Chapter 143 — Afraid of Not Dying Fast Enough?

Chapter 143: Chapter 143 — Afraid of Not Dying Fast Enough?

Chapter 143 — Afraid of Nott Dying Fast Enough?

Harry never imagined that his lovely and kind sister was actually thinking about knocking him out.

He, Hermione, and Ron were now staring at Mrs. Norris in horror.

Mrs. Norris was the caretaker Mr. Filch’s cat. She was always keeping an eye on the students and would fetch Mr. Filch whenever they broke the rules.

Probably the only person in the school who genuinely liked Mrs. Norris was Vesey.

She always said that Mrs. Norris was very cute.

Harry had never been able to appreciate Mrs. Norris’s particular kind of cuteness, but he trusted Vesey’s taste.

And now, Mrs. Norris appeared to be dead. She was hanging stiffly from the wall, her eyes staring directly at Harry and the others as though they were her murderers.

A large puddle of water lay beneath her, reflecting her shadow and making the whole scene even more terrifying.

In short, Harry and the others were stunned for a moment before Ron finally came to his senses.

His voice trembled.

"Let’s go! We shouldn’t be here if there are other students around."

Harry and Hermione knew he was right.

But it was already too late.

Someone had arrived.

In fact, all the students who had been celebrating Halloween were now coming over, their footsteps thundering across the floor like hundreds of feet.

Harry and the others were immediately surrounded.

"Ah!"

"Oh my God!"

"What happened?"

Voices rang out one after another.

Then someone screamed, and even more students crowded around.

Finally, Harry heard Draco Malfoy’s voice.

Malfoy squeezed through the crowd and shouted loudly,

"Those who are enemies of the Heir, beware! You will be next, Mudblood!"

His eyes gleamed maliciously as he stared at Hermione.

Then his gaze shifted to Harry.

He was about to mock him with a sinister smile, but before he could say anything, someone shoved him hard.

Malfoy turned around, ready to curse whoever had pushed him.

Then he saw Vesey’s angry eyes.

"What are you trying to do again? If you’re warning Hermione, then you’re warning my brother and Ron too, aren’t you? Malfoy, you really have no sense of shame. I’m actually embarrassed to be in the same house as you!"

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[...]

With just one sentence, Vesey gained a huge amount of Energy Points.

Probably several hundred.

She almost laughed out loud.

Sure enough, having more people around made things much more effective.

Malfoy’s lips trembled, but after being scolded by Vesey, he was completely speechless.

Vesey even gave him a heavy snort before turning away.

After collecting several hundred more Energy Points, she hurried over to Harry and the others.

"Brother, Hermione, Ron, are you all right? I heard someone was injured. Was it you?"

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[...]

Vesey anxiously searched Harry and the others for injuries, especially Hermione, whom she examined particularly carefully.

Only after confirming that none of them were hurt did she finally let out a sigh of relief.

"It’s okay. It’s okay..."

Her voice suddenly stopped.

She had seen Mrs. Norris.

Vesey immediately covered her eyes as though she had been frightened.

Another hundred or so Energy Points poured in.

But she quickly lowered her hand, trembling all over, and walked toward Mrs. Norris.

She gently took Mrs. Norris down from the wall.

She seemed to want to hug her, but when she felt how stiff Mrs. Norris was, Vesey closed her eyes.

"It’s okay. I can definitely save you..."

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[...]

Vesey spoke in a soothing voice as though comforting Mrs. Norris.

She held the cat in her arms, then drew her wand and cast a diagnostic spell.

When she saw the color reflected across Mrs. Norris’s body, her eyes nearly lit up with joy.

"Brother, she isn’t dead! She’s still alive!"

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[...]

Harry and the others were relieved as well.

"Then shouldn’t we take her to the hospital wing?"

Hermione asked.

Vesey shook her head.

She took out her wand and pointed it at Mrs. Norris, seemingly preparing to cast a spell.

But before she could do anything, she was pushed aside.

The force wasn’t strong at all, but Vesey deliberately pretended to be hit hard and fell straight into Cassandra’s arms.

"Careful!"

Cassandra blurted out as she caught Vesey.

Vesey quickly put on an embarrassed expression.

"Sorry. I didn’t stand firmly enough."

After Cassandra helped her regain her balance, Vesey smiled.

"Thank you, Cassandra. You caught me again. Otherwise, I might have landed right on my backside."

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[...]

Vesey deliberately pretended to blush.

Cassandra couldn’t help but snort.

"It was Filch who pushed you. Do you want me to go—"

Vesey quickly shook her head.

"No. Mr. Filch didn’t use much force. I just wasn’t standing firmly enough."

She glanced at Mrs. Norris.

"Mrs. Norris is Mr. Filch’s cat. As her owner, Mr. Filch must be very upset..."

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[...]

Before Vesey could finish speaking, Mr. Filch, who had been crying bitterly over Mrs. Norris, suddenly pointed at her and shouted,

"It was you! You killed Mrs. Norris! I saw you! You pointed your wand at Mrs. Norris just now. You were trying to destroy the body and erase all the evidence!"

Vesey quickly shook her head.

A trace of hurt and sadness appeared on her face, but she still tried desperately to explain.

"It wasn’t me. I saw Mrs. Norris hanging there just now. I thought she was dead, so I took her down. I thought..."

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[...]

Energy Points came pouring in.

Vesey was delighted.

She really liked Mr. Filch.

He was practically giving her Energy Points for free!

She almost wished Mr. Filch would never stop.

And Mr. Filch certainly had no intention of stopping.

He didn’t believe Vesey’s explanation at all.

Even though Harry and the others repeatedly explained that Vesey had only just arrived, Filch refused to believe them.

"I’ve always seen you hugging Mrs. Norris! And Mrs. Norris has scratched you with her claws several times. You must have been jealous of her ever since..."

"Filch!"

It was Snape.

He glared at Filch as though he wanted to kill him on the spot.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Do you really think this child would hurt your cat? Think carefully. Use your conscience!"

"I don’t care! If my cat dies, then someone must—"

"Stop, Filch!"

Dumbledore shouted.

He hurried over and stopped beside Snape.

He grabbed Snape’s hand just as it was about to draw his wand and end the life of a certain Squib.

Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He looked at Filch with an expression of utter speechlessness.

Honestly, which was more important—his own life or that cat’s?

Why would he argue with an enraged Snape?

Was he afraid he wasn’t going to die quickly enough?