Daily News: The Prophet of Hogwarts

Chapter 43 A Little Spirituality! Don't Lose Face!

"It's very difficult, very difficult. The Longbottoms were driven insane by Bellatrix Lestrange and a few Death Eaters using the Cruciatus Curse after Voldemort's downfall."

"As Voldemort's loyal henchman, Bellatrix was utterly devoted to her master, and she desperately wanted to learn Voldemort's whereabouts from the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic and members of the Order of the Phoenix..."

"She would only resort to the Unforgivable Curse to interrogate him, and the Longbottoms...would not yield to the Death Eaters."

Dumbledore took off his glasses, and Lane noticed that there seemed to be tears streaming from the corners of his eyes.

"The immense pain caused by the Crucifixion Curse drives people insane... no wonder even you, Headmaster, couldn't cure them."

Ryan now understood why even Dumbledore couldn't cure the Longbottoms: their problem lay in their own brains, memories, and thinking—the most intricate areas of the human body, where the slightest mishap could worsen their condition.

...........

After Snape and Lane left because "Felix Felicis is about to be successfully brewed", and Dumbledore announced that Brian had become the youngest acting professor.

After marveling at their food and drink, the young wizards went home contentedly.

Gryffindor Common Room.

"What? You want to duel Malfoy!"

"What? Harry's your assistant!"

"What! You want us and Percy to go nighttime for a duel too?!"

Fred and George felt like they were meeting their younger brother for the first time. George said, "I thought you'd already used up all your courage just to get into Gryffindor."

Fred said, "But it seems you've been braver than we ever dared to guess!"

The two said in unison, "It's understandable that you'd come to us, but you actually want to drag the great Prefect Percy into breaking school rules with you!"

Just then, Hermione, who had returned from chatting with Penelope, went back to the common room and overheard the group discussing their plans for a nighttime duel. Unaccustomed to the passage of time, she screamed, "That's against school rules!"

"Harry, you actually agreed to do this!" she frowned.

Harry believes he is innocent; he had no idea what a wizarding duel was before he was agreed to be a dueling assistant.

Fred and George exchanged a glance, both bursting with laughter: "To be a member of Gryffindor."

"Especially as a member of the Adventurers' Club."

"Hermione, you actually care about school rules?"

Hermione, who had expected these people to feel ashamed or stubborn, was stunned. She was a little confused: "What do you mean?"

George: "Oh, you should really take a closer look at the Gryffindor hourglass."

Fred: "As Lane himself put it, Ravenclaw's gems are like they have ADHD, constantly going up and down."

The two of them told Hermione about Ryan's many great achievements, such as staying out all night, coming and going from Hogwarts as if it were his own backyard, being a regular resident of the forbidden books section, and being a major client of the school hospital, etc.

The two claimed that Ryan was an immortal monument in the realm of breaking school rules, worthy of being deeply studied and understood by all outstanding Hogwarts students to grasp the spirit of his rule-breaking.

How could this happen! How could Ryan break the school rules!

It seems that Penelope... also mentioned that Ravenclaw has absolutely no interest in the Academy Cup now, and under someone's influence, they're arbitrarily deducting and scoring points...

The little witch was speechless for a moment, feeling her mind go blank.

"Breaking school rules together, getting locked up together—that's the only way to build a relationship! How about a night out tonight?"

Faced with an invitation that violated school rules, Hermione, feeling lost as her idol's image crumbled, suddenly felt a strange thrill and nodded as if possessed.

Perhaps only by trying to break the school rules can one understand the feelings of the person involved... She sat on the sofa, rubbing the hem of her clothes.

"We have at least five people now, whereas Malfoy and Vio only have two," George said.

"Anyway, tonight's duel is five against two, so the advantage is on my side!" Fred added.

"Are we really going to go find Percy next?" This is another person whose idol image collapsed from the beginning of the Weasley twins' portrayal of Ryan's great achievements.

After saying that, Harry began to speculate that, perhaps like Ryan, Percy was just a good student on the surface, but in reality, he did all sorts of things that broke the school rules.

"Since Selwyn said he's looking forward to facing Percy, it means they've clashed before," Ron said. "I think we should inform Percy; if we have another fifth-grader like him, we can deal with Malfoy."

"Oh, little Ronnie has even learned to analyze problems!"

"That's really rare! I genuinely thought he'd believe we had the advantage!"

Harry was stunned. He genuinely believed what the Weasley twins said, thinking that the five of them had the advantage tonight!

Little did they know that the Weasley twins were just joking and fooling Ron!

Ron, however, didn't believe them and insisted that they should contact Percy! Wasn't he usually most afraid of breaking school rules and being found out by Percy?

In just a few days, Ron has made such great progress. He can make rational judgments and has the courage to face Percy directly... Harry said, "My God, Ron, you are too brave to go to Percy for something like this."

"Brave Ronnie!" George jumped in to chime in, "It's all Weasley's business, why should Percy boss you around!"

"That's right, keep your spirits up, don't embarrass yourself!" Fred chimed in.

Upon hearing these words, Ron's ears turned bright red. He ruffled his red hair, grabbed his wand, shouted, and went straight upstairs to Percy's dormitory!

"Percy! You're a Weasley who was born two years earlier, what right do you have to boss us around?! Come out here! We need to talk to you!"

The group of people hiding in the shadows of the stairs all gave a thumbs up: "Well done!"

"What a brave Gryffindor!"

"His parents will be so proud of him!"

Percy frowned as he opened the dormitory door. Upon seeing the person at the door, he rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had developed presbyopia, as Muggles call it, and mistook the person provoking him outside for his younger brother, Ron.

He repeatedly checked whether it was a prank by George and Fred, and whether Ron was really the only person at the door.

"Ron? Is it really you?"

"It's me!" Ron shouted. "I need to talk to you!"

Before Percy could change his expression, he said, "I have a wizard duel scheduled for tonight in the prize room on the third floor, and I need your help."

"A wizard duel!" Percy didn't reprimand him, but his face was full of disbelief: "You? Who can you duel with?"

"Especially! You're going out at night! That's against school rules! I'll definitely have the professor put you in solitary confinement! I'll also write home..."

Before Percy could finish saying "Tell Mom and Dad," Ron said two names: "Malfoy and Vio."

"Who! Who are you dueling with?"

"Vio, Vio Selwyn, fifth year of Slytherin."

Percy's eyes widened: "Huh?"