Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 182 Students Staying Up All Night

As night falls, candlelight and torches illuminate the castle.

The footsteps in the corridor grew louder as they approached, finally stopping in front of the Muggle Studies office.

"Dong dong..."

"Please come in."

The little witch knocked on the office door, glanced at the desk, and saw Professor Levent reviewing papers. A long-horned water snake was coiled beside her, watching, its head swaying with the quill pen, slowly making itself dizzy, sticking out its tongue and lying on the desk.

Hermione gave Harry a look; compared to the bald, toe-missing rat, this little snake named Yulm was much cuter.

Harry shrugged, his face expressionless; he figured none of these pets could compare to Hedwig.

After the two entered the room, Hermione gently closed the door and glanced around casually. The beetles were no longer in the glass jars on the shelf by the wall, but there were a few small yellow greenhouse flowers, which were being kept according to Professor Sprout's instructions.

As Yulm sensed the two approaching, it became lively again, wriggling its snake body closer and curiously examining them with its eyes wide open.

Melvin put the quill pen into the ink bottle, somewhat apologetically: "This semester has just started, and I have a lot of homework to grade. We won't be having tutoring this week. I forgot to tell you, sorry."

"It's alright, Professor."

"Perfect timing, you can go back and watch the show. I heard that Professor McGonagall lifted the restrictions on FiloNet over the weekend, and many students are so engrossed in the Mirror show that they didn't even attend dinner," Melvin chuckled.

The little witch nodded, meeting Yulm's gaze. Finding it inexplicably amusing, she tried to reach out and touch its long horns, but the young snake nimbly dodged her. She couldn't help but smile.

Harry hesitated for a few seconds: "Professor, I have something I'd like to ask you."

With his quill pen fully loaded with ink, Melvin continued flipping through the paper: "Just say what you mean, don't beat around the bush."

"..."

A few minutes later.

Hermione was engrossed in playing with Yhorm, the two of them lost in their own world.

Harry then recounted Dobby's story from beginning to end, starting with his sudden appearance at the Dursleys' house during the summer holidays and his inexplicable warning, which almost led him to violate the Statute of Secrecy, to the closure of the King's Cross station platform, forcing them to drive flying cars to school, and finally the accident during the Quidditch match, where he warned them in the school infirmary that night, and a professor making a deal with Malfoy.

"...Although Dobby can sometimes cause trouble, he is a kind little elf who longs for freedom and deserves it."

"It sounds like Dobby is just a trigger; a lot of the trouble actually stems from your breaking the rules."

Melvin's tone was slightly sarcastic, without the slightest hint of guilt, as if he weren't the professor who made the deal with Malfoy.

Harry lowered his head, slightly embarrassed: "I just wanted to ask if there's any way to help Dobby."

“House-elves are extremely loyal servants. Even wealthy pure-blood families regard them as precious assets, and few wizards are willing to sell or resell them. What do you want to do?” Melvin asked without looking up.

“Dobby once said that as long as his master gave him clothes, he would be free…” Harry explained their scheme. “So I was wondering if there was any way to lure Mr. Malfoy to Hogwarts? Getting close to him might give him some clothes, like a sock or a bow tie button.”

After saying this, Harry and Hermione both quietly looked up to observe the professor's expression.

Unfortunately, Melvin never looked up, focusing on grading papers, his face expressionless: "Have Ron find an opportunity to fight Draco, the kind that ends up in the school infirmary. Both sets of parents are wizards, so when Professor McGonagall calls the parents, she might call Mr. Malfoy to the school."

"..."

Harry's expression froze.

"Or next dueling class, go all out and send Draco straight to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries. His parents will definitely go to the hospital to take care of him. You can find an opportunity to go to the ward to apologize and also get close to the Malfoys."

"..."

Harry and Hermione couldn't tell whether the professor was genuinely advising them or just joking.

"Go back and figure it out yourself. I'm a professor at the school, after all. What kind of image would it have to be if I conspired with you to deceive other students' parents?"

"Good professor."

Harry and Hermione felt somewhat ashamed after what the professor said, so they hurriedly said goodbye to the professor and Ulmus, and slunk away from the office.

Melvin sat behind his desk, calmly reviewing papers. His quill pen flew across the parchment, marking each mistake and error. Occasionally, he would write a short praise next to a bright spot. After reviewing a grade's papers, he would neatly arrange them and set them aside. He would then pick up his teacup, take a sip, and begin to ponder quietly.

The two little ones still wanted to test me.

The reason sounds plausible, but the acting skills are still too immature.

Needless to say, it was Hermione's idea. Asking for help about Dobby was just a pretext; the real purpose was to test him, especially when she mentioned Dobby's warning and the deal between the professor and Malfoy. The two of them stared at him intently, and even the most oblivious person couldn't ignore that.

"House-elves..."

Melvin tapped his fingers lightly on the table, a thoughtful look on his face.

……

In the Gryffindor common room, the stone door to the Portrait Cave opens.

Harry and Hermione greeted the Fat Lady and squeezed into the Portrait Hole. They saw their classmates still surrounding the Portrait Hole in layers, with Ron squeezed into the innermost spot. So they didn't call him and the two found a corner to discuss what was going on that night.

Occasionally, the sound of the mirror would drift over.

The animal documentary has finished airing, and what's being shown now is a training match of the Scottish team. The players have switched positions, with the goalkeeper becoming the seeker and the batter and chaser switching roles. Despite being highly skilled players, they create all sorts of hilarious situations due to their past habits and perceptions, making the audience both inside and outside the camera laugh uncontrollably.

Harry grew up in the Muggle world and wasn't particularly interested in the Shadow Mirror, but he was very interested in Quidditch. He found the unique competition interesting, but he still managed to stay in the corner by sheer willpower.

Hermione wasn't in a hurry, waiting for him to come to his senses: "Do you think it's Professor Levent?"

“I was sure it was him before, but after testing him, I’m not so sure anymore,” Harry thought. “The professor doesn’t seem to have much of a relationship with Mr. Malfoy.”

What about Dobby?

"Or...should we really try the professor's suggestion?" Harry blinked. "After all, Malfoy promised, so it's normal to pay a price for it."

"Then you should find some time to talk to him."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, knowing she wouldn't come up with a good solution anytime soon, and too lazy to argue with him any longer, she got up and went back to her dorm to read.

"That's what the professor suggested..."

Seeing that even the smartest Hermione had left, Harry realized he couldn't come up with a good solution sitting there alone. So he stopped worrying and headed straight for the View Mirror, using his Seeker's agility to squeeze to the very back.

The fun match in the mirror was reaching its most exciting moment, with the score difference being small and both sides striving to score.

"You are back."

Ron sat in the front row with a cushion under his bottom and a plate of ladyfingers in his arms. They were honey and butter flavored and smelled sweet, as if they had just come out of the oven. They crunched as they were put in his mouth, and sounded very crisp.

Watching the game while snacking is double the fun.

And there was also a mouse named Spotted lying in his pocket. Ron would always grab two cookies at a time, put one in his own mouth and one in his pet's mouth. Both the man and the mouse had a look of joy in their eyes, and they were exceptionally harmonious.

"Yes, the professor said there will be no extra class tonight."

Harry saw the game reaching an exciting point and reached for two cookies, but when he saw Scabbers the mouse eating them, he froze on the spot. He was good friends with Ron, but that didn't mean he was good friends with Scabbers; sharing cookies from the same plate with a mouse was still a bit unsettling.

"Have mine..."

At the crucial moment, Ginny spoke up, bowing her head and offering a cookie in a soft, gentle voice.

"Thank you so much, Ginny!"

"No...it's nothing, Harry."

Ginny lowered her head even further and asked casually, "I saw you and Hermione just come back. Where did you go...?"

"It's nothing, I just need to speak with Professor Levent."

Harry casually replied that Lamont had just lost the ball in goal, which drew cheers from the entire stadium.

Screams and shouts erupted, instantly turning the common room into a noisy mess. The girl's worries were drowned out by the noise, and no one noticed her except herself.

……

"It's eleven o'clock..."

"Turn off the lights and go to sleep..."

Prefect Percy stood up and blocked the mirror. Although he was also reluctant, he did not forget his duty as prefect and got up to call everyone back to the dormitory.

The common room was immediately filled with groans and cries.

"No, prefect!"

"The game isn't over yet!"

"Three more minutes, no, five more minutes!"

"..."

Percy frowned deeply. If it were just George and Fred egging him on, he would have refused without hesitation. But there were many peers and even seventh graders in the crowd pleading, which made Percy waver slightly.

"But the professor said..."

"Tomorrow is Sunday, no classes, so it's okay if we stay up a little later, right?" Dean and Simon shouted in unison.

Seeing Percy hesitate, Lee Jordan, urged on by the twins, stood up and said seriously, "Percy, this game is very educational. Their strategy is very inspiring for our team. Let's watch this game, and I promise you, we'll definitely keep the trophy in Gryffindor this school year!"

Harry's mouth dropped open; he couldn't see any educational value in it.
Percy paused for a moment, then turned to Captain Wood, seeking confirmation from him.

Oliver Wood was somewhat embarrassed, but the players around him gave him encouraging looks. Angelina, the twins, Spinnett, and Bell were all key members and elites of the team. The captain could only nod silently.

With a legitimate reason, Percy couldn't go against everyone, so he could only agree: "Then it's settled. We'll disband after this game!"

"Great!"

……

Twelve o'clock in the morning.

Percy stood up again and blocked the mirror, his expression serious: "The game is over, everyone go back to your dorms and get some sleep."

"Wait, Percy!"

The seventh-grade students sitting in the front row shouted.

"what happened again?"

"We're now showing Animal World. The Poison Leopard is an important part of the Ultimate Wizard Exam. Let's finish this episode!"

"This……"

Percy looked at the soon-to-be graduate, and thinking about his own exams next year, he hesitated and nodded slowly, "Okay then, I'll go to sleep after watching this episode."

……

Three o'clock in the morning.

Percy took a deep breath, stood up, and stood solemnly in front of the mirror:
"The migration of the venomous leopard is over. This time, no matter what your reasons are, I'm going to shut down the Shadow Mirror!"

The young wizards exchanged glances, their eyes darting around.

Is this really the end?
In the small circle on the right, George and Fred exchanged a glance and cleared their throats:

“I think Percy is right. We should all go to sleep, no matter what.”

"While the mirror is beautiful, we should exercise restraint. Let's stop here for today."

Percy stared at his two younger brothers with some suspicion. These two guys usually went against him. Had they changed their ways today?

Sure enough, George changed the subject: "But the scene of the venomous leopard was too shocking. My heart is still pounding, and I can't sleep even when I get back to my dorm."

Percy squinted his sore eyes. The venomous leopard was almost the most dangerous animal in the world. It was huge, yet moved silently. Its breath could poison an entire village. The footage of hundreds of wizards capturing it, shown in the mirror, was indeed thrilling and exciting.

His heart was pounding, and he was in high spirits, so he really wasn't sleepy.

Fred seized the opportunity to persuade him, "We're about to play Setina Warbeck's new song, which is soothing and calming. Let's listen to it, calm ourselves down, and then go to sleep."

"Okay... just five minutes."

Percy reluctantly agreed, reaffirming his resolve that no matter what was shown next, no matter their reasons, he would turn off the screen and fulfill his duty as prefect.

"When I was young, I would listen to the radio and wait for my favorite song..."

A light and soothing melody flowed out, and Percy's restless heart quickly calmed down as he listened to the song. The beautiful song seemed to urge him to close his eyes and listen carefully. His tired eyelids trembled and finally closed slowly.

George and Fred somehow crept over, gave the other students a few glances, and hurriedly lifted him to the sofa behind them, covered him with a blanket, and then made two earplugs out of marshmallows to plug his ears.

The candlelight and torches had been extinguished, and only the light from the mirror illuminated the lounge.

The young wizards, sitting around the mirror, stared intently.

……

The same situation occurred in the other three colleges.

The students in Slytherin all came from good families and never lacked food or drink. When they came across a fun toy, they naturally wanted to play with it to their heart's content. And since the shadow mirror was easy to use, the more they looked at it, the more engrossed they became, so no one wanted to stop.

The Ravenclaw students were quite rational. They carefully analyzed the situation, confirmed that there were no classes tomorrow, the video was only open on weekends, and the program included exam-related knowledge... After careful consideration, they decided to stay up all night!
The Hufflepuff students were different. They hardly hesitated and sat smiling in front of the mirror. Some even took a break to go to the kitchen and bring back some snacks and desserts to eat while watching.

Students from Muggle families are alright; they've had exposure to television, so they're not as addicted.

Children from pure-blooded families live in a completely different world; you can never have enough of them.

(End of this chapter)