Filch appeared in their sight, holding his cat and a lantern.
James reacted extremely quickly, grabbing the Invisibility Cloak and running back. Sirius and Peter also followed him, while Lupin remained still, looking strangely at the three who had run off.
"Thirty points each, plus a week of detention for cleaning."
Filch bent down and put his cat down, and Madam Norris shot out like a flash.
James, Sirius, and Peter walked back dejectedly from behind, with Madam Norris following closely, her eyes fixed on them.
"I forgot it was a dead end back there," James said.
Filch showed a smile as if he had won the lottery, but this smile on his gaunt face was particularly frightening, with wrinkles piling up in a chilling way.
The four of them dejectedly accepted the fact that Gryffindor had lost one hundred and twenty points. Prefect Shan Ni Lin Qi would definitely be furious, and James could already imagine the expression on the face of that tall, thin girl with short hair.
"What spell were you talking about earlier?" Filch asked suspiciously.
The four exchanged glances. "We were discussing our Charms homework..." James stammered.
"Professor Flitwick told us to enchant a teapot so it could dance on the table," Lupin reacted quickly, fabricating a lie. Perhaps the lies he had told before the full moon had helped him gain experience, as he spoke without batting an eye.
Filch looked at the four of them suspiciously. He didn't understand Charms and didn't know what the difficulty level of third-year courses should be.
The reason was simple: he was a Squib.
Lupin successfully deceived him with a second-year Charms assignment.
"Hurry up, hurry up!" He was in a bad mood, angry that others were tricking him with knowledge he didn't understand, and he couldn't do anything about it.
After watching the four of them enter the passage guarded by the Fat Lady, he still found a hidden spot in the corridor to observe for a long time. He squatted until his legs ached, and when he saw no one, Filch finally left.
These one hundred and twenty points not only angered Prefect Sunny, but also completely eroded the slight good impression Lily had just developed for James.
Lily had always been someone with a strong sense of collective honor. When "A Maverick Pig" had work, Lily would even skip meals to ensure her part was done well, let alone for Gryffindor.
After the last Quidditch match against Slytherin, Lily had finally managed to change her perception of James. Her attitude towards him had improved, and she no longer gave him a sour look when she saw him. She didn't expect that after only a few weeks, James would lead them to break curfew.
Lily was very angry; she felt James was like an immature child, mischievous and wild.
She had been in the magic world for three years, and her views were gradually aligning with it.
Fourteen years old was not young in the magic world. Most people graduated and started working at seventeen, and many got married and had children soon after graduating, much younger than the age British Muggles entered society.
Since she was eleven, Lily had endured James's constant harassment and his pranks on his classmates.
At that time, Lily felt James was just playful and fun, but most children were like that back then. Lily was just annoyed that he always troubled Severus.
But as everyone grew up, people should theoretically become more mature and steady. Yet James still had that carefree, grinning look every day, finding joy in playing tricks on his classmates, utterly thoughtless.
Not to mention others, just Lupin and Gary, who were closer to James, Lily had spent a considerable amount of time with them. She felt that their behavior was no different from adults—steady and reliable. If you needed help with anything, they were the right people to ask.
Lupin was usually gentle and honest, and Peter was timid and shy. This time, breaking curfew must have been led by James and Sirius. One hundred and twenty points! How many days would it take for the entire Gryffindor house to earn that back?
"Stupefy!" In a third-floor classroom, Lily's spell was blocked by Howard's wand. She immediately stepped forward, her red hair flying, and another Stupefy shot out.
Howard dodged to the left, while his wand kept moving, launching a counterattack at Lily.
"Protego!" Lily was prepared. She had the Shield Charm ready in her hand. After the Shield Charm, Lily continuously channeled the magic within her, and a Blue Sparks hit Howard's robe.
A pile of blue flames suddenly erupted on the robe. The flames quickly spread, completely covering Howard's chest in a short amount of time.
Howard jumped up and down, and it took Gary's help to extinguish the fire.
"Huff, huff, huff." Howard panted, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and said with trepidation, "Lily, your dueling reaction is too fast! I couldn't dodge it at all."
"Lily looks so cool when she duels," Kona said, infatuated.
Alfrina tapped Kona's head. "Look at yourself, you struggle to even cast a Shield Charm."
"Oh, but you're protecting me, aren't you?" Kona said, clinging to Alfrina's arm and nuzzling her head against Alfrina's shoulder.
"Ew..." Alfrina felt a shiver of disgust and quickly pushed her away.
After some playful teasing, they sat on chairs, chatting. There were no topic restrictions; everyone spoke freely, saying whatever came to mind. While deepening their understanding of each other, they also opened their hearts and spoke of things they usually kept hidden.
"Let me tell you the truth," Kona sighed, "Actually, my childhood was very unhappy. My parents always argued, and they always took their anger out on me during every fight."
Alfrina pursed her lips and rubbed her head.
"Actually, when they weren't fighting, they were pretty good to me. They would even apologize after arguing and hitting me," Kona said, looking down and playing with her fingers. "But the more it was like that, the more I felt like a burden."
"I used to be very careful and walked on eggshells at home, afraid of making them unhappy. But everything changed when I was eleven. Hogwarts sent me an acceptance letter, and after witnessing the power of magic, my parents' attitude towards me changed."
"They became like I used to be, not daring to breathe when facing me, speaking timidly, always smiling at me."
"But the more it was like that, the more estranged I felt from them. The gap between us grew deeper and deeper."
Her voice grew softer and softer, and her head drooped lower and lower, like a hamster about to shrink under the table. Alfrina's expression also became a bit unnatural, as if she was reminded of something unpleasant.
Gary seemed to sense something and looked at Alfrina. Gary still didn't know how to bring up the secret of her parents' identity.