Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 289 Teaching Assistant Begins Class

Hogsmeade, the Screaming Shack.

The north wind after the storm was particularly biting and penetrating. The old wooden windows of the shed were full of cracks, and the cold wind rushed into the house, making a faint whistling sound.

The person sitting on the messy sofa opened the lunchbox. The freshly baked pie was steaming hot. He leaned closer to the tray, took a deep breath, and couldn't help but show a blissful expression.

I haven't tasted the beef pies made in the school kitchen in fifteen years.

The frail house-elf stood in the middle of the aisle, watching this scene, and felt a pang of sadness for no apparent reason.

This is the second meeting between employer Sirius Black and employee Dobby.

"Harry and Ron buried Scabbers under a beech tree on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest?"

Sirius Black, sitting on the sofa, asked, "Someone as cunning as Peter Pettigrew survived the last Wizarding War. He dodged both of my attacks. How could he die so easily?"

“I saw the funeral with my own eyes, just this morning. Mr. Weasley almost cried. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were also there. Sir, perhaps the mouse really did meet with an accident?”

Sirius shook his head, picked up a pie from the table, and took a bite: "That's impossible."

He chewed on the pie without regard for his image, his words somewhat mumbled: "Master of Animagus, wielding a wand, cunning and treacherous, skilled in disguise. I swear by Merlin's beard, Peter was just playing the fake death trick again. He probably didn't go far, but was hiding somewhere observing."

"Observe what?"

“Observe Harry’s surroundings, observe my movements, like a hunter waiting for his prey to fall into a trap. As soon as I show my face, I will attract Dementors and Aurors. They will stop at nothing to kill me so that no one can ever uncover his true identity again.”

Sirius said softly, "Even if it exposes the secret of the Animagus."

"Then what should we do? Your friend has been hiding for thirteen years. If he finds another place to hide, we won't be able to search the entire magical world for a single rat."

Dobby thought it over carefully with his little head. The two of them were enemies, so Harry was actually safe. "How about we go straight to the Ministry of Magic and expose his crimes? But compared to you now, those officials might believe you more..."

“You believe in Peter, don’t you?” Sirius smiled.

"There is no other evidence to confirm the truth."

"Of course I know. Back in school, he was good at deceiving everyone, and we were fooled even though we were together every day. But a rat in the gutter will eventually reveal its stench."

Sirius swallowed the pie. "How can a mouse escape a hound's pursuit? I'll tear him to pieces."

"If a mouse hides in the sewer pipe, it would be a headache for even our pet elves, let alone hunting dogs and cats."

Sirius licked the oil off his fingers: "It's a metaphor, you know what a metaphor is?"

He got up and peered through the crack in the wooden window. It was lunchtime on a weekend, and the streets on both sides of Hogsmeade were packed with customers talking about the house matches playing on the mirrors.

“When we were in school, Gryffindor was always the House Cup champion, and James’s name was always on the Quidditch trophy.”

Sirius muttered to himself, "Poor Harry, he lost the game by accident and broke his flying broom. Those Slytherin students are probably very smug and might say some very nasty things, just like they did when we won the game."

"It's not that serious."

Dobby relayed the information he had gathered: "Captain Wood is a little frustrated, but the other team members are very optimistic. They train very hard and are confident of winning the rest of the game, barring any unexpected events involving the Dementors."

"What do you think about me getting Harry a new broom?"

"The brooms used in Hogwarts matches are standardized. If Mr. Potter's broom breaks, Mrs. Hooch will replace it."

Dobby’s voice was high-pitched. “But Mr. Potter does want a new broom. His most desired Christmas present is a fire bolt.”

"A flying broomstick that came out a few months ago, the fastest and most agile, worth two thousand Galleons..."

Sirius recalled the promotional message he saw in the window of the Quidditch shop: "Next time I come, bring some paper, pens, and ink, and also take the letter I've written to the post office. I want to place a mail order."

Sirius Black couldn't help but smile as he thought of Harry's surprise when he received the gift.

He had a rather thin face, with a stubble beard, as he hadn't had time to groom himself while wandering the country, but he had a pair of bright and piercing eyes, and the bold tone in his voice revealed the former glory of the Black family.

……

It's late November, and Friday is here again.

Students are always exceptionally enthusiastic in class during weekends and holidays, and the atmosphere in class is particularly harmonious.

After finishing his penultimate class, Melvin returned to his office and took out Marauder's Map to spy on other people's privacy.

School hasn't let out yet today, and most students are still in the classrooms. The yellowed parchment map can't withstand close scrutiny. A quick glance reveals only a few prominent names in each classroom. The more you look, the more there are, too many to count, and when they're all stacked together, they just look like a blot of ink.

The newly appointed Professor Lu Ping has been strangely staying indoors, mostly in his office.

Even when I didn't have classes, I would wander around the courtyard and corridors to increase my chances of bumping into students and making it easier for the young wizards to ask me questions. Today, for some reason, I hid in the inner room and stood by the window for half an hour without moving.

Melvin did the math; the full moon was almost here again.

It wasn't dinner time yet, and only a few students were quietly and attentively studying in the Great Hall. In the underground kitchen, the names of the house-elves were not labeled, making it look somewhat empty. Peter Pettigrew, who was guarding the kitchen door, stood out all the more.

Looking out over the grounds outside the castle, second-year students were learning to care for mandrakes in the greenhouse, while third-year students were taking a class on protecting magical creatures. Rubeus Hagrid's name was enlarged and bolded, just like his size.

Sirius Black was hiding in a secret passage beneath the Whomping Willow.

One person is in a warm and comfortable kitchen, where a hot dinner is coming soon; the other is in a cold and damp tunnel, trembling with fear of being discovered.

Melvin clicked his tongue, and before he could put the map away, he heard footsteps approaching outside the door.

"Dong dong."

He knocked twice politely, waited a few seconds until Melvin called out, and then pushed open the door to enter the room.

Fifth-graders, the Weasley twins, and also business partners.

Melvin looked up and saw George and Fred standing in the doorway, wearing the school's wizard robes and holding a copy of "Standard Spells V". He immediately invited them to sit down, picked up the teapot, and poured them hot pumpkin juice.

"Mr. Weasley, I heard you've invented several new prank gadgets. How's the development going?"

"Professor, you've heard about it too?"

"Yes."

Melvin couldn't help but smile. "Professor Flitwick reported to Professor McGonagall that you were disrupting class, playing pranks, tricking Lee Jordan into eating candy, and jeering him to answer questions when his voice could only bark." "Professor, do you think it's possible, just possible, that Lee himself was disrupting class?" George asked tentatively.

Fred nodded repeatedly, his expression sincere: "He wasn't paying attention and couldn't answer, so he deliberately barked like a dog when answering questions."

"You'll have to explain that to Professor McGonagall yourselves."

Melvin took a small sip of pumpkin juice, looking at the twins with a calm expression, seemingly offering a sincere suggestion, with no hint of mockery in his voice.

"Then forget it, Professor McGonagall won't let us off the hook."

"When we get detention and points deducted, can the professor put in a good word for us?"

The twin brothers each said something pitifully pleading.

"It depends on your performance." Melvin sipped his pumpkin juice.

George and Fred's eyes lit up; the professor's words meant that this matter was negotiable.

"Professor Levent, you said that whatever we do, we will do our best!"

"From this moment forward, George and Fred will be your Knights of the Round Table."

"Professor Flitwick invited me to be a teaching assistant. Tonight's Duel Club activity mainly focuses on the Patronus Charm, which requires engaging students in a positive and joyful mood. Compared to retrieving memories from one's own mind, I believe that real-time laughter will be more effective in teaching."

Melvin placed the teacup on the table and looked at the twins with a serious expression. "When it comes to bringing joy to people, perhaps no one in all of Hogwarts is better than you two."

George and Fred looked at each other and cheered:
"Don't worry, my professor."

"We promise to get the job done!"

The twin brothers couldn't contain their bright smiles. Compared to receiving praise for their assignments and papers or achieving good grades in exams, the fact that their professors had specifically asked them to create happiness made them even more proud.

Melvin smiled as well: "Also, have you thought things through regarding the Prank Workshop?"

The conversation suddenly turned to business, leaving George and Fred somewhat taken aback.

Last time, Melvin asked them to borrow the Marauder's Map and proposed two cooperation options: investment and loans. He asked them to go back and write a budget report and make plans for the future.

Melvin had been looking through the Marauder's Map for months, but the Prankster Workshop issue was still unresolved, so he had no choice but to call two people over.

George blinked. "Professor, for the past few months, we've focused on researching prank props and invented several new ones, all in an effort to improve our budget, but the results haven't been ideal."

“Several kinds of truancy candy, canary cookies, howling hard candy…” Fred listed his new inventions, frowning in distress. “The development cost of each item is different, some are high and some are low, so it’s impossible to determine the amount.”

"It is indeed asking too much of two underage wizards to learn how Muggles do business."

Melvin twirled his white porcelain teacup, pondered for a moment, and said, “You’ve only been playing around with yourselves before, making and improving prank props, but you haven’t yet come into contact with mass production and sales. I think perhaps you should go and see for yourselves.”

"What do you mean?" The twins looked bewildered.

"Next summer, I'll go and do an internship at a Muggle factory."

……

Castle Auditorium.

As night fell, the magic dome simulated the sky outside. The moon was not yet full, and the stars were sparse and dim. Fortunately, there were torches sticking out of the walls and a roaring fire in the fireplace, illuminating the hall brightly.

After dinner, the teachers and students, feeling full and warm, did not return to the common room to enjoy their weekend evening. Instead, they stayed in the auditorium for the Duel Club's open class.

The auditorium had been transformed. Four long tables from the academy had been moved to the wall, and in the center was a platform made of hardwood boards controlled by transfiguration, covered with a bright red velvet carpet.

"Have you heard? Today we're going to teach the Patronus Charm, and Professor Levent is the teaching assistant."

In the Gryffindor group, Lavender and Parvati huddled together, glancing occasionally at the entrance to the side hall. Apart from Headmaster Dumbledore, almost all the school's professors were present for the event.

"Professor Lewinter!"

The little witch from Hufflepuff exclaimed, her cheeks flushed with excitement, "Of course it should be him! He demonstrated the Patronus on the day of the last Quidditch match. By Merlin, I still remember the shock!"

Hermione, sitting in the front row, remained calm, silently listening to her roommate's exclamations without any inner turmoil.

Unsurprisingly, she had known about this news for about two weeks.

The two-week-long confinement punishment, and the wrists aching from copying documents, left a deep impression on me.

What's most infuriating is that she still doesn't know the reason!

If Professor Levent hadn't looked so serious, she would have suspected he was playing a trick on her.

"boom--"

Several colorful firecrackers exploded in front of the podium, and blue smoke gradually spread out. The color quickly faded and disappeared, but the smell permeated the entire auditorium.

"What does it smell like?" Sprout sniffed; she was very sensitive to the smell of herbs.

“Firecrackers laced with euphoria,” Snape replied expressionlessly.

"The two Weasley boys helped with the arrangements; it must have been Melvin's doing," Lupin said with a soft laugh, his smile faint and his face pale with a sickly pallor.

Whether it was the medication taking effect or his pleasant mood, Flitwick sniffed the air and a smile crept onto his lips.
"Using a small amount of euphoria to evoke happy emotions in students and help them learn the Patronus Charm is a truly creative idea!"

If we disregard other factors and evaluate it solely from a teaching perspective, it is indeed very creative.

But he couldn't let it go, because the euphoric potion was conscripted from the potions professor.

Snape's face was cold, his lips were tight, he could feel the drug taking effect, but he couldn't feel happy.

He glanced at Lu Ping leaning against the wall out of the corner of his eye. His pale face proved that the wolfsbane medicine was taking effect. As the moon gradually became full over the next two nights, his body would gradually weaken.

Perhaps it was Damocles Belby's ingenuity that the wolfsbane potion, while maintaining the werewolf's sanity, also made the werewolf weak and powerless, unable to harm others.

After receiving the information from Peter Pettigrew, he kept observing the new professor, trying to figure out if he knew about Animagus and if he knew that Peter was still alive.

Out of professional ethics as a potion master, he restrained his impulse and did not add the true potion to the wolfsbane potion.

(End of this chapter)