Chapter 113, Section 111. Harry watched
as he frantically ran upstairs, gave the Fat Lady the command, and climbed into the Gryffindor common room.
Ron and Hermione watched him rush in.
"Did you get the book?"
"What happened?"
they asked, each
trying to outdo the other. Harry, panting, whispered what he'd just seen.
"I just saw Belloc in Snape's office bandaging his leg. The wound was clearly from an animal bite!"
Ron's eyes lit up; he immediately understood Harry's meaning.
"You mean, he tried to get through that trapdoor and got bitten by that three-headed dog!"
Harry was excited because Ron had the same idea, and he continued listing the evidence.
"On Halloween Eve, he tried to walk past that three-headed dog! We saw him going there, looking for the thing the dog was guarding! I bet my flying broomstick he let that troll in to distract everyone!"
Hermione stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
"No way! He's Lynn's headmaster, Lynn trusts him and often helps him out. Professor Snape might have some flaws, but he's definitely not a bad person!"
"You always think all teachers are saints, but that's not true," Ron said.
Even Harry disagreed.
"I know you believe Lynn and Hermione, and I believe him too, but he's only a year older than us. Maybe he was fooled by Snape's facade?"
Hermione insisted.
"Impossible! Lynn has never been wrong. He's different from you and me!"
Seeing they couldn't persuade Hermione, Harry and Ron didn't insist. They exchanged a glance, shrugged, and spread their hands.
"Maybe, but I think we should still find out what's hidden under that trapdoor."
"We can ask Hagrid. Didn't Harry say that Hagrid took that thing from Gringotts? He must know something," Hermione suggested.
Harry and Ron readily agreed.
"We'll go after the Quidditch match."
The Quidditch match was the next day.
Although Lynn wasn't particularly interested in Quidditch, it was a large-scale school event, especially since the first match was Slytherin vs. Gryffindor. Plus, Cedric was very enthusiastic about the sport, so Lynn was dragged to the stands early in the morning.
"I really can't believe it! The secret weapon Wood's been talking about is Potter!" Cedric exclaimed, holding up a pair of binoculars and watching the players take off.
He was also a Seeker for Hufflepuff, and would inevitably face Gryffindor sooner or later, so Harry Potter's appearance this time was a preparation for that.
The commentator was Lee Jordan, a friend of the Weasley brothers and also a Gryffindor junior wizard, who naturally favored his own house during the commentary.
Moreover, to be honest, even Lynn himself thought the Slytherin team played really dirty.
As the game progressed, the atmosphere in the stadium grew increasingly heated.
Seeing some of Slytherin's dirty tactics, even a good-natured person like Cedric stood up in anger and berated the snakes for their lack of sportsmanship.
Just as the atmosphere in the stadium reached its peak, Harry Potter's flying broomstick suddenly seemed to go out of control.
A gasp rippled through the stands.
Harry almost fell off the broomstick!
Then the flying broomstick trembled, no longer shaking violently as before, as if two spells were being cast on it simultaneously, one casting a Confusion Charm on it, and the other stopping its shaking.
Upon seeing this, Lynn immediately turned around to look behind him.
Sure enough, in the last row, Quirrell, head bowed, was muttering incantations, while Snape, not far from him, was also chanting spells.
At the same time, he saw Hermione leave her seat and hurry towards Snape.
She accidentally tripped Quirrell along the way, then quietly approached Snape.
Seeing Snape chanting, the little girl mistakenly thought he was trying to frame Harry and was about to secretly cast a spell on his robes when she was suddenly pulled back.
"Lynn!" Hermione exclaimed excitedly. "
It's Professor Snape! He's using a curse to control Harry's broomsticks, we have to stop him right away..."
Lynn put his index finger to his lips, gesturing for her to be quiet.
He pointed to Harry Potter in the sky, whose broomsticks had returned to normal and who was continuing his Quidditch match.
"Look closely, Hermione. This wasn't Professor Snape's doing. He was actually helping Harry."
Hermione glanced back at Snape and saw that he had stopped chanting the spell and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then who's the culprit?"
Hermione looked confused.
Lynn felt he couldn't just take the bottle of Felix Felicis for nothing; he had to help reduce any misunderstandings.
"Did you bump into anyone on your way here?"
"You mean… Professor Quirrell!" Hermione looked incredulous. "Why would Professor Quirrell want to harm Harry?"
Lynn countered.
"Then why would Professor Snape want to harm Harry?"
"Because…"
Hermione was speechless; she couldn't explain it either.
But judging from their usual behavior, only Professor Snape had consistently shown malice towards Harry, so it made more sense that he was the culprit.
Lynn smiled at Hermione.
"Have you heard about Professor Fawkes last semester?"
Hermione shook her head; she had only heard the name from Professor Dumbledore at the opening banquet.
Lynn sighed.
"Of course they don't want to talk about Professor Fawkes, because back then they were like you are about Professor Snape now—judging things without knowing anything, only to be slapped in the
face by the truth." He looked at Harry, who had already devoured the Golden Snitch in the sky.
"After the tournament, you can ask Hagrid about Professor Fawkes' story; it might give you some inspiration."
Gryffindor had won the Quidditch tournament.
The three of them didn't return to the common room, but followed Hagrid directly to his hut.
"It was Snape," Ron stated their discovery. "Hermione and I saw him chanting a spell on your flying broomstick, muttering to himself, his eyes fixed on you."
But Hermione didn't agree; she frowned and looked at Hagrid.
"Hagrid, do you know Professor Fawkes?"
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(End of Chapter)