Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 279 The Second Night

The castle entrance hall, in front of the marble steps.

The ginger cat stood at the bottom of the steps, its long, fluffy tail glistening with dew. It didn't immediately climb the steps into the castle, but instead circled around twice, seemingly a little guilty.

But then he thought, no wizard would suspect that the one colluding with Black was a cat.

Running out of the castle early might also mean fishing by the Black Lake.

Crookshank convinced himself, bent his limbs slightly, pressed his hind legs lower than his front legs, and used his muscles and joints to flexibly leap up the steps and slide straight into the foyer, his footsteps barely audible.

"Meow……"

Mrs. Loris, who was guarding the corner, looked up.

Crookshan immediately stopped, steadied himself, and glanced at the assistant administrator without making a sound. Then, he raised his neck to reveal his name tag, indicating his status as a student pet, and swaggered past her.

The noise in the auditorium hadn't subsided yet. Breakfast was almost over, and the students were unpacking the letters and packages brought by the owl postman while discussing last night's attack.

At the back of the Gryffindor table, Hermione was openly plotting with two of her companions.

Crookshanks jumped onto the bench, curled up next to the little witch, turned to look at Neville, who was feeding owls not far away, and then looked at his pockets. His face was expressionless as he secretly guessed the location of the parchment password list.

When Neville first entered Hogwarts a couple of years ago, he could never remember the passwords that were changed regularly, so he prepared a list of passwords on a parchment.

It wasn't of much help to Neville, because he was forgetful and always lost things on the list.

Later, when he learned the summoning spell and his parents regained their memories, Neville gradually got rid of his psychological burden and also gradually got rid of his carelessness. He no longer needed to rely on the list and could remember the commands on his own.

I carry this list with me now, just out of habit, and it occasionally helps new students.

“Navi, Sir Cadogan has taken over the position of the Fat Lady, and all the passwords have been changed this month.”

“I know, I’ve already replaced the list with a new one.”

Neville took out a parchment from the right pocket of his robe and showed it to the students around him. The students' expressions were complicated. The slang terms like "filthy bastard" and "damned beast" were very much in line with the verbal tics of the Knights of the Round Table in the time of King Arthur, and they were also easy to pronounce.

It just seems too vulgar.

"Should we remind Professor McGonagall that Sir Cadogan's password is really..."

“Percy has already reported that Sir Cadogan said that in special times, we should use unexpected passwords.”

While talking to his classmates, Neville rolled up the parchment list and casually stuffed it into his right pocket.

Crookshan stared at the hem of the garment peeking out from under the list, his cat-like eyes narrowing slightly.

……

In the main seat, Melvin sat next to Professor McGonagall and could clearly hear the two principals discussing how to deal with the attack.

“Should we notify the Ministry of Magic and the Dementors?” Professor McGonagall asked in a low voice. “Last night’s search seems to have alerted them. The Aurors relayed the Dementors’ wishes, offering to enter the school to provide assistance.”

“Oh, forget it,” Dumbledore said curtly. “I’m afraid as long as I remain the headmaster of Hogwarts, I will not allow them to cross the school fence.”

Professor McGonagall wholeheartedly agreed: "Yes, they just want to get close to students; their vibrant spirits are irresistible to them."

"But we still need to be careful..."

After a brief discussion, Dumbledore looked up at the professors seated to his left and right: "We don't know Black's intentions. Although last night's attack didn't harm any students, it caused great harm to the Fat Lady. We cannot let our guard down until this is over." Professor McGonagall continued, "We don't yet know how Black broke into the school. To ensure the safety of the teachers and students, we can only take turns patrolling. Everyone will split into pairs and patrol the entire castle regularly. Mr. Filch and Mrs. Norris will provide assistance."

She turned to her two colleagues on her right: "Tonight's in your hands, Melvin, Hagrid..."

"Don't worry!" Hagrid replied in a muffled voice. "If I run into him, I won't use any wand. I'll break his limbs and smash his bones one by one."

Melvin lowered his head, a slight smile on his face.

……

“Regulus Black, Bellatrix Black, none of the pure-blood wizards in the Black family are good. I should have seen that Sirius Black was also a Death Eater. Their whole family are Death Eaters!”

"I'd better not let me catch him. I'll smash every bone in his body before he's delivered to the Dementor's mouth."

"..."

As evening fell, faint wisps of smoke rose from the forbidden forest, indicating that the centaur tribe was roasting meat and cooking soup, or perhaps lighting fires for divination. The guards of the outer hunting grounds had already finished their dinner.

In front of the cabin, Hagrid stood in the frosty vegetable garden, turning over the soil as he and Melvin cursed the evil deeds the Black family had committed in the past, and angrily accused Sirius of deceiving him.

"Everyone in his family was sorted into Slytherin, except him who was Gryffindor. Back then, everyone called him a pure-blood traitor. His relationship with his family was also very strained. He wouldn't go home for summer vacation, but instead stayed at James's house. For the two years after graduation, he completely fell out with his family and still stayed at James's house. He liked to study Muggle gadgets, surf the beach, watch TV and radio, and ride motorcycles..."

Hagrid grew increasingly agitated, wishing he could smash a shovel into Blake's face: "We thought he was different!"

Melvin sat on the steps petting the dog, beckoning Tooth over to lie down. He rubbed the hound's head, scratched its chin, and stroked its fur, a series of movements that made the hound's tail swirl like a fan blade.

He freed his hand to tease the young snake coiled around the dog's neck. Yulm was particularly fond of the warmth of his palm, so he stretched out his neck and rubbed against it, the grayish-white scales feeling cool to the touch.

It looks very well-behaved, but it's also a bit dog-like.

Even after Tooth's tail had wagged tiredly, Hagrid was still grumbling and cursing.

It was all the same old clichés. The half-giant thought and thought, and the cruelest thing he could do was break all the bones in his body. He had no other ruthless methods. It sounded like the complaints of Xianglin's wife. After listening to it for a while, he lost interest.

The three audience members, including Yaya and Yulm, didn't seem to care.

The sun had completely sunk into the Black Lake, and it was almost time for the night patrol.

Hagrid tossed the shovel beside the fence, glanced at the pets and wizards huddled together, and his irritation and anger eased somewhat. He washed his hands clean from the stone jar, rubbed them on the mole's fur coat, and sat down beside it.

"If it were other students, it would be fine. Every year, new students enter Hogwarts. Gryffindor students are the most daring. I've been a game guard for decades, and every year I catch students wandering the Forbidden Forest at night. If I encounter someone annoying, I deduct points and report them. If I encounter someone cheerful and noisy, I usually give them a few more chances after warning them."

“Only James and Remus, I didn’t punish them too severely when I caught them sneaking into the Forbidden Forest many times. I considered them friends.”

Hagrid hung his head, looking dejected, and said in a low voice, "I really can't understand why he would betray his friend."

Melvin silently acted as a patient listener, sitting next to Hagrid. Yaya moved over and lay on Hagrid's boots. Yorm did not disturb them, but wrapped his arms around Melvin's wrist.

The two people and their two pets waited for night to fall, the moonlight stretching their shadows long.

Only when the truth is revealed can some misunderstandings be dispelled.

Melvin looked up slightly at the horizon. A ray of silver light was rapidly approaching. It was Dumbledore's Patronus Phoenix, clearly not in its original form. It was similar in size to an ordinary owl, with a silvery glow and moonlight gathering in its eyes.

The phoenix landed in front of them, signaling that the lights were off and they could begin their patrol for the night.

(End of this chapter)