Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 205 Harry is put in solitary confinement

“So…” Ron stared intently at Harry, who seemed restless ever since returning from Professor McGonagall’s office, “What did Professor McGonagall say?”

“Well… Professor McGonagall forbids me from saying that person’s name at school…” Harry stammered, still reeling from Thea’s reminder.

"That's it?" Ron exclaimed in disbelief. "Didn't the professor say what role Blake played in this? Her sudden vomiting of blood terrified a lot of people..."

“Ron!” Hermione couldn’t help but say, “Maybe she just wants to help us…”

"Help?" Ron became even more agitated upon hearing this. "Hermione! Black is no longer our friend! Can you stop trying to think the best of her? She's on our side, I really can't understand why she would help us. Maybe this is just part of her plan..."

Ron's ramblings became increasingly outrageous, and Harry and Hermione dared not interrupt. Since the beginning of this term, Ron had become unusually agitated whenever Black was involved…

Meanwhile, in a green-decorated bedroom at Hogwarts, Draco listened with a mocking gaze to Ron's voice coming through the bug, but honestly recorded the gist of what Ron said.

"Bang!" As beams of light illuminated the room, its entirety was revealed. Not only Draco, but also Daphne and Zabini were there, each wearing headphones and scribbling furiously on paper.

"Draco?" Thea's voice suddenly rang out. Draco immediately took off his headphones and pushed them in front of Daphne, signaling her to continue listening.

“Thea,” Draco looked at the girl with concern in his eyes, a concern that quickly turned into indignation when he recalled what he had just heard. He couldn’t help but complain.

"You vomited blood today, which really scared us to death... What's infuriating is that you clearly helped them, but they turned around and accused you of having some ulterior motive—"

At this point, Daphne and Zabini couldn't help but prick up their ears, while Thea didn't care. Looking at Draco's indignant face, her eyes were full of smiles, and Draco stopped talking.

"Although I had long ago realized that once I chose this thorny path, I would have to accept the slander and defamation of others... I can't help but feel grateful now that I have you by my side, and all of you..."

Thea spoke with great emotion, and Daphne and Zabini stopped what they were doing at some point, their expressions deeply moved.

After the heartwarming moment, Thea immediately assigned new tasks to the group. Draco continued researching the communication bracelet, Daphne went to contact students from other houses to try and get firsthand information, and Zabini was to continue his eavesdropping work.

After a brief setup, Thea called Draco away. She needed to discuss with him whether they could develop a communication bracelet that could not only communicate in real time but also monitor the owner's physical condition as soon as possible.

"At the very least, we need to know the circumstances of the other person's death."

"War is about to begin, Draco, we have no other choice."

Perhaps it was because Thea's expression was too serious that Draco couldn't help but feel nervous, and he solemnly accepted the task.

After setting up (and fooling) her, Thea went to the place she had been spending the most time in recently—the secret room.

Thea skillfully calmed the basilisk and left behind hundreds of horned rabbits, at which point the bastard, which had been whimpering, finally let her go.

Watching the basilisk monster devour its food, Thea murmured, "What will you do if I leave?"

"Hiss... hiss... hiss" [What did you say? Speak in Parseltongue!]

The basilisk was clearly annoyed by Thea's mutterings, its tail practically swaying wildly. Thea chuckled and spoke again in parrot language, "Hiss... hiss... hiss hiss..." [What would you do if I died?]

The basilisk was taken aback by Thea's words. It had gotten used to Thea occasionally coming down to give it extra food; if it weren't for her…

I'll probably remain asleep until the next Parsleyan appears.

"Oh," Thea said, her tone inexplicably tinged with disappointment. She looked at the basilisk, who had only paused for a moment before immediately resuming its feeding. "That's for the best... at least you're still alive, instead of dying at Potter's hands at Tom's behest."

Thea spoke so softly and quickly that the basilisk hadn't even reacted before she walked straight toward the dark room, needing to continue studying those texts.

The Origin of the Blood Curse, The Source of Black Magic, The Witch's Blood Curse, Twisting Bloodlines...

Thea flipped through several dark magic books whose covers alone would have landed them in the library's restricted section, then tossed them aside, focusing instead on finding what she wanted.

For several days in a row, Thea successfully obtained her medical records from Madam Pomfrey because of the blood she had vomited that day, and despite Snape's ambiguous gaze, she successfully obtained a leave of absence.

“Miss Black,” Snape said somberly, “a clear mind will keep you alive longer—”

"Thank you, Dean." Thea replied meekly, but turned away and chuckled to herself, "My biggest mistake was probably being too clear-headed."

Because she was clear-headed enough, she could immediately accept that Potter and the others were parting ways with her.

Because she was fully aware of her situation, she was in such a dilemma. She knew everyone's fate, but she couldn't stop them from rushing into the abyss of death...

And so, Thea spent a whole week in the Chamber of Secrets. When she came out again, the news Draco brought made her fall silent instantly.

"Potter was put in solitary confinement by Umbridge for disrespecting the professor and disrupting class."

Thea: "…………"

"What did Professor McGonagall and the others say?"

"...Porter got into a fight with Umbridge right there and then, and even if Professor McGonagall wanted to defend him, she didn't have a chance."

"Did he get into an argument with Umbridge in class?"

"Yes."

Thea was utterly speechless. She slowly fell into deep thought, as Gryffindor's impulses repeatedly pushed the boundaries of her understanding.