Chapter 43: Quidditch and the Second Attack
Chapter 43: Quidditch and the Second Attack
The following week flew by, with everyone bustling about in a whirlwind of activity.
Felix Harp had to invest more energy into the fifth and seventh years, as this year was pivotal for the young wizards' futures. Of course, he also ardently hoped for more people to engage in magical linguistic studies—not the archaic translations, but the kind of research he pursued.
He also had to tend to the mischievous network of young wizards and imbue the willow branches with magic for his first magical linguistic creation, which was crucial to his success.
And the art of Apparition, that skill couldn't be neglected either.
Numerous forbidden books in the library awaited his selection and perusal...
Others were equally busy. Harry was engrossed in Quidditch training. As the first match drew near, the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team became increasingly anxious, using every available evening after classes for extra practice.
In addition to her daily practice of magical linguistics and researching the Chamber of Secrets' creature, Hermione also managed to find time to procure a signature from a certain professor.
She successfully obtained a signature from Professor Lockhart, who didn't even bother to read the content of the note, signing his name with an extravagant flourish.
"You brilliantly caught that last leprechaun, you're quite the sharp thinker…" The memory of her own words made Hermione blush slightly.
Fortunately, the Polyjuice Potion project was progressing smoothly.
"It should be ready in about a month, around Christmas," Hermione exclaimed cheerfully.
Harry and Ron sat gloomily on the bathroom floor, the environment here was less than ideal.
In the days that followed, the school remained calm, devoid of new attacks and sudden appearances of any unknown monsters turning young wizards into stone.
The young wizards lost interest in the thousand-year-old legends and mysteries, even suspecting the previous incident to be a rather poor prank, especially since the victim was Filch's cat, the "accomplice" of the least popular castle caretaker.
Some young wizards even swore they had seen a sneaky shadow lurking on the third floor right before the incident, holding a piece of cake laced with petrifying potion!
These rumors spread faster than the truth, so within a week, everyone was discussing various petrification potions that could achieve similar effects. Dumbledore was at a loss, having to wait for the Mandrake Restorative Draught to mature for a solution.
However, the professors at Hogwarts knew the truth of the matter. They spent a week searching the entire castle, but to no avail. Consequently, they had to instruct the prefects to take on the responsibility and handle the public relations.
During a Gryffindor gathering, Percy cited the example of his own brother wandering near the abandoned girls' bathroom to illustrate the imprudence and danger of such behavior.
The scene had been quite heated, and Ron had nearly come to blows with his brother.
"You shameless power-seeker, caring only about your authority! I'm your brother! Your brother! You're nothing but a power-hungry creature!" Ron's ears turned crimson as he shouted angrily.
"I'm a Gryffindor prefect! I have to consider my badge on my chest, do you understand, you imbecile?" Percy's ears were equally red as he shouted back.
"And you went there too! You went to the girls' bathroom too!"
"I'm fulfilling my duties as a prefect! Gryffindor loses ten points!"
Overall, Hogwarts remained harmonious and friendly.
This tranquility persisted until the first Quidditch match of the school year, which took place on a Saturday.
This Quidditch match garnered considerable attention. First, the teams playing were Gryffindor and Slytherin, two old rivals. Secondly, Slytherin shamelessly received outside assistance, with their entire team riding the state-of-the-art Nimbus 2001 brooms.
The other two teams were also eager to witness the power of the Nimbus 2001 during the match.
Felix Harp wasn't there; he stood outside the tower, casting a distant glance.
He wasn't interested in Quidditch matches, and it had nothing to do with his failing the flying class in his first year; the two were unrelated.
He simply preferred quiet over noise and disliked overly bustling places.
However, Felix still wanted to critique Hogwarts' course layout. Why was flying class only in the first year? It robbed him of any chance to earn points.
He could fly quite adeptly now, thank you very much!
That afternoon, he heard a major piece of news: Harry Potter had been injured on the pitch, his arm shattered into fragments.
Thanks to Professor Lockhart's unwavering bravery, who used powerful magic to extract the broken bone fragments from Harry's arm, Gryffindor's prodigious Seeker's professional Quidditch career was salvaged.
"This is all nonsense!"
In the evening, Hermione exclaimed indignantly. This incident completely shattered her fan goggles, and she would forever hold a grudge against Lockhart.
The truth was, Harry had merely suffered a simple arm fracture, something that a simple Healing Charm could have fixed. However, thanks to Lockhart's "helpful intervention," he had to stay in the hospital wing, taking Skele-Gro to regrow his bones.
The idea of Skele-Gro's sewer-like taste made Felix shudder involuntarily.
That evening, after seeing off a young witch, Felix prepared to watch a movie to relax. Dumbledore's phoenix guardian flew in through the window.
The guardian appeared before him, Dumbledore's serious voice echoing in the air.
"Felix, quickly come to the professors' lounge. There's an urgent matter."
When Felix rushed to the lounge, a number of professors had already gathered there, looking visibly rushed. Some of them were even in their pajamas.
Dumbledore sat solemnly at the front of the room, half-lidded eyes focused. Professor McGonagall was nervously wringing her hands.
"What's happened?" Felix moved closer to Snape and asked in a hushed voice.
Snape glanced at him briefly before whispering, "Another attack has occurred, the second attack."
Felix's expression grew serious.
"Who's responsible?"
"Colin Creevey, that fanatic admirer of Potter."
Felix had no recollection of him. Professor McGonagall's expression turned sorrowful as she said, "He's a first-year student this year, always idolizing Harry... Yes, he always carried around a camera, and I remember him well... Heard he's already sent home three albums. Oh dear!"
Felix picked up the damaged camera from the table, an intense burnt smell hitting him.
After about ten more minutes, a cheerful, joyful voice pushed the door open, "Did I miss anything?"
Dressed in golden pajamas, Lockhart walked into the room and was slightly surprised by the crowd, "So many people!" But his next statement earned him furious glares from the professors. He said, "Are we having a pajama party, everyone?"
"I'm an expert in this area, with extensive experience!" Lockhart winked and flashed his signature toothy grin.
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