novel-bin Chapter 649 Death Eaters and Squibs
Chapter 649 Death Eaters and Squibs
Chapter 649 Death Eaters and Squibs
As soon as he entered the gates of Hogwarts, before he even got close to the castle, Siron could hear Filch's furious and angry shouts from afar.
"Come back, all of you come back! You must undergo inspection before entering the castle!"
He stood at the castle gate, waving his arms, his face flushed red with anger.
"Argus, what happened?"
"Ah, Headmaster." Filch turned around and, upon seeing that it was Dumbledore, became excited and explained with great enthusiasm, "You asked me to check each student's belongings to make sure they didn't bring any dark magic items into the castle, and that's what I did."
"But those students went too far! They dared to ignore school rules and force their way into the castle. I tried to stop them, but nobody listened to me!"
Filch became more and more aggrieved as he spoke, his voice trembling with tears, and even Hermione felt a little sorry for him.
However, the next second—
"Headmaster, I hope you can allow me to reopen the dungeon. Just hang those people up and whip them, and I guarantee they'll never dare to break the school rules again."
Hermione's sympathy vanished instantly, and she joined Harry and Ron in glaring at Filch.
That old idiot is always thinking about reopening the dungeon to hang students up and whip them. He almost succeeded last year when Umbridge was around.
However, after Umbridge became the target of public criticism and fled the Ministry of Magic in a sorry state, Filch, who had followed her in committing evil deeds, was also exposed for what he truly was.
"Argus, I've made myself perfectly clear. As long as I'm at Hogwarts, I will absolutely not reopen the dungeons." Dumbledore looked at Filch with a serious expression. "Don't bring this up again."
Filch quickly bowed and said in a very soft voice, "Of course, Headmaster, it's your decision."
"But Headmaster, what should we do this time? Many people ran into the castle without being checked. I think we should call them out."
"Let it go this time, Argus." Dumbledore shook his head and said, "The Dark Mark appeared in Hogsmeade. They're just too scared to do this."
Upon hearing the Dark Mark, Filch was terrified, trembling uncontrollably. He staggered against the castle gate before managing to steady himself.
"Don't worry, things have been resolved satisfactorily," Dumbledore said.
"I, I'm not nervous—" Filch said, but his pale face betrayed no credibility whatsoever.
That's normal, though. For those self-proclaimed pure-blood Death Eater wizards, their hatred for Squibs is even greater than that for Muggles and Mudbloods.
Death Eaters kill Muggles for fun, and might even let them go when they're in a good mood, saving them for another time. But for them, killing Squibs is a mission they must complete; if they encounter one, it's an Avada Kedavra.
Filch, unfortunately, was a dud.
More than a decade ago, during the First Wizarding War, Filch lived in constant fear, and ever since then, he has never left Hogwarts, even after Voldemort's downfall.
After receiving Dumbledore's answer, Filch was very unhappy, but he had no choice but to leave obediently.
Upon returning to the castle, Sirius and his party parted ways with Dumbledore at the entrance to the Great Hall.
It was lunchtime, so they decided to head straight to the Great Hall. Dumbledore, however, said he had other business to attend to and needed to return to his office.
"I don't understand why Dumbledore would keep Filch in the school." As the four entered the Great Hall, Ron couldn't help but complain, "Filch proved last year that he's not a loyal person. You remember, that old idiot was the first person in the school to side with Umbridge."
"Everyone knows that," Harry said. "To be honest, I don't know why Dumbledore didn't expel him. Someone like him could betray us at any moment."
"But he won't betray Hogwarts," Siron said. "More importantly, Filch is cheap, and the school board will have a hard time finding another castle keeper who can do multiple jobs for a minimal salary."
Harry blinked.
Well, he really never considered the salary issue, and in a way, Filch was really useful—at least he treated all students equally.
The group sat down at the Gryffindor long table, which was already quite crowded. Most of the people there had run back from Hogsmeade, their faces still showing fear and dread.
When they came in, Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout were standing warily at the Great Hall entrance. However, they left after Dumbledore walked in from outside.
At that moment, Harry and Hermione suddenly received a task from the student council presidents, asking them to reassure the other students and tell them that the Death Eaters who had broken into Hogsmeade had been captured by the Aurors.
Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance and immediately sprang into action. Hermione volunteered to take on the most troublesome first and second year students.
Although they didn't go to Hogsmeade, they heard even more terrifying versions from others—such as Death Eaters infiltrating Hogwarts, or Voldemort himself appearing at Hogsmeade.
Hermione had to explain to them again and again that Voldemort had not appeared in Hogsmeade; there were only five idiots who had just joined the Death Eaters.
In contrast, Harry's task was much easier; he only needed to tell the third-year students what he knew to quiet them down.
As the prefects began to act, the dark clouds hanging over the auditorium gradually dissipated.
"Being a prefect must be exhausting," Ron muttered to himself. "Why couldn't we wait for the headmaster to announce it? Dumbledore's definitely coming for lunch soon, isn't he?"
"Perhaps Headmaster Dumbledore has other matters to attend to," Siron said. "Besides, the other professors need to find out the truth, so we can only let the prefects calm everyone down for now."
"Thank goodness I'm not a prefect, so I don't have to comfort those first-year kids right now; that would be a disaster." Ron glanced toward the door.
Hermione continued weaving through the crowd, explaining the truth over and over again—I really don't know where she got the patience from; he certainly couldn't do something like that.
"I really hope they move faster, I'm starving," Ron sighed.
He had only eaten a piece of buttered bread and a fried sausage that morning, and that was all gone long ago in the crowded Honeydukes.
After that, his attention was focused on the Death Eaters and the Dark Mark, so he didn't feel very hungry. Now that he's relaxed, his stomach is rumbling loudly.
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