"Of course I know that. I have no reason to lie," Leonard said. "Mr. Filch only passed out from weakness. Once he wakes up, everything will be clear."
"I believe Mr. William," Dumbledore said then. "I don't believe he would lie about something like this."
He stepped closer to the unconscious Filch and caught the scent of wine on him.
"That was a very good way of handling it, Mr. William. Your composure and knowledge saved Argus. If this were a different occasion, I'd almost want to award points for your performance."
"But if he isn't lying, then the problem is very serious." Professor McGonagall's expression turned grave. "That would mean there is someone in this school bold enough to attack a member of staff. This is not an ordinary prank."
Professor Sprout had just let out a sigh of relief after hearing Leonard's explanation, but at Professor McGonagall's words, she quickly turned to Leonard and asked, "Leonard, did you see the attacker?"
"No. It happened too suddenly. I didn't have time to stop them." Leonard shook his head.
"Then what kind of magic did he or she use?" Professor Sprout asked again.
"I've never seen it before. It took the form of shadows. I only saw it because of these eyes of mine." Leonard pointed at his own eyes.
The professors at the school more or less knew something about Leonard possessing ancient magic, so they did not react too strongly.
But as for that unusual form of magic...
"I've never heard of it." Professor McGonagall's face darkened even further. "But judging by the way it manifested, it looks like dark magic."
"But if Leonard was able to deal with it in an instant, then it probably wasn't that dangerous, was it?" Professor Sprout asked.
"Mr. William is not an ordinary second-year wizard." Dumbledore, who knew a little of Leonard's background, shook his head.
Just because Leonard could easily handle that strange magic did not mean anyone else could.
"What should we do? Should we investigate it thoroughly?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"That..." Dumbledore wanted to investigate too, but the problem was how.
There were no clues at all. Leonard, the only eyewitness, had not seen anything useful. How were they supposed to investigate?
And if they launched a large-scale inquiry without even knowing who the culprit was, it would only alert the other party and might even cause unrest among the students.
A blunt, sweeping investigation was clearly not the right approach.
"For now, let's leave it at that. During the feast, I'll have to trouble all of you professors to keep an eye out," Dumbledore said.
Once all the staff, students, and professors had gathered in the Great Hall, they could search the entire castle. That way it would be safer and would not cause too much disruption.
"That's all we can do." Professor McGonagall pinched the bridge of her nose tiredly. Getting the professors organized to put up the holiday decorations had already been exhausting enough. She had not expected something like this to happen on top of it.
This blasted Deputy Headmistress job really was too much work for too little reward. She truly did not want to do it anymore.
"Actually, if you want clues, it's not as if there are none." Madam Pomfrey walked over from the side and poured a potion into Filch's mouth.
"Filch himself is a witness. And based on Mr. William's description, Filch should have seen more than Mr. William did."
That immediately snapped everyone to attention.
"Then Madam Pomfrey, when will Argus wake up?" Dumbledore asked.
"In a little while," Madam Pomfrey replied.
In truth, Filch had not suffered any serious injury. The dittany extract had already repaired the damage to his body.
But the thing that healed him was also the thing that brought him down.
The reason Filch had fallen unconscious was simply the side effects of dittany extract on a Squib's magicless body. With Madam Pomfrey's help, that deficiency in his body was quickly replenished.
Still, uncomfortable was uncomfortable. Madam Pomfrey's treatment was effective, but it could not completely avoid the discomfort of the side effects.
Sure enough, it was not long before Filch let out a low groan from the hospital bed.
"Ah..."
As soon as Filch opened his eyes, he saw the professors and Leonard standing by his bed.
"Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Sprout?" Filch looked flustered and alarmed. He hurriedly tried to get up, but Dumbledore pressed him back down.
"Your body hasn't fully recovered yet. Lie still," Dumbledore said. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel fine," Filch answered quickly.
He was panicking a little. He was just a member of the staff. How could he possibly deserve concern from the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress just because he had fainted?
Could it be they thought a Squib like him was useless at Hogwarts and were planning to dismiss him?
At that thought, despair appeared on Filch's face.
"Don't worry, Argus. I only want to ask you a few questions," Dumbledore said soothingly. "Before Mr. William pushed you away in the greenhouse, did you happen to see anything?"
"See... what?" Filch froze for a moment, then lowered his head and tried to remember. "I don't think I saw anything strange. I just felt something rushing toward me, and then Mr. William pushed me away."
"You didn't see anything at all? For example, was there anyone outside the greenhouse?" Leonard pressed.
"Someone outside the greenhouse?" Filch thought for a moment, then his eyes widened. "I think... I really did see someone."
"Who was it?" Dumbledore asked immediately.
Filch shook his head regretfully. "Sorry, Headmaster. I didn't see the face, so I don't know who it was, but..."
It seemed he had suddenly remembered something, because his expression became a little twisted.
"But what?" Professor McGonagall, impatient as ever, looked ready to pry his mouth open herself at this critical moment. "Well? Spit it out."
"It's not that I don't want to..." Filch said through gritted teeth. "I think I saw someone in a school uniform, and they were carrying something."
"A school uniform?" Professor McGonagall's voice sharpened with alarm and disbelief. Even Dumbledore frowned.
"Are you certain, Argus?" Dumbledore could not help asking.
"I'm sure. I definitely didn't see wrong. It was someone in a school uniform. I didn't see the face, and I didn't see the crest on it either, but I'm sure. It was a student uniform."
Filch said excitedly, "It must have been a student trying to play a trick on me, Headmaster. You have to stand up for me. They're always using all sorts of tools and magic to mess with me."
"Calm down, Argus." Dumbledore had no choice but to keep soothing Filch, but even the always-composed Headmaster now wore a serious expression.
Could the attacker really be a student? If so, that made things rather troublesome.