Chapter 194: Inquiry

On the second week of the school term, one morning, the students arrived at the dining hall to discover a new announcement.

"From now on, unless under special circumstances, we will no longer sit at tables divided by houses. All students can sit wherever they like."

This was, of course, a suggestion from Murphy. His next step was to connect the common rooms of the four houses, although he had yet to find a suitable way to implement it.

Tom and Harry seized the opportunity to gather and discuss the opening report for their "Hero Group."

The "Hero Group," named by Miss Hermione, was formed from the first letter of each of their names: Harry's H, Hermione's E, Ron's R, and Tom's O. Simple, easy to understand, and pleasant to the ear.

"I've assessed with other students, and most of their topics are unlikely to make much progress, because they're too difficult," Hermione said. "We think Professor Murphy is probably just testing our learning abilities and won't really expect us to complete them. It's too unrealistic."

"What if we choose a simple topic, like the Transfiguration lesson we had last time, turning a toothpick into a needle? I think that's also difficult," Harry suggested.

"Oh, I don't think it's difficult at all. You just need to focus..."

"Please, don't turn this into a lecture right now..." Ron blocked his ears, "I won't be able to eat."

"I think choosing a simple topic would be a waste," Tom said. "If we're really going to study a complex topic, we will need a lot of profound knowledge. Maybe we can ask the professor to give us access to the Restricted Section."

Hermione's eyes lit up. "That's a good idea. What topic should we choose?"

"How about the topic of the soul?" Tom suggested. "It's related to what Harry wants, and it might also help with my memory issue."

Hermione's wish to solve the "time" problem wasn't urgent, and Ron's so-called wish was outright ignored.

Harry nodded, "Okay."

"But how do we write this proposal report?"

All three turned to look at Hermione.

She sighed, "Alright, but I'll have to ask Professor Murphy for advice. I've never written such a thing before."

...

On Thursday.

The first flying lesson was about to start, and the new students were all excited, except for those like Harry and Hermione who had never tried flying and were very nervous.

At noon, the owls brought everyone's letters and packages.

Hermione received a newspaper; she had subscribed to the "Daily Prophet" for the whole year since it was cheap.

"The St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries has seen a surge in werewolf patients, urging for normal social status for werewolves..." Hermione read the headline on the front page.

"I heard that Professor Murphy is the benefactor behind St. Mungo's," she said.

"He's rich, owning the Supreme Potion Shop and several other stores. But my dad thinks he might have other gray income sources."

"At least he's using his money to help others," Hermione said.

"You're hopeless."

"Look here." Hermione noticed another article, "No leads on the Gringotts robbery yet. Goblins have repeatedly emphasized that the items in vault 713 were taken before the incident."

"Doesn't your dad have any comment on this?" Hermione asked.

"He's not an Auror!"

"Sirius seems to know something, but he won't tell me," Harry said.

"Look, Neville received a Remembrall!" Suddenly, someone shouted, and everyone's attention was drawn to the plump boy nearby.

"Oh, poor Neville. He always forgets things," Hermione sighed. "Ah, right, the proposal report. I almost forgot; I still haven't asked Professor Murphy how to write it."

She stood up, glanced at the teachers' table, but found that Murphy had already finished his meal and just left.

"Well then." The girl sat down, disappointed.

...

Murphy headed straight to Hagrid's hut after lunch.

"Professor Murphy," Hagrid greeted him cheerfully in front of his hut, "I've prepared the wood you asked for."

"Look," he pointed to a large pile of branches, "this is fir, this is holly, this is hazelwood... all very suitable for wands. I had the tree-protectors help me find them. Gave them a bunch of grubs."

"Tree-protectors?" Murphy was surprised by Hagrid's ability to communicate with magical creatures, a remarkable talent indeed.

"Thank you, Hagrid."

Murphy had been practicing wand-making. He tried with ordinary branches, but the results weren't great, so he asked Hagrid for more suitable wand wood.

Hagrid was happy to interact with a professor; though older than Murphy, his mindset was childlike and simple, perhaps due to his giant heritage.

Taking the branches, Murphy returned to his office, preparing to start making wands, when an owl arrived with a letter.

Murphy opened the window and took the letter.

The green envelope had a large golden M on it.

It was from the Ministry of Magic.

"Dear Mr. Murphy:

Regarding the Gringotts robbery, the Auror Office and the Watchers are investigating. We understand that Hagrid, the gamekeeper of your school, visited vault 713 before the robbery. According to our records, Mr. Hagrid has a particularly bad file record. Therefore, the Auror Office will conduct a comprehensive inquiry. As a Hogwarts governor and professor, you are obliged to cooperate with the investigation. If you have any clues about this matter, please reply.

Rasmus Michel, Auror Office, Ministry of Magic."

Murphy raised an eyebrow.

"Finally."

Having been at Hogwarts for over a week, Dumbledore had yet to involve him in the Philosopher's Stone plan, either because the arrangements were complete without him, or he didn't trust Murphy.

Perhaps both.

But Murphy wasn't going to wait any longer.

You don't come to me, so I'll go to you.

He had arranged for Rasmus to send him a letter under the pretext of investigating Gringotts, giving him a reason to get involved.

As a school governor and educational inspector, receiving such a letter, how could he not ask a few questions?

With the letter in hand, Murphy went straight to Professor McGonagall. She was teaching, so he waited outside the classroom.

After class, Murphy called McGonagall and handed her the letter. "Professor McGonagall, what's this about?"

"Why is Hagrid involved in the Gringotts robbery?"

"What did he do at Gringotts?"

"And what's this 'particularly bad file record' mentioned in the letter?"

...

Elsewhere, Hermione, who had planned to ask Murphy about the proposal report, froze when she saw him outside the classroom.

She instinctively hid under the stairs.

What? Hagrid involved in the Gringotts robbery?

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