Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 311 The Weird Harry and Ron

Harry looked himself up and down and decided he couldn't pay any attention to this guy, otherwise his neuroticism might be contagious like a cold.

He called out to Hermione, "Hermione, you know Vaughn—"

'

"Snapped!"

Before he could finish speaking, Hermione shoved a stack of flyers into his arms: "Help me out, we can talk about it when I'm done."

Harry was speechless. He looked down at the flyer, which was covered with densely packed text.

The top cap reads:

[Duel Club Experience Questionnaire]

What Hermione handed over was indeed a questionnaire.

Skipping over the top of my head, the main text, densely printed on standard 12.9-inch parchment, consisted entirely of questions; at a glance, there were at least dozens.

The dense, crowded letters made Harry's hands tremble slightly. He raised his head shakily and looked at Hermione expectantly: "You need me to help hand out flyers, right?"

"No." Hermione shook her head decisively. "I want you to fill out this questionnaire properly. It's meaningful for you, for us, for Vaughn, and for all of Hogwarts!"

What utter nonsense!

I was attacked yesterday!

What a cruel and heartless woman!

Harry desperately wanted to yell those words at Hermione and storm off, but he didn't dare—

He could only weakly protest, "I haven't finished my homework yet—"

Hermione frowned: "Which assignment haven't you finished?"

"."

"7

Harry's lips moved, but he couldn't utter a word.

Luna, who had been staring intently at his head, seemingly looking at something, suddenly spoke in a dreamy, muffled voice: "Harasser tells me you're lying. You haven't written a single word."

Upon hearing this, Hermione's previously furrowed brows straightened, and the serious expression on her small face resembled that of the respected Vice Principal, making her appear intimidating.

Harry's face turned pale.

This was truly a disastrous day.

Twenty minutes later, Harry stumbled down the stairs, clutching two questionnaires. An angry Hermione was terrifying; he simply couldn't understand how Vaughn could get along with a girl like that.

In contrast, Qiu Zhangjiu —

As Harry was thinking this, he returned to the courtyard from the main tower and saw Cho Chang with several Ravenclaw girls distributing questionnaires that were exactly the same as the ones he was holding.

Fine snowflakes drifted down from the leaden sky into the courtyard, landing on the girl's thick, dark hair, glistening with tiny specks.

A gentle breeze swept by, and her long hair danced with the snowflakes; time seemed to slow down in Harry's eyes.

It would be even better if there weren't a few other girls around making noise: "Please fill this out carefully, it's very important for the Duel Club."

"Hey, Ganben, take these to the boys' dorm—why should we come to you? Oh, and if you don't want to, I don't mind saying bad things about you to Mary!"

"How could you be so vicious?"

"Stop talking nonsense, just take it!"

Watching the Ravenclaw senior named Gambon stumble away with a stack of questionnaires shoved into his arms, Harry felt a pang of sympathy for him.

Sigh, why can't these girls be as gentle and tender as Qiu Zhang?

With a sigh, Harry looked over at Cho Chang in the snow—his back stiffened, as if he had suddenly lost control of his posture, every muscle twisted, as if it could be more beautiful with its own stubbornness.

He even lost control of his hands and feet.

He wanted to leave quickly, but his hands and feet were frozen in place.

They were "waiting" for Cho Chang to come over. She did come over: "Hey, Harry."

As Cho Chang greeted him, Harry felt as if the cold wind howling through the courtyard had been melted away by her gentle smile as she stood before him, stripped of its sharpness and coldness, leaving only a refreshing coolness.

He replied hastily, "Hey, Qiu!"

Oh no, did I call you that too intimately?

I've heard that in Eastern customs, only close relatives and friends call someone by their given name instead of their surname?

Will she think I'm frivolous and lack boundaries?

In the short span of a few breaths, a jumble of thoughts overwhelmed Harry's mind, but in reality, Cho Chang did not feel offended.

She enthusiastically handed him a questionnaire: "Harry, would you like one? Vaughn wants to collect questionnaires to improve the Duel Club, it's a very meaningful thing—"

Before she could finish speaking, she noticed the two questionnaires that Harry had been hiding under his arm, previously concealed by his loose robe.

Qiu Zhang paused for a moment, but her smile remained: "Granger sent it to you, right?"

"Uh, yes————"

"Looks like I was just being nosy. You two are good friends, and she certainly won't forget to try and win you and Ron Weasley over."

what?

What does that mean?

Harry looked completely bewildered.

But clearly, the girl he admired had no intention of explaining things to him and turned to leave.

Harry quickly called out to her, "Cho!"

Autumn - Zhang turns back.

Harry scratched his face, racking his brains at an unprecedented speed, and managed to find a topic: "Was this questionnaire requested by Vaughn?"

"Of course." Qiu Zhang's smile returned to its gentle and bright state.

Harry felt a pang of sadness, but he wasn't surprised. He had always known that the girl he liked was actually very close to Vaughn.

He just wanted to keep the conversation going: "What is Vaughn planning? Or has something gone wrong at the Duel Club?"

Harry really likes the Duel Club.

To be precise, in just two months since the Duel Club opened, it has surpassed Wizard Chess and Gobblestone to become the most popular extracurricular activity for all young wizards. The two clubs that were previously in the lead in popularity were far ahead of each other. After all, compared to the Spells Club, the Transfiguration Club, and the gloomy Potions Club that even ghosts didn't want to go to, they seemed so free and easy.

Nobody wants to continue "attending classes" outside of school hours.

Until the emergence of the Duel Club.

Although it was initially created because practical courses were still in the reform stage and theoretical teaching was almost non-existent, people could only ask Professor Rozier or the professor of the corresponding course if they encountered any problems or difficulties.

But this is very inefficient. After all, professors have their own teaching plans, and they can't just answer whatever you ask, or it would be chaotic.

That's why Vaughn used the name "Duel Club" to start this platform.

However, after two months of trial and error, the Duel Club is no longer limited to its original positioning.

When a group of people gather together to exchange and promote knowledge, it is impossible for it to maintain a single function.

The Duel Club has now become a comprehensive forum. On the weekly activity day, people not only exchange problems encountered in practical classes, but also bring up their academic confusion accumulated over the week.

Harry even saw someone posting "missions" on the bulletin board in the activity room.

A task to recruit people to copy homework —

Of course, the genius and clever boy from Gryffindor was quickly caught by the student council and reported to Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall, in a fit of rage, deducted a full 20 points from Gryffindor, turning the "little rascal" into the Gryffindor's villain in an instant.

But his actions showed everyone that the club has more potential.

Harry didn't want anything to go wrong with the event.

Sensing Harry's unease, Cho Chang comforted him, "Don't worry, it's not a bad thing. But if you want to know more, I suggest you take a good look at the questionnaire. Everything you want to know is on it."

With a wistful look in Harry's eyes, Cho Chang left; he couldn't keep her to talk any longer.

Harry went to the school hospital feeling dejected.

The small infirmary was still filled with steam, just like in the morning. Several first-year students, who had just drunk energy drinks and were still under observation, followed Harry's retreating figure with curious and excited eyes.

He felt extremely uncomfortable under their gaze.

What made him even more uncomfortable was seeing Ron.

My best friend was leaning against the hospital bed, her rosy cheeks like ripe apples, looking radiant and full of energy, a far cry from her listlessness this morning.

Upon seeing Harry, he cheerfully greeted him, "Harry, my dear brother, it's so good to see you again."

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Looking at Ron's excited expression and the dazed smile on his face, Harry was speechless for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "You—did you take a stimulant?"

"Yes, Harry!"

Ron answered loudly, "Madame Pomfrey thought I was depressed due to shock. After feeding me six chocolates without relief, she gave me a pint of euphoria. Ah, Madame Pomfrey's medical skills are truly superb. I feel great now."

Harry slapped his forehead in exasperation.

He knew it.

Although the Enchanted Potion is a high-level potion and is prohibited by the Ministry of Magic, it is not uncommon at Hogwarts. During the OL and NE exams last term, it was rampant for a time, with many sixth-year students secretly brewing it and selling it to the poor fifth and seventh-year students preparing for their exams.

As exam week approaches, they become increasingly anxious, and euphoria drugs are very effective in treating anxiety and depression.

Not to mention, Harry himself had tried it—for a time, due to his social anxiety, he strongly resisted Vaughn's grueling training, so Vaughn gave him a euphoric drug.

During that time, Harry was very positive and even smiled during Snape's class, to the point that everyone thought he might be going crazy.

In fact, as long as there is no excessive dosage or prolonged abuse, euphoria drugs will not change a person's personality or mental state; they will only keep the user in a state of false optimism and euphoria.

The user remains conscious.

For example, Ron now.

He had just finished praising Madam Pomfrey when he realized what was going on, and then, with a standard, eight-tooth grin, cheerfully said to Harry, "I think a pint might be too much. My mood right now is the complete opposite of yesterday's. I even feel like I could sleep with a spider right now!"

'

'

Hmm, a pint is probably too much —

Harry felt strange. He chatted with Ron, whose smile was not only odd but also eerie, for a while, then took out the questionnaire and handed it to Ron, explaining the situation: "—Hermione wants us to fill it out and hand it to her as soon as possible, sigh!"

Under the influence of the euphoric drug, Ron was completely unlike his usual self, complaining less and happily accepting the questionnaire, shouting in a high-pitched voice, "Don't be so depressed, darling! Let's see what tricks Vaughn is up to! Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme~~"

Okay, a pint is definitely too much.

He even started singing!

However, there was nothing wrong with his mind.

Soon, his surprised yet gleeful scream echoed through the infirmary: "What are these questionnaires even saying? 'Do you think Potions Professor Severus Snape should become the instructor of the Dueling Club?' Damn it, I bet nobody will answer yes!"

"Oh, look at this! This daydreaming questionnaire... my ambitious brother, half of all the questions he listed were about the possibility and benefits of Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Kettleburn, and other professors joining the club? What's he trying to do?"

Next to him, Harry, who was also browsing the questionnaire and found the questions strange, scratched his head.

Yeah, what is Vaughn trying to do?

Inviting professors to join the club as mentors is nothing unusual; clubs should have mentors anyway.

The problem is that Harry and Ron know about the difficult background of the Dueling Club's founding.

The board of trustees has consistently opposed Vaughn organizing this event.

Within the Board of Trustees, the pure-blood directors, led by Lucius Malfoy, believed that Vaughn was trying to use the club to cultivate cronies and supporters within Hogwarts.

Well, this is information revealed by Draco Malfoy. That guy is a bastard, but Harry believes that he wouldn't lie about anything related to Vaughn.

Therefore, although the Duel Club was eventually approved by the Board of Trustees, it was subject to various restrictions from the beginning due to the opposition of Lucius and other board members.

For example, faculty and staff are not allowed to participate.

Is Vaughn openly defying the Board of Trustees by asking these questions in the questionnaire?

Why?

"Hehe—" Ron's sudden laughter startled Harry. He looked up and saw his good friend clapping his hands, saying, "My dear brother is finally going to reveal his true colors! He's going to turn the club into a mini-Hogwarts and make himself the headmaster, hahahaha—"

Harry was stunned.

"By openly distributing these things, are you preparing to defy the Board of Governors, kick Dumbledore out, and cultivate your own little Hogwarts in the castle?"

The basement was damp and cold.

Outside the window, one can see the dark surface of the Black Lake, gradually being frozen by the snow and ice blown in from the North Sea. The ice completely blocks out the light, and the only place in the basement that can provide light is the fireplace.

-

The dim, fiery flames flickered in the fireplace, and Snape sat motionless in the flickering light, his face expressionless.

Only the occasional glint in his dark eyes showed that he was not a puppet.

Not far in front of him, Vaughn held the bottle containing the eight-eyed giant spider Aracleed, with a wand tucked between his fingers, the tip of the wand gleaming with an eerie light, tapping on the bottle.

A faint curse came from the bottle.

Hearing Snape's cold question, Vaughn finally looked up, smiling dismissively, "You actually believed Lucius and Alecto's nonsense?"

"Hmph, Lucius is my best friend, and the Carlo family, from which Alecto hails, is also related to me—she's your distant aunt. Who do you think I should believe?"

Snape trailed off in his signature slick tone, seemingly mocking.

Vaughn didn't care at all: "Of course you should trust me. Look at the questionnaire, you were the first one I invited. I want to help you expand your influence among students."

"I don't need it, and I have no interest in it. Those stupid, thick-headed people can't even understand my Potions class. Do you expect me to continue being tortured by them in an extracurricular activity?"

"But—Professor, I didn't say which course I was inviting you to be my instructor."

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"What do you think of the title 'Defense Against the Dark Arts Instructor'?"

Amidst the flickering light of the demonic fire, Snape paused, his thin, stern lips unconsciously curling slightly—

Vaughn keenly noticed the unusual expression on Snape's face.

As he had anticipated when he made the proposal, it was clear that the course "Defense Against the Dark Arts" held far greater appeal for Snape than was usually expected.

After spending more than a year together, Vaughn came to understand his Potions professor better. The professor's obsession with Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn't for any profound reason; it was simply a matter of personality.

He felt that teaching potions was too tiring.

The fatigue here doesn't refer to the complexity of the potions or the heavy teaching pressure.

Instead—

Students are so stupid!

Therefore, Snape's earlier comment about "thick head" was not merely ironic; it also reflected his true thoughts.

In fact, on the first day of school last year, when Vaughn, Harry, and others had their first Potions class, Snape clearly expressed his opinion on teaching Potions to young wizards: "—I don't expect your troll-like brains to understand the wonders of potions—"

For Snape, teaching potions to young wizards was essentially the same as stuffing knowledge into the heads of trolls.

It's too difficult, especially with my frequent high blood pressure.

In comparison, the Defense Against the Dark Arts course was much simpler. He was an expert in dark magic himself, and naturally he also knew various experiences and techniques for defending against dark magic.

As for "foolishly waving a wand," in Snape's view, it was something that "thick-headed" and "monstrous-minded" young wizards could easily learn—after all, those who didn't study hard would die anyway, so it wouldn't tarnish his reputation.

Of course, most importantly, the professor was never most proud of his status as a Potions Master.

From his school days, all he pursued was power, and dark magic!

Because at that time, he had suffered enough from being powerless!

The firelight from the fireplace cast a shadow on Snape's high brow bone, making it impossible for Vaughn to see his eyes.

Only from the subtle, quietly shifting movements of his sleeves could one discern that he seemed to be experiencing some kind of secret excitement.

After a long pause, Vaughn heard Snape deliberately drawl out his reply, seemingly with disdain: "I don't think those little trolls are anything I should teach, but for your sake, I can do you a favor—as long as you leave me alone!"

Ha, how arrogant!

Vaughn smiled, then his expression turned serious, and he stopped tapping the glass bottle. He looked up at Snape with a solemn expression: "However, you need to be careful of the curse. If you notice anything unusual, please tell me or Dumbledore immediately."