The Silent Witch of Hogwarts

Chapter 146 Gryffindor Common Room

Chapter 146 Gryffindor Common Room

So what should we do now?

Looking at Lockhart who had already disappeared, Loila, hidden behind her mask, pursed her lips, unsure of what to do—should she go after Mr. Lockhart?

But—she glanced at the three students who had just scrambled to their feet—she had overheard Mr. Weasley's words, and if she really went after them—

Perhaps the rumor wasn't just about Mr. Lockhart pursuing her —

Loila shuddered at the thought of the possible consequences.

Let's deal with them first—or rather, let's deal with them first.

"Professor Hamilton—" Hermione spoke first among the three, glancing cautiously at Loila holding the books in her hands, "We were just in the library—reading and didn't notice the time—"

"Could you please not deduct points from our score?"

Points deducted?

Loila paused, stunned. Deducting points for what? Ah—she remembered a scene from Professor Snape's memories; Hogwarts professors seemed to be able to add or remove points based on the house's deductions—

I don't think I've ever done this since the start of the semester —

"Yes, Professor Hamilton!" Ron quickly added, "We just didn't pay attention to the time."

Harry, who was next to him, nodded at the same time.

It seems they don't like getting points deducted—Roy, on the other hand, never had that idea in the first place—well, let's just leave it at that then—

So Loila thought for a moment and nodded slightly, which was considered as tacit approval of their idea.

But—what should we do now?

I shouldn't be taking them back to their dorms—but—this is so strange—even though Loila is also going to the Gryffindor common room—she still prefers to go by herself rather than with the others.

Seeing Professor Hamilton deep in thought, the three of them hesitated to say anything more.

Thus, the awkward silence shifted from between Loila and Lockhart to between her and the three students.

"Professor Hamilton?" After a long silence, Harry finally spoke up, seemingly unable to hold back any longer. "Can we—can we go back to the common room?"

"Hmm—" Loila finally snapped out of her daze; her thoughts had drifted far away—even to the magic circle—

I guess I'm hopeless at overthinking — wait, did they say they wanted to go back to the lounge?

You actually offered to go back to the lounge yourself—you're so kind to the professor.

So Loila quickly nodded gently.

Upon seeing Professor Hamilton, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief, especially Harry—he had thought Professor Hamilton would punish them with detention.

That's great!

So he quickly thanked them and left with Hermione and Ron.

He only breathed a sigh of relief after Professor Hamilton's figure disappeared down the corridor.

For some reason—maybe because of what Dobby had said before—Professor Hamilton's silence did make Harry feel a little oppressed.

"We didn't really interrupt Professor Hamilton and Lockhart's date, did we?" Ron suddenly spoke up when things were getting a bit somber, and his words made Hermione purse her lips again.

"How could that be?" she said. "Didn't you see how far apart they were?"

"That seems to be the case," Ron said after thinking for a few seconds. "Or maybe they're going to break up?"

"Then it's not considered disturbing, is it?" Harry interjected. "But to be honest, I don't sense that Professor Hamilton has anything going for Lockhart—"

"Of course not." Hermione seemed to have completely become a follower of Professor Hamilton, probably because she had just joined the Pinecone Party.

She patted her chest and said, "Lockhart is clearly harassing Professor Hamilton one-sidedly!"

"You were a Lockhart fan before!" Harry and Ron exchanged a glance and burst out laughing at the same time.

It was obvious that they both knew they were thinking the same thing.

"But what's Professor Hamilton doing so late?" Ron asked casually as he stepped down the corridor. "Is he conducting some kind of dark magic experiment?"

"She's the person I look most like a dark wizard."

"Probably not?" Hermione thought for a moment and said, "Maybe it's just a simple night patrol?"

"Is that so? — How come we've never met before?" Ron asked with a shrug. "This is the first time we've met."

"Harry, did you see Professor Hamilton when you came out using the Invisibility Cloak?"

"It doesn't seem like anything special." Harry shook his head, but he felt that it wasn't a big deal for the professor to just wander around Hogwarts.

Aside from the fact that it's a bit late now—

Yes, it seems to be past ten o'clock now.

"Clatter".

Suddenly, all three of them heard a strange noise coming from behind them.

"What's that sound?!" Ron was startled and immediately pulled out his wand, which was taped to the side.

"Someone's following us!" Harry realized quickly, and he drew his wand and looked behind him.

The three of them looked in the direction the sound came from—it was the corner of the corridor they had just passed—

After a few seconds of silence, nothing happened.

Although Ron was a little pale, he tried to remain as relaxed as possible and said, "Maybe it's Filch's ugly cat?"

"That's not a good thing either," Hermione said, pursing her lips. "If Filch finds out, we'll definitely be put in solitary confinement."

"Why didn't we ask Professor Hamilton to escort us back to the lounge?"

"Because Professor Hamilton didn't mention it either!"

All three of them subconsciously lowered their voices and sped up.

Harry wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he had a feeling that someone was still chasing them!

So his pace quickened, until he was running! Hermione and Ron started running with him.

As the three of them ran through Hogwarts in the dead of night, that feeling slowly faded away.

Is it just an illusion?

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief and nodded as they looked at the door to the lounge.

It should be safe now?

"What was that just now?" Ron asked slowly, plopping down on the sofa in the lounge.

"I don't know—" Hermione's face was also a little pale, and she looked quite frightened.

"Could it be Peeves playing a trick on us?" Harry asked after a moment's thought.

"It shouldn't be—" Hermione shook her head: "How could something that can make a sound be a ghost, especially one that sounds like it's bumped into something?"

"Oh right—" Hermione's words made Harry and Ron nod thoughtfully.

But anyway, it's all right now—after all, I'm back in the lounge, aren't I?

Harry nodded gently, watching the crackling fireplace. The common room was perfectly safe—he'd rest a little longer and then go to sleep—maybe he'd just misheard or something.

"Clatter!"

Suddenly, the door to the lounge opened, and the sound immediately put the three of them on edge again.

"Who—who is it?!"

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