Chapter 59 This Year's College Cup is Secure
"Professor, isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Ron said hesitantly.
One second he was gloating, wanting everyone to be unlucky together, but the next second, the punishments for the two Slytherins were reduced by more than half.
This huge disparity made him feel a bit uncomfortable.
"How dare you say that? All of this is your three's doing.
I have never been so ashamed of Gryffindor students as I am today," Professor McGonagall said angrily, "Stealing Aaron's pet and almost getting it hurt.
If it weren't for them also breaking school rules, you would be entirely responsible.
If you're not convinced, I can inform your father, and I believe Mr. Arthur Weasley will get you justice."
"That's quite unnecessary.
Professor, the punishment you've given is very reasonable.
I accept it, and I accept it wholeheartedly," Ron said immediately, embodying the phrase 'from the heart' perfectly.
The Weasley family was harmonious, without too many rules; although they were a bit poor, it was undeniable that their happiness was quite high.
However, there was one small prerequisite: don't make mistakes, especially those unspeakable ones.
If his father, Arthur, found out about tonight's incident, a scolding might be enough, as the school had already given a punishment.
But if his mother, Molly, found out, he would probably get at least five scoldings, and he would have to endure his mother's wrath for a long time to come, which would be quite unpleasant.
"Hmph! Filch, these children are in your hands.
Business as usual."
"Understood, Professor McGonagall," Filch chuckled, looking at them with a sinister gaze, "From now on, you'll have to think twice before breaking school rules.
But you should be thankful that the current methods of punishment are nothing compared to the past."
"Professor McGonagall, before detention, can I take Abeyback?
It needs a good rest."
"Of course, that's only right." Professor McGonagall looked at Abey with some heartache, finding it hard to imagine how such a harmless, cute little fellow faced a Dragon; it must have been terrified.
"Your detention time will be tomorrow night, tomorrow night at eleven o'clock, Mr. Filch will be waiting for you in the entrance hall.
Before that, you can rest well for a day and think about how to explain it to your respective Houses."
With that, Professor McGonagall looked at the three Gryffindors with disappointment and left without looking back.
"Let's go too!" Aaron sighed, holding Abey and walking towards the Castle.
Hermione opened her mouth, but then hesitated, not saying anything.
"See you tomorrow, everyone.
Fifteen points and one hundred and fifty points, a tenfold difference.
Tsk tsk tsk! I can already imagine you all becoming like rats scurrying across the street."
The three of them gritted their teeth and were very angry when they saw Draco's gloating expression, but at the same time, they also felt uneasy.
Slytherin's score was far ahead, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuffwere both left far behind, but Gryffindor might not have a chance to catch up.
But what they did tonight directly erased that faint possibility... Back in the dormitory, Aaron sat on the bed, placing Abey opposite him, with a serious expression.
"It's okay that you were exposed this time, but you must learn from it.
If you feel wronged, come back and tell me, I'll get revenge for you, but don't just act on your own anymore, understand?"
Abey nodded repeatedly, then took off its coat, revealing the scorched clothes underneath.
"Sigh! Change out of them first!
I know you're reluctant, but life still has to go on."
Abey put down the clothes, then reached into the front pocket with its paw to pull out things: candies, chocolates, lollipops, bread, apples, and a few pieces of dried meat.
Even more outrageous was that there were also more than a dozen Galleons and dozens of silver sickles inside, simply extravagant.
Half a minute later, Aaron first glanced at the pile of coins, then at the pile of snacks on his bed, which was twice as big as Abey, and was speechless.
He casually picked up an apple, bit into it in front of his pet, "Tastes good, confiscated."
Woof!
Abey pointed at the pile of snacks, on the verge of tears, showing deep reluctance; these were all accumulated by saving money and being cute, bit by bit.
"Still not convinced?
Who told you to expose yourself tonight? This is punishment."
Abey ignored him, pouncing onto its mountain of snacks, displaying a strong sense of possessiveness.
But when it met Aaron's gaze, it still felt a little guilty, carefully dividing out half and hugging it.
This half is for you, the other half I'm keeping, no less than that.
Aaron slowly shook his head, and Abey's eyes became a little moist; it bit its Dragon teeth and divided another half from its own half, this time truly no less.
Pfft!
Aaron was amused, patted its Dragon head, and then pushed back three-quarters of the snacks it had divided out, "I only wanted an apple, look how scared you were."
Abey was stunned for a moment, then cried tears of joy, extending its little Dragon fist and starting to pound Aaron's chest.
"Alright, be more steady in the future, otherwise I'll confiscate all your treasures," Aaron said grumpily.
Abey immediately stood up straight, quickly changed into another new outfit with an Undetectable Extension Charm, and meticulously put the snacks and coins back in one by one.
After emptying them, the entire Dragon felt secure; this was the satisfaction of having them safely in its possession.
Before the smile on its face could fade, Aaron picked it up and placed it on its designated bed, "Sleep well, you still have to go to detention with me tomorrow!"
After covering Abey with a blanket, Aaron also lay on the bed, but looking at the burn marks on Abey's clothes, he always felt that his Dragon was at a disadvantage.
Abey did indeed beat Norbert soundly, but that was due to its age advantage, relying on brute force to overwhelm it; without Dragon's Breath, it couldn't gain much of an advantage in terms of attack.
"System, open Abey's attribute panel."
"Okay!"
"Pet: Abey"
"Race: Dragon (Saint: Unawakened)"
"magic Power: 304 (increases by one point daily, although its potential is infinite, it is currently exceptionally weak.)"
"Innate Abilities: Flight,???"
"Sigh!" Aaron sighed with some regret; with only 304 magicPower, if he relied on it to naturally evolve to the next stage, it would take another 196 days, which is more than half a year.
But by then, Norbert's size would have increased at least tenfold, and one swipe of its paw would probably kill it.
"Never mind, add points, evolve.
I must arrange the fire-breathing skill for it." Aaron hesitated for a moment, then generously invested 190 magic points to increase Abey's magic Power to 494 points, leaving 6 points as a buffer.
He didn't dare to fully feed Abey all at once; this was Hogwarts, what if it caused a commotion during its evolution?
The entire school would know that he kept a magical creature, and he didn't want to experience the feeling of being in the spotlight... After classes the next day, students stopped when they passed the giant hourglass that recorded the House points, and some even rubbed their eyes, disbelieving.
Such a big change in the hourglass in less than a day must mean something was wrong.
But when they looked again, they sadly realized they hadn't been mistaken the first time, and had to accept this cruel fact.
First place, Slytherin, 462 points, 15 points lower than yesterday's 477 points; although they didn't know what happened, this fluctuation wasn't exaggerated.
Second place, Ravenclaw, 406 points, third place, Hufflepuff, 332 points, both unchanged.
But the problem was fourth place Gryffindor, 299 points, which was a full 150 points lower than yesterday's 449 points; this was too exaggerated, simply preposterous.
Before the students could figure out what was going on, news spread from Slytherin.
Draco personally admitted in the Great Hall that he had lost ten points, Aaron had lost five points, while Gryffindor's Harry, Ron, and Hermione each lost fifty points.
He didn't state the specific details, but the students didn't need to know the details; they didn't even doubt the fairness of the matter.
Because these points were deducted by Professor McGonagall, she was the Dean of Gryffindor, and wouldn't play such a big joke with her own House with one hundred and fifty points.
That left only one possibility: Harry and his friends had made a mistake, and a rather significant one.
After the news spread, Harry and the other two indeed became like rats scurrying across the street, as Malfoy had said; although not everyone was hostile, almost no one gave them a friendly look.
Gryffindor was like this, dropping from second place to fourth; the disparity was too great.
Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were the same; they felt no joy from moving up one spot, because Slytherin was still in first place, firmly pressing down on them.
The Snake House had won the House Cup for six consecutive years; both of their Houses were at their wit's end, but still had to endure.
In this situation, they tacitly placed their hopes on Gryffindor, hoping to overturn Slytherin this school year.
After all, the point difference wasn't large, and with a little effort, it was entirely possible for them to come from behind.
But now, their dream was shattered.