Chapter 317 Disputes Revive Like New Buds in Spring

Anthony held the letter in one hand and took out three or four mice from the bag with the other. He had just written a letter to Mr. Weasley, telling him not to worry about Ron's pet.

The heads of the owls closest to him immediately turned around and stared at the mice with their round eyes. Two barn owls flew down from the farther horizontal bar and landed silently in front of him, quietly competing for a closer position. Many shops were closed for the Easter holidays, and these owls, who were usually busy delivering various order flyers or packages, also had more leisure time - or boredom.

"Send it to Arthur Weasley at the Burrow." Anthony said to the owls, "If he is at the Ministry of Magic, just drop the letter at the door of the house."

More owls flew down, surrounding him in a low, comfortable cooing sound. The owls standing on the edge flapped their wings to maintain their balance.

Anthony looked at the owls who welcomed him with some surprise, and even recognized a few private owls belonging to students among them. He was about to hand the letter to the one closest to him when he suddenly saw a familiar figure at the end of the horizontal bar.

"Is it you?" He hesitated for a moment, identifying the bird's face, "Fire Dragon Sanctuary?"

The owl shook its head, shook its wings proudly, and opened its mouth slightly to call.

"Great," Anthony said, putting the letter and the mouse in front of it, "They belong to you."

The owl opened its mouth and grabbed the mouse without hesitation, swallowing them one by one with its neck shaking. Finally, it stretched out a leg, motioning Anthony to tie the letter, and then flew out lightly from the small window, and soon turned into a small black dot, disappearing on the green distant mountains.

Anthony watched it fly away, opened the empty bag, looked at the owls that were still sticking their heads out and staring at him, and then slowly walked down the stairs. It was a warm and sunny day, the sky was blue, the lake was clear, and the spring was warm. He hesitated in the corridor for a while, but finally couldn't resist the call of the gentle breeze, walked through the hall and went straight to the door.

In the bright sunshine, several students put books on their faces and lay down under the tree to rest. Anthony knew they were not asleep, because when he passed by, he could hear them chatting in a muffled voice through the books, complaining about the pile of homework assigned by Snape, Mrs. Norris's alarm-like howling, and the detentions of Filch. Going further, there were groups of students who were bewitched by the spring like him by the Black Lake, walking and talking beside the tall grass that grew silently. The tarred boats were upside down on the dock, like a row of shiny beetles, reflecting the light.

On the path between the dock and the lawn, Anthony saw a group of students gathered together. He walked closer and saw a figure in the center of the crowd who was out of place in such a spring.

"If you continue to shout like this, Mr. Thomas, I'm afraid I'll have to deduct a few more points from you," Umbridge said in her shrill, girlish voice. "Students, I think you'll be happy to know that this vicious toy will no longer appear in school and endanger your health. Now why don't you do some useful activities, such as reading books, writing papers, etc.?"

The students were still gathered around her, and there was no sign of them dispersing and doing some "useful activities". Anthony noticed that several of them had colorful badges on their chests: two weird snakes biting each other's tails, constantly changing colors, forming an endless pattern. He thought it was a new trend in Slytherin until he saw many students he knew among them - most of them were Gryffindors - and then he realized that this was the student club dedicated to developing new ways to play with Roger's old snake.

"You can't just take it away like this!" Katie said indignantly.

"Oh? Actually, I think I can, dear." Umbridge said sweetly.

"But..." a Hufflepuff student said uneasily, "But it's not even on Filch's list of prohibited items in the castle!"

Umbridge raised her head slightly, looked at the other person, and said arrogantly: "You must not have looked carefully enough."

Thomas muttered: "I almost memorized it."

Anthony said: "Then you must not have memorized the latest version, Mr. Thomas. It was added just before the Easter holidays." The professors discussed this matter in the greenhouse, "But, Ms. Umbridge, I think the list only stipulates the castle, and has not made any comments on magical items outside the castle."

People turned their heads to look at him. Several students smiled and moved aside to make some space for Anthony.

"Yes, absolutely," Umbridge agreed in a coquettish voice, as if she had expected someone to talk to her. "But what terrible effects these magical props will have on children's cute little brains! I don't understand how you can allow it to exist for so long, Professor Anthony." She shook the colorful Roger old snake hanging between her stubby fingers.

Anthony asked: "What terrible effects will they have, Ms. Umbridge?"

Umbridge narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled: "Oh, Professor Anthony, you have to know that speaking so clearly is not my usual style - but since you insist, I might as well just say it that way." She Turning to the students who were staring at her, she raised her voice slightly, "Dear children, although I appreciate your creativity, I still think this is unfair, especially to the innocent Miss Parkinson and the victim Mr. Davis. Every time a student uses this kind of thing for fun, it is another injury to them...not to mention the negligence of the teaching staff - whether it is the Quidditch referee or anyone present who fails to provide timely rescue. Professor—they were all deliberately ignored by the props makers with ulterior motives..."

Thomas said: "Parkinson? Innocent? If she hadn't made that snake-"

"Mrs. Hooch adjusted the rules after that!" Katie said, "Also, the professors immediately went over to check on the situation -"

"Roger doesn't give a damn—"

"Enough!" Umbridge screamed. The chattering students suddenly fell silent. Several people chatting next to the Black Lake were startled, turned their heads, looked around, and left in a hurry.

"Young ladies and gentlemen, remember, I am your friend." Umbridge said softly, "Everything I do is to prevent you from being hurt. Don't rush to refute me. Think about it carefully. Let's... think about it carefully and patiently... sooner or later one day..."

"I'll grab you by the ankles and throw you into the black lake," a tall student muttered angrily.

Umbridge's eyes lingered on his face for a moment.

After the other party showed a look of regret, she looked away calmly: "For disrespecting the senior investigator, five points will be deducted from Gryffindor. In any case, if you think carefully, you will know that Mr. Davis is to blame for the tragedy. Who."

"Of course, it's definitely not those Slytherins!" A fourth-year Gryffindor said sarcastically, "Yes, that's a Slytherin flag. It's a Slytherin alchemical snake, customized by Slytherin. Slytherin was brought to the Quidditch pitch. But, my God, how innocent Slytherin was!"

"If it weren't for the fact that Harry just happened to—" another student blurted out.

He closed his mouth after realizing what he had said, but Umbridge immediately asked: "Harry Potter?"

"Harry just called Professor Flitwick." Katie said unnaturally.

Anthony was surprised to realize that, unknowingly, "Harry Potter is a Parselmouth" had become a secret known only to Hogwarts - just like "Anthony is a Necromancer" It's like a secret that all the house elves in the school know.

During the time when Roger the Snake was most popular, almost every Gryffindor would play with the Snake and call themselves a Parselmouth. In Roger's firm description, most Ravenclaws also accepted the logic of "Potter saved Davis" and no longer accused Harry of being a dark wizard who spoke Parseltongue. Hufflepuff, on the other hand, felt guilty and respected Harry's ideas after realizing that they had wrongly blamed Harry, and kept the story of Roger the Snake as a secret. As for Slytherin, they were not willing to admit that Harry was a Parseltongue.

In this way, even though the entire school seemed to know that Harry Potter could speak Parseltongue at that time, in the messy farce and silence, this matter was gradually forgotten by Dumbledore like an old newspaper thrown in the corner of a drawer. The newly established clubs, the new Quidditch rules, more game news, the heavy thesis homework, and the endless new news were buried until they fell into dust in most people's memories. By the end, no one mentioned it anymore.

Umbridge still looked quite skeptical: "Really?"

"Yes," Anthony said, "Mr. Potter found Professor Flitwick and me."

Umbridge nodded slowly, maintaining an expression of polite skepticism. Katie seemed to be even more nervous, and the student who had spilled the beans tried to bring the topic back to the old snake: "Ahem, Ms. Umbridge...Roger Davis doesn't care at all that we joke about this..."

Umbridge tilted her head slightly and asked like the most innocent little girl: "And how are you going to prove it, my dear?"

"Proof...proof?"

"Of course." Umbridge said in the patient tone of a child, "Look, you can't just tell me Mr. Davis doesn't mind and I assume he doesn't mind, right? If someone Hit you and then tell me you don't care, do you think I should trust this guy?"

"No..." the student said dazedly, seeming to be dizzy, "No, it shouldn't be, but... but..."

Anthony said: "However, Mr. Davis himself is one of the makers of Roger Snake." He nodded in the direction of the castle, "If you are looking for those 'makers with ulterior motives', Umbridge Madam, I'm sure you can find a lot of confiscated Roger's Old Snake flyers in Mr. Filch's room... proudly bearing the names of all the people who made them." And Anthony secretly felt that this was a very wise move, very wise. Convenient for professors to confine themselves to.

Before Umbridge could speak, Katie said, "If you still have doubts, we'll call a witness. Hello, Davis!" She waved her hand in the distance.

Anthony turned his head and didn't see Roger. On the path, Tracy was staying with a few Slytherin girls. It looked like she had just returned from Hogsmeade. The girls walking in front heard Katie's shout and looked over, then turned to look at Tracy. Tracy frowned slightly, leaned forward, and said something to them. Several girls nodded and continued walking forward. Tracy walked half a step behind them, clutching the paper bag in her hand, as if she didn't notice Katie at all.

"Davis!" Katie ran a few steps and stood in front of Tracy.

Tracy acted like she had just seen Katie: "Bell. What are you doing here?"

"Can I ask you to do us a favor?" Katie lowered her voice. "Please, Davis?"

Tracy looked in their direction again.

"I don't know how I can help you." She said coldly, "You don't want me to help you hex those Gryffindors, do you? In that case, I would be happy to do it for you." The Slytherin girls laughed sarcastically.

Katie said angrily: "No. I just need you-" She tugged on Tracy's arm forcefully and pulled her in front of Umbridge and Anthony, "Tell Ms. Umbridge, Roger You really don't mind about Roger Snake. You don't doubt her, do you?" Katie said the last sentence to Umbridge.

Umbridge said sweetly: "I doubt no one, Miss Bell, but children can be easily deceived."

"I'm not a kid anymore!" Katie said angrily.

"So, Miss Davis," Umbridge tilted her head, "Does Mr. Davis really not mind this kind of... vicious magic prop?"

Tracy's eyes glanced past the classmates and Anthony beside her, and paused on Umbridge's smile for a while, then glanced at Anthony, and finally lowered her gaze: "I don't know."

"How could you not know?" Thomas questioned.

"I don't know if Roger would mind..." Tracey said slowly, "but I do."

"What?"

"As a relative of Roger, every time I see someone joking with something like this, I feel very disgusted." Tracy said, her face a little pale, as if she was really disgusted, "I mean, this kind of The toys are just too vicious.”

Katie looked at her in disbelief, her mouth slightly open, seemingly speechless for a moment.

Umbridge said softly and triumphantly: "You are saying that as a relative of the victim, you feel that you have been harmed by this kind of joke, right? If I wanted to confiscate these props, would you object?"

Tracy was silent for a moment.

"You look very bad, Miss Davis, and I think you should leave and rest." Anthony said, "You don't need to answer these questions."

"No, Professor Umbridge, I will never object." Tracy smiled without looking at Anthony. Her title seemed to satisfy Umbridge even more.

"Good girl." She said softly, "I know you, you are the daughter of Albert Davis." She turned to the students surrounding her with the Ouroboros badge on their chests, "It looks like this That’s it. Have a nice afternoon – and remember to do some useful activities.”

She pushed aside the students and walked away. Old Snake Roger lowered his head in her grasp, swaying with her steps, and the half-vomited letter almost touched the tall grass stems.

The Slytherins said with satisfaction: "Let's go, Tracey. You've taken too long."

Katie said, "Davis, how could you—"

Another student sneered: "Katie, she is a Slytherin!" He glanced at Tracy angrily, "Slytherins are such a bunch of despicable guys, you should have known it a long time ago! I really don't understand How could you even think of asking her to testify?"

"She's Roger's family!" Katie defended herself, "Besides, she took Muggle Studies as an elective, I thought, I thought -"

Tracy straightened her back and stood there with a pale face.

The Slytherin next to him urged impatiently: "Don't listen to their nonsense, Tracey. We should go."

"I never thought Roger would have a sister like you!" Thomas said disgustedly, "Come on, Katie, let's think of something else - thank you, Professor Anthony, I know you want to help."

Anthony nodded: "However, Mr. Thomas, Roger Snake is indeed a magic item that is prohibited from being used in the castle. Be careful not to violate the rules."

"Okay, Professor," Thomas said. He and his friends walked toward the woods, heads together and muttering indignantly as they discussed how to stop Umbridge's increasingly controlling behavior. Katie glared at Tracy and the Slytherin next to her fiercely, then turned to catch up with her friends, letting the Slytherin girls giggle deliberately behind her.

"What a bunch of idiots." One of the Slytherin girls said after putting away her smile, "It's so funny that she actually thought Tracey would help her. Let's go." She turned around and walked towards the castle with the bag in her hand. direction. Several other people followed suit, laughing and laughing at the whims of the third-year Gryffindor.

Tracy said, "Okay." She raised her eyes, glanced at Anthony quickly, lowered her gaze, and repeated softly, "Okay."

"Miss Davis," Anthony said.

Tracy's face became even uglier. She kept her face tight and asked calmly, "What's wrong, Professor Anthony?"

"Ms. Davis," Anthony said gently, "It's okay."