From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 199 Lupin and the Vow

Ron poked the dead fish in front of him with his fork and said gloomily, "My mouse was transformed from a human..."

"Maybe it's not a big deal..." Harry tried to comfort his good friend, "Maybe it happens to everyone..."

"Like?" Ron's eyes lit up a little.

"Um... the Transfiguration professor for all Hogwarts students is a cat?" Harry tried to give an example.

"Hey!" But this caused Hermione's dissatisfaction, "Professor McGonagall's Animagus form is a cat, which doesn't mean she herself is a cat!"

"Hermione is right..." Ron said sadly, "I often put Scabbers next to my pillow when I sleep...but he turned out to be a short, fat, dirty, bald middle-aged man!"

Hermione stared at him, not knowing how to comfort him, so she could only say, "...Don't just eat the fish, have some chips, Ron."

"You're so nice, Hermione." Ron dipped a French fry in ketchup and stuffed it into his mouth. "I'll never laugh at you for having Lockhart as your idol again. At least he's better looking than Scabbers."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I don't like him because he's handsome - he's written so many wonderful books. Who would have thought he was such a liar! I think he deserves to be in Azkaban!"

After this, the table fell silent. Harry looked at his two companions, both of whom had recently undergone a major cognitive change.

Ron discovered that his pet mouse was an old, dirty, smelly, bald wizard, while Hermione discovered that her idol was a big-talking liar. As for Harry, he discovered that the Potions professor who had been targeting him for more than a year seemed to have a hidden agenda and even risked his life to save him once.

All I can say is that people's preconceived impressions are often inconsistent with the facts, and this principle also applies to the magical world.

Many people came to Hogwarts yesterday, including some tough wizards, some fat-bellied Ministry of Magic employees, and some jailers with shackles and ropes. Even Ron's parents came.

After a questioning that was almost a quarrel, the Ministry of Magic took away two people. One was Lockhart, whose whole head of golden hair was burned and he looked crazy and embarrassed. The other was Peter Pettigrew, who turned into spots.

"He deserves a Dementor's kiss!" These were Ron's mother's exact words. When she said this, she looked like an angry lion, or some other terrifying female creature, wishing she could tear him to pieces with her own hands.

She then described in detail how well every member of the Weasley family treated Scabbers, and it was because of these words that Ron realized that his pet rat was an old, dirty, smelly, bald wizard.

Until this morning, he had no appetite. For this meal, he only ate a bowl of mashed potatoes, two pieces of fried fish, a small plate of onion rings, and a few French fries.

Normally he would at least have one more bowl of pumpkin porridge, a couple of chicken legs or a few slices of grilled bacon, and finish his breakfast with a small bowl of vanilla ice cream or a small piece of pudding for dessert.

But today... Harry himself had no appetite. He only drank a bowl of hot milk with sugar and ate a piece of bread with peanut butter.

Harry looked towards the door of the hall eagerly, hoping that someone would come and announce Peter Pettigrew's guilt, or release Sirius Black, his father's good friend who had been imprisoned in Azkaban for eleven years.

Yesterday, Dumbledore and Ivy both assured him that the Ministry of Magic would speed up the opening of the court as soon as possible. Although Harry knew that there would be no result the next day, he still couldn't help but fantasize about it.

The door of the Great Hall opened, and in walked Professor McGonagall, still wearing her emerald green robe. But she was not alone, as there was a thinly dressed man with a pudding following behind her.

The students who saw this scene were whispering, but Fred and George were much bolder. They asked, "Who is this gentleman? Professor McGonagall?"

"Your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor," Professor McGonagall replied curtly, "Remus Lupin."

"Great!" the twins cheered. "We've had enough of Lockhart! Hello, Professor Lupin."

"Hello, Mr. Weasley." Lupin greeted with a smile and answered the twins' questions at the same time, "I know your parents."

Fred and George exchanged glances and confirmed to each other that they couldn't cause trouble in the professor's class, and then the other one signaled to his brother with his eyes that they had no intention of causing trouble in school this year.

Then the two most energetic Weasleys fell silent at the same time.

"Uh...what happened to them?" Lupin looked at the lost twins and asked Professor McGonagall beside him in confusion.

Everyone saw the smile that flashed across Professor McGonagall's face. "Don't worry, they are just simply eager for knowledge. I believe you can handle everything, Remus. Let's eat first, and then I'll take you to your office."

"I heard that Professor Lockhart is not very competent?" Lupin followed Professor McGonagall to the long faculty table.

"Yes." Professor McGonagall nodded and sat down at the long table. "I don't understand why Dumbledore asked him to teach at Hogwarts. But you don't have to worry too much about the students' grades. Last year we had a very competent professor who compiled a syllabus that listed what students should master in Defense Against the Dark Arts from the first to seventh year."

Professor McGonagall brought a plate of fried eggs and poured tea for Lupin. "So even if Lockhart doesn't teach anything, students can still find the knowledge they should master in the book with the help of this outline. It's just that they will lack some experience in dealing with dark magic creatures."

"Why didn't he continue to stay at Hogwarts?" Lupin thanked him and continued to ask.

"Professor Victor may not like the overly tight schedule, so we have changed the teaching method from teaching each college and each grade separately to a mixed class for both colleges at the same time. And we have kept the new schedule for this semester." Professor McGonagall added some bacon to her plate.

"It sounds like I should thank him." Lupin ate quickly. Perhaps for this hard-working man, having a good breakfast was a luxury.

"I believe you can do well in Hogwarts, Remus." Professor McGonagall said with a smile, "You are almost my favorite student. I have to say that your interview at the Hog's Head yesterday also left a deep impression on me. Hogwarts will finally have a qualified Defense Against the Dark Arts professor again."

A blush appeared on Lupin's unhealthy face, and he asked back, "Almost?"

"Oh, you can't play Quidditch."

Lupin smiled good-naturedly and asked, "How is the Gryffindor Quidditch team this year? Did Harry inherit his father's Quidditch talent?"

"Harry is probably one of the best seekers I have seen in recent years. But the Quidditch team..." Professor McGonagall sighed, "I must say that the possibility of us winning the cup is slim. Last year, Slytherin got seven of the fastest Nimbus 2001s and an excellent Quidditch coach. Even if he quits the Slytherin Quidditch team this year, the things he left behind are enough for Slytherin to win the cup again."

"Are you talking about Mr. Doom?" Lupin asked thoughtfully, "Professor Dumbledore mentioned him in the letter he wrote to me, and said that he might have a way to cure..." "Yes. It's Ivy." Professor McGonagall nodded, "I don't know if he really has the ability to cure your little hairy problems, but he is indeed the most gifted student I have ever seen. Everyone says that he came from Hogwarts more than a hundred years ago, and is a wizard who is proficient in ancient magic."

"Well, experience tells me that it's better not to have too much hope of curing this minor illness." Lupin drank the last bit of oatmeal in the bowl and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Peter..." As soon as Lupin said the name, Professor McGonagall knew what he was going to ask.

"They have been sent to the Ministry of Magic together with Lockhart. Their trial will be held soon, and you can join the jury then." Professor McGonagall said soothingly, "I hope the Ministry of Magic can schedule the trial on the weekend. Perhaps more than half of the professors at Hogwarts will go."

"I just hope it's as soon as possible..." Lupin looked a little painful, "Sirius has been waiting in Azkaban for eleven years..."

"I'm so sorry, Remus." Professor McGonagall patted his back soothingly. "I think you should be prepared in advance, in case he has already..."

"I'm fine, Professor McGonagall." Lupin took a deep breath, "When does my first class start?"

"Oh, Remus." Professor McGonagall shook her head. "You can set up your office first. Lockhart left a lot of things there. I think there will be a Defense Against the Dark Arts class for third-year students tomorrow morning, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw."

"It's great to see you, Remus!" Professor Flitwick, speaking in a high voice, sat next to Lupin. "Dumbledore wrote to invite you to join us? I think he should have done so a long time ago!"

"He has to think about the safety of the students. Thanks to the new invention at the beginning of the year, I can sit at this long table. I already consider myself lucky." Lupin greeted his former teachers with a smile.

----

"Are we going to talk about how to execute that cowardly rat?" Snape said with resentment on his face, staring at Dumbledore who was sitting behind his desk with his black eyes.

"What?" Dumbledore was using a knife and fork to deal with an omelette. It was obvious that it was made by the elf. "Would you like some, too, Severus?"

"Thank you for your kindness." The corner of Snape's mouth twitched. His face looked very bad, with heavy bags under his eyes. He might not have even touched his pillow with his head last night.

"I've prepared a lot of rat poison for him." Snape continued with his suggestions, "a strong truth serum, a compound poison that will make him feel severe pain all over his body, and a little bit of dittany essence and vitality tonic." It was obvious that the Potions Professor was ready to give full play to his advantages and let Peter Pettigrew suffer before dying.

Compared to Snape's method, the Dementor's kiss could be considered quite satisfying.

"We are not here to discuss this today, Severus." Dumbledore wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin, and the golden egg liquid stuck to his white beard. "The Wizengamot will ensure that he gets the punishment he deserves."

"I don't see the authority of this organization," Snape said dryly, "especially after the announcement of the retrial of the case, there are still people who raise objections."

It was Crouch Sr. who presented Peter Pettigrew with the Order of Merlin, First Class, and he probably didn't like having his own judgment overturned, especially after he had sent many people to Azkaban without trial and acquitted many Death Eaters.

"Come on, Severus, we have more important things to do today." Dumbledore finished his breakfast without even drinking a cup of tea.

"I need your help, Ivy." Dumbledore looked at Ivy across the room, who was studying how many hairs there were on Fawkes's butt.

"At your service." Ivy showed her silver lime tree wand.

"…What do you mean?" Snape frowned.

"I need you to swear an unbreakable vow, Severus, and Ivy will be the witness," said Dumbledore.

"You don't trust me!" Snape jumped away as if he was pricked by a needle.

"That is not the case, Severus," Dumbledore said calmly. "It is precisely because I trust you that I need this insurance."

"Because we are discussing Voldemort, Professor." Ivy said with a smile, "I suggested Dumbledore to do this."

"Ivy told me that it was necessary to share some information with you," Dumbledore said, "but I couldn't make up my mind until Peter Pettigrew showed up. I realized that I might not have as much time as I thought. Voldemort's minions are everywhere."

Snape was silent for a moment, then held out a hand and said, "Come on, I hope it's worth it."

Dumbledore smiled with relief: "It is certainly worth it."

He walked out from behind the desk, stretched out his hand and shook hands with Snape. The two knelt face to face, and Ivy touched their clasped hands with his wand.

Dumbledore spoke in a steady voice: "Severus, are you willing to fight Voldemort at all costs?"

"I do," said Snape.

A dazzling tongue of fire burst out from the wand and wrapped around the two people's clasped hands like a chain.

"Severus, are you willing to do your best to destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes?"

Snape's eyes widened, as if he had heard the word "Horcrux" for the first time, but he still managed to answer, "I do."

Then the second tongue of fire appeared.

"Severus, are you willing to keep our plan a secret and never tell it to anyone outside of it?"

"I do," Snape said softly.

(End of this chapter)