Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 168 Winds from All Directions

The reformed teaching plan has already been implemented in the second-grade curriculum.

The original curriculum mainly covered the detailed and comprehensive basic principles and applications of Transfiguration. The revised curriculum removed most of the principles, and the teaching objective became to give young wizards a basic understanding and mastery of Transfiguration.

The lecture shifted its focus away from lengthy theoretical and principle explanations, instead emphasizing detailed explanations of spellcasting techniques, methods for stabilizing deformation, and applications of deformation.

Just like math classes no longer explain formulas and the derivation of theorems, but directly teach students how to use them and how to solve problems.

Even the example problems are not changed at all. The swimming pool that is filled with water while draining water in class will not be transformed into a construction team A and B, and the two people chasing each other on a road will not run in circles.

Professor McGonagall no longer requires everyone to transform into objects that are nearly perfect and without flaws, nor does she require that the details be perfected to the point of being exquisite and beautiful.

The basic transformation techniques demonstrated in class have been greatly simplified. The buttons transformed from beetles no longer have exquisite patterns or pursue layered colors; they are just ordinary black double-hole buttons.

Before the change, Hermione used about half a finger joint's worth of ink in her notes each class, measured from outside the ink bottle. Now, it's less than half that amount. By the end of a class, Hermione's notes are more than half the length they used to be, and the extra time even makes her feel a little overwhelmed.

After Professor McGonagall explained the key points of the spell and gave a demonstration, she gave everyone the time to practice freely. Hermione had successfully conjured a button last time, and this time she succeeded on her first try.

Hermione stared at the button, its sides adorned with yellow-green stripes and openwork embossing on both sides, her face a mixture of emotions and melancholy. The grapevine wand traced the button's surface.

For the first time, Hermione found the class a bit boring.

Ahead, Harry and Ron had also transformed into basic button shapes and were now using them like marbles, tapping their own buttons with their fingers. Occasionally, they would knock each other's buttons off their desks, a smug smile spreading across their faces, as if it were something extraordinary.

Extremely naive.

Looking to the side, Loren, who was sitting next to me, was also playing with his deformed buttons.

However, this button has a rather unusual shape. The flat bottom has three small wheels, and Loren is using his wand to maneuver the button tricycle around the table.

He pouted his lips and occasionally made a soft imitation of the beeping sound of a horn.

"Childish!" Hermione muttered to herself.

She waved her wand gently, and several wheels appeared on the button in front of her. The button wobbled forward for a distance, and after it gradually stabilized, the mini remote-controlled car accelerated instantly and sped towards Loren's car.

The two buttons clicked together with a soft clatter.

Loren looked up, and their eyes met. For a moment, their gazes clashed, and an unseen flash of light erupted at the point where their eyes met.

Soon, the two button-shaped vehicles clashed, and the battle was fierce...

On the other side of the Transfiguration classroom, the group of young Slytherin wizards was much quieter, and the atmosphere was not as lively as the one next to them.

Draco sat next to Goyle, trying to recreate the style of the buttons on his magic robe cuffs, slowly adjusting the rounded corners.

On Goyle's other side, Vincent Crabbe chuckled, flicked his button in front of Draco, and arrogantly said, "Want me to teach you how to transform?"

His buttons had been shaped to Draco's liking, with a smooth surface, neat shape, and beautiful curves, even featuring the Slytherin serpent emblem that was present on them, unlike the original ones on his robes.

Sitting in the middle, Goyle was unaware of the unusual atmosphere. He exclaimed in admiration, which drew the attention of several young wizards around him, who then joined in the praise.

"You've been practicing secretly, haven't you?"

"I feel like I can already give Professor McGonagall extra points."

Draco took a deep breath, put down his wand, and joined in with a smile, praising, "I think next year's robes could use this style of buttons; it would definitely stand out from the other houses."

Draco joked with them, talked about Quidditch, and jokingly belittled the brooms of the other houses; the atmosphere was very harmonious.

This is not normal. This Crabbe is definitely not normal.

Last year, Crabbe and Gore were at the bottom of the class, their studies were like they were missing half a brain, and sometimes it even made people feel that they had disgraced their pure-bloodedness.

Some of the young Slytherin wizards were practically calling the two of them idiots, but now Crabbe was learning Transfiguration even faster than him.

Recalling their conversation in the locker room, Draco realized that the unsettling feeling emanating from him had intensified.

He glanced to the side casually and met Crabbe's gaze. There were no bloodshot veins or pale pupils, but those eyes exuded an eerie indifference and a hint of malice.

Crabbe grinned, giving him a terrifying smile.

Draco felt a chill; the pores on the back of his neck and arms contracted, and the hairs on his arms stood on end.

"By the way," he asked casually, "did you tell Goyle about Quidditch next week?"

The sinister gaze froze, and the intense unease gradually subsided. Crabbe seemed to have become the Crabbe he knew again—tall but stupid, with a touch of irritability…

The next day, news spread throughout Hogwarts that Draco Malfoy's father, Lucius Malfoy, had been stopped at the castle gates by Filch.

Draco, a well-known rich kid in school, was known to many students. At the beginning of his first year, his arrogant personality and rude words offended many people. His reputation only calmed down after Christmas.

Furthermore, as a first-rate pure-blood family, the Malfoy family has business dealings with many young wizards' families, and many young wizards even rely on the Malfoy family for their livelihood. Before Draco enrolled, many young wizards were instructed by their parents to befriend Draco.

So news of Lucius's embarrassment spread quickly; he was stopped in the morning, and by the break between the first and second periods, the news had spread throughout the entire school.

"Ha, that cocky Malfoy finally got his comeuppance! The school board can't control the school anymore!" As Draco's archenemy, Harry was overjoyed to hear this news.

He thought to himself that if Hagrid had been the one guarding the gate, he might have thrown Malfoy's father out.

Although he had received help with the dragon incident, one thing is one thing, and he could always repay the favor later; he still didn't like Malfoy. After the incident at Flourish and Blotts before the start of the school year, his dislike for Malfoy became even stronger.

Seamus and Ron are playing a game with their button cars. Yesterday, after their Transformers get out of class, they saw Hermione and Loren playing the same game and found it very interesting.

As a result, all the Gryffindor boys are missing a button on their clothes today.

Seamus was down two bullets; Ron had already won his first one. He maneuvered his "Thunderbolt II" into Ron's "Charlie Rocket," making a "bang" sound.

Unable to knock it out of bounds, Seamus shook his head in disappointment, then looked up to continue Harry's conversation: "Malfoy's father eventually came in, under the pretext of visiting a friend, to see Snape."

"It must be a hastily put together story!" Harry exclaimed.

Ron's turn ended, and he stood up to relax his numb calves and knees: "I think so too. Hufflepuff was in class with Slytherin at the time, and Rolfe said that halfway through the class, Malfoy was called away by his father."

He glanced around and asked, "Where are Loren and Hermione? Where did they go?"

"Professor Flitwick called them over, it seems to be about some club business," Harry replied.

……

When Loren and Hermione walked out of Professor Flitwick's office, Hermione was still a little dizzy.

She asked Loren incredulously, "Professor Flitwick... he, I... I mean, he really made us the heads of the new department of the Spells Club?"

"Yes." Loren nodded helplessly as he watched Hermione's mouth slightly open in surprise. Whenever it involved the professor's approval and praise, Hermione would be flattered.

"You still refused!?" Hermione stared straight at him.

"It's not a rejection," Loren explained, "it's something I need to think about."

"But...we...Professor Flitwick..." Hermione stammered. To her, professors were respected mentors, and she should have readily agreed to help them. Loren's refusal was utterly incomprehensible.

Loren pulled a still somewhat bewildered Hermione along slowly: "Not only does Professor Flitwick's club need a lower-year leader, but Professor McGonagall should too. I think you might prefer to be the leader of the Transfiguration Club."

He only realized this after receiving Professor Flitwick's invitation; each club would definitely be divided into upperclassmen and lowerclassmen sections, and both sections would need student representatives. However, due to the resurrection drug experiment and his laziness, he probably wouldn't have the time to handle the complex club work.

Hermione's eyes lit up. Although she was Professor Flitwick's most outstanding student and thought Professor Flitwick was very good, if she had a choice, Professor McGonagall would be better.

Thinking about becoming the lower-year leader of the Transfiguration Club and being able to get close to Professor McGonagall and discuss Transfiguration, Hermione suddenly felt excited about the club opening.

Imagining the future, and the praise Professor McGonagall might say when she talked to her, she looked down at her toes and occasionally let out a silly "hehehehe" laugh.

As they reached the corner of the stairs, an unexpected figure stood there, waiting for the two of them.

Draco walked up to the two of them, looked at Loren, then at Hermione beside him, and remained silent for a moment, hesitating about how to start the conversation.

Hermione understood immediately. She patted Loren's arm and said, "I'll wait for you in the common room."

He turned and walked away swiftly.

Draco breathed a sigh of relief. Although he wasn't as hostile to Muggles as before, he still felt inexplicably guilty in front of Hermione. He said to Loren, "I have something I want to tell you."

Loren's heart skipped a beat, remembering Lucius's visit. He nodded, "Let's find an empty classroom."

……

After receiving Draco's letter last night, Lucius didn't sleep a wink all night. Every time he closed his eyes, Voldemort's face would appear in his mind.

His venomous, snake-like gaze was fixed on him. Even though he was fully focused on maintaining his mind-sealing technique, he still felt completely exposed. All the memories in his mind were churned up, and all his thoughts and emotions were laid bare before the Dark Lord.

Fortunately, the Dark Lord relished the fear of others; for his servants, the more fear they evoked, the more Voldemort pleased them.

But this time was different. Voldemort questioned again and again, "Lucius, where is my diary?"

"Lucius, where's the diary?"

"Where's the diary?"

Lucius was startled by his own fantasy, and only relaxed after realizing his surroundings. He looked around and thought the lighting in the Potions Professor's, Head of the Slytherin School of Potion Studies' office was still too dim.

Compared to the haggard-looking Lucius, Snape appeared radiant, his eyes gleaming with suppressed brilliance.

"Did you bring the things?" Snape asked slowly, with an undeniable sense of pressure.

Lucius perked up a bit. He squinted, using the dim light to discreetly observe his former comrade.

Ten years ago, Snape displayed a talent for potions, but his mind was pitifully simple, even bordering on foolish. It was precisely this foolishness that brought Snape closer to the Dark Lord than Lucius, placing him at the heart of the Death Eaters.

But ever since the Dark Lord's incident, he's become somewhat confused about Snape. First, he received Dumbledore's help, was spared the Dementors' torment, and even entered Hogwarts to become a professor and the Head of Slytherin. He's practically the most innocent of all the Death Eaters.

Thanks to his talent, the potion business grew bigger and bigger, and they controlled arguably the largest market share in the world. The Magical Council of America hated them to the core, but they were powerless to do anything about it.

It's just that Crabbe, that idiot, messed things up and complicated matters. The Board of Trustees' power has been limited; they can't visit the school on their own initiative. Now they can only exchange raw materials and potions on the weekend. The person handling the liaison has also changed from Crabbe to him.

"The raw materials and payment for this batch are all here. As you wish, I have replaced all the Galon with the materials you requested."

Lucius placed a box-shaped spatial device on the table and handed it to Lucius, asking casually, "What do you need so many two-horned beast horns and two-eared herbs for? Are you preparing to develop some new drug?"

"None of your business," Snape said with a mocking smile. "It's Mr. Malfoy who's suddenly come to visit. What brings you here?"

Lucius's expression shifted, his mind racing. He wanted to have a casual chat with Snape, to talk about the Dark Lord, Dumbledore, and even Crabbe.

But he couldn't be sure which side Snape was on, and if he guessed wrong, it could be the end of him.

After a fierce internal struggle, he ultimately couldn't make up his mind and only said quietly, "Pay close attention to your students; some of them are getting impatient."

"Also," Lucius said, taking out another box and looking at him earnestly, "this one is from me personally. Please take good care of Draco for me."

After saying that, Lucius got up and left the office without looking back.

Snape was left sitting behind his desk, his face hidden in shadow, his expression unreadable.

(End of this chapter)