bookbashuk Chapter 109 In the Castle
Chapter 109 In the Castle
Chapter 109 In the Castle
"Stand up, Potter." Snape, with his back to Harry Potter, returned to his usual monotonous tone.
"You are Evans's son. You shouldn't be kneeling on the grass and vomiting in the face of a tiny troll." Snape raised his wand and aimed it at the troll rushing toward him.
Countless whooshing sounds echoed through the air.
The giants fell to the ground, some sliced horizontally, some vertically, and some finely chopped into meat sauce.
Notice how the young wizards in the Quidditch pitch have changed their terrified screams into gasps of breath.
In the Quidditch pitch, where the temperature had risen a few degrees, they learned for the first time just how powerful this Potions professor truly was.
Even these strong, enormous monsters were all taken down in the blink of an eye!
"I'll definitely pay attention in Potions class." One of the young wizards was almost crying from fright.
This statement resonated with many young wizards.
Even the little lion cubs who usually clashed with Snape turned into obedient and adorable lion cubs, making me think it would be better to pay attention in Potions class from now on.
Snape actually told me to stand up!
Suddenly, an impulse surged in Harry's heart; he felt as if he were being looked down upon and despised.
"Yes, Professor!" he roared as he struggled to his feet.
"Speak louder, I can't hear you," Snape said lazily, pulling out his communicator, seemingly checking the time or messages. "Yes, Professor!"
"Very energetic!"
Inside the castle, in the library.
After breakfast, Hermione, who had little interest in Quidditch, was looking through books and studying the first-year second semester curriculum on her own. But before she could finish reading, she heard the hurried footsteps and hurried conversations of many people running outside the library.
If even she could hear the sounds, then Mrs. Pince, the librarian, was no exception.
Mrs. Pince stormed out of the library, intending to scold the young wizards for being quiet and disturbing the atmosphere.
But Hermione didn't hear Mrs. Pince's scolding; instead, she heard Mrs. Pince's scream: "Merlin, what's happening?!"
"Help! The castle is on fire!"
"Go find the professor! No, we can't find him now!" Hermione suddenly realized that it was a Quidditch match, and the three heads of Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor were all on the Quidditch pitch; while Headmaster Ravenclaw and Ryan had gone to the Ministry of Magic to receive the Order of Merlin!
In her desperation, the only people she could think of were some of the older students in the Adventurers' Club.
"But Penelope had to leave, and the other trustworthy people in the club were either busy or at the Quidditch pitch." Hermione thought to herself as she rushed down the corridor, stood behind Mrs. Pince, and followed Mrs. Pince's gaze outwards, seeing 3...
Thick smoke was billowing from the windows of the first and fourth floors, and even blazing flames could be seen.
"What bad luck! Everyone's not here—"
Hermione was worried; as a mere first-year witch, she naturally had no ability to extinguish the castle fire.
Suddenly, a sharp sound came from afar, heading straight for her and Mrs. Pince.
What was that sound? The little witch, who had never encountered danger or faced disaster, was puzzled and kept looking towards the source of the sound.
But Mrs. Pince, who had lived through the war years, reacted immediately. She grabbed Hermione and pulled her to the ground, then lay down and the two of them rolled into the library together.
"Good heavens! What are you doing!" Hermione exclaimed as she struggled to her feet, dusting herself off.
The next second, the sound of metal nails being driven into a stone wall answered her in place of Mrs. Pince.
A sharp arrow trembled its tail feathers on a stone pillar at the library gate.
"This...this..." Still just a child, the little witch finally realized that she had just been on the brink of death. "This isn't a fire, it's an enemy attack!" Mrs. Pince, who was always impatient with the slightest noise, wore an expression that Hermione had never seen before—so solemn and cautious.
"Madam, what should we do?"
"Find every available resource to support the Dean and professors until they return from the stadium, and at the same time, contact the Principal," Mrs. Pince said.
The elderly witch's first reaction was to defend Hogwarts Castle, with no intention of abandoning the city and fleeing.
"Power—power." Hermione gradually calmed down after hearing Mrs. Pince's resolute words, and began to ponder where she could find power.
"Madam, I remember now. Ryan left behind many alchemical puppets at the Adventurers' Club, and each of them has a certain combat ability." She suddenly thought of Doro, whom she had once held, and Penelope had also mentioned that these models all possessed their own magical sources.
"Then let's head there, taking all the library students with us, and rescue the little wizard along the way."
As if sensing the little witch's nervousness, Mrs. Pince turned around and smiled: "Don't worry, just like when you practice spells in class, aim your wand at the target and release it."
"I think the practical lessons Ryan taught you during his time substituting for you have given you enough real-world experience, right?"
She had a lot to say about Ryan because he would come to the library to steal books from time to time.
But at this moment she felt incredibly fortunate that Ryan had been teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts during this time, giving the young wizards time to practice.
"Yes, Mrs. Pince." Hermione gripped her wand tightly, feeling a little nervous, because what she was about to face was no longer practice, but real combat.
As the two were talking, three students who were still in the library came out: one was a Ravenclaw, another was also a Ravenclaw, and the third was also a Ravenclaw.
"The puppet left behind by Senior Ryan will definitely be very useful." After hearing Hermione and Mrs. Pins' conversation, they all agreed with the suggestion to go to the Adventurers' Club.
Just then, a centaur sculpture appeared at the library entrance, its steps resembling the pounding of stones.
The five people were drawn to the commotion and looked toward the door.
The centaur sculpture carries a longbow, its bow made of stone and carved with patterns, yet it appears simple and rustic. The bowstring is thick, dark yellow, and looks very resilient.
The centaur carried two quivers on his back, but the arrows inside were not made of stone; rather, they resembled the arrows that had just been embedded in the wall.
It gleamed with a cold, metallic light.
"There is no such sculpture in the castle!" Mrs. Pince said firmly. "Someone secretly made such a sculpture and brought it to life! Judging from the arrows issued to the Red Banner, this sculpture was definitely made to be a weapon of death."
All five of them held wands and began to cast the spells they were best at.
From knockback spells to fire spells, there was even a Ravenclaw student who cast a disarming spell.
The disarming spell worked surprisingly well, emptying a quiver and throwing all the arrows inside onto the ground.
But the centaur sculpture remained unmoved, took out an arrow, drew the bowstring, and its sharp, cold light locked onto the leader, Mrs. Pins.
The bow sang like thunder, the arrow flew like a streak of light.
Just as Mrs. Pince's Ironclad Spell was activated and the shield she had conjured from the stones had just risen, it was destroyed by the arrow. She was pierced through the arrow and carried away by its kinetic energy, crashing to the ground.
"Mrs. Pince!" Hermione and the others screamed.