days at Hogwarts

Chapter 615 March and April
"The second thing is that Voldemort is trying to get in touch with the werewolves. Let your Professor Lupin...or let that John Moon keep an eye out for the news."

"Third, I left you a few papers on advanced potion research projects. You may need to consult a lot of information and papers, but most of the books and periodicals can be found in the school library. Do your best to complete them and don't be lazy..."

In the shabby and dirty screaming shack, a somewhat emaciated deer beast stood on the table. Its dark eyes showed no ripples and an incredible and horrifying sound came from its throat.

Hermione stood in front of the right side of the table, half a body length behind, watching Loren quietly listening to the professor's instructions.

Few people have experienced the feeling of losing their bodies and becoming a ghost, but it is said that this is more painful than being an unconscious ghost. Is this professor as calm as he appears, or is he enduring the pain from his soul...

After several years of getting along, Hermione could tell that Loren deliberately made that teasing remark to ease the atmosphere.

Perhaps it was because he rarely showed up and hadn't spoken to anyone for a long time, and Professor Snape might want to make up for all his courses at once, or perhaps his temperament had changed after experiencing life and death events. In short, the former Potions Professor was more talkative than before.

The voice was a little strange, and the tone was too calm and even a little cold. It revealed a different kind of warmth in the season when the snow was thawing, and it didn't seem cold at all.

The fawn nodded: "Professor Slughorn is very experienced, but don't trust his teaching completely. Combine your own potion principles and try to optimize and improve the preparation steps in the textbook. Don't be afraid of making mistakes. It is normal to make mistakes..."

"I remember everything, Professor..." Loren listened carefully to the deer beast's instructions, paused for a few seconds, and asked softly, "The hamster that Dumbledore handed over to me, a Death Eater named Walton McNeill, is it the material you prepared for resurrection?"

Snape was silent for a moment, then nodded. "At that time, you brought Crouch Jr. and McNeill back to Hogwarts from Ben Nevis. Fudge was still in charge of the Ministry of Magic, and Azkaban was guarded by Dementors. Dumbledore did not hand them over, so they were finally handed over to me..."

The resurrection ceremony is a taboo in the magic world and no record of it can be found even after searching through all the history books.

It must be admitted that Voldemort, as the most powerful dark wizard in history, his exploration in the field of evil dark magic can even be compared with Hercule, and it was only he who successfully completed the resurrection ceremony.

To allow the departed soul to return to the body from the virtual to the real, three materials are needed to construct the body, and at the same time mark the existence of the deceased in the world...

As an extremely special existence, Snape has the dual identities of a Death Eater and a member of the Order of the Phoenix. It is indeed difficult to find his true enemies. Both sides regard him as one of their own, but neither side can fully trust him.

Under such conditions, McNeill, who witnessed him killing Crouch Jr., became the most suitable material.

"Father's bones, enemy's blood..." Loren murmured softly, "What about the servant's flesh, professor?"

"I made a deal with someone, Loren, and now... I need you to help me collect the debt..."

……

March was spent in continuous rain. The rain was not heavy, but the dense rain and fog made the area around Hogwarts Castle always filled with a layer of water vapor.

The Forbidden Forest and the Black Lake were shrouded in a thin, hazy veil. The birds became quiet, curling up under the leaves to shelter from the rain most of the time. However, the fish were unusually active. Standing on the tower and overlooking the Black Lake, one could see schools of shadows swimming underwater.

Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were lucky enough to have a Quidditch match on a relatively sunny weekend.

It was an exciting battle. The team, led by Angelina, was in a stalemate with Cedric for a long time. There was no interference from off-field factors. Ron failed to perform exceptionally well, but he did not make any mistakes either. The two sides went back and forth, exchanging offense and defense. The score was always very close. In the end, Harry caught the Golden Snitch first.

On the first weekend of April, the second Quidditch match of this semester kicked off - Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin.

"What a rare good day! I finally see the sun..."

Loren sat in the back row of the audience, looking up at the sky with squinting eyes. The clouds were thick, and the cotton-like clouds reflected bright white light, making it difficult to open one's eyes.

Hermione also had a faint smile on her face. She turned to look at Loren and covered his eyes with her hands: "Don't look directly at the bright light. It's bad for your eyes and will cause astigmatism."

"Okay, Dr. Granger." The girl's hands were soft, tender, and fragrant. Loren rubbed them with a smile. "I didn't notice the bad effects on my eyes, but the effect on my nose is quite obvious. But I feel like sneezing now..."

Loren rubbed his itchy nose and took two short breaths to suppress the urge to sneeze. The urge to sneeze was not strong enough now, so he suppressed it first. When it came back later, it would be a hearty sneeze!
"I don't want to bother with you..."

Loren chuckled twice, rubbed the back of Hermione's robe, and won a punch as a reward.

The audience nearby was even more enthusiastic about the game, and they were chattering about the information about the game, such as which Slytherin players were about to graduate, which substitute player's level was like this and that, and who had a greater chance of winning this game...

In such an occasion, the well-informed Seamus was undoubtedly the focus of the crowd. His duck-like voice was particularly piercing: "Breaking news, since the beginning of the school year, Slytherin's Seeker Draco Malfoy has completely stopped Quidditch activities on the grounds of illness, and the substitute Seeker Harper who played today was hired by him!"

"No wonder we don't see him in every training session at the stadium."

"How's this Harper's skill?"

"..."

As Madam Hooch blew the whistle, players from both teams flew into the sky together.

This match was beyond the expectations of all the spectators. The team made frequent mistakes after the blood transfusion. When chasing the ball, Pusey hit the captain Urquhart on the mouth with a stick... Even so, Slytherin still retained the foundation of an old and strong team. With the fierce tactic of exchanging injuries for injuries, they controlled the score difference within 30 points.

However, Ravenclaw's Seeker Cho Chang seized Slytherin's biggest flaw. Their Seeker was replaced by the newcomer Harper from the experienced Draco Malfoy. Cho Chang caught the Snitch right under Harper's nose and ended the game with a 170-point difference.

For the Slytherin spectators, they endured nearly half an hour of torture, and the atmosphere in the stadium was like a particularly miserable funeral.

"I can't bear to make fun of them..."

"I'm telling you... when he missed the 14th goal, the look on his face was like he was about to cry."

"For a few seconds the Snitch was flickering at Harper's feet. If an experienced Seeker hadn't hesitated, Slytherin might have won."

Draco listened to the noisy discussions and stared at his toes.

Loren followed the crowd returning to the castle, staring at Draco in the Slytherin team with a thoughtful look.

"What are you looking at?" Hermione turned to look at him.

"Nothing, I was just wondering when this sneeze I'm brewing is going to come out."

…As April approaches, the weather becomes clearer and the temperature gradually rises.

The grass in the open fields and courtyards became crisp without anyone noticing, and after being baptized by the spring rain, flowers of various colors bloomed as expected. Brilliant daffodils, elegant crocuses, and fragrant bluebells were spread in patches on the flat ground outside the field and the forbidden forest, with rich and intense colors.

The students took off their sweaters and put on light shirts, welcoming the Easter holiday in the bright spring sunshine. Little wizards could be seen running on the grass at any time.

The exceptions are fifth and seventh graders, whose exams are officially in the countdown.

Library, window seat.

An open brown paper box was placed on the table, containing an Easter egg sent by Mrs. Weasley. The eggshell was made of chocolate and decorated with some small books made of icing sugar. Inside was some sizzling honey candy.

Loren broke off a piece of chocolate and put it in his mouth, then opened the history book in front of him, found the relevant chapters, determined the scope of the excerpt and the general structure of the magic history assignment, and began to think about how to refine the word count.

The essay on the history of magic is different from other subjects. If you quote more excerpts, it shows rigor. If you quote less, the teacher will doubt the authenticity of the content. Anyway, Professor Binns will not check for plagiarism, so just do it the easiest way.

Hermione sat in the inner seat, her head slightly tilted to one side, her expression serious, her feather pen leaving neat handwriting on the paper. She was translating a poem written in ancient runes according to the "Magical Phonetic Table". It was said that reciting this poem could make one feel the scent of spring.

Loren's eyes unconsciously moved to her, and he gradually became fascinated by her.

"Have you read the notice on the bulletin board regarding career guidance?"

"I've read it. It says that all fifth-year students must meet with their dean to discuss future employment. It also gives a timetable. The first week after the holiday, we two will be in the same time slot, Monday morning at 10:30, to go to Professor McGonagall's office."

Loren said in surprise: "Doesn't that mean I don't have to go to class?"

"Remember to read the career descriptions and corresponding academic requirements before the holiday is over."

"I don't want to read them. Those pamphlets are long-winded, boring and boring."

"I knew it……"

Hermione sighed, finished the last paragraph of the essay, put the quill back into the ink bottle, and took out a page of paper from her notebook: "I wrote them all down. First, the healer at St. Mungo's Hospital is required to obtain certificates in NEWT exams in Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts; Muggle liaison work only requires an OWL certificate in Muggle Studies; the requirements for the curse breaker at Gringotts Wizarding Bank are similar to those of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes..."

The window was opened a little to let in air, which made her hair messy. Against her serious little face, she seemed even brighter than the spring sunshine outside the window.

……

The last Thursday of the Easter holidays.

Slytherin boys dormitory.

Draco did not go to the hall for breakfast as usual. He waited until all his roommates left before he got up and went to the cupboard to choose clothes.

Pushing aside the standard magic robes, taking out the striped vest, the black formal suit, and the trousers with tightened cuffs, and then simply tidying up his platinum hair, Draco looked at himself in the mirror and vaguely saw some of his father's shadow.

"No wonder they say we look alike..." Draco whispered, a bitter smile forming on the corner of his mouth. "Why are you dressed so formally? I'm going to attend the trial, not a banquet."

"Attending the banquet..."

Draco repeated this short sentence which had not been mentioned for a long time and even seemed unfamiliar. Two days before the incident in the Department of Mysteries, a grand banquet was held at Malfoy Manor. It was really incredible.

After changing into a less elaborate outfit, Draco came to the bedside, reached under the pillow and pulled out a concise letter - a notice of relative's trial from the Ministry of Magic.

He did not open the letter to confirm the trial time, because he was familiar with the content of the letter and could recite it by heart. Putting the letter into the inside pocket of his clothes, Draco walked towards the door.

But he stopped before going out.

Draco thought for a moment, then came to the bed again and took out a storage scale from the suitcase under the bed. He spent a few seconds to estimate the amount of wealth in the storage scale again. After Draco finished all this and made sure that he had nothing missed, he walked out of the dormitory.

There was no one in the common room. Those who were able to get up early were enjoying breakfast in the auditorium, while those who could not get up early would have to wait an hour before the activities started.

It was dark all around, with only the faint embers in the fireplace emitting a dim light. Because it was located under the Black Lake, the temperature was very low, and the fireplace in the Slytherin common room was still in normal use.

Just yesterday, Professor Slughorn told him that Professor McGonagall had communicated with the Ministry of Magic and had built an exclusive Floo line connecting the fireplace in the lounge to the Ministry of Magic.

"..."

Draco walked quickly to the fireplace, took out the prepared Floo powder, and lit up a green flame:
"Ministry of Magic."

……

"Ninth floor, Department of Mysteries." A cold female voice echoed in the elevator, and then the simple door opened with a bang.

Draco followed a female staff member through this closed corridor. There was no scratch on the wall and it was painted smoothly. At the end of the corridor was a heavy black metal door, which looked like it had been replaced recently and was as bright and clean as new.

It seemed that all the cold and lifeless furnishings indicated that the impact of the incident had passed.

Except for real people.

They went down to the bottom of the stairs and walked along a corridor. The scene in front of them suddenly changed. There were rough stone walls on both sides, with simple torches supported on brackets. It was exactly the same as the underground corridor of Hogwarts.

There were heavy wooden doors of the same style on both sides of the corridor, with old bolts and keyholes embedded in them.

"We are here, Courtroom 10."

Standing in front of a dark wooden door, Draco's heart suddenly began beating violently. With a heavy and complicated mood, he walked forward, turned the handle, and pushed the door open.

(End of this chapter)