The professors arrived one after another in a rush, and before long the Hospital Wing was crowded. But none of them spoke, because Madam Pomfrey did not tolerate noise in her ward.
She did not care who you were. Even the Headmaster had to obey the Hospital Wing's rules. Disturbing patients was absolutely forbidden.
The fact that she was even allowing so many people to stand there and watch her examine Harris Raymons was already an act of unusual generosity.
"Madam Pomfrey, how is Professor Raymons?" Dumbledore asked as soon as she finished.
"There is no danger to his life. He has been petrified by some extremely powerful petrification magic, which has protected him from many harmful conditions. At the very least, he won't catch a cold from being soaked through."
Madam Pomfrey continued, "But the petrification magic on Professor Raymons is far too powerful. Ordinary methods simply can't undo it."
"We may need Professor Sprout's help. I'll need mature Mandrake to brew the restorative draught," Madam Pomfrey said.
"A powerful petrification spell? Could that have been done by the attacker?" Professor McGonagall's face darkened, and her anger seemed almost visible.
"Unlikely." Dumbledore shook his head. "Argus said the one who attacked him was a student. A student shouldn't be capable of magic on this level."
The only one who even came close to that possibility was Leonard. Dumbledore was not entirely sure of the upper limit of Leonard's magical strength, but he was certainly stronger than quite a few adult wizards.
But Leonard had been both witness to and the one who stopped the first attack, so he had no obvious reason to be suspected.
"Severus, what do you think?" Dumbledore turned to Snape, hoping to hear something useful from him.
"I don't think much of anything." Snape wiped away the potion residue still left on his hands from the brewing he had been doing earlier. "I only find this scene rather familiar."
"Familiar?" Dumbledore paused, half wondering whether Snape had silently developed the gift of prophecy.
"Yes." The corner of Snape's mouth twitched upward before flattening out again, though the gloating amusement in his eyes remained. "I remember that not long ago, Professor Raymons was also sent to the hospital by a student. I didn't expect to see him here again so soon. When I was younger, even when I botched my potions, I didn't come here this often."
The sarcasm landed perfectly. The expressions on the other professors' faces turned subtle as they looked at the unconscious Harris Raymons with a trace of sympathy.
Good lord, with one sentence Snape had practically pointed at Harris Raymons's face and called him useless.
Just because the man had taken the post you wanted, did you really have to be this cutting about it?
The kindly Professor Flitwick gave a light cough and tried to smooth things over. "Our first priority now is to catch that brazen culprit. Someone dared commit violence at Hogwarts. This absolutely cannot be tolerated."
"Exactly." Professor McGonagall's face was full of killing intent. "We must catch that person."
Dumbledore thought for a moment, nodded, then suddenly asked, "By the way, have any of you seen Mr. William?"
The other professors shook their heads. Professor Flitwick was just about to speak when he suddenly remembered something and froze.
"Leonard William?" Snape's brows lifted. "Could it have been him who attacked Professor Raymons?"
"No. Leonard was the witness to the first attack. He was the one who saved Mr. Filch." Professor Sprout immediately spoke up for her prized student. "But it is strange. I truly haven't seen him."
At that, Snape noticed the change in Professor Flitwick's expression and asked, "Professor Flitwick, do you know something?"
Every professor in the room turned to look at Flitwick.
Professor Flitwick hesitated, then said, "I did see Leonard. He came to find me earlier. No, more accurately, he came to find Professor Raymons."
"You mean Leonard William went looking for Professor Raymons before Professor Raymons was attacked?" Snape sounded almost excited. "Why did he want to see him?"
"I'm not sure," Professor Flitwick said. "But he looked very angry. And very anxious."
"You're not sure? Wasn't Professor Raymons supposed to be in the Great Hall at that time?" Snape pressed.
Other than him, busy brewing potion, the rest of the professors should all have been in the Great Hall then.
"Professor Raymons left in the middle. He went out after hearing that Filch had been attacked." Professor Flitwick frowned. "I feel there has to be some connection there."
"Heh..." Snape let out a cold sneer. "I'd say Raymons probably knew some clue about the attacker, and Leonard William... was likely afraid Professor Raymons would discover something."
"Snape, what do you mean by that?" Professor Sprout, usually mild-tempered, was furious. "Are you suggesting Leonard is the one who attacked Filch and Professor Raymons?"
"It's not impossible. Mr. William is certainly capable enough." Snape kept that cold smile on his face. "Filch is a Squib. A few simple spells would be enough to toy with him. Raymons had previous contact with Filch. Perhaps he noticed something, and that's why Mr. William ambushed him..."
He deliberately used the word ambushed because he did not believe Leonard, no matter how strong he was for a student, could defeat Harris Raymons head-on.
"Absurd. That's pure speculation with no evidence whatsoever. It's slander against Leonard," Professor Sprout snapped.
"Hmph. Whether it's true or not, we should find Mr. William first," Snape said coldly.
"You..."
"Enough." Dumbledore cut off the brewing conflict between the professors. "The most important thing right now is solving the problem."
He turned to Professor McGonagall. "Minerva, have the prefects notify all students to gather in the Great Hall. Tell them the feast will begin early. Please maintain order and check attendance."
"Understood." Professor McGonagall nodded and quickly left the Hospital Wing.
"The rest of you will search the castle, inside and out, for any suspicious traces," Dumbledore said gravely. "If you encounter any stranger, you may use force to subdue them immediately."
He was angry now.
Hogwarts was the stronghold he had spent most of his life building. He would never allow anyone to make trouble here.
The professors all nodded and turned to leave the Hospital Wing. Snape and Professor Sprout also stopped trading barbs. This was no longer the time for bickering. The Headmaster was clearly furious.
They had a great deal of work ahead of them. Hogwarts Castle was enormous. To search for an intruder or even suspicious traces would take hours. It looked very likely that tonight's feast was going to be ruined.
Just as the professors were thinking about where to start, Professor McGonagall, who should have been arranging the students' assembly, hurried back.
"Everyone," she said, her expression dark and hard to read, "a portrait has informed me that Mr. William has appeared with Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, and Miss Granger."