Chapter 31. Rumors
"What is the Cruciatus Curse? You're still a first-year student and haven't learned about it yet.
When you're in fourth year, your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor will tell you that it's one of the three most dangerous unforgivable curses in the wizarding world, a top-tier form of dark magic.
Who at Hogwarts uses dark magic?
The students certainly don't have that ability, and most professors work and live here year-round; everyone knows them well.
But there's one professor, a newcomer, incredibly powerful, and most importantly—he has a criminal record!"
Betty kept repeating her reasoning in Lynn's ear, practically revealing who the murderer was.
Lynn's expression had returned to calm as he looked at Betty.
"Does everyone think Professor Fawkes is the murderer?"
Betty widened her eyes and spread her hands. "Is there anyone else who could be a suspect?"
"But what about the motive? Why would Professor Fawkes attack Hubert?" Lynn asked.
"Everyone in the wizarding world knows what he's researching.
Maybe this morning his dark magic experiment needed a test subject, and poor Hubert just happened to appear right in front of him."
Lynn had lost his appetite for lunch. He stood up and said to Betty before leaving.
"Everything needs evidence.
Until someone sees Professor Fawkes committing evil or finds conclusive evidence, your words are just baseless rumors."
Betty looked at Lynn's retreating figure with some grievance, puzzled.
"Why are you taking his side? He's just a murderer, a prisoner who served time in Azkaban!"
Lynn left the Great Hall without paying any more attention to Betty.
He knew that even though Betty had once helped him teach Hubert a lesson, their stances remained the same.
They were both pure-blood families; Betty might be more cultured than Hubert, but their fundamental interests and vision were aligned.
Voldemort's followers were almost entirely pure-blood wizards, because Voldemort's ultimate goal brought them enormous profits.
Many pure-blood families had ties to Death Eaters, though not all of them supported Voldemort.
Professor Fawkes, having killed five Death Eaters, indirectly incurred the wrath of all pure-blood wizards.
Even though Voldemort had fallen from power years ago, his vested interests hadn't disintegrated.
Perhaps their hatred wasn't as great towards those pure-blood families whose immediate family members had died at Professor Fawkes's hands, but they didn't mind creating this situation of everyone kicking him while he was down.
Lynn was now certain that within three days, parents would put pressure on Hogwarts, commission the Daily Prophet to report on it, and have the Ministry of Magic thoroughly investigate the matter, with the ultimate goal of expelling Professor Fawkes from Hogwarts.
Of course, it would be best to send him back to Azkaban.
Actually, there are only two questions now.
First, who attacked Hubert?
Lynn never believed Professor Fawkes was responsible, not only because he trusted the professor's character,but also because no one in their right mind would commit such an act, especially with Professor Fawkes present at Hogwarts.
There are no security cameras at Hogwarts; the culprit wouldn't be easy to catch.
Lynn wasn't even sure who the attacker was after.
Was it to teach Hubert a lesson? To frame Professor Fawkes?
Or something else?
Second, why did Professor Snape deliberately spread the rumor that Hubert was attacked by dark magic?
A professor accidentally letting something slip might fool a child, but Lynn certainly wouldn't believe it.
Snape definitely said it on purpose.
What was his motive?
Did he also have a grudge against Professor Fawkes?
Lynn suddenly paused, realizing this.
He remembered that Snape was a staunch Death Eater before his betrayal; perhaps the two of them really did have a feud!
...
In the afternoon, there was another Herbalism class.
He saw Mark and Mitchell during class.
They both had some bumps on their bodies, indicating they had already been treated by Madam Pomfrey.
The two of them also saw Lynn, but after a brief eye contact, they immediately looked away in fright.
Lynn wasn't in the mood to pay attention to them; he was carefully tending to the white sage he had planted in the previous class, wearing dragon-skin gloves.
"Be careful not to damage their skin. If white sage is damaged in its early stages, its effectiveness as it grows will be greatly reduced..."
Lynn was listening attentively to Professor Sprout's lecture.
He wasn't worried about Professor Fawkes, because even if he were, it wouldn't be of any use.
Professor Fawkes was an adult wizard; he certainly had his own ideas and methods. If Lynn needed to worry about such matters, he wouldn't need to study dark magic with him.
Since Lynn started receiving praise and bonus points from his professors in every class, he'd become much more low-key, rarely raising his hand to answer questions.
His outstanding performance was purely for his own benefit, not for Slytherin's.
However, he remained active in Potions class. Lynn was determined to stick with that cold-hearted Snape; he refused to believe Snape wouldn't praise someone.
Snape seemed to be cooperating with Lynn, never uttering a word of praise himself, yet always using the opportunity to give Slytherin bonuses, openly favoring his own house.
After afternoon classes, Lynn returned to his dormitory, practicing curses for over an hour before putting away his wand and heading to the Great Hall for dinner.
The Great Hall was bustling today.
The rumors had spread so quickly that all the young wizards at Hogwarts knew about the morning's attack and…the prime suspect.
"I knew it! Luckily, my dad warned me to stay away from him before I went back to school, otherwise, I might have been the one lying in the hallway this morning!"
"I wonder if Professor Dumbledore knows about this. He'll definitely find out that old guy's true colors and expel him from school!"
"Hmph, it can't be just expulsion. Using the Unforgivable Curse on a human is against wizarding law! He'll be back in Azkaban, spending the rest of his life with those disgusting Dementors!"
Lynn couldn't stay at the Slytherin table for long.
He frowned, grabbed some bread from the table, and left the Great Hall.
The rumors spread too quickly; these young wizards basically had no judgment, believing whatever they heard.
Now, not only the pure-blood wizards of Slytherin, but even the other three houses believed that Professor Fawkes was responsible for the attack!
**Wants Read Ahead+ Early Access**
Read 20+ advanced chapters ahead on Patreon!
patreon.com/Horizons685
(End of Chapter)