Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 263 Probing Inquiry
"Fat Tongue Toffee makes your tongue swell without numbing or itching it, and it's only funny when someone speaks with a lisp."

"The canary cookie needs to be restored to its original state within minutes. It needs to be visible, but not embarrassing. As Professor Levent said, a joke should make everyone laugh..."

"Come on, Manager George, we still have many inventions that need improvement!"

"Boss Fred, with the professor's funding, we can really get started."

The twin brothers walked back to the lounge, their laughter barely concealed as they discussed their plans. They probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight; they had chosen to invest almost without hesitation, knowing that the influence of the Yingjing platform would bring unimaginable benefits.

The two prank enthusiasts were thrilled. With the founder of the Magic Mirror Club's wealth, Professor Levent didn't even set a limit on the amount. Completely free from the constraints of funds and raw materials, they had countless ideas waiting to be realized.

They all had the idea of ​​dropping out of school at the same time, and the cold wind blowing in the open corridor cooled their feverish heads down a little.

Fred looked up into the distance. The Scottish autumn night sky was like a deep blue silk, dotted with sparse stars and moon. If he looked closely, he could feel a cool evening breeze blowing from the direction of the Forbidden Forest and the Black Lake, carrying with it a damp mist.

The willow tree stands opposite the sports field, its branches drooping listlessly, its gnarled and intertwined roots appearing strangely shaped in the night, as if they were twisting.

“If Mom knew, she’d probably break our legs.” George couldn’t help but shake his head and gesture with his head down. “Break everything below the knees, then use a bone-removing spell to remove them, lock them in wheelchairs and send them back to school.”

Fred shuddered. "You can argue with that. I even saw signs of death."

"what?"

Fred glanced at the Whomping Willow again, pointing to the gnarled roots and swaying branches below: "Right under that tree, I think I saw a black dog, looking rather disheveled... Didn't Harry and the others see it in Divination class? The traces of death."

George looked in the direction he was pointing, but couldn't see anything different. Trees don't have a fixed shape, and the "Hit-the-Man Willow" was even more bizarre.

He grinned and said, "That's terrible. You're about to meet with misfortune. I'll be the only owner left at the joke shop."

"If what happened in the divination class comes true, the things you made up for Trelawney's summer homework will be enough to kill you hundreds of times over," Fred retorted. "Falling off a broom and breaking your leg, starting a fire in the kitchen, falling into a pond and drowning..."

Listening to his brother's endless chatter, George's smile grew even brighter:

"What do you mean? You're not allowed to look down on Professor Trelawney. She's my favorite professor. Besides her divination class, what other class can I get a perfect score in so easily? This is the subject certificate I've already secured!"

"Who isn't...?"

Fred agreed, "I think the new Professor Lupin is quite good. His Defense Against the Dark Arts class is very interesting, and he even showed us a Boggart last week."

I happened to pass by the spiral staircase, and from the platform I could vaguely see the Defense Against the Dark Arts office, which was still lit up.

George recalled the poor but gentle professor: "Speaking of Professor Lupin, did you notice how he demonstrated the comical spells? Boggart seemed like a crystal ball to him."

Fred shrugged. "Adult wizards are all a bit strange, who knows?"

While chatting and discussing their prank inventions, George and Fred returned to the common room and immediately spotted Neville surrounded by a crowd.

She had already lost weight but was still a little shy. Faced with everyone's barrage of questions, she was tongue-tied and couldn't answer them all. However, she wasn't embarrassed or annoyed; her face was beaming with an irrepressible smile.

The two crawled out of the portrait hole, crossed the crowd, and tiptoed behind the sofa, where the trio whispered to each other.

"Harry, what's wrong with Neville?"

"His parents have recovered and been discharged from the hospital; the professors cured them."

"What happened to those two?"

George pointed to Ron and Hermione, who were arguing. The two were sitting opposite each other, Hermione was doing her homework with her head down, while Ron had a bald mouse in his hand, staring straight at the other person with a face full of resentment.

"Sigh, it's still about the pets. Crookshanks is playing tricks on Scabbers again."

Harry sighed. They had agreed to discuss how to investigate the truth, but the two pets were having a fight. They were unreliable, so he had to figure it out himself.

……

On the walnut desk, ink stains floated on an old parchment.

Melvin cleaned off the stubborn stains on the paper—the traces of dried sugar oil, the stubble of animal hair—all inconspicuous dirt left by the raiders and twins.

"The parchment was torn from the Book of Admission and is connected to the magic of Hogwarts Castle. No wonder it can display names in real time and include a complete map. Tsk, I wonder how it was made."

Melvin dusted it off, and after cleaning it, it didn't look so worn. With some turpentine and natural beeswax, it should last for hundreds or even thousands of years.

Just as Melvin was about to put away the parchment, a familiar name suddenly popped up.

Inside the castle, hundreds of names are crammed together, and you wouldn't notice the paths of any individual unless you look closely. But in the open area outside the castle, where there are few people, there are only two names: Hagrid and Toothbrush. Suddenly, Sirius Black appears under the Whomping Willow, immediately attracting attention.

The ink dot suddenly appeared, then disappeared again half a minute later.

Melvin chuckled as he looked at the Whomping Willow on the map. Hidden beneath it was a secret passage leading to the Screaming Shack, Lupin's hiding place when he transformed during the full moon. The black dog used this passage to scout the way.

Tiny ink dots covered the castle, each bearing a name, and footprints marked the paths, making everyone's movements clearly visible.

Melvin's gaze shifted from the principal's office to the underground office, giving it a cursory look. He felt a strange sense of intrusion into someone else's privacy, a mix of guilt and a subtle sense of satisfaction.

……

Summer in the Scottish Highlands is completely over, and the weather is gradually turning cooler.

Over the next week, Professor Lupin won the respect and affection of the young wizards with his patience and erudition. Defense Against the Dark Arts became the most popular course for most of them. Only a group of Slytherins gathered together to scoff at the patches on his robes and make snide remarks about how Lupin dressed like a house-elf.

Similar to the first lesson, the following lessons were also lively and interesting, and they studied the red hat.

This is a small, dark creature with a violent temper and a bloodthirsty nature. It hides in dark and secluded places, such as desolate mountain caves, abandoned trenches, or dead ends in mazes. As soon as it smells blood, it swarms like a shark and fiercely attacks the injured or stranded travelers.

Inside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

The bell had already rung, and the students' chattering discussion almost drowned out the sound, echoing in the classroom and intensifying their excitement after just facing the dark creature.

Harry saw Professor Lupin slowly packing up his teaching materials on the platform, quickly pushed the textbooks towards Ron, composed himself, and then hurried up to him. Professor Lupin put the red hat back in its trunk, preparing to lock and seal it. His complexion was ruddy, and his graying hair had thickened somewhat, clearly indicating that he had been well-rested during this period.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up from behind the lectern and saw Harry. He immediately smiled and asked, "Harry, is there something you're wondering about?"

“The lesson was very clear, and the demonstrations were very detailed.” Harry shook his head, then hesitated for a moment.

Lupin didn't press further. Harry's long years of wandering had shaped his current personality. He clearly had questions, but not about his studies; he probably hadn't figured them out yet.

Picking up his suitcase and putting away his textbooks, Lu Ping asked, "Do you have class next period? If not, come walk with me."

Harry agreed: "Hmm..."

He glanced at his classmates who were leaving the classroom together.

The third-year students have no other classes today. There are still two hours until dinner. Ron and the others usually play at the stadium and the Black Lake. Hermione has been disappearing and lurking lately; she'll probably be at the library translating those garbled runes.

Strolling to the North Tower, there is a long corridor on the side of the tower that spans half of a low hill. There are usually few people there, and the cold wind blows, with the occasional cooing of an owl passing by.

Lupin reached into his pocket, took out a chocolate bar, and handed it to Harry.

"Professor Levent taught me communication skills, and candy helps students let their guard down and open up."

Harry was about to break into a relaxed smile when he remembered the topic the professor had raised, and his smile gradually faded.

Lupin: "..."

What does this child mean?
I feel happy when I think of Melvin, but I can't smile when I see him?

"You're probably wondering why I stopped you from dealing with Boggart last class, aren't you?" Lupin asked, answering himself, "Back then, I saw Neville bring Bellatrix to life, so I assumed it would turn into Voldemort in front of you..."

"At first I did think of Voldemort, but then I realized I wasn't afraid of him. My parents had defeated him, and I had thwarted his plots."

Harry thought for a moment, then added somewhat awkwardly, "I was actually more afraid of the monster that appeared on the train that evening."

Lupin recalled Melvin's words, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes: "Dementors, they are born from despair, and they evoke inner fears. It's nothing, everyone is afraid of those things after getting close to them."

"To be honest, I don't know why I'm afraid."

Harry looked at his classmates on the field, their figures becoming tiny specks in the distance. "Before I passed out, I heard a voice, a woman screaming and begging for mercy. I thought it was my mother. It was that night in Godric's Hollow thirteen years ago."

“Dementors always force us to recall terrible memories,” Lupin sighed.

Harry stood on the bridge, leaning on the railing, and remained silent for a long time before saying softly, "Professor Lupin, I want to know the details of my parents' murder... I mean, the whole story."

Lupin paused, realizing this was the question Harry had been holding back. He saw the boy's hands gripping the railing tightly, his fingertips turning white. He felt that those terrible memories had piqued Harry's curiosity, memories that had been buried deep within his still-developing brain.

Harry wants to know the truth, and he should know it.

"On the night it happened, I was gathering intelligence in Yorkshire..."

The Charm of Loyalty and the choice of the Secret Keeper are well-known facts within the Order of the Phoenix. Lupin's account is identical to what Professor Levent told him.

"...When I returned to London, I received news of Sirius's imprisonment."

Hearing the story of his parents' murder again lessened Harry's hatred and anger, replaced by a hope for their reunion. He forced himself to stay focused and mentally compared the two versions of events.

But he couldn't find any mistakes.

He couldn't help but ask, "Is there some hidden story behind this?"

“There’s a secret. I hope there’s a secret more than anyone else.” Lupin’s breathing was slightly rapid, and he seemed a little disordered and out of control. “When I was a student, I was a loner and an oddball. I only had three friends: Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and your father, James Potter… After that night, all my friends were gone. One was betrayed, two were killed, and one went to jail.”

Why did Professor Lu Ping, such a gentle and kind person, have no friends during his student days? Why does he call himself a loner?
Harry's mind was in turmoil, but then, as if struck by a flash of inspiration, he suddenly understood—

Because of that strange disease!
Harry had a strong feeling that the disease was the answer to the problem, the path to the truth that Professor Levent had pointed out.

……

The second day was full of classes.

The first major period in the morning was Muggle Studies.

Melvin considered himself a seasoned professor, able to tell what his students were thinking with a glance. Harry and Ron sat in the front row, whispering to each other for the first half of the class, then spacing out for the second half, thinking they were doing a good job of disguising themselves, when in fact they had already been discovered.

Harry's expression was blank; sometimes he frowned in thought, and sometimes he chuckled foolishly.

Frowning and pondering is deducing the truth; chuckling is fantasizing about what to say to one's parents; before you know it, get out of class is over.

Melvin glanced at Harry a few times during the lecture, but didn't call on him for questions. This lesson was about household appliances, basic content in the syllabus, and it wouldn't matter if the Muggle-born student didn't listen.

At 10:00 a.m. sharp, the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class.

Melvin picked up his textbook and walked out, and some students quickly followed him.

Neville, carrying his schoolbag in one hand and holding a beautifully wrapped invitation in the other, hurriedly handed it over:
"Professor, we are having a party at home this weekend to celebrate my parents' recovery and to express our gratitude to all professors, especially you, Professor Levent. Our whole family would love for you to come."

Longbottom, one of the Twenty-Eight Pureblood Clans, was once an Auror family. Over the past decade or so, it has gradually declined. Now, with two of its main combatants recovered and discharged from the hospital, this party is to announce to the magical world that Longbottom is about to rise again.

The party was extremely lavish, and almost half of the magical world was invited.

“Professor…” Neville looked at him expectantly.

Melvin accepted the invitation: "Don't worry, I'll go."

(End of this chapter)