From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 195 The Professor in the Houseboat
Harry was awakened by a loud noise in the dormitory during his nap. He had been suffering from insomnia recently, and the scene of Snape sacrificing himself to save him kept lingering in his mind. In addition to his parents, he was the third person who sacrificed his life for Harry.

Harry rubbed his eyes and drew aside the curtains of the four-poster bed, vaguely seeing someone moving.

So he fumbled for his round glasses by the pillow and saw that the person coming was Seamus Finnigan.

He had gone home on the Hogwarts Express during the Christmas holidays, and now he appeared to have just arrived at school and was fiddling with his luggage.

"Seamus?" Harry threw back the quilt, jumped out of bed, and glanced out the window. Although there was no sun, it was still light. "Why are you back at this time? Doesn't the express train arrive in the evening?"

"Harry! Sorry to wake you..." Seamus took the thick clothes out of the box and piled them on his bed, while greeting Harry, "I came directly from Hogsmeade. My mother took me there for a trip! You have no idea how interesting it is."

Harry had heard of Hogsmeade, had heard of it more than once from Hagrid, for he had often gone there for a drink, and even from what he had heard, Dumbledore sometimes went to a pub called the Hog's Head.

"Sounds good." Harry had never been to Hogsmeade and couldn't imagine a gathering place full of wizards in his mind. At least he didn't think that Hogsmeade village should be compared with Hogwarts Castle.

"There are lots of interesting shops there. Zonko's Joke Shop sells all kinds of interesting prank products. I bet the Weasley twins have something to do with the owner! Think of their dung bombs! It's a pity that mom won't let me spend my pocket money there... And Honeydukes, the candy there is amazing! Here!"

Seamus put a handful of candy in his trouser pocket and stuffed Harry with it.

Harry opened his palm and saw all kinds of chocolates, peppermint candies shaped like jumping toads, shiny fruit jelly balls, small black pepper urchins...

Before Harry had finished reading, Seamus took another one from him: "I can't give you this lollipop quill. I want to try it in Professor McGonagall's class. The boss said no teacher can tell the difference!"

At least from Harry's point of view, the sugar quill was indeed very realistic, but he would never think of eating it secretly in the Transfiguration class because he knew very well how sharp Professor McGonagall's eyes were, not to mention that Hermione often sat next to him, who wished all the teachers' eyes were on her.

"Harry! Help!"

Seamus and Harry both looked towards the door and their other roommate, Ron, came in with the fancy hamster wheel in his hands.

"For some reason, this thing won't open." Ron put the hamster wheel on the bed. Harry and Seamus came over to take a look. "I didn't notice it at first. I thought Scabbers didn't want to come out, until I noticed that he hadn't pooped in days."

"This cage is so beautiful, where did you buy it?" Simo fiddled with the buckle on the hamster wheel with his fingers. The cage had no lock, but only a simple buckle as a means of preventing the pet from escaping.

The silver buckle didn't move at all, as if it was welded. Seamus stared with wide eyes and tried a few more times in disbelief.

"It's a Christmas gift from Ivy," Ron replied. "There must be some magic in it. He gave me my quill pen before."

Seamus knew that quill. Quills with the same advanced functions were also sold at the Quill Shop in the Scholar's House in Hogsmeade, but they cost five gold Galleons each, almost as much as a wand.

"Maybe he got the spell wrong?" Harry also leaned over and looked at Scabbers, who was jumping up and down in the cage because he was in a hurry.

"There's nothing we can do." Ron gritted his teeth, "We can only go find Ivy, otherwise Scabbers will suffocate to death."

"It's a rat!" Seamus shouted in disbelief. "Can a rat suffocate to death from shit?"

Harry and Ron looked at each other and felt that what Seamus said made some sense: "Well... maybe it doesn't want to dirty this beautiful cage?"

If you don't pay close attention, no one has ever seen how wizards' pets solve their personal hygiene problems, even fat rats like Scabbers. After all, they are wizards' pets, and knowing some magic is no big deal.

Of course, sometimes wizards still find things soiled by their pets, such as when Scabbers soiled a bed sheet in his first year.

Ron found a crumpled piece of parchment from the wastebasket, put it under the hamster wheel, and placed it in the corner of the dormitory.

"Anyway, there's no way we'll see Ivy before the dinner, and I'm not going to let you shit at the party, so..." Ron left with tearful eyes and followed his friends away. They were going to enjoy the last afternoon of the Christmas holiday.

However, they had just left Gryffindor Tower when Seamus said awkwardly, "Hey, guys, have you finished your holiday homework? I still haven't finished my Defense Against the Dark Arts essay... You all know the ones praising Lockhart..."

As a poor student who often borrowed Hermione's homework, Harry and Ron could fully understand Seamus's motives. Maybe he returned to school so early just to finish his missed holiday homework.

Although they both understood Seamus's predicament, they were helpless: "Well, we didn't do any homework related to Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Oh!" Seamus looked them both up and down. "That's too Gryffindor!"

"But you know, my mother always expected me to be a good student..." Seamus muttered, and crawled back to the common room through the passage behind the Fat Lady.

The two people who didn't have to do their homework smiled at each other and left happily.

"I haven't seen Hermione all day today. Where did she go?" Harry asked, nimbly jumping over a suddenly disappearing staircase.

"The library," Ron echoed. "I can't think of any other place."

Finally, the two of them decided that they could not waste the last bit of Christmas vacation in the library, so they went around the library stairs and prepared to go to Hagrid's hut to take a look.

However, in the corner of the corridor, the two saw a figure with messy hair from behind. Who else could it be but Hermione?

"Hey! Hermione!" Ron walked up and patted Hermione on the shoulder.

"Ah!" The latter was startled, but after seeing Ron and Harry's faces clearly, he immediately signaled them to be quiet.

Following the direction of Hermione's finger, they saw two people who absolutely shouldn't be there at the same time - Snape and Lockhart.

"What are they going to do?" Ron couldn't help asking. Everyone knew that Snape was very eager to get the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but Dumbledore just refused to give it to him. Last year it was the stuttering Professor Quirrell, then it was the capable and mysterious Professor Victor, and this year it was the big talker Lockhart.

"I don't know..." Hermione whispered, "I wanted to hand in my Defense Against the Dark Arts paper, but I saw Professor Snape in the corridor... so I hid. Not long after, Professor Lockhart came out of the office. I don't know what they said, and then they walked out of the castle. I thought it was a bit suspicious, so I followed them."

"They've turned a corner! Hurry up and follow them!" From Ron's expression, one could tell that he smelled adventure again.

But Harry actually didn't want to follow them, because he had completely understood the unknown side of the two professors.

Professor Snape, who always has a stern face and likes to spray venom, will sacrifice himself for his students; and Professor Lockhart, who looks glamorous, is actually a liar.

Ever since he learned the true identity of the Monster in the Chamber of Secrets, he no longer had any good feelings towards this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

The two professors walked out of the castle, one in front and one behind.

"That's the direction of the boathouse... Why go there? Students returning to school after the Christmas holidays don't go back to the castle from there..." Smart Hermione had already guessed the professors' destination, but new problems arose.

"Maybe Snape is planning to kill Lockhart!" Ron analyzed excitedly, hoping to stir up trouble. "We all know how much Snape wants to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He's walking behind Lockhart now, so maybe he'll give him a nasty blow and then throw his body to the giant octopus in the Black Lake."

"Ron!" Hermione and Harry said at the same time.

Then Hermione looked at Harry in surprise. In her impression, Harry was the one who was always at odds with Snape. Why did he suddenly change his personality today?

"He wouldn't do that..." Harry said vaguely, "He's the Head of Slytherin..."

"Because he's the Head of Slytherin!" Ron's tone was full of stereotypes, with emphasis on the word "Slytherin".

"Think about who's in Slytherin House! Malfoy? Goyle? Crabbe? And that Quidditch troll Flint?" Ron threw out a series of favorable evidence.

"There's Ivy in Slytherin, too," Harry found himself at a loss for words, and could only say, "Well... and Malfoy did give you a new robe, didn't he?"

Ron and Hermione's eyes widened, as if they had just gotten to know this good friend all over again.

"Crazy, really crazy..." Ron muttered. He didn't expect that his good friend would speak for Slytherin.

----

"I have to talk about you, Severus." Lockhart, who was walking in front, bounced up and down, revealing a good mood all over his body. "No matter how busy you are at work, you must leave some time for yourself. Fix your appearance, take care of your hair, and choose a robe and boots."

Compared to Lockhart, who always dresses like a peacock, Snape's daily outfit is more than just abstinent, it's almost like a bat spirit.

Apart from the endless black, the only things left on his body were the sallowness on his face and the oily reflection on his hair. Even if his facial features were really regular, they would not arouse any other thoughts in people.

However, the Potions Professor was probably the busiest person at Hogwarts. He taught seven grades, dealt with student disputes (Gryffindor and Slytherin disputes to be precise), helped restock the hospital wing, did night patrols, and from time to time had to substitute for the unfortunate Defense Against the Dark Arts professor (this had happened at least five times in Snape's more than ten years as teacher) - he had almost no time left for himself.

"Hmph..." Snape's face was still a little pale. Although Madam Pomfrey was reluctant, he still strongly requested to be discharged from the hospital.

Lockhart was not at all unhappy with Snape's disdainful snort, and continued to comment on the Potions Professor's dress and appearance: "You know what? I have invented a very effective conditioner that can nourish your hair from the roots. Just use it once, and you don't have to feel inferior about your greasy hair anymore!"

The shampoo business in the British wizarding world is almost monopolized by the Potter family's patent. Perhaps this is why Snape always dislikes washing his hair.

And no one had ever dared to mention the word "greaser" in front of him. Lockhart was the first.

Snape glared at Lockhart unhappily but said nothing.

However, Lockhart did not realize that there was anything wrong with his words, and continued to talk with saliva flying: "It's just that the raw materials of this conditioner are very rare. Even a master of Defense Against the Dark Arts like me can't get it often."

As they were talking, the two professors had already walked down the stone steps to the boathouse. Lockhart pushed open the door and made a fancy gesture to invite Snape in.

The Potions Professor glared at Lockhart with disgust and walked in.

The Hogwarts Boathouse is quite large, with at least twenty small wooden boats inside. Every year, new students take these boats to see the Hogwarts Castle for the first time.

"I don't see what 'valuable potion ingredients' there are," Snape said in a dispassionate voice as he watched Lockhart rummaging around in the corners of the boathouse. "Do you expect to find murloc hair or kelp here?"

"Of course not!" Lockhart struggled to lift a small wooden boat that was fastened to a rack, and looked carefully at the area that was previously covered by it.

"I promise you!" Lockhart lifted up the second small wooden boat, completely by hand. It seemed that he was well aware of his own magic level. "There will definitely be unexpected discoveries!"

Snape felt that he had been tricked and pulled his wand out from his sleeve.

"Aha!" Lockhart cried suddenly, and Snape silently put his wand back.

"Look at this!" Lockhart held up a silver egg and showed it off to Snape happily, "I knew they were still here!"

"I think I've seen that egg!" Harry whispered, and then began to think carefully about where he had seen it. "It seems to be in Lockhart's office!"

(End of this chapter)