The punishment for the Weasley Twins this time was evidently not as easy as they made it seem.
On Tuesday afternoon, as Vid and the others were leaving after their Herbology class, they saw the twins cleaning the pigsty.
The two of them wore their scarves as masks and used shovels and brooms to clean the pigsty, with two large buckets beside them.
As Vid passed by, he saw the twins' brother Percy standing outside the pigsty, seemingly in a heated argument, and Percy looked very displeased.
Seeing those second-year young wizards watching from a distance, Percy's pale face instantly turned red.
He angrily said something to his brothers and then stomped away heavily.
The twins shrugged, not seeming to care much as they continued their work.
The Slytherins snickered, whispering, "Look... as expected, the stinky Weasleys, reeking of pig dung..."
Vid thought it was Malfoy speaking again, but when he looked up, he saw Malfoy walking alone, dejected, towards the castle.
His two companions, Crabbe and Goyle, were walking with the other Slytherin students, as if they hadn't noticed Malfoy leaving.
"Vid, I'll head to the Umbrella House later."
Michael said, tossing his bag over his shoulder and naturally mingled with a group of Slytherin students, quickly making a few girls giggle.
Crabbe and Goyle stood at the edge of the circle, looking as if they very much wanted to join in.
Vid looked to the side, seeing Padma walking along normally, seemingly oblivious to Michael chatting closely with the Slytherin girls.
— What are these two up to?
Vid was confused, so he simply asked directly.
"Don't say a word," Padma pulled him aside and whispered, "Michael is getting back at Malfoy!"
"Revenge... on Malfoy?"
Vid was surprised.
Last time, Malfoy had humiliated Michael, which led to him being punished with detention, and having to work for the most detestable Filch in the entire school. Vid thought the matter was over.
But apparently not for Michael.
"You know, Michael has a decent relationship with the Slytherins."
Padma whispered, "He said he would dismantle Malfoy's little gang so that he could no longer swagger around like before."
"...How will he dismantle it?" Vid asked, "Isn't Michael afraid his intentions will be seen through? Slytherin hold grudges too."
"He's not afraid at all!" Padma said, "He's not spreading rumors, making them misunderstand Malfoy, or suspect each other. He's just pointing out facts."
Faced with Vid's skeptical eyes, Padma added a couple of sentences:
"Uh...he just utilized a little of the art of language, tapping into their own inner emotions, like jealousy, inferiority, vanity, anger..."
"You know, sometimes... a slight change in wording can make people feel uncomfortable, creating conflict..."
"Haven't you noticed that Crabbe and Goyle haven't been following Malfoy these past few days?"
"They used to be quite happy as his followers, but recently... they suddenly realized Malfoy has always looked down on them, and decided to be people with dignity..."
Such a marvelous development!
Vid was awestruck.
He couldn't help gossiping, "I remember their fathers are also minions of Mr. Malfoy Senior?"
"They are..."
Padma's eyes drifted slightly.
"But now Crabbe and Goyle feel that the Malfoy Family is washed up, with nothing remarkable besides some money, and this summer they were raided for Dark Magic items by Ron Weasley's father."
"So Draco Malfoy no longer has the right to keep bossing them around... We're all students; they're even bigger and stronger than Malfoy..."
"As long as they're not always trailing behind Malfoy like bodyguards, girls will see their strength and boldness, and might be willing to talk to them, even smile..."
Vid looked towards the courtyard.
Under Michael's guidance, some girls indeed smiled at the two big guys, though whether those were mocking smiles or polite ones was unclear.
Crabbe and Goyle were blushing with excitement, clumsily saying something that made everyone burst into laughter.
Vid murmured, "I really want to know... how Michael brainwashed them... Did he say a bucketful of bad things about Malfoy?"
Padma covered her mouth with a sly glint in her eyes.
"No... He never badmouthed Malfoy in public... He always spoke well of Malfoy!"
...
Padma returned to the castle with her dorm mates, and Vid stopped paying attention to Michael's revenge game.
If Malfoy had provoked Vid, Vid would've retaliated on the spot, ending it right there.
But he insulted Michael, and though Michael said nothing at the time, his revenge afterward was subtle yet relentless.
Malfoy's casual insults and bullying weren't a first; he probably never thought that an ordinary student without pure-blood or any family background, like Michael, would be an iron plate that couldn't be messed with.
He was isolated by the Slytherin students, but he probably still doesn't understand why he's being isolated.
Vid turned and walked towards the pigsty.
The Weasley Twins finally finished cleaning the pig's dung. Fred was spraying cleaning agent on the pen while George scrubbed it with a big brush.
As Vid got closer, he was immediately hit with a strong odor. He quickly cast a Bubble Head Charm on himself, isolating the foul air.
"Hey, Vid!"
Fred pointed to his head, "Give us one too! Otherwise, I doubt we'll be able to eat dinner tonight!"
George mimed a gagging gesture from behind.
Soon, all three had large spherical bubbles on their heads, as if their heads were tucked into soap bubbles.
"Thank Merlin! I can finally breathe!" George exhaled deeply.
Fred corrected him, "You should thank Vid."
"Of course!" George exaggeratedly bowed, "Thank you, Vid. You've saved two pitiful pig keepers!"
Vid asked, "You guys seem to have been punished quite harshly this time?"
"Yeah," Fred said proudly, "because we sneaked into the Forbidden Forest on Friday night..."
"You know, there's a big guy in the Forbidden Forest we've always wanted to meet..." George said.
"You mean the fire dragon?" Vid asked.
The students all knew that last school year the school had a fire dragon, which stayed at the Quidditch Pitch for a few weeks.
Once it could hunt on its own, Hogwarts found a spot in the Forbidden Forest to settle it, casting magic to prevent it from breaking into the school and harming students.
At the opening feast, Dumbledore had reminded them that students weren't allowed to enter the Forbidden Forest.
In the students' tales, it was a terrifying place with vampires, werewolves, and fire dragons.
The Weasley Twins were clearly not the kind to obediently follow rules.