"What's going on here, what's going on?"

Filch was undoubtedly drawn to Malfoy's shouts, and he squeezed his shoulders through the crowd. Then he saw Lady Loris, stumbling back a few steps, clutching his face with his hand in horror.

"My cat!my cat!, what's wrong with Lady Loris?," he screamed, almost fainting.

"It's you!" Filch suddenly walked over and grabbed Evan, screaming, "You killed my cat, killed it! I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you."

"Let go of me!" Evan knocked Filch's hand away, "I didn't touch the cat's cold hair, no one touched him, it was already like this when we came." ”

"Lying, you're lying!" Filch screamed loudly, "Someone saw you commit murder, didn't you?!"

"Filch!"

Dumbledore arrived on the scene, followed by many other teachers. In the blink of an eye, he walked over to Aven, Harry, Ron, and Hermione and untied Lady Loris from the torch holder

"Come with me, Filch. He said to Filch, "And you, Mr. Mason, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger. ”

Lockhart hurried up and said, "My office is closest to here, Headmaster! ”

"Thank you, Gildero!" Dumbledore nodded.

The silent crowd parted to both sides and let them pass.

They were led into his dimly lit office by Lockhart, with Professor McGonagall and Snape following suit. There was a commotion on the office wall, and Evan saw Lockhart in the photo hiding in a panic, with curling irons in their hair.

At this moment, the real Lockhart lit the candle on the table and stepped back. Dumbledore placed Lady Loris on the polished table and began to examine it carefully.

He looked very closely, the tip of his long hooked nose almost touching the hair on Lady Loris's body, and his slender fingers poked and poked here and there. Professor McGonagall squinted over the cat, her face almost touching the cat.

Snape stood behind them, half of his body hidden in the shadows, looking eerie, with a strange expression on his face, as if he was desperately trying to restrain himself from laughing. Lockhart wandered around them, incessantly giving advice.

Aven, Harry, Ron, and Hermione nervously exchanged glances and sat down stiffly in a few chairs that didn't shine by candlelight. Filch stood behind them, staring at Evan as if he had decided he was the cat's killer.

"It must have been a spell that killed it, most likely a Transfiguration Torture Spell. I've seen people use this spell many times, and I'm sorry I wasn't there, I happened to know the spell and could have saved it. ”

Hearing Lockhart's words, Filch, who was standing behind Aven, twitched sadly.

Then, suddenly, he sat down on a chair beside the table, covered his face with his hands, and did not dare to look at Lady Loris, looking very pitiful.

At this point, Dumbledore muttered something strange and tapped Lady Loris with his wand, but there was no response. Madame Loris still lay there stiff, like a freshly made specimen.

"Headmaster, this cat is dead!" Lockhart said, "I remember something similar happening in Ouagadougou, a series of attacks, detailed in my autobiography. At that time, I provided all kinds of amulets to the common people, and the problem was solved at once. ”

"Professor, it's not dead, it's just petrified. ”

Evan felt that he had to say something, or if Lockhart was allowed to continue to provoke Filch so much, the latter would probably jump over to him and fight for himself.

"Nonsense, you killed him!" Filch screamed.

"Mr. Mason is right, it's not dead, Filch. Dumbledore whispered, "It's petrified, a deep dark magic that a first-year student simply can't do." ”

"He did it, he did it!" said Filch, his fat and sagging face purplish, "you see the writing he wrote on the wall, and my Lady Loris must have held a grudge against him many times when he was prevented from entering the girls' bathroom on the third floor." ”

"I didn't, I didn't touch the cat at all!"

"Why, then, did the famous Mr. Jack-of-all-trades try to enter a girls' bathroom?" Snape's gloomy gaze swept over Aven, "Is there anything there that would make it to your sprawled newspaper?"

"I—I'm looking for the ghosts of the castle to provide a source of news for my newspaper, and I thought it necessary to talk to the crying Myrtle, who was very familiar with Hogwarts and liked her by a lot of girls. Evan stumbled as he explained, not even believing what he said.

"I have deep doubts about it. Snape's lips twitched with a sneer, and his gaze turned to Harry, who was sitting next to him, "The whole thing is full of questions, why didn't you show up there at that time, why did you go to the hallway above, why didn't you attend the Halloween party?"

Snape asks a barrage of questions that make Evan feel like a book of 100,000 whys.

Thankfully, he didn't have to reply to him, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione scrambled to explain that they were going to the death party.

"Hundreds of ghosts have come, and they can prove that we are there. ”

"But after that, why don't you come to the banquet?" Snape's dark eyes gleamed in the candlelight, "why go to the corridor above?"

"Because Ron had a little misunderstanding with the crying Myrtle at the death party, we're going to apologize to her. ”

"Apologize to a ghost for skipping dinner?" a smug smile flashed across Snape's thin face, "I don't think the food the ghost served at the party was probably not suitable for a living person." ”

"We're not hungry. Ron exclaimed, his stomach rumbling and Snape's ugly smile becoming more pronounced.

"My opinion is, principal, they're not exactly telling the truth. "We should probably revoke some of their privileges until they are willing to tell us as they are." Personally, I think it's better to get Mason out of his ridiculous newspaper and Potter out of the Gryffindor Quidditch team until they're honest. ”

"Honestly, Severus," said Professor McGonagall sharply, "I see no reason to stop these children from their favorite extracurricular activities, the cat was not hit in the head by a newspaper or a broomstick, and there is no evidence that they did anything wrong. ”

Dumbledore glanced at the four of them with an inquiring gaze, his blue eyes shining at them, as if he had seen everything.

"As long as you are not proven guilty, you are innocent, Severus. He said firmly.

Snape looked annoyed, as did Filch.

"My cat is petrified and I'd like to see someone get some punishment!"

"We can cure it, Filch. Dumbledore said patiently, "Lady Sprout has recently gotten some mandrakes, and once they are ripe, I have a medicine that will bring Lady Loris back to life." ”

"I'll make it," Lockhart interjected, "I've made it a hundred times, and I can dream and make a mandrake resurrection potion." ”

"I beg your pardon!" said Snape coldly, "I think I'm the Potions teacher at this school. ”

There was an awkward silence, and Lockhart twisted uneasily.

"You can go. Dumbledore said to Aven, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

They tried their best to speed up their pace and almost ran up. When they reached the upper floor of Lockhart's office, they slipped into an empty classroom and gently closed the door.

In the darkness, Hermione squinted at Aven, Harry, and Ron.