Dumbledore said softly, "Miss Clearwater, could you please wait a moment? I need to get some things sorted out."
Penelope nodded quickly and said nothing more.
Dumbledore looked behind him. "Professor McGonagall, please!"
Professor McGonagall stepped forward, her lips pursed, and her gaze fell on Harry and his friends.
"Headmaster Dumbledore told everyone to go back to the common room. When I went to check, Percy ran up to me and said that someone was missing..."
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, do you know how dangerous that was?"
"The wall collapsed and buried you all inside! Luckily, none of you were injured! But luck can't always be on your side!"
Harry and his friends were called out by Professor McGonagall. They looked up as if startled, then lowered their heads again, displaying perfect teamwork.
The three of them turned their heads hesitantly, glanced at each other, but didn't say a word.
Snape, however, spoke up, "The Boy Who Lived is like this... always feeling like they can do something even more outrageous to show how different they are."
His voice was cold and flat, without any inflection, yet it was full of irony.
Professor McGonagall's voice grew stern. "Explain yourself! Why didn't you go back to the common room, but instead stayed on the first floor?"
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, I saw you in the Great Hall earlier. Why didn't you stay in the common room with Percy?"
Perhaps provoked by Snape, Harry raised his head and said defiantly, "Professor McGonagall, we have a reason for staying!"
Professor McGonagall's tone softened slightly. "Mr. Potter, then please speak."
Upon hearing Professor McGonagall's words, Harry's mind went blank for a moment, and he was speechless.
The reason was simple: Ron had spoken badly about Hermione behind her back, so she was unaware of the troll in the castle.
He and Ron found Hermione, not only informing her of the news, but Ron also formally apologized, and the three of them reconciled and became friends.
It should have been a happy ending, but they encountered a troll on their journey, which led to their later ordeal.
Once this matter was clarified, Ron's badmouthing of Hermione would also be exposed.
For Harry, saying such a thing would be tantamount to betraying his friend Ron.
Regardless, Ron was the first and best friend he made after arriving at Hogwarts, someone for whom he was even willing to give his life...
Harry gently turned his head, looked at Ron, then at Hermione, and decided to change the version of the story—he wanted to make himself the one who spoke ill of her.
Before he could even speak, Hermione had already stepped forward.
Her eyes were red and brimming with tears as she choked out, "Professor McGonagall, it's...it's my fault! I thought I could handle the troll all by myself, so..."
"Miss Granger, I hope you're not lying to me… How could you know about the troll when you weren't in the Great Hall?" Professor McGonagall adjusted her glasses, her expression extremely serious.
"Professor McGonagall, I…" Hermione choked up, her face flushed red with confusion, tears streaming down her face.
"Professor McGonagall! It's all my fault!" Ron, his face flushed, stood in front of Hermione, his eyes tightly shut, and roared, "I said bad things about Hermione!"
"I was planning to drag Harry to apologize to her, but we ran into a troll! Punish me instead! Write a letter to my mother..."
Hermione quickly looked up, hastily wiping away her tears. "Professor McGonagall... when the wall fell, Ron stood in front of me... he... please don't expel him."
Harry hurriedly chimed in, "Professor McGonagall, Ron protected Hermione and me! You can't let him leave Hogwarts!"
Fred and George exclaimed in surprise, "Unfamiliar! So unfamiliar! Ron is so brave to ask Professor McGonagall to write a letter."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione each had different fears.
Hermione resisted being expelled;
Harry didn't want to leave Hogwarts;
Ron didn't want anyone to write to his mother to complain after he got into trouble at Hogwarts.
"Professor McGonagall, since the children are all safe, how about we give them a small punishment as a warning?" Dumbledore said, a satisfied smile on his face.
Professor McGonagall adjusted her glasses and sighed deeply. "I see the radiance of friendship in you all."
"But violating school rules must be punished. Gryffindor loses thirty points! Percy, take them back to rest!"
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance and breathed a long sigh of relief. For them, this was the best possible outcome.
Hermione's eyes were still red, feeling that it was her fault that Gryffindor had lost another thirty points.
"Now it's your turn." Dumbledore took two steps forward. "You'll be facing trolls head-on, won't that be even more thrilling? Why… why didn't you go back to the common room?"
"Headmaster Dumbledore, it was all an accident!" Compared to Harry and the others' panic, Fred seemed much calmer, even managing to wink as he answered.
George remained remarkably calm, responding with perfect understanding, "We were only a few minutes... a few tens of minutes... at most half an hour late to the Great Hall, who knew we'd run into this mess?"
"The Great Hall was completely empty, and we were terrified…we almost burst into tears!" Fred recounted vividly.
George covered his face with his hands, nodding and wailing, "That's right! I actually cried... Waaaaaah..."
Penelope, standing to the side, covered her mouth, trying hard not to laugh out loud.
Vizette held her breath, also trying to suppress her laughter.
"What were you doing before?" Professor McGonagall took a deep breath, seemingly to calm herself. "Why were you with Vizette?"
"To learn magic..." Fred's eyes darted around, and he blurted out, "We'll go to Vizette to learn potions."
"Discuss Potions with first-year students?" Professor McGonagall murmured, her tone skeptical. "At the very least, one should..."
"Vizette is qualified," Snape said abruptly, arms crossed. "Those two are not as good as him, I'm telling you!"
"Uh…" George lowered his hand and nodded repeatedly in agreement with Snape's words. "Although Professor Snape's words hurt me, it is indeed true."
"Alright! The matter is clear now; this was an accident." Dumbledore maintained his smile. "Everyone's tired tonight, so go home and rest."
Fred and George said in unison, "Yes, yes, yes! We're sleepy too! Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Snape... Professor Snape, goodnight!"
Fearing that Dumbledore might change his mind, they quickly shouldered the large green slime vials on their backs and sprinted out of the Great Hall.
Before leaving, they left a message: "Vizette! We will never forget your life-saving grace!"
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