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"Filch! Stop!"
Just as Filch was about to throw himself at Cormac, Dumbledore hurried over with several professors following behind him. He gently waved his wand and took Mrs. Norris down from the torch sconce.
"Prefects, take everyone else to the dining hall. Argus, the professors, and I will go together. And you as well, Mr. McLaggen."
"I think you should tell us properly what you saw."
After saying this, Dumbledore turned to Carrow. "Mr. Richmond, I am sorry, but I think..."
Carrow had already graduated and was no longer considered a Hogwarts student. Since something like this had happened, it was natural for him to step aside.
"It's fine, Professor Dumbledore." Carrow shrugged to show he understood.
"I believe the disciplinary group should go too."
Dumbledore looked at Dudley. He did not refuse and merely gave him a slight nod.
School conduct and discipline were, originally, the responsibility of the disciplinary group.
"Then Mr. Dursley may come as well."
As for Harry and the others, Dumbledore did not call them along.
"My office is closest to here. It's just upstairs. I think you could..."
"Thank you, Gilderoy," Dumbledore said in a perfectly flat tone.
After that, he said nothing more. Clearly, he had remembered certain unpleasant memories.
Lockhart's classroom was filled with portraits of himself, in all kinds of poses, all kinds of outfits, and all kinds of styles.
Dudley swore he had never seen anyone this narcissistic.
Looking at portraits of himself every day.
Did he not find it eerie?
Dumbledore placed Mrs. Norris on Lockhart's polished desk and began examining her carefully.
Cormac shrank in the corner, trembling, trying his best not to draw anyone's attention. Filch stood off to one side, secretly wiping tears with his sleeve. The other professors all wore different expressions. Only Lockhart looked rather excited.
No one knew whether he was excited because he had just won second place, or because he had seen Mrs. Norris meet with disaster.
"It must have been a curse that killed her. Very likely a Transmogrifian Torture Curse. I have seen others use that sort of spell many times. Such a pity I was not present. I happen to know the counter-curse. I could have saved her."
Lockhart was adding fuel to the fire while enjoying the show, and the result was that Filch cried even harder.
"No, Mrs. Norris, no! I can't lose you!"
Large tears rolled down his cheeks. His feelings for Mrs. Norris were truly deep.
Dudley stepped forward and patted his shoulder in comfort.
"Mr. Dursley, Mrs. Norris is dead!"
Filch did not actually like Dudley. He felt Mrs. Norris was closer to the boy than to him, so he carried a certain hostility toward Dudley.
But at this moment, he believed only Dudley could understand him.
"Mrs. Norris isn't dead, Mr. Filch," Dudley said.
The caretaker abruptly looked up at Dudley, as if trying to determine whether Dudley was merely comforting him.
"Hey, Dudley. Why do you think she isn't dead? You saw all that blood. And her muscles are completely stiff. Clearly, she died and someone cast a Freezing Charm on her."
When Dudley said Mrs. Norris was not dead, Lockhart looked very displeased and tried to refute him. "Believe me, I have seen more corpses than you have seen..."
"That is chicken blood."
Dudley was too lazy to waste more words on him.
"I agree with Dudley," Dumbledore said.
With his support, Lockhart finally shut his mouth. "She should have been Petrified. But as for what exactly happened, I am still not certain."
After receiving Dumbledore's assurance, Filch finally let out a breath. Then he turned toward Cormac with a vicious expression.
"He must know!"
"No, I don't know! I don't know anything! I didn't see anything!"
Cormac shouted, clearly badly shaken.
His mental strength was truly poor.
"Argus, calm down. This is not something a third-year student could do," Dumbledore said, trying to comfort Filch.
"My cat was Petrified!" Filch screamed. His eyes bulged outward, as if he might lunge at someone at any moment. "I want to see someone punished!"
At that moment, Dudley took out a vial of potion and dropped a single drop onto the rigid Mrs. Norris. A faint black vapor drifted out, accompanied by an almost nonexistent stench.
"What did you find?" Snape asked as he moved closer after seeing Dudley's action.
He was extremely satisfied with this student of his.
Dudley had inherited Lily's potion talent. Like Lily back then, he was equally brilliant. No matter what kind of potion he studied, he picked it up with astonishing speed, as if Snape were seeing Lily return before his eyes.
In only one year, Dudley was already faintly showing signs of developing his own style.
If not for the fact that Dudley was still too young, Snape would have loved to pour all his knowledge, including his best-kept secrets, into him at once.
Lily's heir ought to be this outstanding.
"It wasn't an ordinary Petrification spell, and it wasn't caused by Dark Magic."
"Not a Petrification spell, and not Dark Magic?" Snape paused when he heard this, immediately thinking of a possibility. "You mean..."
"That's right, Professor Snape. It should be that."
Dudley nodded slightly, confirming Snape's guess. "She was struck by some magical creature's Petrification ability."
"Very possible," Dumbledore said, nodding as well. Dudley's statement made his brows ease slightly.
If some magical creature's Petrification ability was involved, then that explained things.
"Please save her, Mr. Dursley! You should be able to. You like her so much. Please..."
Filch, as the castle caretaker, was actually begging a student first.
After all, this was Dudley.
Although he was only a second-year wizard, he had already proven his ability.
"We will cure her, Filch," Dumbledore said patiently. "Professor Sprout recently acquired some Mandrakes. Once they mature, I will be able to prepare a potion that can revive Mrs. Norris."
"Professor Dumbledore."
Dudley rarely interrupted him. "Actually... I have a mature Mandrake right here."
As he spoke, Dudley detached another red-and-white ball from his waist, one different from Pixie's.
With a flash of light, a human-shaped Mandrake that looked like a small baby appeared, yawning and staring around in confusion.
After a moment, it seemed to finally react. It screamed and hid behind Dudley's trousers, clinging to Dudley's leg as it timidly poked its head out to look at everyone else.
Oh, Merlin.
What had they just seen?
A Mandrake grown into a human shape?
A lively, bouncing Mandrake?
A Mandrake that did not scream wildly after leaving the soil?
What sort of variety was this thing?
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