Chapter 209: Philosopher's Stone Guardians Alliance
"Wait, Fred, George—why do I feel that something sounds off in what you two are saying?" Hermione's suspicious gaze swept over Duncan and the others, and she asked, "Do you know something we don't?"
"No wonder it's Hermione, so clever!" Fred said with a grin. "We were also wandering about outside last night."
"And we even ran into that person and engaged in a fierce fight, nearly punching a hole through the fourth-floor corridor..."
George and Fred took turns speaking, their gestures flamboyant and their expressions exaggerated, vividly recounting to everyone what had happened the previous night. Harry's eyes widened bit by bit along with the twins' description, admiration spreading across his face as he stared fixedly at Fred and George.
Ron looked at Fred and George full of disbelief. He knew these two very well, and he did not believe a whit of the "heroics" in their words. Neville looked around blankly; it had been not even half an hour, so how could what the Weasley twins were saying be completely different now?
Only Hermione extracted the key point from the twins' words. Her small face wrinkled as she lowered her head, pondering hard. After a moment, she raised her head and said, "But if it wasn't Snape, then who would it be? We've observed that none of the other professors is suspicious!"
"That can't be said for sure!" Fred said. "That person turned into Snape's appearance—so it could be anyone."
George added, "It could be Professor McGonagall, or Professor Flitwick, or even a thief who slipped in from outside the school!"
Frowning, Hermione thought for a bit. "According to what you're saying, Snape also can't shake off suspicion. What if he deliberately put on that look?" Her gaze swept over everyone. "And there are potions that can change one's scent and fool the three-headed dog's nose!"
"Then why didn't he just turn into someone else? Wouldn't that do the trick in one go?" Fred retorted.
"I'm only proposing a possibility," Hermione said. "Maybe he first meant only to confuse the three-headed dog, but he didn't expect to run into you. So he turned the situation to his advantage and acted that way on purpose. That way—even if he didn't manage to kill you—you would help clear him of suspicion."
"What you're saying also makes sense," George said, lifting his brows. "What do you think, Duncan?"
Duncan nodded. "All right, then we'll add Snape back onto our observation list."
"Observation list?" Hermione asked sharply, looking between them. "What are you planning to do?"
Smiling, Duncan said, "We've temporarily formed a Philosopher's Stone Guardians Alliance. Well, Hermione—will you join?"
"Philosopher's Stone Guardians Alliance?" Ron jumped in first. "Sounds cool. I'm definitely in. Harry, how about you?"
"Oi, oi, what are you getting excited for!" Fred waved a hand in front of Ron's face. "Duncan's inviting Hermione, not you!"
"And even if you joined, what could you help with?" George said bluntly. "Show us how many chicken legs you can eat in one sitting?"
"Fred! George!" Ron huffed, his face turning scarlet in an instant, as if white steam were puffing out of his ears. He wanted to retort, but for ages, he couldn't think of what he was good at. His mouth opened for a long time and then shut again, stewing angrily.
"Don't listen to them, Ron. You're very welcome to join—otherwise, we absolutely won't have enough people to patrol," Duncan said with a smile. Hearing this, Ron's expression eased a little. He cast Duncan a grateful look, then glared fiercely at Fred and George.
The twins didn't mind in the least. They pulled a face at Ron with a grin, then turned and asked Harry whether he wanted to join their ranks. Harry barely hesitated. He had long since sworn in his heart that, so long as it caused trouble for Snape, he would absolutely be on the front line of anything!
Hermione pressed her lips together, her long brows knitting tight, expressionless as she bowed her head in thought—practically a young version of Professor McGonagall.
"Hermione, what are you hesitating about?" Ron asked. "Do you want to watch that thief steal Professor Dumbledore's treasure?"
"No, it's not that..." Hermione shook her head slightly, letting her gaze pass over Duncan, Fred, and George in turn. "I'm just thinking—if we're together with these three, won't we end up breaking lots of school rules? If the professors catch us, our house points might be left at zero!"
"Hermione, we're contributing to the school!" Fred argued. "Everything we're doing is to protect the school's property!"
"Even if there are two little rule-breaking moves along the way, they're righteous deeds!" George said. "If the professors find out, they definitely won't punish us—on the contrary, they'll commend us greatly. Otherwise, who would be willing to give to the school in the future!"
"Exactly, exactly!" Ron nodded vigorously. "Don't hesitate, Hermione. As long as we catch that thief, we'll be the heroes of Hogwarts. The professors won't have time to praise us enough—they absolutely won't criticize us."
Hermione was not moved at all. She knew these pests inside out, and there was absolutely nothing good about following them around. Just then, Duncan spoke. "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on the few of them. I definitely won't let them run wild, and I won't let them get caught either!"
Looking at Duncan's smiling face, Hermione thought for a few seconds, then nodded. "All right, I'll join as well..."
"Brilliant! With Hermione joining, we finally have someone clever on the team. Otherwise, with this lot, we wouldn't even know how to catch that elusive oddball!" Fred and George leapt up at the same time, waving their arms and cheering loudly.
Hearing the twins' praise, a faint blush rose on Hermione's cheeks. So different from her usual sternness, she looked a bit cute.
"But I'm saying this upfront. I won't follow you around breaking school rules. However, anything you need looked up, you can leave it to me!"
"No problem!" Fred nodded with a laugh, then looked at Duncan and, jokingly, said, "Boss, give the word—what should we all go do?"
Rolling his eyes at the form of address, Duncan said, "Harry and I can both go invisible, so we'll take the night patrol."
"Why should you!" George protested. "With how familiar Fred and I are with the castle, we won't be discovered even without invisibility!"
"That's right!" Fred said. "We're joining the night patrol, too. You can't deprive us of the chance to contribute to the Guardians Alliance!"
"Drag these two noisy fellows to the Black Lake to feed the fish!" Duncan waved his hand and said with disdain.
"Got it!" Ron stood up in excitement and lunged at Fred and George, only to be subdued instead and dragged off towards the lake...
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