Chapter 201. The Thunderbird Wearing a Bow Tie, a Rose in Its Beak, Wooing
Because Hufflepuff kept winning in Quidditch, Zacharias was in a good mood and, on impulse, gave the players a long holiday.
He thumped his chest and promised that even if someone put a knife to his throat, he would not mention a single word about Quidditch again.
However, the next day he seemed to have forgotten his sworn words and excitedly sought out two players who were playing chess in the common room.
He sat down beside them of his own accord, eyebrows dancing as he described a brilliant tactic he had thought up at midnight.
Regardless of the two who were locked in a fierce battle over the chessboard, he insisted on dragging everyone to the Quidditch pitch to practise and patch up shortcomings.
He stood up and declared, firm and sonorous, "As long as you drill my tactic, we'll absolutely steamroller Slytherin next match!"
Then he received dangerous looks from the two chess players, was pinned onto the sofa, and given a sound thrashing, his miserable yelps faintly audible even outside the common room.
Neville and the Weasley twins were as busy as ever, and many times Duncan could only see Neville at night to chat for a bit.
But their research seemed close to success, for Neville came back every day more cheerful, and these past few days his eyebrows were practically flying up to the sky.
As time passed, Professor Snape's Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons gradually got on track.
After he had brandished his wand and, with great satisfaction, given a proper drubbing to every student in the school, his manner in class became much friendlier.
Only poor Harry was beaten into a pig's head seven times in a row by Snape, and those bottles of healing potion Duncan had given him were almost used up.
In Defence Against the Dark Arts, Snape burst forth with an enthusiasm never before seen in Potions, and his tone of voice even had intonation.
In class he divided the students into pairs to practise the duelling techniques he taught, patrolling the room without stop and personally correcting them hand-over-hand.
He broke down one by one the abstruse points in the textbook, hand-drawing them into PPT slides, as if he longed to stuff all the knowledge into the students' dim heads.
Everything he did seemed to be shouting at the top of his lungs: "Dumbledore, I want to stay on as Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts!"
The students of Hogwarts had not expected that the most reliable Defence Against the Dark Arts professor they would meet would actually be Snape, who took over halfway through the year.
Although Snape's teaching sometimes seemed a bit mad, they truly were learning real knowledge.
Many upper-year students mastered the Shield Charm (Protego), which in the past had been advanced magic only prodigy students could manage.
Like masochists, the students frantically absorbed knowledge in both pain and pleasure, and even began, little by little, to have a tiny change in their opinion of Snape.
However, whenever their evaluation of Snape shifted from "abysmal" to merely "bad," Snape would find some way to give them a heavy blow.
For example, deducting points from their Houses for no reason, assigning impossible homework, or directly laying into them himself.
This made the three Houses that had been drifting apart tightly unite once more, and upon meeting they would curse: "Bloody Snape, the old bat!"
One can only say that, heedless of his own reputation, Snape made outstanding contributions to the unity of the Hogwarts Houses.
He really did — I could cry to death!
And because Quidditch practices were cancelled, Duncan gradually became a "three-accompaniment" person: accompanying professors in class, accompanying friends after class, and accompanying animals at night.
When the afterglow of sunset rimmed the castle with a ring of gold, inside the suitcase, after scolding the mischievous pixies, Duncan prepared to go check on Mori.
But after he strolled a circuit along the lake, he still did not find any trace of Mori.
The fish in the lake also said that she had gone out a long while ago and had not returned yet.
"Where would that fellow go?" Duncan rubbed his chin and wondered.
Now that the space inside the suitcase was so large, it really was not easy to find a kelpie that could change shape in a hurry.
"Wait, don't tell me the fellow slipped out again?"
Not trusting this repeat offender, Duncan asked the Niffler on his shoulder, "You lot haven't been plotting any escape plan lately, have you?"
"How could we!" Pro shook his head in disdain, as if Duncan had told a joke. "I'm so busy making money these days I can't keep up!"
After spending time by the Black Lake with Hermione and the others, Pro had found a new path to fortune.
Now, whenever he had nothing to do, he went to do cute performances and earned extra cash.
"That's strange then..." Duncan muttered.
He thought for a moment and fished Mori's hair from his pocket.
"Trace to Source!"
Duncan's wand swept, and the grass-blade-like hair lifted into the air, wobbling away, thankfully not toward the exit.
Passing out of the forest at the lake's edge and walking to the open ground where the two Thunderbirds stayed, Duncan followed the bobbing hair and stopped amid the trees under the cliff face.
Only, after looking around, he still did not see Mori.
That fellow was as good as missing.
But Pro seemed to have discovered something.
He tugged Duncan's ear in a panic and said angrily, "Duncan, look over there!"
Following Pro's pointing paw, Duncan saw a Niffler that looked very much like Pro, dodging about in the fork of the branches, head held high.
"Mori? What is she doing here?" Duncan raised his brows in curiosity.
His case had only one Niffler, so this one could only be Mori.
Pro puffed out his cheeks, huffing, his little paws thrashing the air as if whipping Mori. "She's definitely up to no good wearing my face again, trying to make me take the blame!"
"Let's go up and see."
Duncan climbed up along the other side of the trunk and stopped beside Mori, suddenly calling out.
Caught off guard, Mori had a fright.
Her body wobbled and she nearly tumbled from the fork of the branches, but Duncan reached out in time to catch her.
"What are you hiding here for?"
Duncan pinched the scruff of Mori's neck, looked into her eyes, and asked with a smile.
Seeing Mori under Duncan's control, Pro planted his paws on his hips and, putting on borrowed authority, said, "Talk.
Why are you turning into me again?
Trying to make me carry the can?"
"Shh, shh.
Keep your voices down, you two — it's the crucial moment!" Mori said in a fluster. "I'm busy with something important!"
"What important thing?" Pro craned forward, curious. "Hurry up and confess honestly, or I'll handle this under the charge of mischief!"
Mori shot Pro a glare, then tilted her head up to speak to Duncan. "Look up there.
Small movements.
Don't startle them!"
"Oh?"
Duncan lifted his head, and his gaze threaded through the gaps in the dense leaves to the sheer cliff wall.
Kray's huge beak was carefully clenching a bright red rose, and there seemed to be a tiny, crooked bow tie hanging around his neck.
He looped and circled in the air, flying east a little, then west a little, then alighted on a jutting slab of rock, and after that moved one halting step at a time, glancing all around as he made his way toward where the other Thunderbird, Shanna, was standing.
Even from far away, Duncan could practically feel the helplessness in Shanna's eyes.
But looking at Kray's bashful manner...
He seemed to be courting Shanna.
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