Chapter 111: Chapter 111 - Percy, You Big-Headed Idiot
The quiet, sour-scented empty classroom was finally disrupted.
"Stipend?"
"Are you sure?"
"We saw it with our own eyes; a bulging pouch of money. Even if it's all Sickles, that's still quite a bit. What's more, the Professor said it was just for today."
"I knew that big-headed idiot couldn't be up to anything good. So we get punished, and he gets paid?"
"Exactly! No wonder he was so eager to send back our copied assignments. Turns out, he was getting paid for it!"
Out of respect for the Weasley twins; After all, no one could outdo them when it came to causing trouble, the entire group usually left the insults to Fred and George. But today, tempers flared, and no one held back. Calling Percy "big-headed" was putting it mildly.
Yet, despite the insults, there was nothing they could do about Percy; he was a prefect.
Compared to professors, a prefect's authority was limited, but if Percy decided to target them, it would be far worse. Professors rarely set foot in the common rooms, but prefects, theoretically, could monitor students 24/7.
After discussing various ways to prank Percy and coming up empty-handed, the group grew angrier as they talked. Finally, they reached a unanimous decision; take it out on William.
"Forget Percy for now. There's no way he never makes mistakes. For now, we need to focus on the new Professor!" George declared resolutely, determined to temporarily set aside thoughts of Percy and deal with him later.
During their time scrubbing toilets, George had plenty of time to reflect on their recent gains and losses.
By the time Filch was satisfied enough to let them leave, George already had a rough plan in mind.
"The new Professor? Forget it; I don't want to do another test paper. I feel like I spent my entire life doing tests today."
The person who had brought news about Percy collapsed onto the table, looking as worn out as a cat that had just been buried under a pile of blankets.
"Your entire life?"
Fred let out an obvious scoff. "Let me give you a hint. While you were sitting in the back doing test papers and didn't notice, our dear new Professor already made three more test papers! Yes, you heard me—three!"
"Merlin's beard—three?"
"Yes, three. I saw it with my own eyes. His Quick-Quotes Quill barely stopped moving the entire time."
The temperature in the room seemed to rise by a degree. Most of the earlier chill evaporated.
"Using magic to make tests… Ugh, I hate magic!"
A Muggle-born wizard let out a wail; it was the first time since receiving his Hogwarts letter at the age of eleven that he felt magic could be a terrifying thing.
"Let him set the exam if he wants. It's not even for our year. If there's an exam, it's the fifth-years who'll have to deal with it. Let them handle it."
A member of the "Bedpan Gang" voiced his confusion. He had been assigned by Filch to clean bedpans and noticed the unusually low morale in the room. Hoping to lighten the mood, he tried to cheer everyone up.
Although their group included a few fifth-years, those students had gone back to catch up on sleep after rushing to complete the test. Since they weren't around to get offended, he felt safe joking about it.
"We just did one exam; and it wasn't even for Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was a bunch of random questions. I think the Professor might actually have a hobby of creating exams. And judging by Professor Binns' involvement, he seems to enjoy collaborating with other professors on these things."
"..."
"…"
The atmosphere grew even colder.
"What were we talking about last time?"
"Oh, right, writing a love letter. Pretending to be a girl who has a crush on him."
"Yeah, yeah, great idea."
"Great? What's great about it? So many students are getting punished, and you want the Professor to receive a love letter? Just think about how messed up that sounds. Push it back; at least until after detention is over. For now, just keep it on the list."
The original suggestion was indefinitely postponed. The group fell into deep thought, brainstorming ways to divert the new Professor's attention away from his obsession with creating test questions.
"Life in the wizarding world is so wonderful, so why would the professor devote his limited time to something as infinite as test papers?" The Muggle-born wizard complained indignantly.
Despite brainstorming for a long time, the group couldn't come up with a good way to deal with the new Professor.
As they racked their brains, a noise suddenly came from the neighboring classroom.
Thud!
"Ah!"
Then came some indistinct sounds. Though, in truth, none of them bothered trying to listen closely.
The moment the noise echoed out, the twins whipped out their wands, aiming them at the source. Their fiery red hair seemed to bristle instantly.
"Cover your faces and run!"
"One, two—charge!"
The classroom door was flung open, and the pranksters, fully prepared, bolted toward the exit in a frenzy, not daring to look back.
Good thing we set a trap in the neighboring classroom. It bought us some time.
The twins thought with relief as they ran. While darting past a corner, they used their peripheral vision through their fingers to catch a glimpse of the once-empty classroom next door. People had already rushed out, and a flash of fiery red hair was particularly eye-catching.
It's not Filch! Percy, you big-headed idiot! You rejected my drafts three times tonight, and now, after detention, you bring people to catch me? Being a prefect makes you so great, huh?
Muttering under his breath, Fred didn't slow down for a second, instead sprinting toward a route away from the common room. Heading straight back would almost certainly mean running into Filch.
After deliberately taking a detour, the two finally returned safely to the common room.
"That was close. Do you think he gets an allowance for catching people?" Fred gasped for breath, grumbling as he spoke.
"If he'd share half of it with me, I wouldn't even mind being caught a few times. But Percy, that annoying git, wouldn't part with a single Knut."
"First he supervises us, and then he comes to catch us. After graduation, Percy might actually get a job at Hogwarts. He could even take over for Filch." George wiped the sweat off his brow, laughing as he joined in.
"Let's hope not. I bet he'd bring his habits home. Imagine waking up during summer break to find that big head at the foot of the bed— 'Fred, George, you're both in detention!'"
"Could anything be worse than that?"
The two exchanged a grin, laughing as they imagined the scenario.
***
"Ginny, you have to swear not to tell anyone."
"Alright, Percy, but if you—wait, what's that sound?"
Ginny, who had accidentally stumbled upon a date, was being sworn to secrecy when she suddenly heard a noise from the classroom next door.
"Someone else is here? Penelope, stay here—I'll go check it out. If anyone comes in, just say we were looking for students out past curfew. Ginny, that's not one of your friends, is it?" Percy nervously poked his head out, terrified someone would catch them on their date.
"Please don't let it be a professor, please don't let it be Filch..."
Mumbling words even he couldn't quite make sense of, Percy began to observe cautiously.
Then, to Percy's utter disbelief, a horde of students came pouring out of the neighboring classroom in a frantic rush…
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