On his way back to the office, Douglas ran into Professor McGonagall.
"Oh, Douglas, just the person I was looking for.
By the way, the study room will officially open to students next Monday.
As for detention for those caught wandering at night—I agree with your plan, and I've convinced the other Heads of House as well.
Since these students think they have so much energy at night, they can join you for a run around the Black Lake at six in the morning!
You were right—if they burn off their energy during the day, maybe they won't be so lively at night.
Here's the list of students in detention...
And don't worry about Peeves—since you've already promised the ghosts, both Albus and I trust you completely.
Now, go get some rest. I've heard all about your day!"
Douglas glanced at the list—only six names. He gave a weary smile.
"Today was exhausting, but I can't deny it was rewarding.
Mr. Limus—the author of Forgotten Ancient Magic and Spells and a Daily Prophet reporter—told me I'll be front page news tomorrow.
Maybe now no one will question whether I'm qualified to be a professor!"
A strange look flickered across Professor McGonagall's face.
"That's good news, I suppose.
But, Douglas, front page or not, that's not what really matters.
You need to take care of yourself. You're a professor now—focus on teaching, and don't let the rest weigh on you too much..."
Douglas couldn't help but feel there was something more behind her words.
Wasn't it the staff who wanted him to clear his name in the first place?
Either way, Douglas made up his mind: if Lockhart tried to cause trouble again, he'd find time to dig up some evidence.
No way could that man cover his tracks perfectly!
Unfortunately, when Douglas got back to his office, rest wasn't in the cards.
All four students sentenced to detention arrived together.
He found Harry and Ron already copying lines, while George and Fred had only just cracked open their textbooks.
Douglas scowled. "Couldn't you two have learned this before coming?"
George and Fred groaned.
"We decided to be top students in every class!"
"Then we realized almost every class wants us to memorize something!"
"The good news is, we've given up on trying to rack up points in Potions!"
"Clearly, Professor Snape doesn't want to hear us recite the textbook!"
Douglas raised an eyebrow. "So, you've actually memorized some Transfiguration and Potions as well?"
The twins grinned and high-fived.
"Of course, Professor!"
"We even sacrificed sleep for it!"
Douglas smirked. "Gentlemen, you seem to have forgotten—your detention includes not just Defence Against the Dark Arts, but Transfiguration and Potions as well."
George and Fred stared at each other in horror.
"George, how could you forget something so important?"
"Oh, Fred, wasn't this supposed to be your department?"
Clearly, they'd gotten a little too comfortable in the Defence office and forgotten about their other detentions.
Douglas shook his head. "Starting tomorrow, you two are only allowed to copy lines in my office.
If you bring textbooks to memorize again, I'll gladly assign you an extra essay every night.
And you'll be copying lines for all three subjects—every single night."
He couldn't help but grumble inwardly—why could they memorize for other classes in their own time, but insisted on doing Defence Against the Dark Arts in his office?
The twins looked utterly crushed.
They suddenly longed for the days before they'd thrown that Dungbomb at the Professor.
Ron and Harry hid their faces behind their notebooks, snickering despite themselves.
Douglas shot them a cold look.
"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, something funny?
Or did you forget your detention includes the same assignments?"
"..."
The next morning, at five-thirty, Douglas remembered the new detention schedule.
At six, with dawn barely breaking, he arrived at the castle's front lawn.
There stood Filch, lantern in hand, already berating six bleary-eyed students.
"Good morning, Mr. Filch.
I'll take it from here."
The six students:
One from Ravenclaw, one from Gryffindor, and the rest Hufflepuffs—including one of his class representatives.
Besides the three Douglas had caught, the other three Hufflepuffs had been intercepted by their Prefect after midnight in the kitchens—then promptly caught by Filch.
Their excuse? They'd gotten hungry from late-night studying and went to the kitchens for a snack.
The house-elves had enthusiastically offered to whip up a hotpot...
When their Prefect showed up looking for food, he found them emerging from the kitchen, faces shining with grease and the delicious smell of hotpot clinging to their robes.
He scolded them for not inviting him—then they all got caught by Filch.
No matter how hard the Prefect tried to cover for them, Filch reported them to Professor Sprout anyway.
Looking at the students' miserable faces, Filch grinned.
"Professor, your method is brilliant!
These little pests only have so much energy at night because they sleep too much!
It took a lot of work to wake them up this morning..."
With that, he handed them over and left.
Douglas snapped his fingers.
A bright but gentle orb of light appeared, hovering in the morning gloom.
Filch paused for just a moment, then shuffled away.
The six students stared at the floating light, awestruck—especially the boys.
Douglas smiled. "Awake now?"
They all nodded, then immediately started complaining.
"Professor, the detention notice said six o'clock..."
"But Filch had the ghosts wake us up at five!"
"Professor, is our detention really running around the Black Lake?"
Douglas nodded, then shook his head.
"Sort of. But not the entire Black Lake—we'll just be running the school-side path for an hour.
Detention is from six to seven."
Just then, Douglas noticed the couple he'd caught earlier standing behind the four Hufflepuffs, making eyes at each other—and even sneaking in a bit of hand-holding.
"You two—separate. One of you in second position, one at the end.
Mr. Quincy, you're up front. Yes, you!
With all these people here, what are you afraid of?"
Partridge Quincy had been the one Douglas caught in the Forbidden Forest, trying to prove his courage.
Judging by his behavior, he still had a way to go.
The other Hufflepuffs cheerfully split up the couple, each giving Quincy a friendly pat on the shoulder.
It was obvious they'd already compared notes on why each of them was in trouble.
Once everyone was lined up, the glowing orb floated to Douglas's side.
"Now, everyone—use your wands to light your own way!"
At first, the students grumbled about running, but as Douglas demonstrated the proper pace and corrected their form, they slowly got the hang of it—even if a few still couldn't quite tell their left from their right.
When they reached the lakeshore, they could see a faint glow beneath the water—the Slytherin common room.
A pang of envy rippled through the group. Why wasn't there a Slytherin among them?
The Black Lake was vast.
Though they only ran the stretch within the castle grounds, by the time they'd covered a quarter, the sun was rising.
Douglas eyed the red-faced, panting students, their initial enthusiasm long gone.
"All right, everyone—let's shout some slogans as we run!
Let those still sleeping hear the sound of sunrise!"
The students looked lost. Slogans? Like the Sorting Hat's song?
Seeing their confusion, Douglas clapped and called out:
"Hufflepuffs, repeat after me:
We are badgers, loyal and trustworthy badgers!"
The four Hufflepuffs perked up at once, shouting with gusto:
"Badgers! Badgers! Loyal and trustworthy!"
The couple looked a bit left out.
The Ravenclaw girl thought for a moment.
"Professor, my slogan is: We are eagles, soaring to the peak!"
The Gryffindor boy grinned. "What about me, darling?"
Blushing, the Ravenclaw girl glanced at Douglas and the snickering Hufflepuffs.
"How about: We are lions, the bravest lions!"
The Gryffindor boy beamed.
"Darling, you're a genius! Brilliant!"
The others howled with laughter.
Douglas didn't stop the boy's antics—everyone has their youthful moments.
As long as nothing got out of hand, he saw no reason to play the villain.
He had to admit, the Gryffindor boy was bold—no wonder he'd won over a Ravenclaw girl.
So, as the morning sun bathed Hogwarts in gold,
a ragtag chorus of uneven but enthusiastic slogans echoed behind the castle.
They were especially loud thanks to the Gryffindor boy, who had slyly cast a Sonorus charm on himself, sending the Ravenclaw girl into fits of giggles.
The Hufflepuffs, meanwhile, felt the whole scene was even more saccharine than Professor Holmes's special vinegar.
Douglas had to put on his stern face and remind them: this was detention, not a spring picnic.
A little energy was fine, but don't get carried away!
Still, he secretly gave the boy credit for the Sonorus charm—he'd noticed plenty of students peeking through the castle windows to see what was going on.
If you want to hook a big fish, you need some lively bait.
Once the group got bigger, he'd worry about rules then!
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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