Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 254 Poisoning

When are you coming back?

"Um... around six o'clock in the evening."

The brief conversation took place in a Slytherin dormitory. Thea was looking down to check if she had brought everything, while Gellar circled around Thea repeatedly as if she were in a real hurry.

"You...know...never mind!"

Gella pondered for a long time but couldn't come up with a good answer. After all, discussing Voldemort directly at Hogwarts wasn't exactly a display of courage.

“It’s alright,” Thea smiled gently. “I’ll be back on time. It’s just a regular party.”

ordinary?

You call a gathering "ordinary" when every member has at least hundreds of lives on their hands?

"Fine," Gella couldn't say anything more, so she simply assured him, "I'll keep an eye on Draco for you!"

"That's good."

Thea didn't have time to say anything more. She quickly cast the Apparition spell and rushed to the classroom—sixth-grade students were going to learn Apparition, and the classroom's Apparition restriction was temporarily lifted.

Dumbledore was also aware of Thea's departure, which seemed to be an unspoken understanding between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters.

Dumbledore will not take action against Thea unless a formal, open war breaks out, provided that Thea behaves herself.

Inside the highest tower of Hogwarts, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, gently stroking Fawkes with both hands. A glint of light flashed in his azure eyes the moment Thea left.

------

It was Saturday at Hogwarts, and not many people were up early, so Horace was furious when Harry woke him up with his frantic knocking.

If it weren't for the Death Eaters' Killing Curse, Horace would have submitted his resignation to Dumbledore right now.

“Speak, Harry,” Horace said, leading the two in before walking to the sofa to have a glass of brandy to perk himself up.

“No… Professor,” Harry struggled to respond to Ron’s unusual question while trying to stop Horace from wasting time.

“You should be able to tell… Ron, she’ll be here soon! Wait a minute… Professor, Ron’s been drugged…”

Harry was too busy to attend to everything, while Horace, having had his fill of the excitement, got up and went to his potion-making station to start tinkering with potions.

In less than a minute, a cup of steaming liquid was handed to Ron.

“This is a beauty potion; it will put you in a good state later,” Horace said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Ron picked up his cup and drank it all in one gulp.

Harry and Horace fell silent, watching as the forced smile on Ron's face slowly faded and turned into despair.

“Don’t be shy, kid!” Horace patted Ron on the shoulder. “It was just a harmless little joke…”

"Oh, by the way, would you like a brandy? Or a butterbeer? Wine? Hmm... I also have a bottle of oak-aged mead... I was planning to give it to Dumbledore as a Christmas present..."

"However... it now has a better place to go—to celebrate Mr. Weasley's birthday!"

Horace smiled easily and familiarly. He seemed less like a professor and more like a social butterfly who could get along with anyone.

Horace laughed, Harry laughed too, and Ron, infected by their emotions, gradually dispelled his awkwardness.

"Come on!" Horace handed each of them a glass of mead, the distinctive oak aroma filling the room, enough to make one feel slightly tipsy just from the smell.

"Happy birthday--"

"Ron!"

No one expected Ron to drink so quickly, and no one could have imagined that something would go wrong almost the instant he swallowed the drink.

He fell heavily off the chair and tried to stand up, but his limbs were not strong enough. Soon, his limbs began to twitch and he foamed at the mouth.

"Professor! Think of something quick!" Harry shouted.

Horace seemed stunned, muttering, "How—but—"

Ron's convulsions became more and more intense, and he began to have difficulty breathing.

In a flash, Harry leaped over a low table and, with a clear objective, began rummaging through Horace's potions table drawer for the stone Horace had taken during Potions class.

We finally found it.

Harry ran back to Ron, pried open his mouth, and shoved the stone inside.

The fecal stone worked quickly, and after Ron's body shuddered violently, his breathing returned to normal.

------

"Harry, even though I've said this many times, I'll repeat it again now: you are truly outstanding."

Inside the medical wing, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief after Mrs. Pomfrey announced that Ron was out of danger.

In the slightly relaxed atmosphere, Dumbledore was the first to praise Harry, saying, "Not everyone can remain rational in such an emergency."

Dumbledore's praise made Harry's face flush. "Professor... I didn't really do anything, I just happened to remember this point..."

“That’s pretty good too,” Dumbledore winked mischievously. “Horace, Harry is pretty good, isn’t he?”

“Of course,” Horace said, clearly still recovering from the shock, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

Having been a professor for so many years, he had countless connections. The time since Ron was rescued was enough for him to figure out the origin and ultimate goal of that bottle of poisoned wine several times over.

That's why his head was covered in cold sweat.

It's not hard to guess that the poisoned wine was intended for Dumbledore.

But the person who did it...

Horace immediately thought of his student Tom... oh no, he changed his name, he's now called—Voldemort.

But did he really do it?

This is so clumsy!

Compared to the opponent's formidable influence in the British magical world, this crude method of poisoning was no different from children playing house.

So, has he bewitched some young wizard again?