"Are you crazy?!" Hermione was completely shocked as she stared at the scattered Cornish pixies lying all over the floor like fallen raindrops.
"They're just, just—"
"They're just innocent little creatures that throw wizards out of windows, hang students from ceiling fans, gouge out eyes, and poke kidneys?" Rhys gave Hermione a glance, then continued packing his school bag.
"By the way, let me remind you, this is the fourth third of the castle. You're a fan of Lockhart, right? I suggest you head to the hospital wing and bring Madam Pomfrey along."
"But... I, uh, wanted to say..."
Rhys's words completely jumbled Hermione's thoughts.
After stammering for a while, she finally grabbed her bag and rushed off to the hospital wing.
As Hermione left, Rhys finished packing his own bag. He turned his gaze to Daphne, who stood beside him with her bag in hand.
"What is it? Do I have something dirty on me?" Daphne, noticing Rhys's gaze, quickly checked the hem of her robes, making sure nothing had gotten on her without her noticing. She even lifted her foot slightly to make sure her shoes were clean.
"Daphne, do you think I was being a bit too cruel?" Rhys asked her, his tone serious.
Daphne blinked.
She looked around the messy classroom and then calmly replied, "I think it was fine. After all, those Cornish pixies did attack wizards, didn't they? Even Muggles would put down a mad dog if it bit someone."
"Good." Rhys finally smiled again, the first time since he'd seen Lockhart's ridiculous test that afternoon. Daphne's answer clearly satisfied him.
Rhys had been somewhat worried that Daphne might give a poor answer.
In Rhys's view, the moment those Cornish pixies threw Lockhart out of the window, their fate was sealed.
Lockhart might be foolish, but he was still a wizard.
Rhys knew very well that these pixies were clever. The reason they hadn't gone further was because they understood they were on wizard territory.
But if this hadn't been wizard territory...
A thousand years ago, Cornish pixies had human flesh on their menu.
"Scourgify," Rhys pulled out his wand, cleaning up the chaotic classroom until the floor was spotless.
He restored the overturned desks and chairs back to their original positions.
With just one spell, the entire classroom was back to normal, as if nothing had happened at all.
But how could things that had happened truly be erased so easily?
The news of Professor Lockhart being thrown out of a castle window by a group of Cornish pixies and ending up in the hospital wing spread quickly through the school, leaving students dumbfounded.
How could a professor with such a supposedly rich history of adventure be unable to handle a group of pixies?
Some students thought that Lockhart was just acting, testing the students' abilities through an elaborate performance. Others believed that Lockhart had simply made a mistake.
The seed of doubt had been planted, and cracks began to appear in Lockhart's shining image.
However, few people knew that immediately after Lockhart was admitted to the hospital wing, Professor Sprout sought out Madam Pomfrey and intervened in his treatment plan.
Madam Pomfrey, in her professional opinion, thought Lockhart's injuries were just simple fractures. A single spell could heal him, with perhaps some potion as post-operative care.
But Professor Sprout disagreed with this rushed approach.
Who could have thought that Professor Sprout would hold grudges—Ehm*—She believed such rapid treatment might leave Lockhart with lingering health issues!
She strongly recommended that Madam Pomfrey use her herb-based remedies for Lockhart's recovery, which would ensure a risk-free healing process.
Madam Pomfrey was an expert in healing, and generally, no one would interfere with her methods. But Professor Sprout, a master of Herbology, was an exception.
Since Sprout's suggestion was reasonable, Madam Pomfrey accepted her advice and used purely herbal treatments to mend Lockhart's fractures.
As a result, Lockhart's hospital stay was extended from just one night to three full days.
But the real highlight came later: when Lockhart's loyal fans visited him, he decided to show off a bit and demonstrate one of his healing spells.
That spell ended up completely vanishing the bones in his broken area, extending his hospital stay from three days to a full two weeks.
Rumor has it that Professor Sprout was very happy about the news...
Life at Hogwarts continued as usual, unaffected by what happened in the hospital wing. After that disastrous Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Daphne returned to the Slytherin common room and resumed her study of the booklet given to her by Rowena Ravenclaw.
After doing a lot of research over the summer, she had some ideas about its purpose.
Sitting in a corner of the common room, she opened the notebook from Ravenclaw and began writing. To ensure smooth communication, Daphne even wrote in Latin.
Sure enough, shortly after she wrote in the notebook, the ink disappeared, replaced by a line of neat, elegant Latin text.
"Hello, Daphne, I am Rowena."
A smile of joy appeared on Daphne's face, and she quickly responded in the notebook:
"May I know your purpose?"
"Of course, but you need to answer a question first."
Immediately, a long paragraph of text appeared in the booklet.
"In a classroom, there are four wizards wearing hats. Wizard A and Wizard C wear white hats, Wizard B and Wizard D wear black hats.
Wizard A can see Wizard B and Wizard C; Wizard B can see Wizard C; Wizard C and Wizard D cannot see anyone. They know there are four hats, two black and two white, but they don't know the color of the hat on their own head.
Who will be the first to know the color of the hat on their own head and shout it out?"
Daphne bit her quill in concentration—Latin was already difficult for her, and now she had to solve a puzzle in it, making the task even harder.
She pulled out a dictionary and meticulously translated the entire question from the booklet, word by word.
That still wasn't enough, so she sketched out a diagram to help visualize the situation.
After several minutes, she finally solved the logic puzzle.
"Wizard B."
"Congratulations, you got it right."
Another passage of text appeared in the booklet:
"I am the Question and Task Book created by Rowena Ravenclaw. I contain a great deal of Lady Ravenclaw's wisdom, but if you wish to obtain it, you must either answer my questions or complete my tasks. You may choose between the two."
"Here is your reward for answering the question correctly— Detailed Explanation of Spatial Magic (Part 1). "
Seeing the words appear in the booklet, Daphne was dumbfounded.
The gift from Lady Ravenclaw was far more precious than she had imagined!
———
12 Advance Chapters—Patreon.com/HornyFBI