Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 254 It's you again, Hagrid the Leaker!
On Friday, the school bell rang on time.

The Hogwarts school bell is manually cranked by Filch. The magical brass bell travels through pipes to the classrooms and corridors, and sounds very clear inside the castle. However, it becomes somewhat muffled and indistinct during outdoor classes such as Herbology and Magical Creatures Protection.

The open space outside the forbidden forest was bustling with activity today.

The bearded, half-giant clapped his hands, gesturing for the third-year students to come closer and form a circle. Then, he took attendance according to the elective list. Thanks to the good impressions made in the previous class, no one had dropped out, and no one was late.

Didn't any of those Slytherin students drop out?

Harry and Ron huddled together, whispering to each other as they secretly observed each other.

Hagrid was also a student at Gryffindor when he was in school. He was usually close to the Gryffindors. Most of the students in this year's class took this course. There were also quite a few Slytherins who took the course on Magical Creatures, both boys and girls. The most conspicuous ones were Malfoy and his sidekick.

In addition, there were several unfamiliar faces: the troublesome Pansy and Daphne, the burly Millison, Hermione's opponent from last year's Duel Class.

"The last lesson went very well. During the meal, I asked the headmaster if I could show you something more exciting. Dumbledore had no objection, but Professor Levent and Professor McGonagall suggested that this lesson be called 'Floppy the Caterpillar'."

"But I don't think they are professors of the Magical Creatures class."

"So I told Headmaster Dumbledore, 'You have all performed exceptionally well. Through Defense Against the Dark Arts, Duel, and Charms classes, you have mastered many techniques, know how to deal with dangerous animals, and understand how to protect yourselves. I believe in your abilities. In fact, the animal we're going to demonstrate today isn't that dangerous; it's only a 3X level, a bit bigger than an owl. As long as you don't act impulsively and communicate as required, today's lesson will definitely be unforgettable.'"

"Now, come with me..."

Hagrid led the students toward the enclosure, where the 3X-level creatures appeared before them, causing the little witches to cover their mouths and scream.

"A winged beast with a hippopotamus head!"

Two strangely shaped beasts were tied to the fence. They were a combination of a horse and an eagle. The body, legs and tail were those of a horse, but the forepaws, wings and head were those of an eagle. The sharp beaks gleamed with a metallic sheen in the sunlight, while the orange eyes were bright and gentle.

The heavy iron chains around their necks were fluffy feathers, but these creatures weren't bothered at all, instead looking down and fiddling with the grass.

"Okay, there are a few things you need to know about these guys. We'll cover the theory in the first half of the lesson, so pay attention. If you want to ride them over Black Lake and the castle in the second half of the lesson..."

The half-giant professor, despite his clumsy rhetoric, effectively captivated the group of thirteen- and fourteen-year-old boys. They craned their necks, the girls shrank back in fear, while the boys eagerly listened to the lecture and imagined the spectacular sights to come.

"The steps are simple: walk up to them, and when they notice you, bow in greeting. If they are receptive to your scent, they will bow back. If they don't bow, it means you weren't sincere enough..."

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall agreed to let Hagrid display these teaching aids because cases of Hippogriffs injuring people were extremely rare, and their danger rating had been lowered again and again in recent years. If it weren't for their size and sharp claws, they would probably be sitting at the same table as Vixen.

Only Melvin felt that he couldn't look after too many winged beasts at the same time and insisted that he reduce the number to only show two at a time, so that he could control the situation in time and avoid accidents.

The demonstration went fairly smoothly. Hagrid first divided the students into two groups by house, Gryffindor and Slytherin, and then lined them up according to their classroom performance. Those who performed well and were proactive took the lead, while those who were lax or hesitant lined up at the back.

"Who wants to be the first one here?"

Hagrid asked the question somewhat nervously. Although he had laid the groundwork beforehand, he was still worried that the student would not give him face.

“I’ll do it!” Harry responded immediately.

The thin boy wearing glasses walked slowly forward, awkwardly and tentatively trying to communicate with the winged beast. He met its orange eyes, stiffly bowed, and his posture was slightly comical.

Everyone held their breath.

The sound of wings spreading echoed through the silent Forbidden Forest. Ron and Hermione slowly craned their necks and saw the beast bend its scaly front knees, lower its body to support the boy on its back, and then flap its wings and transform into a black shadow.

"That's so impressive," Ron muttered.

“It looks easy…” Draco tilted his head back, a glint of light in his eyes. “It just takes a little patience.”

On Friday afternoon, during the second period of the school year, a black hippogriff soared across the Forbidden Forest, carrying thirteen-year-old Harry on a tour of the castle and the Black Lake.

The Half-Giants' class on protecting magical creatures has gotten off to a great start.

Harry tucked his hands into the soft, warm feathers around Barbibuck's neck, glanced at the reflection of the Black Lake below, and looked up at the towering buildings of Hogwarts Castle.

After circling around once, with her hair styled like a bird's nest by the wind, she returned to her original spot, pushed up her slipping glasses, and stepped off the hippogriff with a hint of reluctance.

"Well done, Bobby Buck!"

Hagrid tossed a piece of cured ferret meat into its mouth. "Next group, Hermione Granger, Parvati Petil."

"Next group, Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley."

The next half of the class went relatively smoothly. The hippogriff learned to fool people and no longer flew long distances around the school. Instead, it would just circle around the Forbidden Forest once and then immediately land to beg for ferret jerky.

The students lined up in an orderly fashion, waiting anxiously as they took turns facing the hippogriffs. Some students were a bit lax, but after Dean's failed demonstration and Hagrid's ruthless dismissal, the rest of the students behaved much better.

Just as this guy was about to mount Babibak, he tried to show off by flicking his beak, almost getting kicked away by the enraged winged beast.

"Next group, Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson."

Draco pondered whether to feed Barbibuck a ferret jerky first, hoping to bribe it to carry him a little further. Pansy, on the other hand, was pale-faced and didn't want to get close, but was also worried about losing face by backing down.

“If those guys can do it, then it must be incredibly easy!” Pansy drawled, her voice shrill. “This thing isn’t dangerous at all, is it, you ugly beast?”

Before he could finish speaking, the chestnut-colored winged beast had already raised its claws. Hagrid quickly stepped forward, stuffed a piece of jerky into the winged beast's mouth, and then took out a glass jar containing blue flames from his pocket.

The cluster of blue flames emitted a soft, yet not very bright, light.

The winged beast blinked, stunned, and before it could even get angry, its mouth was covered.

Barbibak, standing nearby, squinted his eyes, revealing an extremely human-like contentment. The winged beast that had been provoked seemed to want to get angry again, but Barbibak opened his mouth and pecked him. The two winged beasts then came side by side, pressing their heads against the glass jar and rubbing against each other affectionately.

It's like a feline finding a large patch of wild catnip; it's almost as if it's about to roll over and show its belly to show itself and act cute.

"Thank goodness Melvin had the foresight..." Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief and tentatively tried to withdraw the blue flame, but was nudged by Barbibak, causing a sharp pain in his ribs and almost causing him to fall backward.

He had no choice but to withdraw his hands, giving the students behind him a helpless look:

"As you can see, the hippogriff is not cooperating, so the rest of the demonstration cannot proceed. That's all for this lesson."

"This week's assignment is to write a paper about them, to be submitted next Wednesday."

"Disband!"

Draco stood a dozen feet away from the winged beast, opened his mouth, but said nothing in the end. He glared at Pansy, then left with his two burly henchmen, his face sour.

Ron saw a hint of frustration on his face and grinned, "Poor Malfoy, he almost got his turn. He even hid a ferret jerky beforehand, but he still couldn't take off..." "Hehe..."

"Hermione, why aren't you smiling?"

"I have nine papers to write this week, and I can't laugh."

"Huh? What?"

"nothing……"

Hermione rubbed her temples, feeling her exhaustion almost unbearable, but she still took a deep breath of fresh air and went to help Hagrid tidy up and comfort the two winged beasts.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, said nothing, but still showed the same puzzled expression.

It's only the first week of school, and I've already encountered so many confusing things. Add to that Professor Lupin, my parents' old friend, the eccentric Professor Levent, and the escaped Death Eater Black... it feels like this is going to be another unusual school year.

Ron agreed wholeheartedly, but he was more concerned about something else: whether Hagrid could give him extra tutoring, and he also wanted to ride Bobby Buck around a couple of times.

Just as they were about to try to persuade him, the new professor Hagrid patted his chest and sighed in relief: "Luckily, Melvin made me reduce the number of winged beasts from twelve to two. Luckily, Melvin gave me magical flames in advance, otherwise I would have been expelled from school for injuring students in the first week of school."

"Did Professor Levent give you this flame?"

Hermione was curious about the blue flame in the glass jar.

"Yes, it's Melvin's unique magic. It can calm down any magical creature. Even dragons will lie down and act docile and affectionate when they see it. I wanted to learn it, but Melvin said I couldn't learn it and he didn't know how to teach it. Maybe it's a natural magic."

"You almost broke your leg last summer because of this, right?"

"hey-hey……"

Hagrid scratched the back of his neck, recalling his ordeal and today's unexpected turn of events, and sighed, "Melvin is right. Fantastic creatures are animals after all, not as intelligent as humans. They still occasionally reveal their wildness. We can't show such dangerous creatures to the students. Perhaps I should ask Professor Snape for some potions to reduce their aggression."

"Snape? He'd help you?" Ron scoffed. "He's just hoping you get fired, isn't he?"

“Don’t say that. Snape is a very responsible professor.” Hagrid rubbed their heads. “He brews many of the medicines in the school infirmary, and he also prepares the herbicides for Professor Sprout’s greenhouse. He occasionally helps me prepare deworming medicine, and he’s been trying his best to prepare medicine for Remus lately.”

"Professor Lupin's medicine?"

Hermione immediately caught the detail.

Harry quickly pressed, "What medicine does the Defense Against the Dark Arts class need? No, I mean Professor Lupin's medicine. Does he have some kind of illness?"

"N-nothing...it's just some minor health issues." Hagrid stammered, as if he were being asked about some important information and hurriedly demonstrating, "It's not serious at all, I just need to take my medicine regularly every month."

Realizing that the second half of his sentence had revealed more information, he looked regretful and quickly shut his mouth.

Hermione's eyes darted around, and she smiled sweetly: "Hagrid, it's a new semester, and we haven't celebrated your becoming a professor yet. How about we have a barbecue at the cabin this weekend? I brought my dad's red wine."

“My mom makes her own fruit wine, I can bring you some too!” Ron realized what was going on and immediately followed.

Now, not only Harry, but even Hagrid realized that these kids weren't celebrating at all; they just wanted to get him drunk and extract information from him.

Professors don't like students who are too clever!
"No barbecue! No alcohol!" Hagrid shoved the group away. "You guys have a dueling class tonight, and Melvin's tutoring class tomorrow night. I also have to prepare lessons. I don't have time this weekend. Come on, come on..."

“I don’t need tutoring, I’ll drink with you… barbecue.” Ron was still not giving up.

"Class is about to start, you guys hurry back to the castle!"

Hagrid hurriedly urged them to leave, and after watching the three of them go, he slapped himself hard across the face.

And these days, why are students so clever? Can't they be a little naive?

And me too, why can't I learn my lesson? How many times has this happened? I still keep leaking intelligence, even though I'm a veteran Phoenix member who experienced the Wizarding Wars.

He must have ruined his brain by drinking too much.

Starting today, stop drinking!

……

Friday's last period is Potions class.

Snape was probably going through menopause; his temper was even worse than last semester. He had a stern face throughout the class and repeatedly questioned Gryffindor students, not only about the content of the lesson but also about knowledge they had learned before.

A surprise attack two months into summer vacation, who can defend against that?

Five students, including Harry, lost a total of nearly fifteen points, losing all the points they earned in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Protecting Magical Creatures. Even Hermione lost three points for two contradictory offenses: whispering a warning to Harry and not warning Neville.

After class, the other students left in an orderly fashion, but Harry was punished by being made to stay and clean the classroom.

"Try to look on the bright side. Today was just theoretical; we didn't have to cook anything, so we don't have to wash the crucibles," Hermione said nonchalantly as she wiped the blackboard at the front of the classroom.

Ron, on the other hand, gritted his teeth in resentment.

They volunteered to stay and help Harry; three people are much faster than one, and it was Friday's last class anyway, so there was nothing urgent to do.

Harry wiped the podium: "I have a feeling that Snape is even more irritable than last semester, as if someone is constantly provoking him."

"It's only the beginning of the semester, who upset him?" Hermione speculated thoughtfully. "Could it be that he's getting impatient because he's helping Professor Lupin brew his medicine?"

"Hagrid even said he was kind, when he was clearly a black-hearted bat."

"..."

Listening to Ron's indignant curses, Harry moved the textbooks on the table aside and found an expired newspaper underneath.

Last year, the front page of the news featured a report on the Sir Merlin Order's investiture ceremony.

The winners were Professor Levent and the potions master, Belby.

Harry shook his head, stuffed the newspaper into the drawer, and sped up the wiping.

"Hurry up, guys, get ready as soon as possible so we can get to the auditorium. There's a dueling club event tonight."

(End of this chapter)