying up their fish ponds with its fiery breath and slaughtering their livestock with its sharp claws.
The goblins believed this would keep the wizard population in check, ensuring they remained under their oppressive control.
But the wizards had their own methods.
They decided to capture passing travelers and offer them as sacrifices to the dragon.
One day, a sturdy young man with red hair passed by the swamp, just as the time for the annual sacrifice approached.
The villagers welcomed him warmly, got him drunk, and locked him in the village chief's cellar. He was destined to become the dragon's lunch, but his eloquence during the feast had impressed the chief's son.
Believing such a person shouldn't meet such a grim fate, the chief's son seized the opportunity while delivering food and freed the red-haired youth.~
Daphney: "Then what!?"
~His actions were discovered, and the angry villagers wrapped him in a cowhide sack and delivered him to the dragon's lair—he would take the place of the red-haired youth as the sacrifice.
The goblins carried him, sack and all, to the dragon. Just as the dragon was about to devour him, a spell hit the dragon's right eye with precision, blinding it. It was the red-haired youth who had been released; he had secretly followed and launched a surprise attack on the unsuspecting dragon.
While the dragon roared and thrashed in pain, the youth cut himself out of the sack and, using a prepared dagger, blinded the dragon's other eye.
The dragon went berserk, turning its entire lair into an inferno, burning all the goblins to a crisp. However, the two youths managed to escape.
After getting out alive, they regrouped and decided to return to the lair to finish off the dragon. After much struggle, they finally killed the blinded dragon in its den.
After slaying the dragon, the two boys did not return to the village. Instead, they set out on further adventures together.~
"The red-haired youth in the story was named Godric Gryffindor, and the village chief's son was Salazar Slytherin."
Rhys finished his story, and Daphne's eyes widened, her mind abuzz with wonder.
"Do what you believe is right, boldly and without hesitation. If Slytherin hadn't released Gryffindor from the cellar that night, he might have spent his entire life in that small village, living in obscurity and, like most ordinary wizards of the Middle Ages, regretting his unremarkable existence for the rest of his days."
Daphne nodded, feeling the clouds of gloom lift from her heart.
A few days later, Daphne's punishment for detention was announced. During breakfast, she, Harry, and Ron each received identical notes instructing them to meet in the entrance hall at eleven o'clock that night, where the caretaker Filch would escort them to their detention location.
Daphne frowned; she was not looking forward to this, but there was no way around it. If you make a mistake and get caught, you have to face the consequences.
At eleven that night, Daphne arrived at the entrance hall, where Filch was already waiting. A few minutes later, Harry and Ron joined her.
As the three young wizards gathered before him, Filch's face twisted into a sinister smile—this was his favorite moment.
No matter their background or family, they all had to bow their heads and accept their punishment before him. Punishing these little ones brought him a deep, soulful pleasure.
Filch lit a lamp and motioned for the three to follow. However, when he brought them to their destination, both Harry and Ron's faces lit up with genuine smiles: Hagrid was in charge of their detention tonight!
This felt like a last-minute reprieve, and the trio's spirits were lifted.
Filch seemed to notice their shift in mood, so he warned them a few more times and even tried to berate Hagrid, but Hagrid quickly retorted, "I'm in charge here."
Filch left sullenly.
Looking at the three small figures standing before him, Hagrid's face showed a hint of guilt.
"Sorry, I got you into this mess," he said, scratching his head awkwardly. They were in this situation because of him, and Hagrid couldn't help but feel remorseful.
However, even though Hagrid was in charge of their detention, Daphne, Harry, and Ron's punishment would not be lessened in the slightest. There was a certain dark humor in this, as Professor McGonagall had specifically chosen Hagrid to enforce the punishment for the trio...
After briefly apologizing, Hagrid began explaining the background of their detention.
Due to being preoccupied with Norberta, Hagrid had neglected his patrols of the Forbidden Forest, and as a result, something terrible had happened: he discovered a dead unicorn in the forest.
A unicorn, such a rare and magical creature, had been hunted and killed by an unknown entity in the Forbidden Forest.
This was a significant incident, and after sending Norberta away, Hagrid couldn't afford to be negligent any longer.
He immediately began searching the Forbidden Forest for the culprit responsible for killing the unicorn. Though he didn't find the culprit, he did discover another unicorn with signs of injury.
Their detention task was to enter the Forbidden Forest, find the injured unicorn, and help it.
This was undoubtedly a challenging detention. The Forbidden Forest was inherently dangerous, and now there was a creature within it preying on unicorns, making the mission even more perilous.
Professor McGonagall's intention was clear: the trio liked wandering around at night, so she was giving them a chance to explore—this time in the Forbidden Forest. She hoped this detention would cure them of their habit of nocturnal wandering.
After explaining the task, Hagrid led the three young kids into the Forbidden Forest.
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