Chapter 1278: United as One

Ron stood in the corridor.

He didn’t know how he walked out of that office, perhaps Percy’s spell controlled his legs, making him leave subconsciously.

In any case, when he came to his senses, he stood alone in the corridor, the cold wind whistling through the cracks in the walls and windows, chilling him to the bone.

Anger welled up in his chest, making Ron wish he could rush over and blow open the door to Percy’s office, burn his documents, and punch him hard in the face…

But in the end, he did nothing.

“Pa!”

A hand suddenly pressed down on his shoulder.

Ron jolted and nearly jumped up, turning his head to see Harry, smiling brightly.

“Hey, Ron, I knew you’d still be here!”

Harry said with bright eyes, “It’s all over there. Guess what? Not a single person interrupted the whole process. It was unbelievably smooth! You’ve successfully completed your task as well!”

As he spoke, Harry glanced at Percy’s office and urged:

“Let’s go quickly! Before Percy sees us and realizes we haven’t returned to the dorm yet! Hasn’t he gone out? According to Vid’s deduction, he definitely would…”

Turning his head for a look, Harry suddenly stopped speaking, his smile quickly fading.

He looked at Ron’s expression and asked, “What’s wrong, Ron?”

“Nothing.” Ron forced a smile, “It’s not like it’s our first day knowing Percy is a jerk… tell me about the study group.”

Harry opened his mouth: “Well… okay. Vid has proposed several counter strategies ensuring that the ‘Prison Regulations’ become nothing but scrap paper. Listen to me…”

…

The crowd had already dispersed like a tide.

Only a few lamps remained in the activity room, with the one on the podium staying bright; surrounded by a few people confirming the final details next to Vid.

Near the podium, Hermione held a thick notebook, whispering instructions to a few girls beside her.

The girls listened while nodding, their expressions serious yet excited, with a hint of nervousness.

“Remember,” Vid said, “don’t be reckless, avoid personal heroism, and cooperate well among everyone—that’s the most important!”

They all nodded, discussing a few things among themselves, and then left full of ambition.

Vid packed up his things and looked up to see Michael nodding his head by the door, signaling him to look elsewhere.

He blinked, finally seeing Malfoy standing in the shadow of the wall corner, arms crossed, almost completely blending into the darkness, only his pale face vaguely reflecting the candlelight.

At first glance, it was somewhat frightening, like just a floating head in the night.

Michael gestured for him to leave first.

Vid nodded, walking over to that corner.

“Creak…” the door of the activity room closed quietly, making a dull echo.

Vid waved his magic wand, a soft white light burst from its tip, bounding to the ceiling and instantly overpowering the dim candlelight, illuminating the entire room.

Malfoy’s gaze followed his wand, squinting from the light, instinctively raising his hand to shield himself.

Then he heard Vid’s voice: “Didn’t expect you’d stay until the end.”

“Don’t get me wrong.” Malfoy lowered his hand, his tone tinged with a lazy arrogance: “I just feel that it’s not just you guys whom that shabby Weasley is targeting.”

“Oh.” Vid knowingly nodded: “Then you’re quite self-aware.”

Malfoy glanced at him, snorted coldly:

“You should have seen, Pansy and the others were here earlier, they just didn’t wait till the end.”

“Even Slytherin doesn’t wish for Percy Weasley to continue lording over Hogwarts.”

After pausing, he emphasized: “—especially Slytherin.”

Ron Weasley faced ridicule and disdain at the school, and Percy, naturally, experienced that too.

Seeing his current behavior, the Slytherins dare not expect Percy to be a forgiving person.

Vid curved his lips: “So… Slytherin will cooperate with our actions too?”

Malfoy looked at him, silent for two seconds before speaking:

“I don’t believe you haven’t thought… actually, it wouldn’t take as much trouble as you suggested to get Percy Weasley out of Hogwarts.”

“Oh?” Vid uttered a syllable of doubt.

Malfoy looked at him, hands in his robe pockets, chin slightly raised, confidently saying:

“My father has enough connections in the Ministry of Magic. There’s Pansy, Blaise, Flint, Gryffindor’s Stroud, Hufflepuff’s Banks, Ravenclaw’s Glans, Fawcett…”

“Our parents or other relatives have considerable influence in the Ministry of Magic, if you contact them with the reasons you just mentioned, I think most won’t refuse.”

“And as long as our elders exert their power together, even ten Percy Weasleys couldn’t stay at Hogwarts!”

“Whether it’s a lateral move, promotion, or sitting on the sidelines, he won’t be able to continue troubling us.”

Vid nodded: “That indeed sounds feasible… but I won’t do it.”

“Why?” Malfoy frowned and asked: “What’s wrong with this method?”

“Percy is just an executor.” Vid said, “Removing him would still leave others to enforce this safety regulation—the real critical issue lies with certain people in the Ministry of Magic targeting Hogwarts.”

“What now? Just… endure it?” Malfoy raised an eyebrow: “Use some of those childish strategies to see if you can drive Percy away, and then scare off other potential executors?”

“What’s wrong with childish games?” Vid said, “‘People who played house together as children would cherish those uncomplicated friendships even at the age of a hundred.'”

Malfoy suddenly understood something, emotions stirred in his eyes.

“You did it on purpose?” He asked incredulously.

Vid didn’t answer, countering with a question: “Didn’t you notice the atmosphere in the activity room just now?”

“Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin… students from each house sat together, stood on the same stance, discussing the same issue.”

“At this time, the color of our scarves isn’t important, what’s important is that we’re going to accomplish something together.”

He paused, saying:

“Indeed, Percy Weasley’s safety regulations are terrible, but they brought something we couldn’t achieve ourselves.”

“What?” Malfoy asked subconsciously.

Vid smiled silently: “A common enemy.”