章 580: Chapter 580 Influence of the Incident

Even though three days have passed since that night when an army of Inferi roamed around the school grounds, Hogwarts students are still talking about the events of that night with great relish.

Those students who had first-hand knowledge, those who cleared out the Inferius, or were involved in supporting Hogsmeade village are the most sought after, and wherever they go they are followed by gangs of students asking for specific information, the common room, the stairways, the classrooms, the library ... everywhere you can find someone recounting what they had witnessed.

"We set off from the school, clearing hundreds of Inferi and a dozen dementors along the way, and when we descended in the Hogsmeade village from the sky, the looks we saw on those people's faces were simply fabulous! You guys would have loved to witness that." One of the seniors said.

" Awesome." Someone in the crowd said with admiration.

"How did you catch the dementors?" Another student snapped pointedly, "I remember the Patronus could only banish them, no?"

"With a cage." To which the man replied in a high-pitched voice, seemingly pleased that someone had asked that question, "It's a portable device that looks like a Nose-Biting Teacup, but it's certainly not the same, once you drive the dementors in they can't get out ..."

"According to the Auror named Tonks, this is something that Professor Hap had researched." He whispered in a mysterious tone.

A chorus of gasps sounded from the crowd.

"Well, make a way, please. I have to go find my mate and ask if the school has issued any task that involve searching the Forbidden Forest." The student waved his hand in a feigned manner, " As you know, there is a possibility, that a few werewolves are hiding there ..."

The people gathered around watched him leave with reverence.

Various variety of stories broke out one after another, and someone meticulously described the broken hill on the outskirts of Hogsmeade, "There were many cauldron-sized boulders tumbling down when we arrived, and the dust was too heavy to get a full view."

The members of the Magic Painting Club had made plans with each other to visit the site over the Hogsmeade weekend on Valentine's Day, to work together and create a piece of art. A number of students were tempted when they heard that they were looking for investment everywhere and for only seven sickles they could leave their name on that huge masterpiece.

There was also the discreet revelation about a dozen bodies dragged out of the Hog's Head Inn, "which is now closed, something tragic may have happened." Those words were said with a humorous tone

"All I know is that Professor Moody had shoved a dozen dark wizards into the dungeon of the castle, although they were relocated the same night." One of the Slytherin students said, "The place where the dark wizards were kept is close to our common room and quite a few people saw it."

"Don't you guys live in the dungeon?" Someone asked in confusion.

"That's different," the Slytherin student retorted irritably, "Our common room only looks like a dungeon!"

"Gee, after all these years you haven't even thought of adding some decorations?"

"We installed magic lamps ..."

"Oh."

...

Currently, it is breakfast time and Felix is having breakfast in the great hall. He flipped through the day's newspaper; the front page had a shot of Ms. Bones speaking, but in fact, this particular event had happened two days ago, the day after the attack, and the photo had probably been chosen to boost sales more than anything else.

He quickly skimmed over the contents at the top, which read

"A spokesman for Wizengamot stated that the investigations had already begun, and the perpetrators captured included a significant number of foreign wizards, which would possibly bring in observers from the International Confederation of Wizards during trials. In addition, a number of countries have sent official letters from their ministries of magic asking if they can extradite their own wizards, and after a stern refusal from Ms. Bones, they have applied to be involved in the trial process ... Although no specific trial date has been set, we at least know where the main source of forces behind the mass attack planned by the You-Know-Who came from ..."

The second page described how they will respond to the danger of exposure, "In the eyes of the Muggles this will be an underground gas pipe leak."

The third page mentioned that the Sword Castle had been restored to its original state and included a photograph on which Felix spotted Percy looking around, straightening his tie in a dignified manner when someone noticed him.

A mid-page article between the fourth and fifth pages described "Blast-Ended Skrewt Farm is now started to operate", Felix wondered whether that was an advertisement.

The eighth page featured the news showing that the Anti-Spell product line had become the official equipment of the Ministry of Magic.

On the ninth page, a member of the Shafiq family cuts the ribbon for a shop. ...

Felix put the paper down and quickly finished his plate of food, and walked towards the entrance hall when he spotted the Weasley twins leading the members of the 'Swear to Defend School Rules' club they had formed out of the castle.

"Remember, this operation may be dangerous, but we, the members of the 'Swear to Defend School Rules' club will not be afraid." Fred said loudly.

"What are we going to do?" An underclassman asked warily.

"Didn't we mention that?" Fred looked over at George, who shrugged at him. "Well, we're going to Black Lake. You know, the Inferius aren't afraid of water, so there might be a slippery bunch hiding at the bottom and taking a leisurely stroll as we speak."

"But I've heard," the student who asked the question swallowed, "that the professors have long ago teamed up with the student body, the magic rune club, the frontline lookout club, and volunteers to check all parts of the school several times ... " His voice grew lower and lower as the twins stared straight at him.

"You know, you remind me of our little brother Ron."

The lower grade student's eyes lit up as he spoke excitedly, "You mean Ron Weasley? Harry Potter's right-hand man? Oh, what an honour ..."

Fred and George looked at each other, a little dumbfounded.

"Is he that famous now?" George asked, "We're not in someone's dream, are we? I mean, could this be a side effect of the Patented Daydream Charm box?"

"No way," Fred said with a depressed tone, "I would have rejected that dream as unsellable in the first place ..."

Meanwhile, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked down the stone steps, intending to visit Hagrid.

"Is Mafalda okay? What did Madam Pomfrey say?" Harry asked.

"Nothing serious," Hermione said, "she was hit by a Confundus Charm and a Stunning Spell, she'll be fine after two days of rest."

"Except for a bald spot on her head, she was too embarrassed to come out and see anyone," Ron smiled and gloated a little, "Umbridge hit her pretty hard. You need to wait a few more days to see her."

Outside the castle, the snow melted away. A layer of tender sprouts poked out of the lawn, and in a short while, it would completely cover the grey mud. They crossed the vegetable patch and saw Muggle Professor Burbage coming out of a greenhouse from a distance, wearing an oversized hat, a dirty apron tied around her waist that smeared with grey mud.

At first glance, Harry thought that Professor Sprout had lost weight. But he would only think like that in his mind, and he would never say that out loud in front of a Hufflepuff student.

A dozen students stood near Hagrid's hut, chattering and giggling, with a mixture of excitement and fear on their faces. Curious, the trio went around to the back of the hut and found Hagrid training Grawp on how to carry things.

"Grawp - want - food!" The giant yelled.

"You'll get it when you're done carrying it." Hagrid shouted, pointing to a pile of rocks on the ground and a huge pumpkin under his other arm. "Hi, guys!" When he spotted Harry, Ron, and Hermione, he greeted them enthusiastically, "I'm teaching him to do odd jobs, starting with the basics, you see-"

"Look out! Hagrid!" Hermione suddenly shouted.

Hagrid jerked his head back and was sent tumbling to the ground with a punch, and Harry felt the ground tremble. Luckily, Grawp didn't continue to attack; he withdrew his dirty fist and took the pumpkin out of Hagrid's arms as if he is holding a large apple, and bit it down splashing the juice everywhere.

The little wizards who had gathered around had long ago run away squealing, and Harry reckoned they were scared shitless.

Hagrid sat up on the ground and held his nose, "Oh, well, still the same thing. I shouldn't have walked around with food in front of him."

The trio looked at each other and Harry gathered the courage to ask, "Hagrid, are you going to let little Grawp move in with you?"

"I did thought of that, but it doesn't look like it's going to work now, so I'm going to build a house in the Forbidden Forest."

" Would the Centaurs be okay with that?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Who cares about those mules!" Hagrid said under his breath, blood seeping out of his nostrils. "Take it easy, Hagrid!" Ron shouted. Hagrid waved his other hand, "It's not like they own the Forbidden Forest, anyone can live there if they want!" And then he muttered, "I'll just ask them superfluously, a bunch of old cranks..."

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