Chapter 157: Five Dragons
The feeling finally came!
Ethan began to recall happy memories, which, of course, were the times he spent with Penelope and Nagini.
The happiness these memories brought was the kind that couldn't even be spoken of.
"Expecto Patronum!"
With happy memories in mind, Ethan began to summon his Patronus.
In the dimly lit Ravenclaw Chamber of Secrets, a silver-white mist began to appear. Although this mist was only a very thin layer, far from the thick mist that could obscure vision from Penelope.
But Ethan finally took this step and found a clue, which was a good thing.
"You succeeded just now, right!" Cassandra said excitedly.
She knew that when Ethan had cast the Patronus Charmbefore, there had been no reaction at all.
It seemed that using Dementors for this method, while unorthodox, was indeed effective.
"It can indeed be considered a breakthrough!" Ethan waved his wand, dispersing the wisp of silver-white mist.
He had just taken a moment to check his panel, which already indicated Patronus Charm (Level 1), meaning he had learned it.
But this wisp was practically useless.
To achieve a corporeal Patronus, Ethan estimated he would need at least a Level 5 Patronus Charm.
He had to continue. The pressure from this one Dementorwasn't enough; he needed at least three to five.
After all, he hadn't been desperate just now. Without immense pressure, how could a person unleash their potential?
"I'm going to add a few more Dementors. As you just saw, a single Dementor has no effect on me." Ethan told Cassandra and the others his idea.
"Multiple Dementors? I can't expel them. Are you sure about this?" Penelope frowned, looking at Ethan.
For one spell, was it really necessary?
"It's fine, isn't Cassandra here?"
"If you can't expel them, let her burn them with Fiendfyre."
Hearing Ethan's words, the Dementor beside him visibly trembled.
This Wizard's heart was even darker than its own; he was simply a demon.
How could it have gone to that carriage back then? It truly regretted it!
"Alright, then it's my turn."
She was confident that if Ethan's life was in danger, she could burn the Dementors away.
After Cassandra was ready, Ethan directly pulled out four Dementors at once, making it five including the one from before.
Fortunately, he had enough stock prepared when he was on the Hogwarts Express, otherwise, it would have been troublesome now.
The five Dementors lined up in a row. After being threatened by Ethan, they all obediently agreed to follow Ethan's instructions.
He had them form a circle, and Ethan stood in the very center.
As expected of five times the number of Dementors, it truly was five times the despair!
Enveloped by coldness, stillness, despair, pain, and various negative emotions, Ethan felt as if his entire being had fallen into an ice cave. This was much more intense than before.
He tried hard to recall the happy times of playing poker with Penelope and Nagini, but it seemed he couldn't quite remember them!
His happiness was diminishing, and the feeling of despair grew stronger, as if his entire being had sunk to the bottom of the water.
His memories unconsciously drifted to his previous life...
His entire being had already succumbed.
Cassandra and Penelope paced uneasily nearby. These five Dementors had been surrounding Ethan for so long, yet Ethan still hadn't made any move, nor did he show any inclination to use the Patronus Charm.
Just as Cassandra decided she couldn't bear it any longer and was about to set fire to these Dementors, Ethan suddenly opened his eyes.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Immediately, a cloud of silver-white mist surged from Ethan's wand with astonishing speed.
The Dementors that had been circling Ethan shrieked and retreated upon contact with the shimmering silver light on the white mist.
Slowly, the silver-white mist enveloped the entire Chamber of Secrets. These Dementors had nowhere to retreat and could only huddle in the corner, trembling.
However, although this silver-white mist was thick, it didn't form any animal shape, meaning this Patronus Charm was still not up to standard.
Withdrawing his magic, the silver-white mist that filled the entire Chamber of Secrets began to dissipate, revealing the five Dementors huddled in the corner.
At this moment, they looked somewhat dispirited, as if their backs were hunched.
Judging by the scale of the mist just now, Ethan estimated his Patronus Charm was quite large.
Under normal circumstances, the first stage of the Patronus Charm was a cloud of silver mist, not like Ethan's, which could fill an entire room.
If everyone were like Ethan, what would be the need for an animal Patronus? A large amount of silver-white mist could directly drown them.
"Ethan, you've surpassed me in an instant!" Penelope said with a hint of bitterness. She had spent almost an entire school year learning it, and even now, she only had this immature Patronus.
Ethan had made no progress before, but with the help of the Dementors, in less than half an hour, he had surpassed her.
A person's potential is most easily forced out when they are in despair."
"It's a simple thing. If you don't know how to use magicand you're running so hard you can barely move, and suddenly a dog starts chasing you, you'll definitely find new energy and run even faster than before."
Ethan believed his own potential was not low; what he needed was pressure.
Under immense pressure, even if some conditions for casting the Patronus Charm were not met, the help of his potential and talent would forcefully allow Ethan to master it.
"After you succeed, I also want to try using the Patronus Charm under the pressure of a Dementor!"
Penelope naturally knew the difference in their talents, but she was a little unwilling!
"Alright!"
Ethan did not refuse. He had already planned to use the Dementors to help them all master the Patronus Charm.
Looking at the five Dementors who seemed on the verge of collapsing, Ethan could only put them into Nibelungen.
If they experienced another beating, they might truly be gone for good.
"Ethan, what will your Patronus look like?"
Hermione walked over, curious. Everyone's Patronus Charm is the animal that best suits them.
However, this is also evident in daily life; generally, if one leans towards a certain animal, their Patronus Charm is most likely to be that animal.
This was something Hermione had read in a magazine, and she thought it was quite reliable.
Hermione believed there was a high chance her Patronus Charm would be a cat.
"I don't know, but it should be a big one."
Ethan shook his head; he really didn't know.
If he knew Hermione's thoughts, he would mercilessly expose her; her Patronus Charm was an otter, completely unrelated to a cat.
Looking at the panel, the Patronus Charm had already reached Level 3, and the upgrade speed was quite fast.
But it still couldn't compare to when he first encountered the Fiendfyre Curse; he succeeded on the first try and jumped directly to Level 3, reaching Level 6 by the time it ended.
"I'm going to try again!"
"Try again? Aren't you going to wait a few days until you're more familiar with it?"
Penelope looked at Ethan in disbelief.
"My magic is sufficient, and my mental state is pretty good, so why can't I try?"
Ethan looked at everyone with a slight smile.
Harry only learned Expecto Patronum a few times, and it was quite bad at first, but later, to save Sirius, he suddenly mastered it under immense pressure.
If Harry could do it, there's no reason I can't…
In terms of talent, I'm so far ahead he can't even see my taillights.
Seeing Ethan's persistence, Penelope stopped trying to dissuade him.
This time, Ethan directly pulled out all the Dementors except for the initial five.
After coming out, they all floated in the air, far from Ethan. They had seen what happened to their five companions who went out earlier.
They were still inside, guessing who would be the next unlucky one to be dragged out by that demon, but they didn't expect everyone to be unlucky.
After Ethan's Fiendfyre persuasion, the Dementors also made their choice.
Severe injury or death, creatures with almost endless vitality naturally knew how to compromise.
Standing in the center of the Ravenclaw Chamber of Secrets, the Dementors floating on the ceiling formed a circle and slowly drifted towards Ethan.
Before they could even exert their power, despair and loneliness spontaneously arose from the depths of Ethan's heart.
As the Dementors continuously approached, Ethan became increasingly despondent, and his entire body had already squatted down on the ground.
This worried Cassandra and the others watching from the side.
He's taking too big a step; even ten Dementors would be enough!
Facing nearly forty Dementors at once, is he really okay?
Just as they watched with concern, Ethan suddenly stood up, raising his wand high.
"Expecto Patronum!"
Thick white mist mixed with white light illuminated the entire Chamber of Secrets. Two massive wings overshadowed the entire space, but they didn't fully materialize. Giant Dragon claws and a Dragon tail continuously thrashed, while the upper body had not yet appeared.
Undoubtedly, this was due to insufficient space, but just by looking at a part of it, they knew it was a Dragon.
After dispelling the Patronus Charm, Ethan collected the large number of Dementors who had fallen. He truly owed them a lot just now.
Penelope and the others saw that his Patronus Charmwas a Dragon, so how could Ethan not see it?
Ethan remembered three individuals with special Patronuses: the invincible Andros, whose Patronus was Giant-sized, and although not explicitly recorded, many believed his Patronus was a Giant.
Then there was Dumbledore's Phoenix, which might be related to his bloodline.
The last one was Hedley Fleet, whose Patronus was a Mammoth, an extinct creature.
Now, in 4.5, another person can be added: Ethan Adrien, whose Patronus is a Dragon.
"You can hold off on practicing the Patronus Charm for now. My Patronus form being a Dragon might be related to having consumed Magic Blood."
Otherwise, Ethan couldn't explain why his Patronus Charm took such a form.
"So, my Patronus form will also be a Dragon then?"
Cassandra immediately became excited. She didn't really care for ordinary Animals, but a Magical Animals form was different.
"There's a very high possibility!"
Ethan walked towards the Room of Requirement while talking with them.
He planned to go there to see what his Patronus Charmtruly looked like.
Logically speaking, the Ravenclaw Chamber of Secretsshould definitely be large enough; it shouldn't be unable to contain a Patronus!
Ethan had to figure out what was going on.
If he became familiar with it, he could certainly adjust its size freely, but Ethan was only at Level 5 and didn't have that ability yet, so he could only go to the Room of Requirement.
Upon arriving at the Room of Requirement, he requested a sufficiently large room.
Ethan finally saw what his Patronus Charm looked like: its wingspan alone exceeded a hundred meters, and like Onyxia, it was a four-legged Dragon.
However, when it came to the head, it was a bit strange; it had five heads.
It was a true five-headed Dragon.
How did this bloodline sublimation lean towards that one? This isn't right!
Chapter 158: Slaughter, Blood, Hell, Soul
The next morning, Ethan woke up feeling refreshed.
The success of the Patronus Charm yesterday had put him in a very good mood.
However, his three roommates each had obvious dark circles under their eyes and looked listless.
There was nothing Ethan could do to teach them; he himself learned under high pressure. Once the Dementors recovered a bit, he could let them try.
Of course, this was on the premise that they had the courage to do so.
After washing up, Ethan and his companions arrived at the Great Hall, where Draco was the first thing that caught their eye.
He was surrounded by a large group of Slytherins, and he himself was recounting something.
Ethan walked directly over and began eating at the Ravenclaw table.
Meanwhile, Terry squeezed into the crowd of Slytherins; wherever there was excitement, how could he be absent!
Ethan ate his breakfast while looking at the new class schedule for the semester, finding it to be quite messy.
For example, the first class for third-years this morning was all electives.
Divination Class started at nine, Muggle Studies also started at nine, and Arithmancy still started at nine.
This directly clashed with nine o'clock. If one chose all three simultaneously, would they have to be split into three people?
No wonder after choosing all electives, they would be given time to apply for a Time-Turner; otherwise, one person simply couldn't manage it, not due to lack of energy, but simply because there wasn't enough time.
But Ethan had no interest in it, even if it could control time to some extent.
The rules of this world dictate that the past cannot be changed; what has already happened is a fixed fact.
Just like Harry thought his father saved him and Siriuswith the Patronus Charm, but when he used the Time-Turner to go back in time, he realized that his father didn't have the ability to return from the spirit world.
It was he himself who had a sudden burst of power and saved his past self.
If it were him, if someone wanted to go back in time and kill him, even if their strength was greater than past Ethan's, they would still fail due to various factors.
Since he was already living in the present, it was impossible to kill him in the past.
After all, this wasn't one of those worlds where time-lines could be arbitrarily manipulated.
Knowing this, Ethan was indifferent to the Time-Turner; otherwise, he would have already enrolled in all subjects and then applied for a Time-Turner.
Ethan, who had put down his class schedule, suddenly heard a burst of laughter from nearby.
Turning his head, he saw Draco lying on the ground, seemingly passed out, his face still making funny expressions at Harry.
Clearly, after seeing Harry arrive, he started his antics again.
It must be said, Draco truly had a genuine affection for Harry.
"Hey, Potter!"
Pansy Parkinson, seeing Harry walk straight towards the Gryffindor table without stopping, immediately shrieked.
"Potter! The Dementors are coming, Potter, boo hoo hoo!"
Harry, his face grim, walked past her directly and plopped down at the Gryffindor long table.
He knew that for a while, he would be the laughingstock of Hogwarts, especially among the Slytherins.
Just then, Hagrid also entered the Great Hall, still wearing the mole-skin overcoat from yesterday, and carrying a dead polecat in his hand.
He was there for breakfast. He used to cook for himself in his hut, but now, as a Professor, he could dine at the faculty table.
Passing by the Ravenclaw long table, Hagrid excitedly said to Ethan,
"You're coming to my first class! Right after lunch! I started preparing at five this morning… I hope the class goes well… I'm finally a teacher… It's truly…"
Hagrid was so excited he was incoherent. As he spoke, he continued towards the staff table, still swinging the dead polecat in his hand.
Ethan remembered that Hagrid's first class had a big problem: due to Draco's uncooperativeness, he got injured.
Then Draco went to his father to complain, and eventually, the Magical Animals that caused the injury was to be executed, and Hagrid also received a considerable punishment.
Such matters, if not escalated, would generally be fine, but Draco knew Hagrid was Harry's friend, so he naturally wouldn't let him off easily.
Now that Ethan was here, he certainly wouldn't let Dracomess things up.
One can only say that those who teach Magical AnimalsProtection have no sense of proportion. Kyleborn caused quite a few teaching accidents.
It's still the same with Hagrid; he dares to bring out XXXX-level Magical Animals in his very first class.
This might not be considered dangerous to him, just a cute little thing, but for young Wizards, it is absolutely a fatal threat.
After breakfast, Ethan and his roommates walked towards the North Tower. The Divination Class classroom was on the top floor of the North Tower.
However, when Ethan and the others reached the topmost platform, they couldn't find the entrance to the classroom anywhere.
Many third-year young Wizards had already gathered here.
If it weren't for Ethan knowing that the exam for this class could be easily bluffed, only a fool would choose Divination Class. This was just an old charlatan whose predictions were rarely accurate and easily led people astray.
Finally, it was unclear who read out the brass plaque on the ceiling, which caused the movable door to open and a silver ladder to descend.
Climbing the ladder into the Divination Class classroom, they found the interior layout to be quite strange, not at all like a classroom, but more like a mix of an attic and an old-fashioned tea house.
Inside were more than twenty small round tables, surrounded by chintz armchairs and plump little poufs.
Everything in the room was bathed in a hazy red light, the curtains were tightly drawn, and many lamps were draped with deep red shawls.
Under the heavily laden mantelpiece, a fire blazed, and on it sat a large copper teapot, emitting a strong, nauseating aroma, while also making the room quite stuffy and somewhat suffocating.
The circular walls were also lined with many shelves, which were filled with dirty quills, candle stubs, many ragged playing cards, countless shimmering crystal balls, and a large pile of teacups.
Upon entering such a classroom for the first time, the young Wizards began to discuss amongst themselves, some already regretting choosing this class.
After all, one could tell from the classroom that the Professor was not very reliable.
"Welcome!"
"It's so good to finally see you in the material world!"
A soft, indistinct voice suddenly echoed from the shadows.
The first impression of the Divination Class Professor was that of a large, sparkling insect, because she was quite thin, wore large glasses, and was draped in a light, transparent shawl adorned with many glittering metal flakes, and countless beads and chains hung around her thin, long neck, with many bracelets and rings on her arms and hands.
"Sit down, my children, sit down!"
At her urging, the young Wizards found tables and sat down.
Ethan, Cassandra, and Hermione sat together.
As usual, the Professor of every class liked to elevate the status of their own course, showcasing their brilliance and putting down the young Wizards below them.
Trelawney was no exception.
She directly prophesied in front of all the young Wizards that classes would be suspended in February due to a severe flu epidemic, but did not specify which year's February.
She also threatened Gryffindor's Lavender, saying that her greatest fear would occur on Friday, October sixteenth.
This stunned the group of young Wizards below.
Soon, the formal class content began, she asked everyone to take a cup from the shelf, form pairs, and then attempt and interpret according to her instructions.
In pairs, Hermione directly pulled Lavender over.
The little girl was still trembling at this moment, just because of Trelawney's prophecy to her.
After Ethan and Cassandra filled their teacups, they returned to the small table and quickly drank the hot tea in a few gulps.
Following Trelawney's instructions, they swirled the tea leaves a few times, drained the tea, and then exchanged cups.
Ethan took Cassandra's cup and looked at it; it was just some scattered tea leaves, nothing could be seen.
He opened pages four and five of the book, "Unfogging the Future."
Just then, Trelawney walked behind Ethan and glanced at his cup.
She immediately gasped in surprise.
"Oh my, this is an ominous omen!"
As she spoke, Trelawney retreated in horror.
"Slaughter… blood… hell… souls!"
At this, most of the young Wizards looked towards Ethan, their faces filled with skepticism.
Ethan looked down at the teacup, unable to make out anything.
"What exactly is it?"
Ethan frowned, he had caused quite a bit of slaughter and played with many souls this summer, but what about what came after?
"I can only see this much... only this much..."
Trelawney said, then turned and walked towards the other young Wizards, with no intention of explaining.
"This must be a fraud!"
"You can see all that by just shaking some tea leaves? And Lavender, don't be scared, her prophecy is definitely fake."
Hermione looked at the conflicted Ethan and the frightened Lavender, and spoke up to comfort them.
Next was Trelawney's performance time; everyone had ill omens, and not a single one had good luck.
Especially Harry, Trelawney said he had a premonition of death.
This directly made Harry silent.
After class, walking down the spiral staircase, the young Wizards began to complain about Trelawney.
They believed her predictions were completely inaccurate, wondering how everyone could have bad omens.
"Ethan, are you still thinking about the prophecy just now?"
"Hmm, I also don't know if her prophecy is accurate or not!"
Ethan had a bit of a headache; Trelawney's prophecies were sometimes accurate and sometimes not, just as unreliable as her appearance.
Slaughter, blood, souls—Ethan could understand these, but what did hell represent?
Chapter 159: Ron Suffers Greatly
In the afternoon, after lunch, it was Care of Magical Creatures class.
The class was located near the Forbidden Forest, but they had to first gather at Hagrid's hut and be led by Hagrid.
The rain had stopped in the middle of the night yesterday, and the sky was a clear, light gray, with soft, springy wet grass underfoot.
"I told you the Divination Class Professor is a fraud; Professor McGonagall said so last class!"
Hermione, following behind Ethan, puffed out her cheeks, not understanding why Dumbledore would allow such a Professor to teach at Hogwarts; she had no teaching ethics whatsoever.
Any normal Professor, which one would prophesy a student's death every year?
Trelawney, like that, she doesn't deserve to be a Professor.
"Don't think about her anymore, the future is still in our own hands, let's just carry on as usual!"
Anyway, Trelawney couldn't explain her prophecy about him.
It was even hard to say whether Harry's prophecy was truly predicted by Trelawney, or if Dumbledore had specifically set up a trap for Lord Voldemort.
As long as he was strong enough, these prophecies would be useless.
If Lord Voldemort hadn't believed this prophecy, and wasn't every step calculated by old Dumbledore, Harrythe savior would have been completely useless.
"Harry, what's wrong with Ron today? He seems a bit off again?"
On the grass, Ethan looked at Harry strangely.
Today, Ron hadn't been with Harry at all, whether on the way to class or at any other time, only sitting together in class.
And in class, Ron seemed restless, as if he had nails under his bottom.
"I don't know either. Ron almost collapsed when he woke up this morning. He said it was because he practiced spells too late last night, but I don't know if it's true or not."
Harry was still very worried, fearing that Ron would go astray again.
But when he asked Ron, Ron wouldn't say why, which was very frustrating, and he couldn't confide in anyone else.
So Harry was out of sorts all morning, not even bothering to respond to Malfoy's provocations.
"Pay attention to him, he seems unwell. If it's serious, go to Madam Pomfrey's."
Ethan seemed to have thought of something, and after speaking, he quickly ran away.
Could it be that the bottle of animal medicine he gave yesterday had taken effect!
He had originally planned to mess with Peter Pettigrew, making him find rats to be happy with, which might even leave him with psychological trauma.
Although his image was a rat, his mind was human, and he had lived as a human for decades; having intimacy with rats was a bit unacceptable for him.
And he could also trick Ron; this guy's temper was getting worse and worse, so let him worry about his rat again, after all, after expelling with such a super strong animal medicine, Scabbers would only become more listless.
But he didn't expect the trick to be so big.
Peter Pettigrew, after taking the animal medicine, didn't go looking for rats but instead went to Ron. Didn't he know that Ron's dorm was a five-person room? Wasn't he afraid of being discovered?
"What were you and Potter whispering about just now?"
Cassandra asked curiously.
Seeing Harry looking around, she knew it was definitely nothing good.
"Nothing."
Ethan shook his head; this matter would be disgraceful if it got out.
Even though such things were not uncommon in this country, Ethan could not accept it.
Arriving outside Hagrid's hut, he was standing there waiting for the students.
He was still wearing the mole-skin coat he had seen in the morning, and Fang was still squatting at his feet, but upon seeing Ethan arrive, Fang quickly abandoned Hagridand ran over to Ethan.
Hagrid waved towards Ethan, looking a bit nervous, his face somewhat strained.
When the time was about right, Hagrid shouted loudly to the students outside:
"Come on, come on, hurry up!"
"I have something good to show you today! This class is wonderful!"
"Is everyone here? Good, follow me!"
Hagrid was a bit incoherent, but Ethan could understand; a student who was expelled from Hogwarts now being able to become a Professor had already far exceeded his expectations for himself.
After the students gathered, Hagrid led them down a small path.
It wasn't far, about five minutes later they reached their destination.
It was a small paddock cleared by Hagrid, and the paddock was currently empty.
"Everyone gather around this fence!"
"Alright—make sure you can see, okay, first you need to open your textbooks."
Everyone took out their Care of Magical Creaturestextbook, "The Monster Book of Monsters," from their bags. Ethan noticed that most people's books were tied with ropes.
And even when tied, they were not very well-behaved, constantly making a fuss, trying to bite something with their mouths.
"Ethan, why is your book so quiet?"
Terry, next to him, looked at his own book, which was tied with ropes and had to be held firmly to be controlled, and at Ethan's extremely quiet book, looking quite puzzled.
Suddenly, Terry's eyes widened: "Ethan, you didn't kill it, did you!"
At this, Ethan became the focus, and everyone looked over.
Some young Wizards, upon hearing this, became eager to try; ever since they got this textbook, it had been restless, and bites were a common occurrence.
If the book could be quieter after dying, they would be willing to be the executioner.
"My book isn't dead, look!"
As he spoke, Ethan poked the cover of "The Monster Book of Monsters" with his hand, and the mouth on it opened and closed a few times, proving that it was still alive.
"Then how did you do it?"
Terry was still a bit confused, was it a matter of the book's personality?
Among a pile of unruly books, there appeared to be an honest one like Ethan's, right!
"These books are products activated by Alchemy. I just made a small modification to them."
Ethan made a gesture with his hand that a certain country's people deeply hated.
When he first bought these books, Ethan found that intimidation was useless against them. After ruling out the option that they were more advanced than XXXXX-level Animals, there was only one possibility: these things had no consciousness or reason.
For this, Ethan could only modify them with Alchemy.
"This was made with Alchemy?"
Terry looked down at the unruly book, his expression somewhat broken.
He really couldn't figure out which boring person would use Alchemy to create such a mischievous book.
After knowing it was made with Alchemy, many people started having crooked ideas, such as destroying the magical patterns on it, would it then return to normal?
"Stop, don't do that, stop quickly!"
Hagrid, seeing someone actually aiming their wand at "The Monster Book of Monsters" and casting a spell, immediately shouted.
"You just need to stroke it, like this, starting from the spine."
Hagrid took Harry's textbook, immediately untied the ropes that bound it, and dodged its biting mouth.
Then, his large index finger stroked down the spine, and after the textbook trembled in Hagrid's hand, it spread open and lay quietly in Hagrid's palm.
Oh, how silly we all are!"
"We should have stroked them, why didn't we guess!"
Draco took the lead in mocking, looking at Hagrid with disdain.
"Malfoy!"
Upon hearing that voice, Draco flinched, then retreated into the Slytherin crowd.
He was mainly troubled by the book and extremely disdainful of Hagrid's identity, which led to him losing his mind for a moment and forgetting that Hagrid and Ethan had a good relationship.
Now, being called out by Ethan like that, he almost slapped himself in regret.
He really had gone too far in provoking Harry recently, causing his brain to be insufficient.
"You all have your textbooks, and now you need Animals. I'll go bring them over. Wait a moment."
Hagrid, a bit dejected, left everyone and walked into the Forbidden Forest.
He had just seen many Young Wizards' dissatisfied looks, especially from Slytherin. He had thought this book was very interesting and would make everyone like the Care of Magical Creatures class.
Why did it turn out like this?
Ethan watched Hagrid leave like that and shook his head, a bit speechless. He really wasn't ready to be a Professoryet.
But it wasn't a big problem.
Hogwarts already had a majority of abnormal Professors: the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor who changed every year, the Divination Class Professor who was an old liar predicting one person's death every year, the Potion Class Professor who was so biased he didn't even wash his hair, and the Flying Class Professor, who was nominally a Professor but actually just a Quidditchreferee.
These were the ones Ethan had interacted with. He didn't even know what other abnormal Professors there were for the elective classes he hadn't taken.
"Ah! That is, that is…"
Lavender Brown suddenly pointed to the opposite side of the paddock and shrieked.
Everyone looked in the direction she pointed, and a dozen Animals trotted over. Most people had never seen such peculiar-looking creatures.
They had the body, hind legs, and tail of a horse, but the front legs, wings, and head of an eagle. Their beaks were the color of steel, their bright large eyes were amber, and each eagle claw on their front legs was half a foot long, looking formidable.
Moreover, each one had a thick leather collar around its neck, attached to a long chain.
All the chains were held in Hagrid's hand as he slowly walked into the paddock with these monsters.
"Come on, over there!"
Hagrid pulled the chains, urging these monsters towards the fence where all the students were standing.
Once they reached the spot, Hagrid tied all the monsters to the fence, and the students backed away.
After all, no one could guarantee that these big creatures' beaks and claws wouldn't land on them.
Chapter 160: Care of Magical Creatures Class
"Hippogriff!" Hagrid waved to the students, shouting happily, "Aren't they beautiful!"
These were specially chosen by Hagrid for his first class. While rare enough, they were also among the milder-tempered ones.
As for Hagrid's description of beautiful, the Hippogriff's appearance was indeed good. Their fur was shiny and shimmering, and each one had a different color: stormy black, bronze, pink mottled, shimmering reddish-brown, and inky black.
Ethan was quite familiar with them, occasionally plucking some of their feathers.
It was just that their feathers weren't worth much, so they didn't have much of a presence.
However, an accident happened in Hagrid's first class, and it couldn't all be blamed on Draco.
These Hippogriffs were purely wild, and their amber eyes still revealed a hint of untamed spirit.
Hagrid could directly subdue them with his large physique, but Little Wizardss could not.
If this class had featured small, cute Animals like Bowtruckle or Mooncalf, the effect would definitely have been better than with Hippogriffs, and there would have been no risk.
Unfortunately, Hagrid preferred these large and fierce creatures, having little interest in small Animals.
Or rather, Ethan should be glad that Hagrid didn't bring Thunderbirds or Dragons.
"If you want to see them more clearly, you can try coming closer."
Seeing that everyone was just watching from afar, Hagridimmediately invited them.
In his opinion, these Hippogriffs were good babies, nothing to be afraid of.
Seeing that no one moved, Hagrid was a little disappointed. He really wanted to introduce these big creatures to the students below.
"You can rest assured, Hippogriffs generally don't hurt people! I mean, when they're not in a bad mood, so as long as you don't provoke them, they won't…"
Hearing Hagrid say this, many Little Wizardss retreated two more steps.
Many Little Wizardss thought, 'I don't hurt people when I'm not in a bad mood either!'
Who knows how it counts as being in a bad mood, or what situation isn't a bad mood, and who can withstand it if this big guy takes a bite out of them!
"As long as you respect them, they won't get angry; they are very proud!"
"Conversely, if you insult them, there will be a danger of losing your life."
Hagrid could only explain in more detail, but the more he spoke, the more frightened the Little Wizardss below became.
Just now it was only hurting people, now there's a danger of losing your life, this has become murder.
"Alright, who's first?"
Saying this, Hagrid glanced at the students below.
No one dared to step forward. Who knew if they would provoke these big creatures?
"It's not difficult. You walk towards it, bow, and if it bows back, you can touch it. If it doesn't bow, you leave it alone quickly; those claws will hurt people."
After hearing Hagrid's explanation, still no one was willing to step forward.
Seeing these Hippogriffs shaking their heads and spreading their strong wings, seemingly very unwilling to be tied up like this, who would dare to risk it!
Harry hesitated whether to go up and help Hagrid, but Trelawney had just said that morning that he would encounter an attack and be in mortal danger. Although Professor McGonagall said Trelawney's words were unreliable, what if it was true?
And she even knew he had encountered a large black dog, which meant she had some ability.
Ethan, on the other hand, purely believed that going up himself would be useless. He could ride whenever he wanted, so he didn't need any extra actions and wouldn't serve as an example.
"No one?"
Hagrid looked at the indifferent crowd below, a hint of pleading in his eyes.
Since the class began, Hagrid felt that everything was out of his control. He was a complete failure as a Professor.
Ethan kicked Terry in the butt. Hippogriffs actually have a good temper, and as long as you follow Hagrid's instructions, even if you fail, there won't be any danger.
"I know you, Terry Boot!"
Hagrid looked at Terry, who had stepped forward, and immediately went up to him excitedly. He had made many preparations for this day, at least enough to accurately call out every Little Wizards's name.
"Me?"
Terry looked around in a daze, then suddenly turned to look at Ethan.
Based on the feeling just now, he could determine the direction of the person who kicked him, and that position was where Ethan was standing.
Ethan gave Terry a reassuring look.
"I'll do it!"
Terry, turning back, took a deep breath and shouted loudly. Ethan shouldn't be tricking him; he could only comfort himself this way.
Of course, if his legs weren't trembling at this moment, the effect would have been much better.
"Come, let's see how you deal with Buckbeak."
Hagrid untied a chain, pulled the Hippogriff named Buckbeak away from its companions, and removed the leather collar from its neck.
"Look it in the eye, Boot!"
"It's easier now, you've met its gaze, don't blink—if you blink too often, the Hippogriff won't trust you…"
Hagrid nervously watched Terry and Buckbeak. This concerned whether his first class could continue.
Terry's eyes were incredibly sore at this moment, tears constantly flowing down his cheeks, but he dared not close his eyes.
Buckbeak, meanwhile, turned its mischievous large head, staring at Terry with one fierce amber eye.
"Alright!" Hagrid reminded loudly, "Now, bow, Boot, bow…"
Terry didn't dare to delay, immediately bowed as Hagridinstructed, and then looked up.
But Terry found that the Hippogriff had not bowed back to him, still looking at him with that same arrogance.
"This!" Hagrid's voice was already a bit worried: "Back away, Boot, slowly and easily back away, don't rush…"
When Terry had retreated about seven or eight steps, the Hippogriff suddenly bent its scaly front knees, making a definite bowing gesture.
"Well done, Boot!" Hagrid said, somewhat overjoyed, "Now you can touch it! Pat its beak, go on!"
As long as the Hippogriff is willing to bow to you, it means it has acknowledged you, and there will be no problem as long as you don't go too far.
And Terry, hearing Hagrid say this, cautiously walked towards the Hippogriff and gently patted its beak with his hand.
The Hippogriff, whose beak was patted, lazily closed its eyes, seemingly enjoying it.
The students below cheered when they saw Terrysucceed.
This creature was still very beautiful and mighty; if it didn't hurt people, no one would refuse to ride them.
"Boot, now it's willing to let you ride it!"
"Climb on, just behind the wing joint, remember…"
Under everyone's gaze, Hagrid taught Terry how to correctly climb onto the Hippogriff's back step by step.
Once Terry was seated firmly, Hagrid suddenly slapped the Hippogriff's hindquarters.
Suddenly, twelve-foot-long wings spread out on either side of Terry. Seeing this, Terry could only hug the Hippogriff's neck tightly.
The Little Wizardss below watched with great interest, until the Hippogriff carried Terry on a flight around the field, and upon landing, they all applauded.
"Alright, now who else wants to try!"
Hagrid patted Terry's shoulders twice as encouragement, then said to the students.
With a successful example, many more people were now willing to step forward.
Ethan, meanwhile, casually found a reddish-brown Hippogriff and, without following Hagrid's instructions, simply flipped onto its back.
"Ethan is an exception, they know each other, don't copy him!"
Hagrid saw this scene and immediately warned the Little Wizardss below.
If they all imitated him and just flipped on, something serious would definitely happen.
The Little Wizardss nodded knowingly; they didn't want to compete with Ethan.
"Caw!"
As soon as Ethan went airborne, he heard a high-pitched bird cry from a distance. Without even turning his head, Ethan knew it was a Thunderbird.
But the location where Ethan and the others were currently was the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. How did the Thunderbird get here?
Sure enough, in just a moment, the Thunderbird flew to Ethan's side, even attempting to move closer to Ethan.
The Hippogriff beneath Ethan, however, dared not make any extra movements, only maintaining its current speed and flying forward.
The Little Wizardss below had already erupted into a commotion at the appearance of the Thunderbird. Compared to the Hippogriff, everyone clearly wanted to try riding the Thunderbird more.
Some students even directly asked if they could ride the Thunderbird.
Hagrid broke out in a cold sweat. He himself couldn't ride it; if these Little Wizardss went up, they would probably be torn apart by the Thunderbird in minutes.
He immediately made a clear statement: "Thunderbirds are not within the scope of teaching."
Hearing Hagrid say this, the Little Wizardss could only give up this hope, but looking at Ethan, who had already transferred to the back of the Thunderbird in the sky, their eyes were full of envy.
The difference truly was huge!
Ethan rode the Thunderbird for several laps before coming down, stroking its head, and feeding it some energy blocks. Only then was it willing to leave.
This wasn't one of the two adult Thunderbirds, but a small one, probably seeing Ethan when it came here to play.
Now everyone was no longer so afraid of the Hippogriffs. They all stood in front of Hagrid, lining up, ready to experience the feeling of flying on a Hippogriff.
Due to Ethan's intervention, Malfoy didn't dare to pull any stunts, and nothing happened until the class ended.
Hagrid, for your future lessons, try to use smaller Animals, like Mooncalves, Bowtruckles, and Billywiggs, which pose less of a threat.
Ethan stayed behind to persuade Hagrid. If no accidents occurred in his own year's Care of Magical Creaturesclass, it was still possible for accidents to happen in other years.
"But I think Hippogriffs are great!"
Hagrid looked at the Hippogriff beside him. It was a failure at first, but it became very popular later.
"That's because I had Terry help you and stopped Malfoyfrom causing trouble."
"Think about those pure-blood noble young masters and ladies; if they get hurt by Animals, they'll definitely demand the Ministry of Magic to execute them."
Ethan could only try to persuade him this way.
These Animals were Hagrid's lifeline.
Chapter 161: Snape Again Inserts His Own Agenda
Bang!
The Principal's office door was kicked open!
Professor Snape, clad in a cloak, strode in, his face exuding a chill that seemed capable of freezing people to death.
"Severus, what's… the matter?"
Dumbledore put on his glasses from the table, feigning confusion as he looked at Professor Snape.
"Tell me, why did you let Remus Lupin come to Hogwartsto be the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor? He's not trustworthy!"
Professor Snape stared intensely at Dumbledore. Putting aside their animosity, Lupin's identity as a Werewolfalone made him unsuitable to teach at Hogwarts.
Moreover, everyone who lived through that era knew the relationship between the original four-person group, and it was not impossible for the two of them to be conspiring together now.
And Dumbledore just happened to bring Lupin in as a Professor at the critical moment of Sirius's escape from Azkaban. Who knew what he was thinking?
Furthermore, he had just received another piece of news, which made Professor Snape even more unbearable.
"Lockhart did stay for a year without incident, but he also resigned. Now there's no suitable candidate for Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. Who doesn't know about the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts now?!"
"Besides, Remus is trustworthy. I trust him as much as I trust you."
Dumbledore was helpless. Every summer, he was frantically busy looking for a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.
Anyone normal, who knew even a little bit about the situation, would not agree to teach this class at Hogwarts.
At one point, Dumbledore was so desperate that he even went to Azkaban and brought out a prisoner whose sentence wasn't too severe, on the condition that he was willing to serve as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts.
His remaining three years of sentence could even be waived.
The criminal agreed at the time, but he also didn't last a year and died, which was a huge loss.
Later, when Dumbledore went back to Azkaban, these criminals preferred to remain in prison rather than serve as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts, as they could clearly distinguish between a few years of suffering and their own lives.
As for those with life sentences, the Ministry of Magicwas unwilling to release them, and Dumbledore dared not accept them.
This year, having no other choice, he sought out Lupin, who was still wandering around, and personally invited him back.
Dumbledore had been observing Lupin's actions over the years. He refused any help and wandered the Wizarding World alone.
He usually did odd jobs, barely making a living.
Given Lupin's strength, if he had any ill intentions, he wouldn't have lived such a miserable life.
Dumbledore believed that Lupin would absolutely not be allied with Lord Voldemort.
Moreover, with Lupin here, perhaps he could help him figure out what exactly happened back then.
Logically speaking, Sirius couldn't have betrayed James; they were so close they practically slept in the same bed.
If he were truly a pure-blood supremacist aligned with Lord Voldemort, wouldn't it be better for Sirius to return and be the young master of the Black Family?
However, Dumbledore had asked Sirius about it back then, but he refused to say anything, as if his heart had died.
Now that Sirius had escaped from Azkaban, this was an opportunity to understand everything.
"As much as I trust you, you really do trust me a lot!"
Professor Snape looked at Dumbledore with a sneer.
Their relationship was purely a transactional one, and Dumbledore didn't know how many things he was keeping from him.
To put himself on the same level as Lupin, a Werewolf—was this praising him or belittling him?
"Severus, I am…"
"Stop, I'm not here to listen to your nonsense today. Near Hogwarts, Muggles saw Sirius. He wouldn't have gotten here so easily without help, unless he received assistance from someone, knowing they were the best of friends."
Professor Snape was practically naming names when he said "someone."
With a dual warrant from the Ministry of Magic and the Muggle world, plus Sirius not having a wand, it wasn't easy for him to evade detection, let alone get near Hogwarts.
The train that arrived for the start of term had also been inspected by Dementors, and there were no issues inside.
But if someone was willing to help Sirius, it would be a different story. They could simply provide him with a box enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm to bring him over, or offer a wand and a Portkey.
Now, besides Lupin, Professor Snape couldn't think of anyone else who could help Sirius.
"Since Sirius was able to escape from Azkaban, he must have his own methods. This has nothing to do with Remus, I can assure you of that."
Dumbledore was very aware of the conflict between the two of them; it was essentially irreconcilable. But they couldn't stab each other in the back at this moment!
"Your assurance? When has that ever worked?"
Professor Snape gave Dumbledore another deep look, then prepared to leave.
After all, Dumbledore had said so, what else could he do?
He could only hope that Dumbledore wasn't senile this year.
"Don't forget, the Werewolf Potion for Remus."
Watching Professor Snape about to leave, Dumbledoredidn't forget to remind him.
This Werewolf Potion could only be brewed by Professor Snape at Hogwarts.
"I would rather not have a few more Werewolves at Hogwarts!"
Professor Snape stopped, looking at Dumbledore with a sneer.
Dumbledore stopped speaking. He had heard the dissatisfaction in Professor Snape's heart.
Back then, Sirius and the others trapped Professor Snapewith Lupin, who had transformed into a Werewolf, almost leading to Professor Snape being bitten. This left a deep psychological scar on him.
"Humph!"
He glanced at the silent Dumbledore.
Professor Snape flung his sleeve, slammed the door shut, and left.
In his mind, he was already pondering what to add to the Werewolf Potion to ensure its efficacy while also making Lupin suffer immensely.
Speaking of which, why didn't Lupin join the Werewolfcommunity and let that newly formed organization burn down? It would be so much better.
All Werewolves should die!
...
Thursday morning!
Today was two consecutive Potion Classes, followed by a Defense Against the Dark Arts Class in the afternoon.
However, everyone noticed that Professor Snape's face today was even uglier than usual, as if he had stepped in fresh, runny dog poop when he left the house.
"Today, put away your textbooks. We are going to learn some knowledge not found in books!"
After scanning the students below, Professor Snapewaved his wand, and the blackboard was covered with densely packed Potion-making steps. This was definitely not a Potion that Ethan and his peers should be exposed to at their age.
Ethan just glanced at it and recognized it: it was the Wolfsbane Potion.
Ethan had seen the brewing steps but had never tried it, as he didn't have any Werewolves to test it on, so brewing it would be a waste.
Even "Bruno's Potion and Alchemy Shop" didn't sell Wolfsbane Potion; Werewolves were poor and couldn't afford it at all.
Ethan suspected that Professor Snape was subtly hinting at the young Wizards of Hogwarts, just as he had specifically lectured about Werewolves when substituting for Lupin in the original story.
Give me flowers.
To make the students suspect if there was a Werewolf in the school, and then, with a little guidance, expose Lupin's Werewolf identity.
"Professor Snape, isn't this not something we should be brewing?"
"Even many Potion Masters cannot successfully brew Wolfsbane Potion."
Max Bellby of Hufflepuff stood up directly to question Professor Snape.
His uncle, Damocles Belby, was the inventor of the Wolfsbane Potion, so he was not unfamiliar with it.
"Did I give you permission to speak?"
"Hufflepuff, five points from you!"
"If you had even a shred of the Bellby family's Potiontalent, you would know that brewing Wolfsbane Potion is not difficult!"
"Now, do any of you have anything else to say?"
Marcus, who had stood up, had already lost points, so the other young Wizards, even if they had opinions, dared not voice them now.
"Since you have no objections, let's begin the class."
"Before making the Wolfsbane Potion, you first need to understand the conditions under which a Wizardbecomes a Werewolf. Does anyone know?"
Professor Snape surveyed the students in the classroom, hoping someone would stand up and answer him.
However, he was disappointed; not a single person dared to utter a sound, not even Slytherin.
Ethan was speechless; he was inserting his personal agenda again!
If nothing unexpected happened, he would soon lead the conversation to Lupin.
"No one knows? If you were bitten by a Werewolf at Hogwarts, wouldn't you not even know if you had become a Werewolf?"
"In that case, you can ask Professor Remus Lupin during your afternoon class. As the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, he has an obligation to teach you this knowledge."
"Moreover, he is quite knowledgeable about Werewolves, so you can't go wrong asking him!"
Professor Snape said slowly to the young Wizards below, his tone sarcastic.
None of the students took him seriously. Everyone knew that Professor Snape wanted to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, so his attitude towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor each year was never good.
This year, it was just extended to Professor Lupin, and there was nothing to make a fuss about.
The topic ended there, and then Professor Snape taught everyone how to brew the Wolfsbane Potion.
Ethan noticed that some of the steps were different from what he had read in books before. It truly showed Professor Snape's exceptional talent in Potions.
When the Bell rang for the end of class, naturally, no one succeeded in brewing the Wolfsbane Potion. Setting aside the difficulty, there simply wasn't enough time.
Moreover, Professor Snape assigned an essay: how to add something to the Wolfsbane Potion, without destroying its efficacy, that would make the Werewolfwho consumed it suffer excruciatingly.
In the corridor, a significant number of people began discussing the reason for Professor Snape's extremely abnormal behavior.
There were various speculations, the most widely believed being that Professor Snape was bitten by a Werewolf this summer, which was why he wanted to teach them about the Wolfsbane Potion.
Then he could use the Potions made by everyone, saving him a large sum of money for buying Wolfsbane Potion.
Another group of people were discussing the contents of The Daily Prophet that arrived by owl this morning.
It clearly stated that in a village not far from Hogwarts, Muggles had seen Sirius. However, by the time the Muggles called the hotline and the Ministry of MagicAurors arrived at the scene, Sirius had already escaped.
[Thanks to the big boss Yong Gege for the monthly ticket, thank you big boss! Begging].
Chapter 162: The Lingering Snape
On Thursday afternoon, there was only one Defense Against the Dark Arts Class.
When the young Wizards gathered in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Professor Lupin had not yet arrived.
Everyone took out their textbooks, quills, and parchment and placed them on their desks. This had become a habit; after all, Defense Against the Dark Arts Class usually involved some reading.
After doing all this, everyone gathered in twos and threes, discussing.
Mainly, they were wondering if Lupin would also be a teaching failure, like Lockhart and Quirrell.
Although Lockhart had proven his strength with the Alchemy tools he bought from Ethan and even held a Duelling Club, he truly taught the young Wizards nothing.
Lockhart was busy with his play, and Quirrell, not to mention, just read from the textbook the entire time.
It could be said that those who entered Hogwarts in the same year as Harry were the most unfortunate; in the past, although Defense Against the Dark Arts Class also had a curse, the Professor could at least teach something.
For this year's batch, the first two years were a complete waste, and there were still a few more years of wasted time to come.
With three minutes left before class, Professor Lupinfinally walked into the classroom.
He had a faint smile on his face as he placed his tattered old box on the podium.
His clothes were still patched, but his complexion was much better than when he first entered Hogwarts, probably because he had eaten a few full meals!
Looking at Lupin's appearance, most people did not believe that Lupin could escape the curse of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, and they looked down on him even more.
"Good afternoon, please put your textbooks back in your bags first. Today's class is a practical one; you only need to use your wand!"
Standing on the podium, Lupin looked at the young Wizards below with a smile.
Lupin naturally understood what the students below were thinking; he had been through that stage himself, but he would change that impression.
Regardless of whether he could escape the curse of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, he at least had to genuinely teach them something and prove that he was not useless.
The young Wizards put away their textbooks, exchanged glances, and saw surprise in each other's eyes.
This seemingly most unremarkable Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor was actually going to teach them a practical class?
It was important to know that since entering Hogwarts, they had only had two practical classes.
The first was when Professor Snape substituted, and the second was a disaster: Lockhart released the Cornish Pixies and got himself sent to the infirmary.
Now, this unreliable Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, surely he wasn't going to cause another accident!
"Alright!" Seeing that everyone was ready, Lupinimmediately said, "Everyone, follow me!"
Then he led the way out of the classroom.
The students were both puzzled and interested, and they all stood up and followed behind him.
Anyway, if things went wrong, there was a Professor to take the lead, and if he really had some skills, that would be even better.
"Ethan, he's not another Lockhart, is he!"
Terry whispered from the side.
Although Lockhart's battle with Professor Snape had redeemed some of his disgrace, Terry still firmly believed he was a charlatan.
"Lupin still has some skill, don't worry!"
It could be said that in these seven years at Hogwarts, the most reliable Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor was Lupin.
"Really?"
Terry was still a little skeptical; Lupin was simply too shabby. If he had any real ability, he wouldn't be in such a miserable state!
Led by Lupin, the young Wizards walked through the empty corridor, turned a corner, and saw Peeves, the most mischievous poltergeist, hanging upside down in mid-air, stuffing chewing gum into the nearest keyhole; it was a mystery where he got the chewing gum.
Only when Lupin was two steps away did this focused Peeves belatedly look up.
Then he wiggled his crooked toes and suddenly began to sing.
"Lupin the loony, Lupin the loony, Lupin the loony—"
Although Peeves was always rude and mischievous, that was usually towards students; when facing Professors, he was relatively respectful.
Everyone looked at Professor Lupin, wondering how he would handle it.
But Lupin showed no reaction at the moment, still maintaining his smiling demeanor.
"If I were you, Peeves, I'd take that chewing gum out of the keyhole!"
"Otherwise, Mr. Filch won't be able to get in to get his broom."
"Pfft!"
Peeves spat a mouthful of saliva in front of Lupin, completely disregarding him. He had pranked Lupin many times before, so why would he fear his threat?
Isn't he just a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor?
And Filch had often picked fights with Peeves, so there was no way he would remove the chewing gum himself; Lupin was dreaming again.
Lupin sighed as he looked at Peeves, then turned to the students and said:
"This is a very useful little spell, please watch carefully."
Lupin raised his wand to shoulder height, pointed the tip at Peeves, and loudly uttered "Waddiwasi!"
With a "whoosh," the chewing gum that had been stuffed into the keyhole shot out like a bullet and accurately lodged itself in Peeves' left nostril.
"You can try it too!"
Hearing Lupin say this, everyone became interested and raised their wands, aiming at Peeves and shouting "Waddiwasi!" loudly.
Suddenly, a large number of small objects flew towards Peeves, such as snacks carried by the young Wizards and small stones from the ground.
Facing the rain-like attack, Peeves shrieked, then somersaulted into the air, flying away while continuously muttering curses.
He, as one ghost, would surely be at a disadvantage against so many young Wizards.
Watching Peeves flee in disarray, Lupin smiled and slowly said to the young Wizards:
"Very well done, everyone who succeeded just now, please raise your hands."
Upon hearing this, more than twenty people raised their hands at once; these were all those who had successfully cast the spell just now.
"For your performance just now, five points will be awarded to each of you!"
Lupin immediately won the favor of most young Wizards, and their gaze towards him changed from disdain to respect.
This was a truly capable and kind teacher, just a bit poor.
It must be said that Lupin did have some skills, and if he weren't a Werewolf and didn't teach Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, he would definitely be a good Professor.
In this regard, he left Hagrid, also a new Professor, far behind, by more than eight streets.
As it was, it was simply a pity.
"We'll continue to move forward..."
Soon, Lupin led the young Wizards to the corridor on the second floor and stopped outside the staff room door.
The things he had prepared were currently inside that room.
"You can go in now; the teaching content for this class is inside."
Saying this, Professor Lupin directly opened the staff room door and stepped back, motioning for the young Wizards to enter first.
The staff room was a long room with wooden panels on all four walls, and it was filled with mismatched old chairs.
However, there was an unexpected person inside: Professor Snape was sitting in a low armchair.
The young Wizards naturally noticed Professor Snape the moment they entered. Although there was a slight hesitation, they all walked in; perhaps he was there to observe the class!
Once all the young Wizards were inside, Professor Snapeturned his face, his eyes gleaming, a sarcastic sneer playing on his lips. After scanning the young Wizards, his gaze fixed intently on Lupin's face.
Lupin also didn't want to bother with Professor Snapeand prepared to close the door on his own.
"Don't close the door, Lupin, I'd rather not witness this scene."
Saying this, Professor Snape stood up and strode past the young Wizards, his black robes billowing behind him, walking all the way to the doorway.
Only then did Professor Snape turn his head:
"Perhaps no one has reminded you yet, Lupin, but there's a Neville Longbottom in this class, and I suggest you don't give him anything complicated to do."
"Oh, and one more thing, this morning I just taught them how to make Wolfsbane Potion, but as for the introduction to Werewolf, that's not my teaching content. I hope you can teach them well in that aspect."
Neville's face flushed crimson upon hearing this; he truly hadn't expected Professor Snape to speak about him like that in front of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor and all the students in their year.
Lupin's brows also furrowed. How could he not understand the meaning of Professor Snape's last sentence? He wanted him to introduce knowledge about Werewolf and point all clues about Werewolf to himself.
This was an attempt to make the students discover his Werewolf identity, and perhaps even hand him a Werewolf Potion directly in front of all the young Wizards later.
Even though he was already starting to worry, Lupincouldn't show it at the moment and could only respond with a normal expression:
"I had originally hoped Neville Longbottom could help me with the first step of teaching, and I believe he will perform exceptionally well."
At this, Neville's face turned even redder, and he was somewhat afraid, fearing that he wouldn't perform well and would betray the trust of this new Professor.
"As for the second thing you mentioned, I will explain it. Follow my steps; this is already third-year content, and there's no need for you, the Potion Professor, to worry about it here."
Professor Snape's mouth twitched as he looked at Lupin, but he ultimately said nothing, slamming the door shut and turning to leave.
His desire to add a few little things to Lupin's WerewolfPotion grew even stronger.
"Alright, now that the irrelevant person has left, we can begin this Defense Against the Dark Arts Class."
Lupin, with his smile back on his face, walked to the cabinet at the very front.
[Thanks to the big shot 17323 for the monthly ticket, thank you big shot!].
Chapter 163: The Grudge-Holding Lupin
Bang!
Bang!
The wardrobe, which suddenly began to shake and hit the wall, attracted everyone's attention; clearly, something was inside.
The few young Wizards who were closer jumped back in alarm.
"Inside is just a Boggart, which is what I need to explain in this class."
Professor Lupin immediately reassured them. Boggarts were basically harmless and quite suitable as content for the first class.
But the young Wizards didn't think so; most still looked at the wardrobe with horror, especially Neville, who was the most terrified. He had just heard that Professor Lupinwanted him to assist with the first step of teaching.
"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces: wardrobes, gaps under beds, cupboards under sinks—once I even encountered a Boggart living in a grandfather clock."
Professor Lupin could only patiently explain to the young Wizards, then continued:
"This Boggart just moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the Principal to let the Professors keep it for us to use in class!"
Then Lupin looked around at everyone and asked:
"Now, I want to ask, do you know what a Boggart is?"
Ethan immediately raised his hand!
There was no other way; he didn't want to do this, but to win the House Cup, House points were essential. This year there was no Lockhart to give him extra points, and no major competitions, so House points could only be accumulated little by little.
Several people raised their hands, but Lupin ultimately chose Ethan.
He had heard of Ethan's reputation even before entering Hogwarts. When Dumbledore introduced him and Hagrid, the two new Professors, it was Ethan alone who changed the entire situation, earning Hagrid a lot of applause.
"Alright, Professor, a Boggart is a shapeshifting Animal that can see into a person's heart and transform into their greatest fear. Of course, it has no ability to harm people, only to scare them."
"The spell to deal with it is the Boggart-Banishing Spell, the incantation is Riddikulus. This spell can make the Boggart transform into the most ridiculous form you can imagine. If there are many people, the Boggart won't know what shape to take, and at that point, it's easiest to deal with. What can kill a Boggart is laughter; it will explode into wisps of smoke amidst laughter."
"Excellent answer, very detailed! Ten points to Ravenclaw!"
Lupin clapped, very satisfied with Ethan's answer.
It's just that Ethan had said everything he needed to say later; what would he say now?
However, Lupin still planned to follow his own steps and not let Ethan disrupt them.
"The Boggart in the cabinet doesn't have a specific shape yet; it doesn't know what the people outside the cabinet door are afraid of. No one knows what a Boggart looks like when it's alone, but as soon as I let it out, it will immediately turn into each of our greatest fears."
"The spell to repel a Boggart, as Adrian just said, is Riddikulus. It's very simple, but it requires a strong will to succeed."
"But you also need to know that what truly finishes a Boggart is laughter, so what you need to do is force it to transform into an image you find very funny."
"We can practice now, without wands for a start!"
Then there was a chorus of "Riddikulus" sounds. Ethan, however, did not join in. Did he still need to learn this magic?
Besides, even if he didn't know the Boggart-Banishing Spell, there were plenty of ways to kill this thing.
"You're all doing very well, but just relying on the spell isn't enough."
"As I said, Neville Longbottom, you will assist me in completing the first step. Now it's up to you!"
As Lupin's words fell, the wardrobe began to shake again, but Neville trembled even more than the wardrobe.
Neville nervously stepped forward, like walking to the gallows, arriving in front of the wardrobe. At this moment, he wished so much that Professor Lupin could choose someone else to go forward.
Alright, Neville, first tell me what you're most afraid of?"
Professor Lupin looked at the nervous and scared Nevilleand immediately encouraged him.
Neville's mouth moved, but not a sound came out.
"I'm sorry, Neville, I didn't hear you clearly!"
Lupin still patiently persuaded him with a smile.
Neville looked around in a panic, as if asking for someone to help him, but that was clearly unrealistic.
In the end, Neville could only whisper in a voice so low it was almost inaudible: "Professor Snape!"
At that, the little Wizards in the entire classroom burst into laughter, and even Neville himself grinned sheepishly, though it was nothing to be ashamed of.
If you asked the little Wizards in all of Hogwarts who their most feared Professor was, believe that more than half would say Professor Snape.
Lupin looked thoughtful and immediately came up with a good idea.
Don't look at Lupin acting so honest now; deep down, he still quite enjoyed pranks and mischief, otherwise he wouldn't have hung out with James and others, becoming the notorious Marauders.
Now, he had simply been worn down by successive blows, finally becoming his current self.
"Professor Snape, it's normal to be afraid of him, Neville. You live with your grandmother, right?"
Lupin began to use suggestive language.
"Uh, yes!"
Neville was a bit flustered, then immediately added, "But I don't want the Boggart to turn into my grandmother."
Although Neville was quite afraid of his grandmother, he didn't want her to turn into a ridiculous sight in front of so many people.
"No, no, no, you misunderstood. I'm not asking you to make the Boggart turn into your grandmother!"
"I want to ask if you can tell everyone what clothes your grandmother usually wears."
As he spoke, Professor Lupin's face was already beaming with a brilliant smile.
Although Neville was a bit surprised why Lupin asked this, he didn't refuse and immediately began to recall:
"Okay… She always wears that hat, a tall hat with a stuffed vulture on it, and a long dress… usually green… sometimes she also wears a fox fur scarf."
Neville's memory wasn't good, and he spoke haltingly, but this was his limit.
"And a handbag, right?"
Lupin immediately added.
Having gone through the Lord Voldemort war, Neville's grandmother had also joined in with her wand, and they were comrades.
How could Lupin not know what Neville's grandmother looked like?
"Alright, Neville, can you imagine these clothes very clearly?"
"Can you see them in your mind?"
"Yes!"
When he said this, Neville himself didn't quite believe it.
"Neville, when the Boggart rushes out of the wardrobe and sees you, it will turn into Snape."
"At that time, you'll need to raise your wand and shout Riddikulus, then concentrate on recalling your grandmother's clothes."
"If all goes well, the Boggart transformed into Professor Snape will be forced to wear that vulture hat, the green long dress, and carry that red handbag."
The little Wizards below burst into laughter, even the Slytherin little Wizards were no exception.
Just thinking about Snape wearing those clothes made everyone feel overwhelmed.
"If Neville succeeds, the Boggart will shift its attention to each of us in turn."
"I want each of you to think about what you are most afraid of, and then how to make it ridiculous…"
The classroom immediately fell silent; everyone had something they were afraid of.
These were all things everyone was unwilling to face.
Then Lupin began to arrange things, telling everyone to retreat to the wall, giving all the space to Neville.
But at this moment, Neville's face was pale and he looked very scared, but he still rolled up the sleeves of his robe and raised his wand, ready.
Neville did not lack courage and responsibility.
"I'll count to three, Neville!"
Professor Lupin pointed his wand at the wardrobe doorknob, ready to open the door at any moment.
"One, two, three, start!"
A string of sparks shot from the tip of Lupin's wand, hitting the spherical doorknob.
Under the effect of the sparks, the wardrobe door suddenly swung open, and Professor Snape, with his hooked nose, stormed out, glaring maliciously at Nevillewith his cold eyes.
Neville was so startled that he stumbled backward, while Snape, transformed by the Boggart, pressed forward.
Neville wanted to shout the spell, but at this moment his throat was hoarse and no sound would come out.
"R-R-Riddikulus!"
After retreating several steps, Neville finally shouted it out.
With a crisp crack, like a loud whip, Snape's steps began to falter, his clothes instantly transforming into a frilly long dress, a tall hat on his head with a moth-eaten vulture on it, and a large red handbag in his hand.
The little Wizards burst into laughter; they had truly never seen Professor Snape like this.