The gloom that lasted for many days finally dissipated on the first day of the new year. The rising sun shone on the white playground, and the reflected light covered Hogwarts Castle with a layer of pale golden gauze.
After preparing the recovery potion that Hermione must take early, Madam Pomfrey went downstairs to have breakfast in the auditorium. In the school hospital, only Harry and Ron accompanied the dejected Hermione. After listening to Hermione's narration, After last night's encounter, their expressions were far from happy.
"Professor Snape must know!"
Hermione covered her furry face with her hands, looking frustrated,
"Professor Snape called out my name before the door opened... This shouldn't be the case. No one knows my condition except Madam Pomfrey. Professor Snape is the master of potions. He must know how to mix Polyjuice." If the agent is used to transform animals, it means that he knows that I stole the materials from his storage room."
Harry stared at the towering clubs on the playground in a daze. Today, he and Ron originally planned to go to the playground to play Quidditch together after visiting Hermione, but now it seems that this plan will undoubtedly be cancelled. .
Moreover, since the Christmas holidays, the good mood brought about by the fact that no one in the castle secretly talked about his Parseltongue or secretly accused him of being the heir of Slytherin was also quickly fading. All the reasons stemmed from the fact that Hermione had just The young wizard named Amosta Blaine told him.
"Amosta Blaine, calls himself an investigator."
Harry asked worriedly, "Hermione, what do you think Blaine wants to investigate when he enters Hogwarts?"
"No need to ask, Harry, is there anything else worth investigating in the school now?"
Harry and Ron didn't seem to worry about being expelled because of this matter, which made the little witch who was in a bad mood even more irritable.
Harry felt his stomach, which was warm from the white rice porridge he drank in the morning, twitching due to an inexplicable chill. He had never heard of this name, and besides Mr. Weasley, he had never fought with any wizard with an official title. However, this did not prevent him from feeling heavy pressure after hearing the name 'Investigator'.
Because of his Parseltongue, he is already the object of suspicion among the young wizards. If everyone knows in the second half of the semester that there is an investigator in the school, how much criticism will he have to bear?
Harry seemed to be able to see a triumphant expression on Malfoy's disgusting face. Perhaps, he would be the first to report him to the Inquisitor.
"Why would the Ministry of Magic suddenly send an investigator into the school...I mean, there is Headmaster Dumbledore in the school, and he never mentioned it to me."
Speaking of this, Harry suddenly remembered the night when Justin was attacked. He and Principal Dumbledore had a conversation in his office. At that time, for various reasons, especially fear of Principal Dumbledore He would mistakenly think that he had some kind of relationship with the founder of Slytherin House, so he did not confess Dobby's warning and the terrifying sound that would appear before each attack.
Could it be that Principal Dumbledore was dissatisfied with his concealment, so he agreed to let the Ministry of Magic take over?
So will the Ministry of Magic try to save trouble and follow the rumors in the school and send him directly to the wizarding prison that Malfoy mentioned?
"Of course, Harry, it must be Snape's old bat who is behind it!"
Ron, holding half a potato pie in his hand, turned up his freckled nose and swore firmly,
"Think about it, Harry. This Brian has a close relationship with Snape. Maybe he is a graduate of Slytherin House."
Ron started chewing his hash browns again and analyzed in a decent manner,
"Who wants to drive you out of this school the most? Without a doubt, it's Snape. I bet, Harry, that this inquisitor was hired by Snape to do this..."
"Thank you, Ron. I feel much better after listening to your analysis."
Harry sat on the edge of the bed and said listlessly.
"Stop talking nonsense, Ron."
No matter what the reason was, since Snape didn't expose him directly last night, it seemed to mean that he would not be kicked out of the school for stealing the professor's finances. After thinking about this, Hermione became slightly less nervous. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at Ron menacingly,
"Even the Minister of Magic has no right to expel a Hogwarts student at will, unless Principal Dumbledore nods. But Harry, Principal Dumbledore will not expel you, right?"
If it had been before that conversation, Harry might have been able to give a positive answer. He had always sensed that the old man with silver beard and hair treated him a little differently from the other little wizards, even though they had few direct conversations.
"Maybe, Hermione,"
Harry replied hesitantly, "At least, Dumbledore told Hagrid that he did not think that I attacked Colin and the others. He could not agree to expel me just because I concealed something from him."
While Harry was worrying about gains and losses, Ron, who was refuted by Hermione, still muttered his views in a low voice. Suddenly, he frowned and looked at the pure white ceiling, making a recalling expression,
"Amosta Brian..., I wonder where I've heard this name before?"
This low murmur immediately awakened Harry,
"Ron, since this Brian claims to be an investigator, he must be a colleague of Mr. Weasley or something. Maybe, their relationship is not bad, maybe... you can write me a letter and ask, I am Say, explain in advance, before he finds me--"
Ron's parents, the Weasleys, are Harry's favorite wizards, and they are also very friendly to him. The week he spent with the Weasleys last year was the most wonderful summer vacation in so many years. If Mr. Weasley knew Amosta Brian, he would not refuse to help him defend himself.
The golden sunshine gradually climbed onto the golf clubs on the playground, and the breeze lingering on the spacious grassland was mixed with a bit of spring.
"Of course no problem, Harry, I can write..."
Ron responded hesitantly, still trying to remember where he had heard the name.
"Fred and George may have heard of it. As for Prefect Percy, oh, we'd better not look for him. For the sake of his career, he might be more willing to betray us than Malfoy!"
"That's your brother, Ron"
Hermione lifted the quilt, sat on the edge of the bed and put on her boots.
"You shouldn't say that about him."
Among the trio, Hermione had the highest opinion of Ron's brother, Percy Weasley. In private, she had asked Percy for advice on difficult problems many times, and Percy did use his rich knowledge to help Hermione. Many problems were solved.
"Before he became a prefect and determined to be the president of the Boys' Student Union, we were indeed brothers, but it's hard to tell now."
Ron's ears turned red and he said angrily, "I'll never forget the five points he gave me in front of Myrtle's bathroom!"
"Percy is a prefect and it's his job to maintain discipline, Ron."
Although she was present when Percy deducted points from Ron, she didn't think there was anything wrong with Percy's behavior.
Hermione stood up and stomped on her boots, then turned up the collar of her wizard robe to cover the black hair on her cheeks as much as possible.
"Go get your invisibility cloak, Harry. Do you want me to walk out of the campus hospital looking like this?"
"Oh, going out?"
Harry, who was in a daze, suddenly came to his senses.
"Are you going to play Quidditch with us, Hermione?"
"When exactly are you going to get Quidditch out of your head, Harry?"
Hermione looked defeated;
"Of course we are going to investigate Mr. Blaine. We have to find out his origins first, don't we?"
