"It's over."
"We're doomed."
The moment Neville shouted, the group of five knew they were finished. They wilted like frosted eggplants.
"Playing pranks on classmates, bullying classmates, assaulting classmates, harassing classmates—how dare you?! How dare you!"
Professor McGonagall's face burned with shame, and she could no longer conceal her fury. She felt her blood pressure rising steadily, especially as Neville enumerated the incidents. She couldn't imagine these were students she had taught.
"Now," she declared, her voice trembling with rage, "you will come with me to Headmaster Dumbledore."
"I will inform Headmaster Dumbledore of this matter, and he will determine your punishment."
Professor McGonagall spoke as if she had used all her strength, her body swaying slightly, looking as if a gust of wind could blow her over. At this moment, she felt very tired, her heart exhausted. In truth, she was a good Professor, a responsible Professor. Unlike Snape, who favored Slytherin, she was just and incorruptible. It was only a pity that her energy was truly limited. She couldn't look after every young wizard, nor could she keep track of every young wizard's condition in a timely manner. Even Dumbledore was not exempt from this.
"As for you, Mr. Dursley," she continued, her gaze sweeping over Dudley, Harry, Hermione, Neville, and the others, finally resting on Dudley. After all, he was the main instigator of this incident. Professor McGonagall wasn't blind; the large bumps on the foreheads of those young wizards clearly weren't caused by charms.
"Alright, Professor McGonagall."
Dudley was very obedient at this moment, which made Snape stare at his back for a long time. Although the matter with Slytherin had been suppressed by Carrow, there are no airtight walls in the world, and Snape eventually found out.
"Severus, I think you should also come with me. After all, this child is from Slytherin," McGonagall said.
Snape nodded expressionlessly, but his heart was not as calm as he appeared. As he looked at Dudley's broad back, a rare and very complex expression flashed in his eyes. There was remembrance, regret, and more envy. The scene unfolding before him felt familiar, only the roles were reversed. He had protected that girl, and I... If it had happened to me, would I have been able to do the same?
Dumbledore was slightly surprised by the sudden intrusion into his office. He was currently organizing the skeleton band for tonight's Halloween feast. Although he was the greatest white wizard of the twentieth century, he was not an omniscient and omnipotent god. He had neither the prophetic ability to foresee the future nor a crystal ball to constantly peek into the lives of young wizards. He was just a rather clever Gryffindor.
Professor McGonagall meticulously recounted the entire story to Dumbledore. His brows gradually furrowed as he listened, and then he looked at the trembling young wizards standing by the wall.
"Mr. Dursley," Dumbledore asked, his sapphire-like eyes meeting Dudley's equally blue ones, "what do you think of this matter?"
At this moment, Dudley was calmly meeting Dumbledore's gaze.
If you hadn't asked me, it would have been fine, but since you did...
"I believe that Hermione is neither the first nor will she be the last to encounter such a thing," he began, his tone calm but powerful and resolute, not like an answer to Dumbledore but more like he was telling him the outcome. "Once school violence begins and is treated leniently, it can never be stopped. Therefore, such incidents must never be tolerated; they must be severely punished. I believe the five of them should be expelled."
Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
Snape's expression darkened slightly, not because he thought the punishment was too severe—any punishment for Gryffindor was acceptable—but because Dudley's words reminded him of himself and James. This moment was just like that moment, and Gryffindor had not improved over all these years.
"Have you considered... they only did one wrong thing... would such a punishment be..."
Dumbledore's eyes were fixed on Dudley, his deep blue eyes like the ocean, seemingly trying to see through him.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Dudley's voice suddenly rose, thundering like a tiger's roar, making people's ears buzz. Dumbledore's body involuntarily trembled slightly.
"Do not do evil because it is small."
"Perhaps you consider this a small matter, but in my view, this is merely the beginning of evil."
"If we handle it lightly now, once a precedent is set, it will absolutely be endless, with endless troubles."
"It must be nipped in the bud with thunderous force, otherwise everyone will become an abuser. Everyone can become an abuser."
"Today they can bully Hermione."
"Tomorrow they can bully Longbottom."
"The day after tomorrow they can bully Weasley."
"The day after that will be Harry Potter."
His words were deafening, making people fall into deep thought. In fact, Dudley was not exaggerating. Given the character of these bullies, Neville must have been a target, and they really would have bullied Ron. If he hadn't befriended Harry, if he didn't have those older brothers, Ron would have been a very good target for bullying, just like Neville. Because Ron was poor. And because he was poor, his family was poor. He had no friends growing up except his brothers. Poverty is an original sin.
"First they hide shoes, then books... and then they can deliberately cause trouble in the classroom. What do you think they'll do next? Ruin Hermione's clothes?" At this point, Dudley completely changed his calm demeanor, his tone shifting entirely. Behind him, a raging fire seemed to ignite, transforming into a giant bear roaring furiously at the sky.
You say it was a joke before? Not getting angry would be the real joke. Jokes are for acquaintances. This is no longer just a joke; this is evil, and evil is evil. What's next? Stripping off clothes and filming? Or directly assaulting someone (in that way)? Don't think bullies won't, and don't think they're too young to understand anything. Some people mature beyond your imagination, not just mentally but also physically.
"We didn't intend to do that!" the five were still trying to argue.
"Hmm?" Dudley's gaze shifted from Dumbledore and fell upon the person who spoke, the same Hansel who had used the 'upside-down golden bell' on Dudley earlier. Just one look made the person tremble all over, shaking like a sieve. It was clearly just a pair of ordinary blue eyes, but in the eyes of the five, they were not eyes at all, but a furious dragon about to pounce on them. That was something even Malfoy had never experienced. He had no doubt that if he dared to argue one more word, the other person would pounce and tear them to shreds.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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