The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 296 Speculations and Rumors
Whether there are werewolves in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts is a question that even Dumbledore may not be able to clearly explain. However, the school has existed for so many years, and there has never been any case of werewolves attacking students on campus. Ada speculated that there is a high probability that there are no werewolves in the Forbidden Forest.

If there really were werewolves, the attacks would have happened long ago. During the full moon, werewolves are not rational or sober. They are more brutal than real wolves. They only have a thirst for blood and a disregard for life.

The insane werewolf doesn't care whether Dumbledore is in Hogwarts or not. In the eyes of the werewolf, the headmaster is just a piece of old and dry meat.

As long as any student dares to wander outside the castle, they will become the target of the werewolf's attack, turning into a werewolf's full moon dinner, or the next lycanthropy patient.

Moreover, there was no wolf poison before, and werewolves could not suppress their desire for blood and life. Moreover, Ada did not think that humans who had been living with wild beasts for many years could remain sober and rational enough in normal times.

Walking into the Forbidden Forest is like walking into a primeval forest. The huge trees that block out the sun make the entire forest shrouded in darkness, which looks gloomy and terrifying. Even Hagrid, who often goes in and out of the Forbidden Forest, can't tell what is inside.

There are countless magical creatures such as unicorns, centaurs, and giant spiders. Oh, and there is also a blue Ford Anglia car...

It is precisely because there are so many unknowns in the Forbidden Forest that people are fascinated, but it is dangerous after all, and one can lose his life if he is not careful. Instead of letting students take risks in the Forbidden Forest, it is better to let students believe that there are really werewolves in the Forbidden Forest. At least werewolves can scare most people away.

Apparently, Ada and the twins were outside the range of most people, and they made three trips to the Forbidden Forest over the next few days.

The first time they found nothing and it was a wasted trip; the second time they did make a discovery, but when they followed the paw prints, they only found a few wolf cubs; the last time, they didn't even see the little wolves.

But Ada and the twins did not gain nothing, at least they saw Mr. Weasley's favorite car. The blue Ford Anglia has a bohemian and freedom-loving soul, and it has been running freely in the Forbidden Forest for a year.

Anglia is "free" as is Dobby the house-elf.

As the first week of school comes to an end, it's not just the fifth and seventh graders who are busy; everyone is busy.

In addition to normal classes, various study and interest groups have also started activities. The recruitment of the Quidditch team has also ended. The four college teams are preparing for the Quidditch game in November.

This year Ada became the class monitor, so naturally she couldn't be as comfortable as before. If she wanted to go to the library, she would go to the library. If she wanted to fight with the trial dolls, she would go to the underground secret passage.

Ada's time became a little fragmented, and she spent most of her free time patrolling the corridors with Clark and Gerald. Moreover, because Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban, the patrol time and frequency of the prefects increased significantly compared to last year.

You said Sirius Black was the same. He had been living in prison with the Dementors for twelve years, so why did he escape this year? Was it because the bread made by the new chef in Azkaban was too hard?
What's funny is the timing of Black's escape. He escaped the day after Minister Fudge went to Azkaban to save face, which was equivalent to a slap in the face of the minister.

No wonder Fudge was so angry. He sent out so many Dementors and even dared to stroke Dumbledore's whiskers.

I don't know where the Minister got the courage from. He first let the Dementors enter Hogwarts and touched the tiger's butt for the first time. Who would have thought that touching it once was not enough, he actually became addicted to it and wanted to touch it a second time! The case of the Hippogriff has not been resolved yet. Such a small case has been delayed for so long. Who would believe that there is no trick in it!
It is said that a merciful army cannot be commanded, and Ada felt that Dumbledore was indeed a little merciful at times. Lucius Malfoy had been doing small things under Dumbledore's nose, and even caused a big incident like the Chamber of Secrets, but Dumbledore let Malfoy off lightly and only kicked him out of the school board.

This might be a master, just enough to stop. If it were Ada, she would definitely make Malfoy regret going against her, even if she had to save Malfoy's life, she would suppress him to the point where there was no chance of recovery, and she would never let it go like Dumbledore did.

Ada believed that whether the Dementors were inspecting the Hogwarts Express or stationed around the school, it was all a test of Dumbledore by Cornelius Fudge, and the Minister wanted to know where the headmaster's bottom line was.

No one wants to be a puppet for life, and the same is true for Cornelius Fudge. Although Dumbledore never regarded Fudge as a puppet, and it was the Minister himself who was pulling the banner of the tiger skin, the Minister was ultimately living in Dumbledore's shadow, and it was natural for him to feel resentful.

Hagrid and his Buckbeak happened to be there at the right time, and they could only blame themselves for their bad luck. Who told them to run into Malfoy who was used to bullying others? There was no need to drag this case on any longer, Ada had already guessed the result, wizards are also politicians!

The area around the school was freezing cold due to the roaming Dementors, and the usually bustling Hogsmeade had become much quieter, but the school was still peaceful, except for the students taking Defense Against the Dark Arts.

It's not that Professor Lupin's true colors were exposed. His teaching level was obvious to all and he was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in the past five years. But this most popular Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was ill and he took sick leave.

But the course still had to continue. We couldn't let the students' learning be delayed just because the professor was sick, right? So, Snape finally got his wish and became the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, although only temporarily.

These were also the happiest days for Snape since the Boggart incident. During the days when the Potions Professor was teaching, he did not deduct many points from Gryffindor, and the mean Snape actually became a little amiable.

Despite this, the popularity of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class suddenly plummeted to the bottom, ranking last along with Potions and Divination.

When Snape took over Lupin's class for the second time in October, rumors spread around the school, saying that Snape had done whatever it took to get the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, even going so far as to poison his new colleague, Remus Lupin.

The rumor was so convincing that many students thought it was possible. They believed that Snape had planned everything since the beginning of the school year, and the Boggart's female-dressing incident was the trigger for the poisoning.

Look, less than two months into the school term, Professor Lupin, who is in his prime, has already taken sick leave twice.

Whenever Professor Lupin went on sick leave, Snape would take his place. Moreover, every time Lupin recovered from his illness, his face was pale, making people feel that he would die at any time.

But the students obviously forgot that Lupin had been looking sick since the first day of school.

Even if Snape really wanted to poison the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, why didn't he choose the easier idiot Lockhart, but the more difficult Lupin? Was it just to increase the difficulty of the game?
Rumors were flying everywhere, and there was more and more friction between Slytherin students and the other three students. Naturally, they had to protect their dean. The little snakes were the only ones in Hogwarts who thought Snape was a good teacher.

(End of this chapter)