Another Friday had arrived. But today's Potions class had no professor—and was missing one student as well.
The Bloody Baron drifted through the classroom, overseeing the fourth-year Gryffindors and Slytherins as they sat in enforced silence with their textbooks. Anyone foolish enough to attempt whispering would face the specter's wrath.
No one dared speak, though in truth, everyone was simply staring blankly at their pages.
The Slytherins had no idea where their Head of House had disappeared to.
The Gryffindors, meanwhile, were consumed with worry for Orli.
Finally, just as the dismissal bell chimed, Orli and Snape appeared together in the doorway. Orli immediately rushed toward Harry and the others, while Snape followed at his characteristic measured pace. His expression revealed little, but had Lucius or Narcissa been present, they would have detected his unmistakably buoyant mood.
"Thank you, Bloody Baron," Snape acknowledged the ghost with a respectful nod.
The Bloody Baron returned the gesture before gliding through the stone wall and vanishing.
"Well? How did it go?" Hermione couldn't contain her eagerness as the four friends exited the classroom. The review panel from Potions Today had arrived that morning; Orli had just undergone their rigorous assessment and examination.
"Naturally, I passed," Orli replied with a triumphant grin. This was the most relaxed she'd felt in days—she hadn't brought shame upon the Waters family name, nor had she embarrassed Snape. The three distinguished, white-bearded evaluators had even offered glowing praise before their departure.
"I knew you'd ace it," Ron declared with characteristic hindsight.
"Still worried I might poison you all?" Orli teased him playfully.
"Next time, even if you handed me two leeches, I'd swallow them without hesitation," Ron proclaimed, thumping his chest dramatically.
They proceeded down the corridor toward the Great Hall, with Pansy Parkinson and several other Slytherin girls walking just ahead. Sharp-eyed Ron immediately spotted the latest issue of The Wizarding Weekly clutched in their hands.
"Hey! Mind if we borrow that magazine?" he called out. Orli had already informed them that The Wizarding Weekly was expected to publish a public apology.
Pansy turned back with obvious intention to snap at Ron, but upon seeing Orli, she hesitated for several telling seconds. Then, with visible reluctance, she tossed the magazine over and hurried away with her companions.
"Why'd she bolt like a mouse spotting a cat? What's she running from?" Ron asked as he caught the publication, genuinely puzzled.
Orli didn't even need to flip through it—the magazine had fallen open to precisely the page Pansy had been reading. The entire full-color spread contained no sensational headlines or flashy content, only a formal letter of public apology addressed to all Hogwarts staff and students. It stated that the previous issue's content consisted entirely of unfounded rumors that did not represent the editorial board's position. Furthermore, they had recalled all copies of the offending issue and pledged never again to publish anything by Rita Skeeter.
"They're treating this remarkably seriously," Harry observed with surprise. "When the Daily Prophet published those stories about me, nobody ever intervened."
"Your situation was never as severe as Orli's," Hermione pointed out. "But this does reveal something important... Apparently Pansy Parkinson isn't as dim as she appears."
"Reveals what exactly?" Ron asked, still bewildered.
"It shows that Orli is extremely important, and it's best not to cross her," Hermione replied with a knowing smile. "Care to guess why The Wizarding Weekly issued such a comprehensive public apology? I can't speak to everything, but I'm certain at least one person deserves the credit."
She raised her hand and pointed back toward the Potions classroom.
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