009 Tracing

The gloom of many days finally dissipated on the first day of the New Year. The rising sun sprinkled on the white playground, and the reflected light covered Hogwarts Castle with a layer of light golden tulle.

After preparing the necessary recovery potions for Hermione early, Madam Pomfrey went downstairs to have breakfast in the auditorium. In the school hospital, only Harry and Ron accompanied the dejected Hermione, and after listening to Hermione's narration of the encounter the previous night, the expressions on their faces were not very happy.

"Professor Snape must know!"

Hermione covered her furry face with her hands in a depressed tone.

"Professor Snape called out my name before the door opened. It shouldn't be. No one knows about my condition except Madam Pomfrey. Professor Snape is a master of potions. He must know how to use Polyjuice Potion as a medicine. What would be the consequences of animal transformation? This also means that he knows that I stole the materials from his storage room."

Harry stared at the tall hoops on the Quidditch pitch in a daze. Today, he and Ron had planned to go to the pitch to play Quidditch after visiting Hermione, but now it seemed that this plan would undoubtedly be canceled.

Moreover, since the Christmas holidays, the good mood brought about by the fact that no one in the castle secretly talked about his Parseltongue or accused him of being the heir of Slytherin was rapidly fading away. Now, Hermione was telling him about a young wizard named Bryan Watson.

"Bryan Watson, who claims to be an investigator."

Harry asked worriedly, "Hermione, what do you think Bryan is investigating in Hogwarts?"

"It doesn't matter, Harry. What else is there to investigate in the school now?"

Harry and Ron didn't seem to worry about getting expelled for this at all, which made the already irritable Hermione even more frustrated.

Harry felt a chill in his stomach, despite the warmth brought by the white rice porridge he had that morning. He had never heard the name Bryan Watson before, and besides Mr. Weasley, he had never fought against any wizard with an official title. However, this did not prevent the heavy pressure on his heart upon hearing the term "investigator."

Because of his Parseltongue ability, he was already under suspicion among the other students. If everyone found out that an investigator had come to the school in the second half of the semester, how much criticism would he have to endure? Harry could already imagine the smug look on Malfoy's repulsive face, and perhaps he would be the first to report him to the Inquisitor.

"Why would the Ministry of Magic suddenly send an investigator to the school... I mean, there's Headmaster Dumbledore in the school, and he never mentioned it to me."

Mentioning this, Harry suddenly remembered the night Justin was attacked. He had a conversation with Headmaster Dumbledore in his office, and at that time, due to various reasons, especially the fear that Dumbledore would mistake him for having some kind of connection with the founder of Slytherin House, he didn't confess to Dobby's warnings and the horrific voices that preceded each attack.

Could it be that Headmaster Dumbledore was dissatisfied with his concealment, so he agreed to let the Ministry of Magic take over?

Would the Ministry of Magic save trouble and follow the rumors in the school, putting him directly in the wizarding prison that Malfoy mentioned?

"Without a doubt, Harry, Snape must be behind this!"

Ron, holding half a potato pie in his hand, raised his freckled nose and swore firmly.

"Think about it, Harry, this Bryan has a close relationship with Snape, maybe he even graduated from Slytherin House."

Ron started chewing his potato cakes again and analyzed in a serious manner.

"Who wants to get you kicked out of this school the most? It's Snape, and I bet you, Harry, that the investigator was brought in by Snape to do it..."

"Thank you, Ron. Your analysis makes me feel much better."

Harry sat listlessly on the edge of the bed and said in a dejected tone.

"Stop the nonsense, Ron."

No matter what the reason was, since Snape didn't expose her directly last night, it seemed to mean that he would not be expelled from the school for stealing the professor's supplies. Hermione, who realized this, was a little less anxious. She folded her arms across her chest and stared menacingly at Ron.

"Even the Minister of Magic doesn't have the right to expel a Hogwarts student at will, unless Headmaster Dumbledore agrees. But Harry, Headmaster Dumbledore won't fire you, will he?"

If it was before that conversation, Harry might have been able to give an affirmative answer. He always felt that the old man with silver beard and hair treated him a little differently from other students, even though they had very few direct conversations.

"Maybe, Hermione," Harry hesitated to answer, "At least Dumbledore told Hagrid that he didn't think I attacked Colin and the others, and he couldn't agree to fire me just because I hid something from him."

Just as Harry was contemplating his worries, Ron, who had been refuted by Hermione, murmured in a low voice and expressed his viewpoint. Suddenly, he frowned and looked up at the pure white ceiling, as if trying to recall something.

"Bryan Watson... This name, I feel like I've heard it somewhere."

The low whisper instantly caught Harry's attention.

"Ron, since this Bryan claims to be an investigator, he must be Mr. Weasley's colleague or something. Maybe they have a good relationship. Maybe... you can write a letter to me and ask. I mean, explain in advance before he finds me..."

The Weasley family, especially Mr. Weasley, was Harry's favorite wizard family, and they had always been kind to him. The week he spent with the Weasleys last year was the most wonderful summer vacation he had in many years. If Mr. Weasley knew Bryan Watson, he wouldn't hesitate to help him defend himself.

The golden sunshine gradually climbed up the clubs on the playground, and the breeze on the spacious grass carried a hint of spring.

"Of course, there's no problem, Harry. I can write..."

Ron replied hesitantly, still trying to remember where exactly he had heard the name.

"Fred and George might have heard of him. But as for Prefect Percy... oh, we better not ask him. For the sake of his career, he might be more eager to betray us than Malfoy!"

"That's your brother, Ron."

Hermione threw back the covers, sat on the edge of the bed, and put on her boots.

"You shouldn't say that about him."

Among the trio, Hermione had the highest opinion of Ron's brother, Percy Weasley. In private, she had asked Percy many difficult questions, and Percy had indeed helped Hermione solve many problems with his extensive knowledge.

"Before he became a prefect and was determined to be the chairman of the Boys' Student Union, we were close brothers, but it's hard to say now."

Ron's ears turned red, and he said angrily, "I'll never forget the five points he deducted from me in front of the Myrtle bathroom!"

"Percy is a prefect, and enforcing discipline is part of his duties, Ron."

Although she was present when Percy deducted points from Ron, she didn't see anything wrong with Percy's behavior.

Hermione stood up, stomped her boots, and then turned up the collar of her wizard robe to hide the black hair on her cheeks as much as possible.

"Get your invisibility cloak, Harry. Do you want me to walk out of the hospital wing in this state?"

"Oh, are we going out?"

Harry, who had been lost in thought, was surprised to come back to his senses.

"Are you going to play Quidditch with us, Hermione?"

"When are you ever going to let go of Quidditch, Harry?"

Hermione looked defeated.

"Of course we're going to investigate this Mr. Watson. We need to find out his background first, don't we?"