days at Hogwarts

Chapter 589 Professor Snape's Status

The further Hermione read, the lower her voice became. Her expression unconsciously became a little angry. She slammed the newspaper on the table and was so angry that she couldn't eat breakfast.

Ron realized belatedly: "No wonder he was so happy last night..."

"It's unbelievable! Even after all this, Fudge still tells everyone not to believe Dumbledore!" Harry roared angrily.

"..."

Loren didn't say much. He swallowed the bread in his mouth, then took the newspaper and read the back of the article.

This was the only story on the front page of the newspaper, with a picture of the Death Eaters following the caption.

Neatly arranged black and white photos filled the entire page. They should have been taken shortly after they were imprisoned. The Death Eaters were in good mental state. Some were laughing silently, while others were arrogantly tapping the frame with their fingers. Their faces were pale and there was a terrifying cold light in their eyes.

The names and crimes were listed below the photos. He was familiar with some of the faces. After Bellatrix's escape from prison, Hermione had looked up the information from that time, and he had seen them nearby.

Rodolphus Lestrange and his younger brother Bartan Lestrange, the former is Bellatrix's husband and Voldemort's earliest pure-blood follower. He is known as his most loyal servant and the main participant in the Longbottom couple's tragedy.

Anthony Dolohov, one of Voldemort's first Death Eaters, who had killed many Muggles and half-blood wizards, was the brother of Mrs. Weasley and the main culprit in the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Prewett.

August Rookwood, before his arrest, was the Head of the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic, responsible for collecting and transmitting intelligence for Voldemort. It was he who dragged Ludo Bagman into the trap.

In addition, there are some unknown unfamiliar faces who have committed brutal crimes, and most of them have their hands stained with the blood of Muggles. It seems that they cannot be accepted by the Death Eater group unless they kill a few ordinary people.

"How many people were killed this time..."

"How many wizards and muggles are there..."

Loren picked it up and looked around the hall. Few people read the newspaper every day like Hermione. Others were not aware of the news and were still chatting about homework, Quidditch and some boring jokes.

The first class was History of Magic. Professor Binns was obviously not someone who read the newspaper every day. He was not aware of the news of the large-scale escape of Death Eaters from prison. He recited the contents of the textbook as usual. The long written sentences with the objects placed in front and lengthy clauses were dizzy.

As the newspaper was passed back and forth among the young wizards, the sleepy man soon woke up and listened absentmindedly to the impact of the Giant War on Muggle society.

When the bell rang, the classroom was suddenly filled with noisy discussions like the tide. The newspaper that was being circulated was already wrinkled beyond recognition, and everyone was talking about the Death Eaters they had heard of.

So-and-so murdered so many people in such cruel way in such-and-such year and month. So-and-so witnessed it with his own eyes and is now his neighbor or relative.

Loren put the papers, pens and textbooks on the table into his bag. Extremely unusually, Hermione's ink bottle cap was not even unscrewed, her quill pen was not dipped in a drop of ink, her notebook was untouched, and the textbook seemed to have just been opened to the first page.

Hermione wanted to listen carefully at first, but she had already memorized the content of the chapter, and her mind was full of today's front-page news.

"Where was Professor Binns?"

"Just finished talking about the Giant War."

"Is our war about to begin?" Hermione asked in a low voice.

"I don't know."

"I think it will take some time, but it won't be long..." Hermione twisted her beautiful eyebrows together and sighed, "When the You-Know-Who figured out the prophecy and realized that Harry couldn't threaten him directly, he would come back and stir up unrest, don't you think?"

"probably."

"..."

Loren glanced at the open door of the classroom. Other students left the classroom one after another. The most congested crowd had passed. The two stood up and walked out, rushing to the classroom for the next class.

The second period on Monday morning is Potions.

There were still ten minutes before class started, and Loren and Hermione walked into the dungeon classroom.

At this time, the students of Slytherin College had basically learned about the Death Eaters' escape last night. Now there was only one topic in the classroom - the whereabouts of dozens of fugitive Death Eaters were unknown.

Somewhat different from other colleges, many students in Slytherin College come from pure-blood families. Even in the most turbulent and darkest times, as long as they do not openly oppose Voldemort or publicly express support for Muggles or half-blood wizards, they do not have to worry about being persecuted like other wizards.

Even when other wizards were too frightened to go out and suffered in their own homes, some families were able to resell daily necessities in secret, taking the opportunity to amass wealth that they could not have accumulated in decades.

The few students who advocated the supremacy of pure-bloods were even more special. To them, Voldemort and the Death Eaters did not have a bad reputation at all. The people in the posted photos of criminals were even related to them by blood. They firmly believed that they would not be persecuted.

Only a very few intelligent people, despite being from Death Eater families, were disturbed by the news.

"Buzz..."

"Buzz..."

The gold Galleons in my pocket were vibrating slightly.

I just got the communicator last night. It has upgraded materials, upgraded functions, and a super upgraded price.

Draco had a blank expression on his face. He knew very well that someone was sending a message to Mandrake, most likely asking about the escape of the Death Eaters and information related to Voldemort.

His Potions partner, Theodore Nott, turned to look at him, raised his eyebrows, and said with a little disdain: "Can't you just keep that thing quiet, Draco? If I didn't have a Belladonna, I would probably think you had a toad on you. If Professor Snape finds out during his inspection, how are you going to explain that you want to sign up for Professor Flitwick's choir?"

"..."

Draco was silent for a moment, then asked quietly, "How did you turn it off?"

"If you had carefully read the manual that came with the communicator, you wouldn't have asked such a stupid question..." Theodore explained the silent operation, and the disgust in his eyes became more obvious: "Is this the habit of the Malfoy family? You don't even need to understand all the functions of a twenty Galleon item?"

"..."

Draco opened his mouth but didn't say anything. He silently reached into his pocket, fumbled for a button on the side of the Gallon, and pressed it to turn off the notification.

Theodore saw his obviously unreasonable attitude and felt that something was wrong. He thought for a few seconds and seemed to have thought of something. He looked at him in disbelief and asked, "You sold it to me at a higher price?"

"cough……"

Draco cleared his throat and looked away uncomfortably. Although he had heard many theoretical teachings from his father, this was the first time he actually practiced being a profiteer, and he still felt a little ashamed.

Theodore obviously couldn't accept it, so he twisted his shoulders and turned around: "How much did you add?"

"..."

Draco didn't dare to meet his eyes and silently raised a finger. "One Galleon?"

Theodore felt better: "It's okay...it's okay..."

Draco calmly took two steps to the side, opened and closed his lips, and whispered: "One time."

Theodore, who always appeared calm and composed, could no longer hold back his expression. He subconsciously clenched his fists and wanted to demand back his ill-gotten gains from this Malfoy profiteer. Just as he was about to take action, the professor pushed the door open.

Snape walked up to the podium with swift steps and glanced around. His eyes, which were more penetrating than usual, made people's skin hurt slightly. After a pause, he began to lecture in a calm voice:
"I know what happened last night, but I don't want to hear anyone talking about anything unrelated to Potions in class. If I catch them...

"Today we will learn how to make a vitality tonic. Let's go to class!"

"..."

Classic Professor Snape opening.

Loren's originally tense mood relaxed. When he heard today's topic, the raw materials, processing methods, and configuration steps of the potion naturally emerged in his mind. He glanced at the raw medicinal materials prepared on the table and subconsciously opened his magic vision to check their status.

I caught a glimpse of the professor on the stage from the corner of my eye, and his hand, which was reaching out to touch the herbs, froze in mid-air.

"Loren?" Hermione noticed Loren's hesitation and turned to look at him curiously.

There was a faint crystal blue light in Loren's eyes, as if he didn't hear Hermione's words. He stared at Professor Snape on the podium. A distorted and thin mist was outlined in the crystal blue light. The mist was pure black and drifted unsteadily. Every particle of it exuded a strong and ominous evil breath.

He had seen a similar mist on another ghost before, representing death, dark magic, and Horcruxes.

Then, he heard Snape's deep voice lecturing: "...When brewing the potion, pay special attention to the stirring method, stirring alternately clockwise and counterclockwise... Secondly, pay attention to the timing of adding the blood of the cockatrice..."

Hermione looked towards the podium, but didn't notice anything wrong. She took two steps closer to him and tugged at his sleeve: "What's wrong?"

The crystal blue light in Loren's eyes faded, he pursed his lips, and hesitated for a moment: "Let's talk after class."

"Um……"

Hermione responded softly, quietly holding his hand under the desk.

Warm, soft and reassuring.

Vitality tonic potion does not refer to a specific single potion, but a general term for a large category of potions. There are many different recipes for different usage scenarios. This is the focus of the OWLs Potions exam and the focus of fifth-year Potions classes in the next few months.

As usual, the brewing method provided by Snape is different from the classic recipe given in the textbook, and there are some differences in the processing and configuration of some raw materials. Snape's teaching method is also the same as usual, with a slightly faster progress, not paying much attention to students who can't keep up with the pace.

During the practical process in the second half of the class, Snape would still stand behind a classmate and launch mental attacks with a gloomy look.

This made Loren feel relieved.

As the get out of class was about to end, Loren put the brewed potion into a flask, walked to the front of the podium, put down the potion, and smiled gently: "Professor, your——"

"Don't ask me about my affairs. You must keep it secret from the idiot Potter..." Snape said without even raising his eyelids. "The fifth-year courses are of no use to you. You don't need to do the homework for this class. Write an essay on the use of powerful magic sources as medicine and hand it in. I will grade it separately."

"Good professor."

Loren left with mixed feelings, as if his worries were unnecessary.

Professor Snape has changed, yet it seems that he has not changed.

……

Loren walked out of the classroom and trotted towards Hermione, deliberately ignoring the fact that she was holding her bag. He sighed as he walked towards the hall, hesitating on how to tell her.

Professor Snape only told the stupid Potter to keep it a secret, but he didn't tell the smart girl Hermione to keep it a secret.

It’s a bit complicated to explain, and a bit shocking.

It was already the afternoon of the next day when Hermione sorted out her thoughts and understood the series of causes and consequences.

As they walked to the greenhouse, Hermione tried to think about those strange herbs, but soon she couldn't help herself and whispered to him away from the crowd:

"Is it really possible to create a drug that can bring the dead back to life?"

"not much hope."

"Why?" Hermione was very puzzled. "According to the principle you mentioned, Professor Snape may really be able to make a resurrection potion. After all, Nicolas Flamel really made an elixir of immortality."

"So I didn't completely deny it." Loren sighed, "Besides, this is not a question of whether it can be refined, but that such a potion should not exist at all."

"I know that many famous wizards have discussed this issue and believe that these potions that violate the laws of life and death will disrupt the world."

Hermione couldn't help but reveal her inner thoughts: "But if the Ministry of Magic formulates rules to prohibit abuse, these can become a good medicine to cure diseases and save lives, just like a time turner..."

"This is not a matter of system management, nor a matter of ethics and morality, but rather disaster management..."

Loren kicked the stone on the roadside and watched it roll into the grass. "These things are called taboos because the disasters they bring are unpredictable, and the world often cannot bear the consequences of taboos... just like the undead, like Voldemort, like Herpo..."

"I seem to understand a little bit."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, "But why didn't Professor Dumbledore stop him?"

"I'm also very surprised. Dumbledore wasn't worried at all. He seemed to have determined from the beginning that Professor Snape would definitely fail. He didn't have any doubt at all."

"..."

Things fermented faster than the dragon manure compost in the Herbology class. After Sprout finished his lecture, the students in the greenhouse were all discussing the big news of the day.

All kinds of groundless rumors also spread quickly.

Some say that the Death Eaters had escaped several months ago, and Umbridge was injured by the Death Eaters while escaping.

It was said that someone in Hogsmeade recognized several fugitives and that they were hiding in the Shrieking Shack. The Ministry of Magic could no longer conceal the truth and therefore placed an announcement in the newspaper.

Most children in magical families have heard of these Death Eaters since childhood. Their names are almost as terrifying as Voldemort. They are well-known for the crimes they committed during the terrifying period of dark rule. Some of them are even direct relatives of the victims.

(End of this chapter)