Chapter 43: The Spy Helping the Infiltrator
"We are here because you have been in your dorm room for almost two weeks now, and we have something important to tell you, Jon! It's a matter of life and death for Hogwarts!"
Ron's face was grave, and his tone was very serious as if he wanted to attract the attention of Jon, who was ticking on a piece of parchment filled with incantations.
When Jon heard his alarming words, the movement of the quill in his hand obviously paused for a bit, then he stared at Ron, without pressing him to ask what kind of big issue would actually be so serious, and said.
"If such a huge issue is going on, you guys should go to the professor, what's the point of coming to me in a panic?"
Ron and Justin looked at each other, neither of them had expected Jon's reaction to be so flat before they came.
"Because the Professors should all know about this already, and I only found out what actually happened at school when I overheard Dad talking to the guests who came to the house while I was at home!"
Ron's voice was lowered and at the same time, he carefully turned his head from side to side to check, only to be startled by the sudden arrival of Neville with a stack of books in his arms.
"Why didn't you knock when you came in!" Ron exclaimed, with a huge gasp.
Neville looked innocent.
"This is my own dormitory, do I have to knock when I come in?"
Since the other day, when he used the incorrect levitation charm to burn his holiday homework, Neville spent the last few days in the library to catch up on his homework, and Jon, who was verifying the combination of incantations in his dormitory, just happened to not disturb each other.
But also because of this, there was not much opportunity to contact Ron and the gang, so obviously he did not know about the matter of life and death of Hogwarts that Ron was talking about.
"The person who came to my house as a guest over the holidays was Kingsley Shacklebolt, who used to be an elite Auror in the Ministry of Magic before that man took power, and who is now one of the top fighters in the Order of the Phoenix. He and my father were chatting in the study about some top-secret information on the two attacks at Hogwarts last semester, which I managed to overhear at the door ..."
Neville interrupted with a frown.
"Any discussion about what goes on in the Order of the Phoenix is meant to be strictly confidential, and you shouldn't have gone to eavesdrop or come back to school to tell us about it."
Ron waved his hand in annoyance.
"The thing is, they were talking about something related to the school, don't you want to know why the school was attacked twice in a row?"
"Professor McGonagall told us last time that someone had infiltrated the wagon ..."
"And do you know who that someone is?"
Even though Neville's mind is more mature than others of his age, after all, he is only 11 years old, so little by little, his curiosity was hooked by Ron's words.
"Who is it?"
"A goblin or house elf!" Ron said excitedly, "Kingsley said that a student saw the shoes of the infiltrator the night we were attacked on Christmas Day. I can't believe this! Why didn't the professors tell us about this or mention who that student might be?"
Jon who was silently listening without saying anything on the side, in fact, almost guessed what the "shocking secret" Ron had overheard was from the very beginning, and this matter was not announced by Professor McGonagall and the others in order to protect him, but it turned out that Ron had actually heard some inside information at home.
"But that night Kingsley and others from the Order of the Phoenix did not find the infiltrator in the wagon, and even now it is unknown whether the creature is a goblin or a house elf, and it is still hiding in the school!"
Neville's face revealed a look of total shock, which satisfied Ron's desire to show off, but it's just a pity that Jon still remains calm like a lake, which made him feel good but not yet that good.
"Don't you think this whole matter is dangerous, Jon? A magical creature that has defected to the Ministry of Magic, is hiding near us at this very moment!" Ron thought Jon had not yet recognized the gravity of the matter and said hurriedly.
"If there is danger, we still have the Professors. They must know about it, yet they still haven't gathered us together, which means things haven't reached the point where the life and death of Hogwarts might be at stake as you said." Jon said with both hands spread.
Looking at him like this, Ron could only bite the bullet and choose to present his killer move. He lowered his voice and moved his body a little closer.
"The professors did not realize the danger, it is likely that they have subconsciously decided to trust everyone in the wagon, even if that infiltrator can hide, but the whole wagon is only so big, where can he hide enough to ensure that he will not be noticed?"
Jon frowned slightly.
"What are you trying to say?"
Seeing that he finally seemed to have raised his interest, a smug smile suddenly appeared on Ron's face.
"Someone at the school must be aiding him to hide! Only this can explain why even with so many Aurors searching at that time, he was not found!"
Honestly, this analysis of Ron is not without a point, it can even be totally justified, so Jon's face can't help but also turn serious.
"You know the person who aided him at the school?"
"Of course, I can guess who this person is." The expression on his face became even more smug, and he deliberately whetted Jon's appetite as he continued the discussion, "It's just that the Professors have always believed that the adults on the wagon are reliable and trustworthy."
"Come on, Ron, tell us, who is this guy?" Justin pleaded impatiently.
Ron spoke with absolute certainty, "That person MUST be Filch!"
Jon: "..."
Well, he was pretty dumb to actually think that Ron maybe could actually spot some key clue at the start.
This guy simply throws his hat into the ring of whoever he hates deep in his heart.
Looking at the pair of dead fish eyes that Jon showed when he stated the answer, Ron obviously felt his distrust and anxiously continued.
"Don't you believe it, haven't you noticed that Filch has been acting very odd?"
Jon was still looking at him with blank eyes.
"What's odd?"
"It's been two attacks, and we haven't seen him fighting alongside the professors even once! I've also heard from Fred and George that they both haven't even seen Filch pull out his wand in all their time at Hogwarts!"
"So what's wrong with that?"
"It shows that he simply doesn't want to go against the Ministry of Magic or against that man's men! He must have always wanted to wash himself clean off the wanted list and get back to being the castle's caretaker of that castle again, instead of scraping the bottom of the barrel under Dumbledore. Now by helping the infiltrator in the wagon, there is no doubt that he will be able to get an opportunity to wash off his name on the Ministry of Magic's wanted list!"
Ron's analysis is indeed very plausible and there is enough reason to justify his motive, even Neville was a bit convinced by him.
Only Jon covered his forehead in pain.
If you want to say that he is stupid, he can actually notice all these details. If you want to say he is smart, why can't he think that the reason Filch had no wand and couldn't fight was actually that he is a squib who couldn't do magic?
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