People who love to laugh usually don't have terrible luck, or so the saying goes.
Why "usually" and not absolutely?" The answer is simple: luck doesn't come from smiling. If you are truly cursed with misfortune, noAt this moment, the four young wizards attempting to give Dumbledore a hard time, yet failing, had faces full of sorrow for their unlucky lives. Even though it was the end of term, causing some punitive labor in a castle this size was trivial.
Even laughter can save you…
Filch cheerfully remarked, "Offending the Headmaster and still planning to leave?"
Nothing seemed out of place. Allen, knowing Filch's years of experience handling students, figured Harry and the others would leave a lasting impression, while for Annie… well, she'd probably get off easier. After all, she was on friendly terms with Filch.
So what if she used connections through the back door? Was she being proud?
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When the four students nervously knocked on Filch's office door, they couldn't help but smile.
In times of adversity, nothing motivates like sudden luck and the companionship of friends.
However, this particular challenge wasn't severe, so the feeling of being supported in despair was diminished. Instead, it transformed into a different mindset: "Oh-ho, you're unlucky too? Good, misery loves company!"
Indeed, the figures appearing before the group were the infamous "road-smashed on Filch's highway" veteran twins.
Unfortunately, they failed once again. In reality, the other students had every reason to blame the twins, their previous mischief had triggered Filch's peak vigilance. Filch was normally harmless, but after the twins' antics, even spell-casting students couldn't escape his pursuit.
Why did the twins fail?
The answer: Allen's mischievous idea.
Though Allen generously provided them with a real magical artifact, the King's item hidden in the Invisibility Cloak, one of the Deathly Hallows, they underestimated the number of spies among their enemies.
Had the twins known that every painting in the castle was Dumbledore's eye in disguise, they probably wouldn't have carelessly hidden in corners to watch the chaos after finishing their tasks.
Originally, Dumbledore wouldn't have bothered with such trivialities, just harmless pranks. Filch would eventually catch their mistakes and settle the score.
Unfortunately, once Dumbledore learned what the twins had actually done, he changed his mind. Forbidden books could cause student uproar, but as a former Transfiguration professor, Dumbledore knew better than to ignore such mischief!
Thus, the twins were sent off for corrective labor.
Filch, radiant and confident, assigned tasks to each student.
Harry and Ron were tasked with cleaning dozens of empty classrooms. The twins were sent to Professor Sprout to deal with pest control in the herbology section. Hermione was ordered to dust trophies that seemed permanently coated with invisible dust, tasks that appear every ten to fifteen days to keep students busy with invisible filth.
Annie?
Her task was formidable, walking the cat!
The twins stared in disbelief. Although Mrs. Norris was known as Filch's clever assistant, her intelligence was widely recognized among students. A cat capable of quickly finding mischievous students through numerous illusions deserves a walk, right?
Before the twins could complain, Filch added, "What, you think the tasks are too few, so you're standing here dazed? Perhaps Professor Snape might need a few extra hands as well."
The instant he finished speaking, everyone in the office vanished, leaving only a curious Annie.
"Excuse me, sir. Where is Mrs. Norris?"
"I'm not entirely sure… probably off somewhere. You can find her and ensure she gets enough exercise."
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By evening, the dirt-streaked twins and dust-covered Harry-Ron duo met. As they complained about the day's work, a weary Hermione, smelling of cleaning products, arrived.
Nearby, Annie was calmly tending to two cats on the lawn. Compared to the others, her task seemed almost relaxing.
But a full day caring for cats still counts as work.
While venting about the punishment, they realized something, the twins began recounting past escapes from punishment with Allen's help, but then they froze, faces turning unnervingly serious.
"Harry, you used Allen's help to explore the upper secret passage, right?"
"Yes."
"And Allen was with you when you tried to capture Snape again, correct?"
"Yes."
"So the reason we got caught was because Allen convinced you to cause unusual chaos, you understand?"
"Yes." They all nodded together.
"Then… where is Allen now?"
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Every gain comes with loss, and every loss comes with gain.
Harry hadn't realized that this punitive labor saved him from serious injury that would have put him in the hospital, or from missing the final Quidditch match due to injury.
However, because he hadn't been hurt, he missed out on a precious gift, Hagrid's carefully prepared photo album, canceled simply because Harry was unharmed.
Who can say what's right or wrong?
Harry was content anyway. His hands tightly gripped the Golden Snitch, while the Slytherin Seeker still looked utterly confused.
Allen felt sorry for him, after all, the players' combat abilities weren't on the same level. Hopefully, that Seeker would find a good job after graduation, based on this year's performance, joining a Quidditch club seemed doubtful.
But compared to that soon-to-retire player, Allen worried more about the other frequently dragged into fujoshi pairings.
Clearly outmatched, yet he still went forward. Equipment or skill didn't matter, he had no divine fortune to rely on.
From Allen's perspective, the pale-faced blonde boy was filled with frustration, clearly dissatisfied with his team's performance and ready to take action personally.
The mischievous Allen didn't intend to stop him. As long as no one attacked him, Allen could wholeheartedly offer his blessings.
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