Chapter 63 — The Sidelined Twin Class Representatives
Some students tried copying Crabbe's method. The moment they entered the passage, they lowered their heads and ran forward blindly.
Unfortunately, one of them greatly overestimated his athletic ability.
He stepped straight into the puddle in front of him and fell in so badly that he could not even climb back out.
(Slytherin students shouted outside: "Use the Freezing Charm!")
Although everyone discussed several possible solutions, not everyone could cast those spells.
In the end, only one student—Daphne Greengrass—carefully combined all the advice and information gathered by the group.
She successfully entered the second passage.
The information she brought back surprised everyone.
The second passage only looked terrifying.
As long as someone ran fast enough, the strange creature behind them would always remain about one meter away.
However, she also discovered something unusual.
While running, the ground itself slowly moved backward.
Every time she took one step forward, the ground would pull her back about one-third of a step.
Only by running faster could someone continue moving forward.
She had even tried stepping backward and casting a Freezing Charm on the moving ground, but the spell had no effect.
As she approached the exit, she felt an invisible resistance.
It was similar to running in water.
Although it didn't affect breathing, it made every movement exhausting.
At the same time, the passage gradually became narrower and narrower, creating a strong sense of oppression.
Therefore, she concluded that this passage was most likely a test of physical endurance.
After hearing her explanation, the Slytherins exchanged confused glances.
Was it really that simple?
Or was it actually more complicated than it seemed?
After listening to her deduction, Douglas couldn't help applauding.
"Excellent reasoning, Miss Greengrass. Five points to Slytherin."
Douglas had genuinely not expected someone to guess the true purpose of the obstacle so quickly.
Originally, he believed it would take a third-year student to figure it out.
Or perhaps a second-year Ravenclaw.
Or, of course—
Hermione Granger.
After Douglas praised her, everyone looked at Daphne Greengrass again.
Was it truly just a test of physical strength?
However, Draco Malfoy's lips curved slightly.
This was the magical world.
How could things possibly be that simple?
He believed there had to be some spell or hidden trick that could help solve the next stage.
Douglas watched Draco lead the Slytherins away enthusiastically and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
He could easily guess why Draco seemed so confident.
Douglas felt quietly amused.
If you can think of it, do you really believe I wouldn't think of it as well?
You're still too young.
There were originally two purposes behind this stage of the training exercise.
The first was to determine whether the diary had already entered Hogwarts.
So far, all the students appeared perfectly normal.
That meant Douglas could only wait for the effects of this practical lesson to spread further—
And eventually allow the respected senior Riddle to appear.
At the same time, the students could rehearse what they should do if the Chamber of Secrets incident occurred.
Of course, Douglas didn't mind if some clever students eventually discovered the connection between the two.
He had already prepared an explanation and a backup plan.
After all, in his previous life, he had enjoyed playing Go.
The second purpose was much simpler.
Douglas had noticed that many Hogwarts students were generally physically weak.
This didn't mean they were incapable.
But even a small amount of physical exertion caused symptoms like:
increased heart rate shortness of breath chest tightness headaches
He often observed this during ordinary classes.
Whenever students were about to be late, they would run up the castle's complicated staircases and arrive at the classroom completely out of breath.
Once, a student had even felt dizzy immediately after reaching the classroom because he had run too fast.
Although potions could relieve those symptoms, Douglas believed the problem should be solved at its root.
Morning exercise could improve:
the function of the central nervous system motor coordination overall physical endurance
It could also encourage collective spirit, cooperation, perseverance, and mutual support.
Most importantly, morning exercise could help cultivate a healthier mindset.
Students lived at Hogwarts surrounded by mountains, forests, and the Black Lake.
Yet most of their time was spent wandering through the dark corridors of the castle.
Aside from Quidditch players, very few students truly experienced the beauty of the surrounding landscape.
Douglas had already made up his mind.
He would eventually let these children experience the joy of morning runs along the shore of the Black Lake.
Of course, he did not believe that a simple speech could change the school's daily habits.
He would need to guide them gradually, step by step.
In short—
Everything he did was for the students.
After class, Douglas returned to his office for a short while.
Soon, Percy Weasley knocked on the door and entered with a letter.
"Boss, this is a letter from Mr. Slaine. He said your owl couldn't deliver it, so he sent it through me."
Douglas accepted the letter with a puzzled expression.
"How does he know you?"
Percy stared at him in disbelief.
"Boss, have you forgotten?
You introduced Mr. Slaine to me when we met in Diagon Alley. You even asked him to give me the complete set of books.
On the first day of school, I received a book from Mr. Slaine…
I believe I mentioned that earlier.
There's no regret about this."
Percy added the last sentence jokingly. He obviously didn't think the other party would take the books back.
Douglas slapped his forehead.
"I nearly forgot.
But what puzzles me is this—
If he, a Hufflepuff, wanted to contact me, he would probably ask Professor Sprout for help.
Instead, he looked for a Gryffindor like you."
Douglas opened the letter and quickly scanned it.
Most of it consisted of complaints about how difficult it had become to contact him directly.
Douglas's recent behavior had made it impossible for fans to send letters to him.
The result was that various strange letters had once again turned his office into chaos.
(Previously, when Douglas stopped updating his work and fans didn't know who the author was, the letters they sent completely overwhelmed his office.)
The letter then discussed several matters.
The publishing company was considering releasing a collector's edition of several books, changing the author's name to Douglas Holmes.
They also wanted Douglas to write a foreword as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Ideally, he could invite other Hogwarts professors to contribute forewords as well—especially Professor Dumbledore.
Slaine also suggested holding a book signing event while Douglas still held the Defense Against the Dark Arts position.
Since that position changed every year, such an opportunity might never appear again.
Books published during that period would become extremely meaningful collector's items.
The final matter was not discussed with Douglas beforehand.
It was simply announced.
On Saturday afternoon, Douglas would attend an interview with a reporter from the Daily Prophet at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.
He was not allowed to refuse.
Slaine even wrote that he had promised the company Douglas would attend.
If Douglas refused, Slaine threatened to hang himself at the Hogwarts gates.
Slaine also specifically mentioned that he had rejected Rita Skeeter's request for an interview.
Clearly, he understood that reporter's reputation.
After reading the letter, Douglas asked Percy to wait a moment.
He sat down at his desk and thought for a while before writing a reply.
He agreed to the arrangement and praised Slaine for refusing Rita Skeeter's interview request.
"Percy," Douglas said, handing him the letter, "go to the Owlery and send this to Slaine."
Percy wasn't surprised by the request.
He placed the book Forgotten Ancient Magic and Spells back on the shelf, took the letter, and left the office.
Not long after Percy left, the class representatives from several classes arrived to report their learning progress.
Hermione handed over the students' written reflections.
Douglas immediately noticed that none of them were shorter than twelve inches.
Earlier, he had never specified a minimum length for the reflections.
He had only said that students who wrote serious reflections would receive their confiscated books back along with his autograph.
Douglas skimmed through the stack.
The longest essay was Hermione's—twenty inches long.
He also noticed that Hermione had cited several historical incidents caused by misunderstandings and rumors.
Other students had also referenced various historical examples.
Seeing the similarity in style, Douglas looked up and glanced at Hermione, who seemed slightly uneasy.
Of course, this assignment had not been limited to the second-year Gryffindors.
Any class that believed the rumor had received the same homework.
The Hufflepuff class representative looked particularly worried when she saw Hermione's lengthy essay.
The longest reflection written in their class was only six inches.
It was barely half as long.
Douglas collected all the reflections.
After reading them carefully later, he would return the books to students who had truly realized their mistakes.
Since he still needed to conduct patrol duties, Douglas didn't have time to review each essay immediately.
After collecting the assignments, he dismissed the students.
Once everyone had left, Douglas noticed that three people had remained behind.
They had quietly blended into the crowd earlier.
Now they were sitting at the tea table, casually eating snacks and drinking tea.
Two of them looked completely at home, commenting on the quality of the pastries as if they visited regularly.
"George. Fred."
Douglas folded his arms.
"You two are treating this place like your common room.
Don't forget—you're here for detention, not afternoon tea.
Miss Johnson, there's no need to be nervous. I'm speaking to these two."
Douglas turned to her.
"What did you want to discuss with me?"
Angelina Johnson was a tall girl with long black hair tied into a ponytail.
In the Gryffindor common room, she was known for her confident personality and strong leadership among the fourth-year students.
She had even forced the Weasley twins to reluctantly accept the creation of deputy class representatives.
But standing inside Douglas's office now, she felt strangely nervous.
She wasn't sure whether she was excited or afraid.
Fred gave George a look.
Together they had brought Angelina along, mixing with the crowd earlier and encouraging her to eat snacks and drink tea.
Hopefully it would calm her nerves.
When Douglas asked his question, Angelina hesitated and glanced at Fred.
Douglas had long noticed that she could identify Fred instantly.
He himself often relied on subtle magical cues to tell the twins apart.
Fred and George immediately began complaining in dramatic voices.
"Oh, Professor, the students are rebelling!"
"Yes! They're planning to overthrow us!"
"It's just like the Deputy Minister of Magic bypassing the Minister and contacting Dumbledore directly!"
"Oh dear, poor Minister Fudge…"
"Our fate is so similar!"
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