Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 255 Targets and Surveillance

Dumbledore was so busy that after praising Harry and inquiring about Ron's injuries, he left Hogwarts in a hurry before Harry could ask the questions that had been on his mind.

"So, who exactly gave Professor Horace the wine?"

Who exactly is the mastermind behind this?

Anyone could see that Ron was the scapegoat; he had simply inadvertently shielded the mastermind from harm.

At Ron's bedside, Harry couldn't help but throw the question at Hermione.

Hermione, as Harry expected, frowned and slowly revealed her guess.

"Honestly, at first, apart from... Black, I couldn't think of anyone else who would poison Hogwarts."

Harry was startled by Hermione's guess, but he also noticed Hermione's phrase "at the beginning".

"Why do you say that?" Harry composed himself. "Do you have any other guesses?"

“…No,” Hermione shook her head with a wry smile. “I can’t guess who it is. If anyone is a suspect, it’s probably every student at Hogwarts. After all, he corrupted many of his classmates during his school days, not to mention his current abilities.”

“Yeah,” Harry said, head bowed, but quickly perked up again, “Why don’t you think it’s… Black?”

In fact, Thea's name only briefly crossed Harry's mind before he dismissed it, not for any other reason than that he understood Thea's style.

If Thea really wanted to harm someone, she would never choose poison as her method; even choosing a hidden curse would be far more cunning.

Poisoning is not very successful and is more likely to alert the enemy. Thea always makes a plan before doing anything, arranges things carefully, and then slowly moves forward, ultimately... killing them with one blow.

Cold and precise, just like her.

"Because this isn't like her."

Hermione and Harry shared the same view, but this discovery did not make them happy; instead, it made them even more annoyed.

The fact that Black wasn't the murderer means that there's another mastermind behind Hogwarts, and to put it even worse, there might be more than one.

"Do you know who the mastermind is targeting?"

"Dumbledore!"

Hermione and Harry gave the answer in unison.

“I think it’s because Professor Horace mentioned that the bottle of poisoned wine was originally intended as a Christmas present for Professor Dumbledore,” Harry explained his reasoning. “And you, Hermione, why do you think the target is Dumbledore?”

“Because of the process of elimination.” Hermione smiled slightly, her eyes full of wisdom. “I’ve seen that bottle of wine before. It’s very elegantly packaged and would make a perfect gift.”

"And among the professors at Hogwarts,"

"Professor McGonagall and Professor Horace have a so-so relationship, and I've never heard of Professor McGonagall liking to drink."

"Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick are for the same reason."

"Professor Snape goes without saying, and Professor Horace is more inclined to give him potion ingredients as a gift."

"However, mead is quite sweet, and I can't think of anyone other than Professor Dumbledore who loves sweets the most at Hogwarts."

Mentioning Dumbledore's fondness for sugar brought a slight smile to both of their faces, as they recalled the strange passwords in the headmaster's office.

"But what good is guessing the target if we still haven't found the real culprit?"

“It’s alright,” Hermione said calmly and confidently. “We’ll find it.”

The clouds in the sky had grown thicker and thicker, so gloomy that they seemed ready to fall at any moment. The precarious state of the clouds made Harry and his companion's slightly relieved mood turn serious again.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Soon, it was time for Dumbledore to teach Harry again.

“Harry,” Dumbledore’s eyes were hidden behind his glasses, so Harry couldn’t see the emotion in his eyes and could only judge his mood by his tone of voice.

“I understand that you are distracted by Mr. Weasley’s misfortune, but that doesn’t mean you can completely forget about the memory.”

Dumbledore's tone wasn't harsh, but Harry was still so ashamed by those words that he wanted to disappear.

“I’m sorry… Professor,” Harry said in a barely audible voice, his face flushed crimson.

But Dumbledore remained unmoved. "A dry apology won't do anything for our common goal, Harry. You need to take action."

"We don't have much time left."

"Stay alert, Harry."

Even after the lesson ended, Harry was unable to find out who was behind the poisoned wine. Instead, he became suspicious because of Dumbledore's vague "warning" at the end.

alert?

Whom should he be wary of?

Blake?

Or... Malfoy?

Harry narrowed his eyes as he watched the boy hurrying past in the corridor not far away. He suddenly remembered that since the beginning of this semester, Malfoy and... Black seemed to have been spending less and less time together...

Harry racked his brains trying to figure out the reason behind it. It seemed that someone had mentioned it when school started, as if Mr. Malfoy's imprisonment had completely shattered the "friendship" between young Malfoy and Black, causing the two to become quite estranged.

At first, some people didn't believe it, but soon, the two's awkward behavior completely confirmed the truth of the rumor.

Can………

is this real?

Have the two really broken up?

Just because Malfoy went to jail?

Harry didn't believe it; his intuition told him that something was amiss.

If Black couldn't be behind the poisoned wine, then what about Malfoy? Nott? Zabini?

Although every wizard at Hogwarts is a suspect, Slytherin is always the prime suspect.

Dobby.

Harry called out softly, and the next second, a slight explosion was heard in the air.

"Harry Potter!"

Dobby's familiar shrill voice rang out.

“Dobby,” Harry leaned down slightly to look Dobby in the eye, “could you keep an eye on… Malfoy for me? Find out his favorite hiding places…”

Among the many suspicious targets, Harry, guided by his beast-like intuition, chose Malfoy.

“Of course!” Dobby replied excitedly. “Dobby would do anything for Harry Potter!”

"Thank you, Dobby."