bacchusnovels Chapter 343 The Loud Conspiracy in the Washroom
Chapter 343 The Loud Conspiracy in the Washroom
Chapter 343 The Loud Conspiracy in the Washroom
night.
Three o'clock in the morning, Hogwarts.
Compared to Los Angeles at 4 a.m., Hogwarts is much quieter at 3 a.m.
There was no clanging sound of hammering metal, only the faint creaking of the wind blowing through the wooden beams of the castle.
If one had to find any other sound, it would only be Ron's snoring and the occasional "drip, drip" sound of water dripping from the faucet in Mommy's bathroom on the second floor.
The dimly lit washroom was empty, as usual.
Only the dim moonlight slanted in through the high windows, barely illuminating a few dusty corners.
The reason why this washroom always has a gloomy and damp atmosphere may be related to the fact that Myrtle, who was prone to crying, lived here, as Myrtle's characteristics included both of the above.
It's hard to say whether the land nourishes people or people nourish the land.
In fact, after the secret room was discovered in the washroom last semester, the faucet in that washroom, which is the sink near the secret room, and the walls have been renovated and reinforced.
But this did not change the atmosphere of the restroom. Even now, a semester later, the restroom has returned to its old state—the tiles have lost their luster, and the water-stained floor exudes a damp and cold chill.
"Yu Yi"
A faint sound of footsteps broke the deathly silence.
The bathroom door was quietly pushed open, and several figures silently walked in.
The first one to walk in was Sofia. Her face was completely expressionless; in Hagrid's words, she had a poker face, the kind of person who is hard to beat at the poker table.
Sofia tilted her head slightly, her gaze quickly sweeping across the dimly lit bathroom, seemingly looking at something.
Daphne and Penelope followed closely behind.
The two of them walked with a lighter pace than Sofia, but their faces looked somewhat serious.
Hermione was walking at the very back, her face filled with conflict.
It's the kind of inner conflict that's immediately obvious to anyone.
"Nobody's paying attention to us," Daphne said softly, her eyes scanning the bathroom around her warily. "We can begin now."
Sofia nodded slightly, walked to the washbasin, and looked up at the worn mirror. She and the three people behind her were reflected in the mirror.
Are you sure this is a good place?
"Few people come here, especially at this time, and Madam Myrtle usually doesn't bother us."
As soon as he finished speaking, a soft humming sound came from beside him.
The three turned around and saw that Madam Peach was emerging from a sink in the bathroom, looking at them with a resentful expression.
"So late, and you actually chose to come here?" Myrtle's voice trailed off, tinged with a mixture of displeasure and curiosity. "I'm the only ghost here, what's so interesting about this place?"
Daphne frowned, somewhat annoyed by the ghost's appearance: "We're here on business, it's none of your concern."
Myrtle didn't seem to have any intention of leaving easily. Floating in mid-air, she coldly watched them: "It's alright, I just want to see what you're up to. There have never been so many 'living people' here before." She emphasized the word "living people" with particular deliberation.
As a result, the situation became somewhat awkward.
Myrtle floated in mid-air, her arms crossed, a hint of boredom in her eyes.
She had no intention of leaving easily; instead, she was enjoying the subtle tension.
The Myrtle floated about, humming casually, as if her very existence as a ghost was a drama, and she was waiting for the most exciting part to unfold.
"There have never been so many 'living people' here before," she repeated deliberately, her tone full of sarcasm, provoking the three people disturbing her sleep.
Daphne frowned, growing increasingly impatient with Myrtle's persistent pestering.
She gave the ghost a cold look and lowered her voice to Penelope beside her, saying, "We don't have time to waste on this ghost right now."
Penelope glanced at Mommy King, her gaze somewhat indifferent. She was neither surprised by Mommy King's appearance nor did she seem impatient or angry.
On the contrary, she appeared remarkably calm.
“Myrtle,” Penelope said calmly, “this is none of your business. If you stay here, you'll only be a nuisance. Why don't you go look around somewhere else?”
Myrtle's expression grew even more resentful. Floating in mid-air, she seemed somewhat dissatisfied: "You won't let me stay in my bathroom? I'm not going to bother you. I'm just watching the show."
Sofia stepped closer. "We really need some quiet, Myrtle. This isn't your problem, and we don't want you to cause trouble. You understand, right?"
Madam Myrtle narrowed her eyes, her gaze sweeping back and forth between the four women, seemingly assessing their attitudes.
She floated around, her expression still full of resentment: "I just wanted to see what you were doing, is that not even allowed? You living people always think you're so great."
Daphne's patience was wearing thin. She said in a low voice, "If you don't leave, Myrtle, I'll have Filch come and check the pipes. I don't think you'd want him barging in first thing in the morning, would you?"
The mention of Filch instantly turned the resentment on Myrtle's face into fear.
She hates being disturbed, especially by those rude administrators.
Sofia's mention of Filch clearly hit a nerve.
"Hmph!" she snorted angrily, her face darkening, but she still reluctantly began to drift towards the other end of the bathroom.
He muttered to himself, "You living people are always so self-righteous. Fine, I won't bother you anymore."
Reluctantly, Madam Myrtle disappeared from beside the sink, and the entire bathroom returned to silence, with only her annoyed complaints gradually fading into the air.
"They're finally gone," Hermione said softly, letting out a sigh of relief.
"We can continue now," Sofia said calmly, refocusing her attention on their original task.
Thus, the first meeting against Sean Phillips officially began.
Attendees:
Sean's daughter: Sophia Phillips.
Sean's future wife: Hermione Granger.
Sean's defeated opponent: Daphne Greengrass.
Sean's secretary: Penelope Crivat.
To be honest, the complexity of the people involved in this meeting is hard to describe in a few words.
“We all know how hypocritical Phillips is,” Daphne broke the silence first. “He appears to be a highly respected professor with many supporters in society and academia, but his true colors… we have all seen them with our own eyes.”
“Yes,” Sophia nodded, her expression unusually angry, “He not only manipulates those foolish followers behind the scenes, but also puts on a sanctimonious facade, using others to do his dirty work, and even… every time he appears in front of outsiders, he seems like a ‘perfect person,’ but the real him is nothing like that.”
Hermione seemed a little taken aback upon hearing this.
She came here entirely out of respect for Penelope, the Ravenclaw prefect, but she never expected to hear these shocking revelations tonight.
She never expected that even Sophia would so angrily accuse Sean of hypocrisy and despicableness.
Sophia's unexpected attitude made Hermione feel uneasy.
In an instant, she couldn't help but think of the conversation she had overheard that night when she passed by Sean's office.
Now that I think about it... could it be that Sophia was forced...? Could it be that what happened to her was completely different from what she originally guessed?
These terrifying thoughts struck Hermione's sensitive and suspicious mind like bolts of lightning.
Penelope, who had been standing to the side, noticed Hermione's reaction, gently patted her shoulder, and whispered, "Hermione, I know you don't want to believe this, but the facts are undeniable. What Phillips did not only harm a few of us, but also the entire Hogwarts."
Hermione bit her lip and said nothing.
Seeing Hermione's reaction, Daphne sighed softly, stepped forward, and said gently, "Hermione, I know this is hard for you, a 'good student' who trusts the professor so much, to accept, but Phillips is no longer just a hypocritical opponent..."
He is hurting others, and we are the only ones who can stop him.
"If we do not take action, he will only harm more people and use his hypocritical image to cover up his crimes."
Hermione was still somewhat at a loss. She looked up, her voice trembling slightly, "But what can we do? He's so clever, with so many supporters. How can we expose him?"
Daphne's gaze darkened, and her lips tightened slightly, as if she had made up her mind.
She took a deep breath and said slowly, "So, I'll take charge of luring him into this."
Sophia and Penelope immediately turned to look at Daphne, while Hermione's expression clearly became tense.
"Daphne, what do you mean?" Sophia asked, frowning, her tone filled with doubt.
"Phillips is interested in me, I can feel it. From the way he photographed me—" Daphne paused abruptly.
As if lost in a brief recollection, a subtle emotion flashed in her eyes.
Immediately, her cheeks flushed slightly, clearly unwilling to delve into the detail that made her uncomfortable, and she quickly changed the subject: "He likes to control people, especially someone like me who is not easily subdued."
"So, I plan to make him think he has won, to make him think he can control me, and then, when he is completely off guard, I will set a trap to expose his hypocritical true colors to the light of day."
Sofia frowned, looking rather confused.
After a while, she whispered, "Daphne, this is too dangerous."
"Dad... Phillips may be hypocritical, but he's definitely not stupid."
He'll notice.
"And you know that if he really has any bad intentions towards you, you'll be in danger."
Daphne looked at Sophia. "Sophia, I understand your concerns, but this is our only chance."
"Phillips is too cunning; he never leaves any evidence."
"We can only let him fall into the trap he set for himself, and then exploit his most vulnerable side."
Penelope, standing nearby, put her hands back into her pockets, saying with some worry, "But if he discovers your plan, the consequences are truly unpredictable."
Daphne smiled slightly, a hint of determination in her eyes. "I won't let him find out. I'll be very careful."
"Phillips may seem intelligent, but his arrogance will cause him to overlook many things."
"As long as I make him feel like he's in control, he'll get carried away, and then we'll be able to seize the opportunity."
Penelope interrupted their conversation, her gaze sharp as she looked at Daphne.
"Are you sure you can handle this? Sean is not only cunning, but also very good at manipulating people."
"We can't risk putting you in danger."
Daphne nodded firmly. "I can do it."
"This isn't the first time I've faced him; he's not as clever as you think."
Sophia was still uneasy. "But, Daphne, this isn't just a simple trap."
"Do you really want to put yourself under his potential control?"
"We might find other ways; we don't necessarily have to use this method."
Daphne took a deep breath, her tone filled with unwavering determination: "Sophia, sometimes you have to take risks."
"You know, justice doesn't always prevail through easy means."
"If we keep waiting, he'll only become more and more difficult to deal with. I'm willing to be the bait."
Sofia was silent for a moment, then finally nodded in support, "Since you've made up your mind, we'll fully cooperate with you."
"However, you must ensure safety; we cannot lose any of our members."
Penelope took a deep breath and said calmly, "Alright, now that we've decided to do this, we need to come up with a detailed plan. Every step has to be perfect."
1
After the discussion of the plan's details came to an end, a brief silence fell over the restroom.
The group exchanged glances.
"Let's leave it at that for now," Daphne said.
"Mm." Sophia nodded.
Without saying anything more, the group walked out of the restroom one by one, their steps light and deliberate.
Hermione walked back to the Gryffindor common room, her feelings a mix of emotions.
On the one hand, she didn't want to believe the accusations, thinking it might be a misunderstanding or that some facts had been exaggerated. On the other hand, she couldn't ignore the facts before her. Sofia's expression, Daphne's anger, and Penelope's silence all made her realize the seriousness of the situation.
Most importantly, Sofia, as the person involved, has personally admitted to what she experienced.
Hermione's rational mind told her that since the person involved had already said so, the matter could probably no longer be explained as a "misunderstanding".
Perhaps... she should find an opportunity to test Professor Phillips and then ask him directly in front of him.
Meanwhile, a slender figure with her hands in her pockets stood quietly at the door of Sean's office and knocked.