After Professor McGonagall finished announcing the new rules, a heavy silence blanketed the Great Hall.
Then, all at once, the room erupted into a chorus of muttered complaints and barely concealed curses.
At that moment, the other Heads of House rose to their feet as well.
Professor Snape, amplifying his voice with a Sonorus charm, addressed the hall with a cold sneer.
"This is a decision made by all four Heads of House. Anyone care to object?"
He swept his gaze across the students. Slytherin fell silent first, cowed by his stare. Finally, Snape's eyes landed on Harry, a sly, meaningful smirk tugging at his lips.
A chill ran down Harry's spine.
Under Snape's scrutiny, the Great Hall finally quieted down. All eyes shifted to Douglas.
But Douglas was looking up, pretending to study which weather charm had been cast on the enchanted ceiling that evening.
Suddenly, students from all four Houses turned their attention to the Gryffindor table. It dawned on them—knowing Snape's usual style, Gryffindor would probably have students in detention every single day.
Clearly, the Gryffindors had reached the same conclusion, each silently screaming "unfair!" in their hearts.
Ron grumbled,
"This must've been Professor Holmes's idea. I swear, it feels like they're targeting Gryffindor."
Mouth full, Hermione mumbled under her breath,
"No, I think it's aimed right at Harry."
Harry and Ron didn't quite catch what Hermione said, and no matter how much they pressed her, she refused to repeat herself. Instead, she muttered cryptically,
"Sirius Black is even scarier than we thought."
At the staff table, Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow.
"Douglas, do you have anything else to add regarding today's events?"
Douglas nodded, then addressed the group of students who'd been duped,
"Given that you attempted—and failed—to cheat on the Defence Against the Dark Arts opening exam, each of you will lose ten points. You are to copy out this term's Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook from memory, and, according to the new rules, each of you must select ten magazines to copy as well."
Only then did the "victims" realize their actions had also broken school rules.
Upon hearing this, George and Fred's previously gloomy faces lit up with delight. At least they had the sense not to high-five in front of the professors.
After exchanging a glance, George pulled a piece of parchment from his robes.
"Professor, I'd like to report some other students who wanted to cheat…"
"Oh yes, these were all our potential customers…"
"Do we get bonus points for this?"
If their business was ruined, they figured, they might as well drag others down with them.
The students standing nearby, all of whom had tried to buy answers, looked stunned—then, despite themselves, a few managed sheepish grins and nodded in agreement.
None of them noticed Professor Snape nearly grinning from ear to ear, while the other three Heads of House looked positively thunderous.
The reason they'd left the punishment of these students to Douglas was simple—they couldn't agree on how many points to deduct. If students from all four Houses were involved, everyone could lose points equally. But thanks to a peculiar sense of Gryffindor honor, George and Fred had refused to let any Slytherin get high marks, so not a single Slytherin had been involved.
With a subtle nudge from Professor Sprout, Douglas caught on. That's why he settled on ten points per cheating student—a compromise the Heads could accept. Normally, for something like this, ten points would be nowhere near enough.
Looking at the eager faces before him, Douglas sighed. He realized the punishment for George and Fred was actually too lenient—when it came down to it, it was no harsher than last year.
He spoke up,
"We judge by actions, not intentions. Since they didn't actually go through with cheating, it doesn't count as an offense."
Then, with a discreet Murmuring Charm, he whispered in George and Fred's ears,
"The Complete Guide to Magical Artifacts."
The twins froze, then immediately tore the parchment into shreds and declared to Professor Lupin,
"Professor Lupin, please punish us with textbook copying—make it as tough as you like!"
With that, the four Heads of House swept out of the hall.
Douglas glanced around, then turned to Percy with curiosity,
"Where's Hagrid? I haven't seen him this evening."
Percy's expression soured.
"His first class today… a student got hurt."
A flash of recognition crossed Douglas's mind—this scene felt all too familiar.
He instinctively glanced at Harry, then quickly searched the Slytherin table for Draco, but didn't spot him.
He cursed inwardly—he'd been so busy, he'd completely forgotten about this.
He hurried over to Harry at the Gryffindor table.
"I'm going to check on Professor Hagrid. Want to come with me?"
Hermione immediately set down her things, regret written all over her face.
"Oh no, I can't believe I forgot something so important! Professor, let's go!"
Harry and Ron also looked guilty—they'd been planning to visit Hagrid after dinner, but the whole George and Fred fiasco had driven it from their minds.
The three of them quickly got up to follow Douglas. After all, with a professor accompanying them, it wouldn't count as sneaking out, no matter how late they returned.
At the Gryffindor table, the conversation shifted from detention to the day's Care of Magical Creatures lesson.
On the way, Douglas asked for details. Harry explained, with Ron and Hermione chiming in.
It turned out Hagrid's very first class had involved Hippogriffs. At the start, Harry had set the example—he'd managed to approach and ride a gray Hippogriff named Buckbeak, who had taken him for a glorious flight around the paddock.
Ron and Hermione both looked at Harry with envy. The reddish-brown Hippogriff they'd chosen hadn't been nearly as friendly as Harry's.
Maybe inspired by Harry's success, Draco Malfoy and his cronies, Goyle and Crabbe, had chosen to approach Buckbeak as well.
But Draco's arrogance got the better of him—he managed to offend Buckbeak.
Hermione added indignantly,
"He called Buckbeak an ugly brute… and Buckbeak had already bowed to him!"
But Harry's worry was clear,
"Malfoy had a really deep cut on his arm. I'm worried Hagrid might get sacked over this."
Douglas could only sigh. On the surface, it was Draco Malfoy's own fault, but really, Hagrid's lesson planning was to blame. He'd had a bunch of students with zero experience in magical creatures face a Ministry-classified XXX beast on day one.
What set magical creatures apart from ordinary animals wasn't just their powers, but their intelligence too.
Douglas was sure Hagrid hadn't thought twice about it. It was a tradition, after all—back in his own first Care of Magical Creatures lesson, Professor Kettleburn had sent them into the Forbidden Forest to hunt for Ashwinder eggs. Because they didn't find them in time, several eggs set the whole area ablaze, and one girl got her arm burned by a self-igniting egg when her Freezing Charm failed.
That had been Professor Kettleburn's fifty-sixth probationary review.
PS (for reference, not part of the main story):
Hippogriff
British Ministry of Magic Classification: XXX
Appearance: Hippogriffs have the head and wings of a giant eagle and the body of a horse.
Newborn Hippogriffs can attempt flight within a week, but true long-distance flying takes months. To approach a Hippogriff, maintain eye contact and bow first. If it bows back, you may approach, pet, or even ride it.
Ashwinder
British Ministry of Magic Classification: XXX
Ashwinders are born from magical fires left burning too long.
Habits: They live only an hour, during which they seek out a dark, hidden place to lay eggs before crumbling to dust.
Abilities: If Ashwinder eggs aren't found and frozen quickly, they can set a house ablaze within minutes.
Silvanus Kettleburn
Former Care of Magical Creatures Professor at Hogwarts, retired after the 1992 school year.
Passionate but sometimes reckless, Kettleburn's love for dangerous creatures led to many injuries—both to himself and others—resulting in no fewer than sixty-two probationary reviews during his tenure. Like Hagrid, he often underestimated the risks posed by creatures such as Occamys, Grindylows, and Fire Salamanders.
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