Hogwarts: Don't call me the Staff Maker

Chapter 55 Walking into a Trap and a Second Reduction in Sin

Encouraged by the Weasley brothers, a long-dormant idea in Siron's mind began to stir again.

According to them, Professor Sprout has been busy preparing for the upcoming OWL and NEWT, and has had very little time to tend to the Whomping Willow.

This is a golden opportunity.

That very night, the three of them went through the secret passage again, ready to pull off a big heist.

"How's the situation now..." To ensure nothing went wrong, before approaching the Whomping Willow, Siren looked at Fred again and asked, "Are there any professors around?"

Fred looked at a very old piece of parchment and frowned slightly.

"What, Professor Sprout is here?"

"No, no," Fred shook his head repeatedly. "She's still in her office. It's safe here now. I only saw our brother."

"Your brother... Ron?" Siren said. "What happened to him?"

"Of course, it's a fine tradition of the Weasley family." George looked up and winked at Sirius. "No wonder he's our little brother, going on nighttime outings with his classmates in first grade."

"I remember Charlie's first nighttime outing was also in first grade."

"Bill too..."

"Oh, so it seems..." Fred grinned, "Percy really is the odd one out."

"Maybe he's the neighbor's kid."

The two men were getting more and more absurd with their conversation, but Celen really had no interest in discussing Mr. Percy Weasley's lineage with them.

It's just a freshman night outing, as long as it's not Professor Sprout and Filch.

Although he had a feeling that something was wrong, he didn't have time to think about it at the moment; hitting Liu was more important.

Xilun took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the agitation in his heart, and turned to instruct:

"Remember, notify me immediately once Professor Sprout leaves the office."

"You've said it a million times, don't worry." George stuffed something the size of a pea into Siron's pocket.

"What is this?"

"You'll see when the time comes," Fred muttered, still staring at the map. "Damn, why are so many people out at night? We'd better hurry up and get going."

"Okay." Xilun didn't hesitate any longer, quickly walked to the Willow Tree and began to jump around repeatedly.

This is a new plan devised by Xilun.

He had thought it over. Although his previous method was safe, it was too inefficient. This time, he decided to take a slight risk and directly provoke Liu, the man who had been beaten.

This was inspired by Fred and George, who had mentioned that the Whomping Willow always breaks some of its relatively thinner branches when it strikes the ground.

These small branches are Xilun's target.

Hogwarts does not allow Apparition. Even if Professor Sprout discovers the commotion, he would have to run out of the castle first, which would give him plenty of time.

Xilun's plan was well-executed and went without any mishaps. Provoked by him, the volatile Man-beating Willow began to frantically swing its thick, battering ram-like main branches, slamming them against the ground with a loud thud.

A few minutes later, the "pea" in Xilun's pocket suddenly burst open.

"Hurry up, it's time to retreat!" came a voice from either Fred or George.

Without hesitation, Xilun immediately threw the stone in his hand, hitting the scab.

Once the frenzied Whomping Willow had calmed down, Celion immediately grabbed all the broken branches as fast as he could, then turned and ran, jumping into the secret passage with the Weasley brothers who were waiting at the Quidditch pitch.

The entire process was smooth and seamless, as if it had been rehearsed countless times, without the slightest pause.

"marvelous!"

"A resounding success!"

The three of them clapped their hands together in the corridor, their faces beaming with undisguised excitement.

"Quick, quick, count our spoils!" Fred said excitedly.

"Nine, I've already counted them," Xilun couldn't help but laugh, spreading his hands.

There are nine branches in total, some long and some short.

"Aha!" George waved his hand vigorously, his excitement overflowing... With these, they were one step closer to their dream.

"But how do we divide them?" Fred asked, looking at the branches. "By weight?"

"Okay, that's fair," George said.

"No need," Xilun waved his hand. "I'll take five, you take four, that's just right."

Actually, he was at a slight loss in this respect, but because the gains far exceeded his expectations, Xilun didn't care about the small amount.

Fred and George didn't care much, but they still took the four slightly shorter ones.

They were third-year students after all, and it wouldn't be right for them to take advantage of a freshman, especially since they weren't short by much anyway.

The three were in high spirits, and even walking in the dark and cramped secret passage, their steps were more cheerful.

Fred and George walked along, discussing how to use the branches, completely unaware that several footprints suddenly appeared at the end of the secret passage on the tattered parchment.

Xilun, of course, knew nothing about it.

As they walked out of the entrance, they were met by Professor McGonagall, who was reprimanding Malfoy and Neville.

The twelve eyes met, and it was as if even the air itself had frozen.

Ha, what a coincidence, isn't it?

Xilun thought he must have been knocked unconscious by the beating willow and was dreaming right now.

Otherwise, why would they willingly deliver themselves to the professor? The Marauder's Map isn't just for show.

Yes, that must be it, he must have been knocked unconscious.

Xiren wanted to turn around and go back into the secret passage, but the next second...

"I can't believe it! Wandering around like that in the middle of the night, do you even know what you're doing?!"

Professor McGonagall's rebuke clearly told Celen that he was now fully conscious.

"Professor, we know we made a mistake." Siren tried to remain calm. "Let's go back to the dorms now..."

"Halt! What are you holding?"

Despite the three's efforts to hide, Professor McGonagall still saw what they were holding, and after a moment, her expression grew colder and colder.

"The branch of the willow that beats people..."

"Professor, I... I can explain," Siren stammered, but couldn't say anything.

"You think this is brave, don't you?" Professor McGonagall interrupted him. "Provoking the Beating Willow, flaunting its branches as medals, thinking that this proves you have courage?"

"Foolish, utterly foolish! Do you even know how dangerous this is? Even adult wizards rarely dare to approach the Man-Beating Willow!"

"Huh?" Xilen was taken aback at first, then her eyes lit up, and she said loudly, "I'm sorry, Professor, we won't do it again!"

After he finished speaking, he nudged the Weasley brothers next to him with his elbow.

With Xilun's reminder, the two of them immediately realized what was going on.

Compared to the three of them conspiring to steal tree branches, the reason of showing off is much better; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that their crime was reduced by one degree.

Oh, no, it should be a reduction of two degrees in severity.

They're Gryffindor, after all. It's perfectly reasonable for reckless little lions to do things that show off and get attention!