Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 175 Draco's Great Fishing Discovery

The next day, Severus and Lupin got up very early with Harry and Draco.

The task of building houses for trolls was novel and fascinating to both children.

When they came out of the cabin dressed in their work clothes, they discovered that Andrews had already taken Lulu and was directing the giants to begin preparations ahead of time.

The thirty-two giants were divided into eight groups of four.

Four groups were responsible for felling trees from the nearby woods, cutting down the appropriately sized trees that Andrews had selected, and piling them together.

The other four groups each held a large saw that matched their size, clearing branches and bark from the trees their companions had cut down, and then neatly stacking the processed wood.

Lulu's role is even more important. As Andrews said, those trolls are so stupid that they only have instincts and can't think. Even such a simple task is difficult for many trolls to do, and Lulu needs to correct them.

Some of the giants would quit while working, throwing down their logs and threatening to go on strike. Lulu would have to use her leadership to force them to get back to work after her attempts to persuade them failed.

With it carrying out such actions, at least these giants were able to barely manage to take on these most basic tasks.

The task assigned to Severus and his men, while not physically demanding, was still quite complex.

Severus was to prepare a special varnish in preparation for further processing of the wood that the trolls had cleared.

Lupin needs to help clean up the branches and bark that the trolls cleared out (crush them with magic and throw them outside the valley).

Harry was responsible for determining the location of each of the troll's new houses, using the blueprints Andrews gave him and a measuring tape.

Draco was to follow Harry and, after Harry had determined the location, use a twig to mark the area of ​​the house on the ground.

So, after a quick breakfast, they got busy.

For Severus, who could concoct so many complex and obscure potions with ease, preparing varnish was a complete waste of his talents.

He used a copying spell to create five large cauldrons, using the cauldron he originally carried as the original.

Then he had Lupin bring him some of the processed wood chips, lit all five pots, and finally began to cook them according to the ingredients Andrews had provided.

Lupin is even less likely to encounter any problems. Dealing with those scraps and debris is just a bit trivial and not troublesome.

As expected, the collaboration between Harry and Draco ended in disaster.

"You must have drawn it wrong!"

"I couldn't possibly have drawn it wrong; I measured it with a tape measure exactly according to the drawings Mr. Andrews gave me!"

"Then why are the houses I drew cramped together? This doesn't make any sense!"

“Then you must have done something wrong.” Harry looked at him suspiciously.

Draco simply tossed his head dismissively.

"You're saying I'm the problem? Kid, when you were still playing in the mud at home, I was already drawing lines on parchment with a quill pen!"

Harry knew how to talk to Draco properly, but he wasn't an older kid than Draco, so why should he always go along with him and coax him into speaking?
He crossed his arms and scoffed.

"Oh? Is that so? Then may I ask, young master, who has been drawing lines on parchment since childhood, is that your work?"

Harry was clearly referring to an area that Draco had just drawn on the ground, the lines of which were crooked and ugly, like earthworms, and far less pleasing to the eye than the markings Harry had made.

"Is it possible that someone only knew how to scribble on parchment when they were a child, and still only knows how to scribble when they grow up, without making any progress at all?"

Draco blushed; he was no match for Harry in a verbal exchange.

So he immediately dropped the branch he was holding and pounced on Harry like a hungry tiger!
Harry was already prepared. He didn't take out his wand—he didn't need to use that to bully Draco—but instead raised his fist, ready to punch Draco in the left cheek when he charged at him!
However, just as the two were about to start fighting...

Two hands grabbed the back of their collars and separated them.

"Let me go! Snape! I'll smash his face to pieces!!"

"Bring him over here! Teacher! I'll show him what he'll get himself into!!"

"You slug who only knows how to squeal!"

"You little baby who only knows how to cry and call for your mom and dad!"

Hearing them hurling insults at each other, Severus didn't try to stop them. Instead, he gestured to Lupin, who had also noticed the commotion and ran over, and took the blueprints from the two boys' hands.

Lupin only glanced at the two drawings before he discovered the problem.

"The problem lies with the units of measurement. Andrews did not use consistent units when determining the location and marking the range."

Severus seemed to have guessed this outcome.

"You can actually find the problem by simply comparing your own drawings with the original drawings."

Harry looked at Draco with disdain, while the fluffy hair bouncing on his shoulder seemed to be making a defiant gesture towards Draco.

"This idiot with his mouth full of feces has absolutely no ability to communicate normally with people!"

Draco is throwing a punch at Harry from a distance.

"You're the dwarf whose brain is full of slugs! All you do is talk and yell!"

Andrews rushed over and apologized profusely after seeing the problems on the two sets of drawings.

"I was out of my mind! This was my mistake!"

Even if the misunderstanding is cleared up, Harry and Draco obviously won't be able to work together anymore. If Severus lets them go and keep them together, they might just start fighting again.

"You caught all those rainbow fish yesterday, didn't you, Draco?"

Upon hearing Severus's words, the young master's nostrils practically flared up.

"Of course, who else could have such ability besides me? That dwarf?"

He seemed to have seized on Harry's weakness of being malnourished and small-statured due to his time at the Dursleys' house, and had already given him a nickname.

"Then our lunch is in your hands."

Severus ruffled his hair, making him struggle. "It's not just about catching rainbowfish; it's best to use the fishing rod to catch some other fish as well."

“Where would I get a fishing rod!” Draco exclaimed.

“There are some in Andrews’ house. I saw them last night. You can catch some earthworms by the river to use as bait.”

Draco, who had finally broken free from Severus's grasp, muttered to himself, "How could I, a pure-blooded young master of the Malfoy family, possibly go fishing for earthworms?"

Meanwhile, his body language betrayed him as he returned to the cabin and found Andrews' fishing rod and landing net.

As he walked towards the lake, he gave Harry a defiant glare as he passed by.

However, whether Harry had already stopped paying attention to him or his attention was focused on the two corrected drawings in his hands, his supposedly fierce glare ultimately missed its mark.

After making a fool of himself, Draco went to the lakeside by himself, found a suitable spot, and started digging for earthworms with a shovel to prepare bait for fishing.

Their work is proceeding in an orderly manner.

By around 11 o'clock, Severus had finished cleaning the varnish from the five large cauldrons, and Andrews had also taken the time to Apparate with him away from the valley, heading towards a place where they might be able to find the banshee ghost.

By this time, Draco had already made considerable gains.

Whether it was a generous reward for beginners or he was truly born with a talent for fishing, only two hours later, his bucket already contained three fish.

And during this time, they also caught quite a few rainbowfish with fishing nets!
As Severus prepared to leave with Andrews, Draco pretended to be indifferent, but in reality, he was very expectant, hoping that the two of them would walk past him, discover his work, and then praise it highly. He could also take this opportunity to belittle Harry a few times.

But things didn't go as he wished. Severus and his companion simply Apparated away and didn't even head towards the lake.

"Humph!"

Draco snorted, seemingly expressing disdain for someone.

He held his fishing rod and waited for another ten minutes or so. Nearly forty minutes had passed without any catch, and his patience began to wear thin.

Even with all that he had already gathered, it was enough for five people to eat lunch. They couldn't possibly eat only fish, but Draco had clearly turned this into a competition between himself and Harry.

He had to perform even better to prove that he was better than Harry!

After waiting another five minutes, he finally couldn't wait any longer. He packed up his fishing rod, picked up his bucket, and decided to try again in another spot.

Draco began walking around the lake, in the opposite direction from the troll camp.

He figured there probably weren't many fish in the lake near the troll camp. The trolls made a lot of noise and liked to bathe in the lake from time to time, which scared the fish away.

To gain more, you must get away from here.

Draco quickly walked further and further away. The valley was very large, and the lake in the middle of it was also very large. Finally, when he looked back and could barely see Harry's figure anymore, and Lupin's busy figure was just a small black dot, he stopped with satisfaction.

In the water in front of him, even with the naked eye, one could see a considerable number of large fish underwater!
Those giants don't know how to catch fish at all, which has led to the fish in the lake becoming numerous and stupid over the years. Draco only needs to cast a hook with an earthworm into the water, and a fish will bite within three minutes.

This excited Draco, who felt he had found the right place and began casting his hook frequently, catching so many earthworms that he was running out of them.

After catching six or seven fish in a row, he dipped the hook into the lake water again and prepared to pull the rod, but he felt that the weight was different from the previous times.

This excited him even more; he believed he had caught a really big fish!

If he can catch this fish, both Severus and Lupin will be astonished, and Harry will be completely convinced of his abilities, willingly becoming his underling!

As a fishing novice, Draco naturally had no experience in competing with fish or wearing down his stamina, so he simply used brute force, lifting the fishing rod in his hand with all his might.

He could feel the fish's struggles getting weaker and weaker; soon, he would succeed.

Finally, after gritting his teeth and using all his strength, the "fish" that had been struggling with him suddenly gave up all resistance and was pulled out of the lake by him!

Unable to control his momentum, Draco tumbled and fell onto the damp grass.

But there was no pain on his face; on the contrary, he was overjoyed and couldn't wait to see what kind of giant he had caught.

However, when he actually saw the "fish" hanging on the hook, the joy on his face froze instantly.

His flushed face turned deathly pale with terror at a visible speed.

The fish on the hook wasn't a fish at all, but a skull.

It's clearly a skull shaped like a human skull!
Draco was so frightened that he backed away repeatedly, finally scrambling to his feet. He didn't even care about the fish he had caught or the fishing rod he had used, and turned to run wildly toward the troll camp.

As they ran and approached the camp, they could see Harry drawing lines on the ground.

Draco seemed to have just realized what was happening. He immediately stopped running frantically and pretended to be nonchalant as he passed by Harry. Harry stared at him, feeling bewildered by his calm demeanor despite being covered in sweat.

Draco only started panting heavily again when he reached Lupin's side, and he stammered.

"There's a head!"

Lupin, who was using the Shattering Charm to deal with the branches, also looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"What head?"

"A human...a human skull! I...I fished it out of the lake! It's a human!"

It was only then that Lupin realized what was happening. He was taken aback for a moment, then thoughtfully glanced at Lulu, who was still directing the trolls, and only stopped working after confirming that Andrews had not returned.

"Don't make a sound, come on, take me there quietly," Lupin whispered in Draco's ear.

Draco nodded nervously and led the way for Lupin. Harry, seeing them, asked in confusion what they were doing. Lupin simply gave him a look, signaling him to do his work and not to do anything else.

Soon, following Draco, Lupin arrived at the spot where the skull had been fished ashore.

The skull was still hanging on the fishhook, unchanged from when Draco fled. Now that it had returned, Draco dared not approach, but Lupin was not nervous at all. He reached out and took the skull off the fishhook.

After careful observation, and because he had read enough books at Hogwarts and had been wandering for so long, he had seen enough things.

Lupin had already made his judgment.

This skeleton only looks like a human!
(End of this chapter)