In Amosta's office, Fred was diligently explaining the reason for their intrusion, while George lay on Amosta's bed, softly moaning in a daze. However, after taking the restorative mixture laced with poisonous tentacle seeds concocted by Amosta, his nosebleed finally stopped.
"Professor McGonagall did warn me to be on my guard against you--"
Amosta sat in his office chair, facing Fred's explanation with an expression of exasperation and amusement.
"But she only told me that if I discovered you two wandering around the castle at midnight, I shouldn't be too shocked. She didn't mention the possibility of you breaking into my office..."
"I must say, your luck is very good. Considering that the one who opens the secret room is likely to be a young wizard who has not yet become an adult, I have reserved most of the magic here in this room for imprisonment. If I were working outside, I would follow my usual habits."
Amosta looked solemnly at the cunning-looking Weasley brothers and warned in a very stern voice,
"At this moment, Headmaster Dumbledore should be sending a condolence letter to your parents!"
Even without Amosta's reminder, Fred and George realized on their own that their actions this time were indeed very rash. After all, Amosta Brenn is not just a professor at the school; they should not have dared to intrude on his office without getting to know Brenn's temperament first.
George looked emaciated, as if he might die at any moment, due to the excessive blood loss. However, after hearing Amosta's warning, he struggled to sit up from the bed, looking pitiful.
"T...Oh no, Mr. Brenn, considering that we have already learned our lesson, can you please not mention this to Professor McGonagall? We promise you that it will be the last time!"
Fred nodded frantically in agreement.
"Please, Mr. Brenn, when we were trapped in there earlier, me and George had already discussed that we were going to give up our tricks and become well-behaved wizards who love learning, so could you please let us off the hook?"
Amosta rolled his eyes, on the verge of bursting into laughter at the antics of these two. Could he really appear so foolish to them?
"So, in any case,"
Amosta did not immediately give them a definitive answer. He leisurely leaned back in his chair, intertwining his fingers over his knees, smiling faintly but not quite, at the two of them.
"You two have figured out my secret, haven't you?"
Upon hearing this, George's lifeless expression did not change. Fred also no longer pretended to be repentant, and the two pairs of eyes shone with admiration as they eagerly offered their compliments to Amosta.
"Mr. Brenn, you are the most brilliant wizard I have ever seen, even Headmaster Dumbledore can't compare to you," Fred, one of the twins, exclaimed admiringly Amosta's wisdom. "The way you monitor the school is something we could only dream of!"
"In order to gain a deeper understanding of your greatness!"
In a split second, the twin brothers reached an agreement, and George respectfully requested, "Could you explain to us in detail how that thing works?"
"Don't even think about it!"
Amosta rolled his eyes even harder, thinking about the academically outstanding Bill and the Charlie who possessed exceptional Quidditch talent. He couldn't figure out why the Weasley family had produced these two... Well, Amosta had to admit that Fred and George were actually quite interesting.
The moment George was rejected by Amosta, he let out a loud groan and rolled back onto the bed, looking deeply hurt. He weakly reached out to his brother, voice trembling,
"Looks like my dying wish will not be fulfilled, Fred. If one day you can figure this out, make sure to tell me at my grave..."
In the end, Amosta did not reveal the principles behind the monitoring system to the twin brothers. It wasn't out of pride, but rather because the intricacies of this device could not be explained in just a few words. It involved many profound branches of magic and alchemy principles that were too complex for even him to fully understand, let alone for the twins to figure out and create on their own.
However, he still generously decided not to pursue the fault of Fred and George intruding into his office, as they had nothing to do with the secret room.
"Remember to keep what you saw a secret, little ones!"
Before sending the Weasley twins out of the office, Amosta narrowed his eyes, and the chill in his voice made Fred and George shiver.
"If I find out that you leak the secret, or if I catch you destroying the monitoring ports I've set up around the castle... Weasley brothers, if I decide to get even with someone, even Headmaster Dumbledore wouldn't be able to stop me!"
"We swear on Percy's prefect badge, Mr. Brenn, we will never tell anyone a single word!" the twins promised in unison.
"Hope they keep their promise..."
As he closed his eyes to rest before lying down on the bed, Amosta had this thought in his mind.
In fact, Amosta knew in his heart that it was unlikely that the Weasley twins could keep the secret entirely to themselves. At least, they would tell Harry, and Harry would definitely not forget to share this secret with his two good friends. But apart from this, they were not likely to spread the news about their surveillance of all wizards.
The trio of main characters doesn't have any issues, and the Weasleys are trustworthy as well. It was Amosta's preconceived notion that led to the unnecessary amount of effort he had to spend, as he could have quickly made a discovery had it not been for that initial mistake in judgment.
That evening, as Harry and Ron returned from the hospital, they were pulled over by Fred and George. They dragged Harry to a spot near the girls' dormitory stairs where only a few people were around, making it easier for them to talk.
As the twins spoke, Harry's expression grew solemn, while Ron's mouth widened in disbelief and shock.
No one noticed that a pale figure had silently stood at the entrance of the girls' dormitory stairs for a long time before quietly slipping back into the dim shadows.
"Wait for me, Ron."
With the situation understood, Harry jumped up and ran off to his dormitory without looking back. He needed to get his Invisibility Cloak, and it was clear that tonight he and Ron would have to spend a bit longer at the hospital.
It wasn't yet curfew time, and there were a few young wizards still wandering around the castle. But Harry and Ron had donned their magical Invisibility Cloak, and as they walked through the corridors, their eyes constantly scanned the ceiling, as if pairs of hidden eyes were staring at them.
"What do you think about this, Harry?"
Surprisingly, Hermione did not rush to express her opinion after hearing the shocking news. She sat on her bed, crossing her arms, and spoke in a careful tone.
Harry kept his head down and did not speak, the emerald green of his eyes flickering with hesitation until much later when he finally spoke in a hesitant tone.
"I think... it's not that hard to accept..."
"You've gone mad, Harry!" Ron exclaimed, surprised to see Harry's opinion.
"Are you out of your mind, Harry!" Ron exclaimed, his opinion already brimming. "Did you not hear what Fred and George said... that Brenn is secretly monitoring everyone without any prior notice? If such an invasion of privacy shouldn't be stopped, then I don't know what despicable means anymore. By the way, I think it's highly possible that Fred and George have been brainwashed; they actually think this kind of behavior is fun?"
"You have a lot of things you don't understand, Ron," Hermione scolded him without mercy. "Why can't you think from Harry's point of view?"
From Harry's point of view?
Ron's eyes twinkled with an odd kind of foolishness, his gaze flitting between a cross-looking Hermione and a troubled Harry. Suddenly, he felt his IQ didn't quite match up to the team's average.
"Is there anyone who can explain this to me with kindness?"
Ron muttered angrily after half a while, unable to wait for anyone to speak up.
"Need I say more, Ron?" Hermione pointed her fingers at the black hairs on her face --- a new quirk she had developed recently.
"Not giving prior notice and secretly monitoring the daily activities of all wizards is certainly not a virtuous act, and it even violates the law. However, Ron, you can't deny that it is indeed an effective method, can you?"
If they can catch the Slytherin Heir, all the rumors surrounding Harry would be proved wrong and he would no longer have to face those stupid accusations... And besides, without the permission of Headmaster Dumbledore and the deans, do you think Mr. Brenn would resort to such a method?”
"At least, next time someone is attacked, this will prove my innocence," Harry muttered, feeling ashamed of his own selfishness.
"I really don't want to be involved in this anymore..."
