"My God... this is..."
Harry muttered to himself as he walked toward the wall.
A stone cat's tail hung from the railing, suspended in mid-air.
"Is it Filch's cat... Mrs. Norris?"
"Harry!" Ron glanced nervously at Argus across from him.
They grabbed Harry and tried to run!
"Run! Harry, he killed Mrs. Norris! We've discovered his plot, and he'll definitely kill us to silence us!"
Argus's forehead was covered with black lines.
You're seriously out of your mind! We arrived one after the other; I don't believe you didn't see us! You can even shift the blame onto me? How much do you hate Slytherin?
Harry hesitated for a moment, then pulled Ron aside and shook his head.
Just as he was about to say something, a large group of Gryffindor members walked in from around the corner behind Argus.
Immediately afterwards, a large group of Slytherins appeared behind Harry and Ron!
Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw followed closely behind.
"Let's go, why did you stop?"
Many people were still chatting and laughing when they suddenly noticed that the group had stopped ahead. They had just started to ask what was going on when they realized the group had stopped.
The sound stopped abruptly the moment they looked up.
"The door to the secret chamber has been opened!"
"Enemies of the Heir, beware!"
Someone whispered the words on the wall, causing many people to shiver.
"Blood...it's blood!"
"Who did this! Who would dare to do such a bloody thing at Hogwarts!"
All eyes turned to the three people—Argus, who had arrived earlier.
Their eyes were filled with suspicion, and... fear!
Feeling guilty under the intense gaze, Ron hurriedly explained, "It wasn't me! It was already like this when I arrived!"
"Look, it's so high up, I can't reach it at all, how could I possibly write anything there!"
The moment he saw Argus, it was as if he had found a lifeline. He hurriedly pointed at Argus and shouted, "It's him!"
"When Harry and I arrived, we saw him all alone here!"
"Only the evil Slytherins could do something so horrific!"
These words drew fury from countless Slytherins.
What you think in your heart and what you say out loud are two different things!
Among the Hogwarts students, there were quite a few who thought that all the Slytherins were dark wizards, but few dared to speak as recklessly as Ron!
Ron's words instantly drew everyone's attention to Argus.
Compared to Ron and Harry, Argus, being powerful and a pure-blood, was naturally more likely to be suspected.
Even some Slytherins' expressions changed several times.
"It wasn't me; I arrived at roughly the same time as Harry and the others."
Argus spoke calmly, showing no sign of guilt.
Ron immediately retorted, "You're lying, it's clearly..."
"What are you doing here? Get out of the way!"
Just then, Filch's impatient voice rang out from behind the Gryffindors.
He reached out and pushed the crowd apart from the middle.
Upon seeing the person in the center of the scene, his expression instantly became exceptionally respectful.
"Mr. Grindelwald? I apologize for my rudeness just now."
The change in expression left many young wizards speechless, almost thinking they were dreaming.
Filch, fearing that Argus would misunderstand, quickly continued to explain.
"I don't usually do this, but Mrs. Norris is nowhere to be found today, so…"
Before he could finish speaking, Filch's eyes widened in surprise.
Trembling, he walked toward Mrs. Norris, who had turned to stone not far away.
"Mrs. Norris...how could this be..."
"How could it have turned out like this?"
It must be you!
Filch abruptly changed the subject, glaring angrily at Harry and Ron, who looked on in stunned anticipation.
"Potter! Weasley! You two scoundrels must have killed my cat!"
I'm going to kill you!
Ron and Harry were stunned.
How did things get so complicated that the blame came back to bite us while we were just enjoying the gossip?
So all the good things go to Argus, but when something goes wrong, he thinks of us? What did we do to deserve this?!
I'm going to kill you all!
Filch was radiating a suffocating rage.
He grabbed Harry and Ron by the collar.
One in each hand!
The two struggled desperately, repeatedly pounding on Filch's arm with their hands.
"It wasn't us; Mrs. Norris was already like this when we arrived!"
"It was that evil Slytherin! He did all of this!"
Filch turned to look at Argus, his eyes filled with even more anger!
"You dare to frame Mr. Grindelwald!"
Harry and Ron: ? ? ?
No, could your differential treatment be any more blatant? Argus doesn't even need to explain; just say he was framed. We've been talking for ages, and you're not even listening! Is there no law left? Is there no law left?!
Filch didn't care about any of that.
His status as a Squib already subjected him to discrimination, and over the years, Mrs. Norris had been his only source of emotional support.
Now that Mrs. Norris was in trouble, how could he hold back!
The hands gripping their collars tightened even more.
Harry seemed to be having trouble breathing.
"You two wicked devils, just you wait! I'm going to make you taste the torture instruments in my office one by one!"
"Come here!"
He then proceeded to drag Harry and his companion to his office.
"Filch, don't be impulsive!"
Dumbledore arrived late, accompanied by McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and the dubious Gilderoy Lockhart.
Upon seeing the writing on the wall, his expression turned serious.
"Everyone, return to your dormitories immediately! Do not come out!"
"Except for... the three of you."
Dumbledore pointed to Harry, Ron, and Argus.
"Prefect Gemma Farley!"
"Take the Slytherin students back first."
Argus knew he was going to be investigated, so he asked the Slytherin prefect, who was also the previous head boy, to make arrangements for the Slytherin students.
"Argus, you…"
"Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Gemma Farley was about to say something when he was interrupted by Argus.
Seeing that Filch showed no sign of letting go, Dumbledore reassured him, "Let them go first, Filch."
"Mrs. Norris is not dead, she has just been petrified."
"Ah, I knew it! What a pity I wasn't there!" Lockhart didn't miss any opportunity to show off in front of everyone.
He immediately stepped forward and boasted.
"I just happen to know how to break the curse to save her..."
Before he could finish speaking, he noticed a group of people, including Dumbledore, all staring at him with strange expressions.
Especially Snape, whose eyes were practically overflowing with disgust!
Lockhart gave an awkward smile and quietly stepped aside.
But Dumbledore's words instantly made the atmosphere tense.
"Mr. Grindelwald, can you explain why you're here?"
…
100 Powerstones = 1 Bonus Chapter Tomorrow!
Help us reach the goal!
Too slow? We upload 10 Chapters/Day on P@treon!
The book is likely Already Finished there. Don't wait for daily updates—read the complete story + R-18 scenes right now!
[email protected]/Ren Saga