Chapter 55: Neville's Highlight Moment
"But… but Professor, weren't you talking about my violation of classroom discipline?"
The other students looked just as confused as Harry. They had assumed Professor Holmes's anger was entirely about breaking classroom rules.
Hermione had felt miserable at first as well. After all, she had been the first to rush forward. But when she remembered that Professor Holmes had agreed to sign her books later, a small spark of excitement had crept back in.
She had even planned to apologize properly after class that evening.
Yet now the professor was talking about verifying information.
Suddenly she realized something.
They had been tricked.
She glanced at the desk where the carefully chosen books she had hoped would become signed collector's items now sat confiscated. The sight made her chest tighten.
For a moment, she honestly felt like crying.
Douglas pressed his fingers against his temples.
"Let me make this clear," he said, pointing at Harry. "You just admitted that what you said was wrong. So tell me—was that really a classroom discipline issue?"
Harry blinked blankly.
"…Wasn't it?"
Douglas looked around the room. The expressions on the students' faces made it obvious they had all misunderstood him.
Then his gaze fell on Hermione.
Seeing her determined expression, a small flicker of hope appeared in his mind.
He cleared his throat.
"Ahem. It seems Miss Granger may have realized where the real mistake lies."
Hermione stood up. Her voice trembled slightly with frustration and indignation, but there was also the firm tone she had developed as class representative.
"Yes, Professor!"
She turned to the class.
"Everyone, it seems we were deceived by the Ravenclaw fifth-years. In the corridor earlier they said—"
Douglas suddenly felt uneasy.
Something about her tone sounded… dangerous.
Wait a moment.
With that voice and posture, the next step would probably be raising her fist and leading a group of second-years to confront the fifth-years.
Merlin… that's even more dramatic than anything I did as a student.
If he weren't a professor at Hogwarts, Douglas would happily sit down with a banana and enjoy watching the spectacle.
Unfortunately—
He was the professor.
He quickly raised his voice.
"Miss Granger! Please get straight to the point."
"For example—what lesson did you learn from this incident?"
He swept his gaze across the classroom.
"The rest of you should think about it as well."
Then he added calmly:
"If you think this matter isn't serious, I'm afraid I have bad news."
"All the books you placed on the podium have been confiscated."
A collective gasp swept through the room.
Douglas continued:
"Not just yours. I also confiscated the books from the previous class."
"Of course, your situation is slightly different. They're fifth-years preparing for their O.W.L.s."
"So you may have… certain small privileges."
"We'll discuss that later."
He gestured toward Hermione.
"Miss Granger, please continue."
Hermione immediately focused.
Now that she knew there was still a chance to recover her books, she carefully organized her thoughts.
"Professor, I think when we hear information, we should remain calm first."
"Then we should verify it carefully before taking action."
"We shouldn't act recklessly or impulsively just because we heard something."
Douglas began clapping.
"Excellent answer."
"Ten points to Gryffindor."
He turned toward Harry.
"What do you think, Mr. Potter?"
Harry stood up straight at once. He wanted to earn back the points he had just lost.
"Professor, I agree with Hermione."
"And I think it doesn't matter who the information comes from. We should always verify it instead of stubbornly believing our own assumptions."
Harry had learned that lesson the hard way the previous year.
Back then he had been convinced that Professor Snape was trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone and kill him.
Even when other teachers insisted Snape wasn't the villain, Harry refused to listen.
In the end, the real culprit had been Professor Quirrell.
Douglas nodded approvingly.
Then he looked at Ron.
Ron jumped to his feet instantly.
"Me too, Professor!"
Douglas shook his head.
"After class, you will write a reflection—"
He paused.
"I mean, an essay."
"You will describe your thought process in detail and explain what you should do if you encounter a similar situation in the future."
"It must be memorable."
"Turn it in before the next lesson."
He added calmly:
"There's no length requirement."
"But only those who write a thoughtful essay will be allowed to take their books home."
Then his voice grew firm.
"From now on, during class time, no extracurricular books are allowed."
"Understood?"
Harry waited anxiously.
Surely Professor Holmes would now return the five points he had deducted from Gryffindor earlier.
He waited.
And waited.
But the words never came.
Harry felt like crying.
He had just learned a profound life lesson.
He had nearly convinced himself that he owed Professor Snape an apology.
And yet—
Not a single point had been added back.
Douglas clapped his hands lightly, bringing the class back to order.
"Miss Granger, how is the memorization going?"
Hermione stepped forward confidently.
"Professor, the second section has been memorized."
"Two students have already begun memorizing the third section."
"And everyone has finished writing the second section of their notes."
Douglas nodded.
In truth, the second-year textbook's introduction to dark creatures was quite short. Memorizing it didn't require much time.
But for students who had never tried to memorize entire passages before, finding time after class to do so wasn't easy.
Expectations had to remain reasonable.
"Very good."
"Your progress currently ranks second among all four second-year houses."
"Five points to Gryffindor."
The class erupted with excitement.
Douglas continued:
"I hope you will keep up the good work."
"And considering everyone's excellent performance last week…"
"I have decided to allow you to begin learning and practicing certain Defence Against the Dark Arts spells earlier than planned."
The students immediately sat up straighter.
"Therefore," Douglas went on, "we will not spend the rest of the class reciting text."
"You can continue memorizing during your spare time."
He glanced at Hermione.
"What do you think, Miss Granger?"
Hermione raised her hand high.
When Douglas called on her, she stood up.
"Professor, I'm not against memorizing after class."
"The problem is that our spare time is becoming very limited."
"Professor Sprout announced this morning that we must also memorize Herbology material during our free time."
"Of course, I don't question the professor's decision."
"But for many students… it might become difficult."
Douglas noticed the admiration in the other students' eyes as they looked at Hermione.
Interesting.
Despite already having memorized the entire textbook before the term even started, she still raised the issue on behalf of the class.
There was a hint of leadership there—still rough around the edges, but unmistakable.
Still, she had a point.
If every subject demanded the same level of memorization, students would struggle to manage their time.
Not because they lacked free hours—but because most of them didn't yet know how to organize their schedules effectively.
If the situation continued, they might fail to learn anything properly.
Douglas decided he would wait until the other professors noticed the issue themselves.
At the appropriate moment, he would propose a solution.
For now, he simply gestured for Hermione to sit down.
"It's fine. Continue memorizing for now."
"After class, I'll discuss the situation with the other professors."
"There's no need to rush."
"What matters is that you remember the knowledge firmly."
"If you master it now, preparing for your O.W.L.s in fifth year will become much easier."
He looked around the classroom again.
"Alright."
"Back to the lesson."
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