Hogwarts second floor, Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.
An extreme stench permeated the classroom. The odour was so intense that just one whiff would make someone dizzy and nauseous, and even opening the windows was useless. Besides the stench, a dark green liquid was continuously splattering from the direction of the podium toward all sides, staining the classroom walls and furniture with a strange green colour.
Several young wizards covered in dark green spots and overcome by the fumes had already collapsed on the classroom floor, while the other young wizards who hadn't yet fainted were in a state of near mental collapse.
"Ah!"
"Don't push me! Who's pushing me!"
"Mummy! The wizarding world is so scary; I want to go home!"
Wave after wave of wailing continuously echoed throughout the classroom. All the young wizards were hiding in panic behind makeshift barricades made of several desks pushed together, doing their utmost to guard against the liquid that occasionally splattered in all directions.
Hiding behind a desk with Ron and Hermione, Harry kept watch of the surroundings while looking toward an open window not far away.
At the first moment of crisis, the little black cat had seen that the situation was bad and immediately ran out through the window to seek possible reinforcements for them.
This was indeed an incredibly correct decision.
Shifting his gaze to the podium, Lockhart had hidden behind the podium when the incident first began, and now no one knew whether he was dead or alive.
But he hadn't really expected Lockhart to be able to solve the disaster he had brought about anyway.
Trying his best to cover his mouth and nose with a water-soaked towel, Harry looked toward the side of the podium at the figure that covered the floor and had even blocked the door.
At first glance, the thing looked like a large mass of yellow-brown sludge, but looking carefully, it was covered with countless densely packed eyes.
Those eyes constantly swept around the surroundings, and whenever they spotted moving objects, they would shoot dark green mucus from their body.
Harry didn't know what this thing actually was, but he admitted that no dark creature could give him a greater psychological shadow than this thing!
The creature looked extremely filthy, smelt extremely filthy, and behaved even more filthily!
He dared say that if Lockhart had even one less piece of rubbish in his brain, he wouldn't have thought to bring this thing into the classroom!
A real dark creature. Now he had truly experienced one!
"What, ugh, what do we do now?"
Ron's face was frighteningly pale. His pixie had long been knocked unconscious by that extreme stench and was now lying in his arms with spiral circles in its eyes like mosquito coils.
Hermione beside him didn't look very well either.
Although she had immediately used the Shield Charm to block the first wave of liquid when she noticed something was wrong, even so, the smell permeating the entire classroom still made her quite uncomfortable.
If she hadn't learnt Professor Kahn's flying technique yet, she would have already planned to jump out the window!
"This thing looks a bit like a Bundimun. That's a magical creature we'll learn about in fourth year."
She had learnt about this creature when helping Professor Kahn grade papers. They generally appeared in groups in residences, feeding on dirt, with liquid on their bodies that could corrode building foundations. A type of pest in the wizarding world.
But the thing in front of them was definitely not an ordinary Bundimun!
Professor Kahn had said that Bundimuns fed on rotting matter, but they themselves had no particular odour, and their entire bodies were green, like patches of giant moss.
The colour of this Bundimun was very wrong, and the extreme stench it emitted was even more wrong!
Where on earth had Lockhart found this strange thing!
Just as Hermione was thinking of solutions, Ron's panicked voice rang out beside her: "Quick, Hermione, Shield Charm!"
"It's about to start shooting again!"
Second-floor corridor.
A flash of silver-white light passed by, and Evans's figure appeared in the corridor, then was nearly knocked over by that intense stench.
"Cough cough!"
After coughing violently twice, he tapped his head with his wand, cast a Bubble-Head Charm on himself, then looked toward the source of the smell.
The windows of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom were already covered with a layer of dark green liquid, making it difficult to see the situation inside clearly. He could only vaguely see a yellow-brown thing spread from in front of the podium all the way to the door.
But just hearing the screams coming from the classroom, he could feel the despair of those young wizards.
Putting himself in their shoes, he could understand. Second-year young wizards had learnt neither Bubble-Head Charms nor Shield Charms. Placing them in such a difficult environment... it was indeed somewhat hard on them.
Just as Evans was analysing the situation inside the classroom through the window, hurried footsteps came from nearby.
Turning his head, he saw Professor McGonagall walking angrily in this direction with a bubble over her head. Not far behind her, Madam Pomfrey followed with a grim expression, wearing an identical bubble on her head.
Good, now except for Professor Binns, who couldn't smell anything, all the victims on the second floor had arrived.
"What on earth is Lockhart up to!" Seeing Evans standing by the door, Professor McGonagall could no longer control the anger in her heart. "I was still in class when I smelt an extremely foul odour! It made several of my students vomit!"
"Yours was still manageable." Madam Pomfrey's expression was terrifyingly grim. "I had a patient whose body was already very weak. He fainted directly upon smelling that odour, and it took a bottle of Pepperup Potion to barely keep him conscious."
Shrugging, Evans said softly: "I just arrived too, but from a rough look... he should be conducting a practical lesson?"
"What practical lesson could create such a commotion!" Professor McGonagall looked like she was about to lose it. "I thought he had blown up the bathroom!"
"Hogwarts bathrooms have automatic cleaning functions. Even if they were blown up, there wouldn't be such a terrible smell," Evans corrected.
"Where is Lockhart?" Professor McGonagall tapped the window at the classroom door with her wand, and the dark green liquid dispersed, allowing them to roughly see the situation in front of the podium.
Then they saw a figure curled up under the podium, presumably unconscious.
The three of them: "....."
Where on earth had Dumbledore found this Defence Against the Dark Arts professor!
"Shouldn't we rescue those young wizards first?" Hearing the continuous screams from the room, Madam Pomfrey's expression showed some compassion.
"We can." Professor McGonagall nodded and was about to push open the door in front of her.
But before she could open it, Evans stopped her.
"Part of that thing is stuck to the door." He didn't finish speaking, but seeing Professor McGonagall's suddenly pale face, she should have understood his meaning.
If Professor McGonagall opened the door now, the part stuck to the door would definitely fall and hit the nearest person.
Although they could all cast silent, instant Shield Charms and didn't need to worry about direct contact with that thing, just thinking about a yellow-brown thing slapping onto one's body...
"Let's go through the window," Professor McGonagall said expressionlessly.