Days at Hogwarts

Who will be in Chapter 798? It's so hard to guess!

Inside the office's storage room, there was a finely crafted, jet-black solid wood dining table covered with a dark green tablecloth embroidered with subtle gold thread, on which sat a steaming bowl of creamy mushroom soup.

The soup base is snow-white and smooth, with emulsified oil floating on top. Thinly sliced ​​ham is also added, giving it a fresh and rich flavor. Freshly picked mushrooms soak up the soup, resulting in a perfect balance of salty and sweet.

These are the dishes prepared for the year-end dinner.

Professor Snape did not go to the Great Hall for lunch, but instead instructed the kitchen to send the food to his office. As a teaching assistant, Loren helped grade papers for several hours, so it was only natural for him to take advantage of the professor's privileges.

This creamy soup was a bit too rich to drink on its own; Loren preferred to eat it with a main dish. He dipped some bread in the mushroom soup and thought it tasted pretty good. While eating, he asked:

"Didn't I see those specimens and materials in the storage room? Did you move them all to the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin? They said they were going to turn it into a potions lab. How's the progress?"

"fine."

"Is the lab planning to recruit students separately, or will it choose club members?"

"The club will give priority to recruiting students for the next academic year."

Why wasn't an announcement released?

"The preliminary preparations are not yet complete, and it is expected to be completed by the end of summer vacation." Snape said without looking up. "The school's funds for this year are still in the calculation stage. The renovation of Pomona's greenhouse is more complicated and involves more issues. The potions laboratory is next in line, and the budget approval will take another two weeks."

"Funding, approval..."

Loren repeated the words, drawing out the last syllable, and made funny faces, saying in a strange tone, "Vice Principal Snape adapted very quickly. In less than a year, he's already familiar with the way this position is spoken."

"..."

Snape glanced up at him, expressionless, and then continued cutting the steak, gripping the knife and fork tightly and sawing back and forth, cutting off a thumb-sized piece in half a minute, putting it in his mouth, chewing for a long time, and swallowing it, and then repeating the process.

Loren's forehead twitched at the sight, and he muttered under his breath, "This is how it is after being promoted to vice principal? What will it be like when you become principal?"

"Millera has taken over as principal."

Snape corrected him, his expression and tone both calm.

"Professor McGonagall is quite old, not much younger than Dumbledore. It's impossible for her to serve for decades like him. Once the teaching reforms are initially stable, she'll retire and enjoy life. Professor Flitwick is about the same age as Professor McGonagall, and Professor Sprout's personality isn't suitable..."

Loren, chewing on a loaf of bread soaked in broth, mumbled his analysis: "Is it that hard to guess who will succeed as principal?"

"And then what?" Snape asked slowly, a playful smile on his face.

"Who knows what's going to happen that far in the future?"

Professor Trelawney's third eye couldn't see that far into the future.

Chatting with this professor is just boring.

"The cream of mushroom soup is still a bit too rich."

"If you wipe your mouth clean before making your evaluation, it might be more convincing."

"I'm just saying it's a bit oily, but I don't deny it's delicious." Loren lowered his head and scooped up another spoonful of soup. "Besides, I'm graduating soon, and if I don't taste it more often, I won't be able to taste the flavor of Hogwarts anymore."

"Who knows..."

After casually commenting on the professor's special meal and finishing his meal, Loren wiped his mouth, glanced at the stacks of ungraded exam papers on the table, and then took his leave.

After Loren left, Snape picked up his knife and fork again and slowly cut his steak, chewing each thumb-sized strip for nearly half a minute before swallowing, a faint smile in his eyes.

In his youth, Dumbledore was a dedicated professor of Transfiguration. Even after becoming headmaster, he remained concerned about his students' development, but he hadn't provided targeted training or education for many years. His elaborate schemes to torment Potter were aimed at helping him mature quickly and face Voldemort. As for Loren and that Miss Granger, they obviously had other motives...

A gentle, unambitious, yet powerfully magical wizard.

A politician who cares about the vulnerable and has lofty goals.

The two grew up together and have a close relationship.

What could be a more perfect combination?

Snape silently chewed his steak, picked up his wine glass and took a sip; the bubbles floated along the glass, making a soft hissing sound.

……

Lunch time in the auditorium has also ended.

Loren emerged from the underground staircase, facing the blazing sunlight of the courtyard. Feeling the warmth of the sun on his face, he couldn't help but squint slightly.

Many young wizards sat scattered around in the courtyard, chatting and laughing, their smiles as bright as the sunshine.

"Um……"

Loren recalled.

When she parted ways with Hermione in the morning, she said she wanted to say goodbye to Professor Bubbaggy, who had been a close friend of hers for several years. Hermione's modest reputation in the academic world over the years was largely thanks to Professor Bubbaggy's careful guidance and tireless recommendations at various conferences.

Lunchtime has already passed. Judging by the time, they probably ate their staff meal in the office.

Loren glanced at the sunlit courtyard, then turned and went upstairs to find Hermione.

He had just stepped down a dozen or so steps when he suddenly heard a faint whistling sound behind him, and the temperature around him seemed to drop a few degrees. Inside the school castle, this was clearly a sign that a ghost was approaching. He turned around and saw Myrtle, wearing glasses, floating right in front of him.

"Loren!"

A shrill voice rang out close to her face.

Loren's ears rang slightly from the shock. After a moment, he looked somewhat helpless and said, "Myrtle, when did you start learning bad habits from Mischief?"

"I didn't imitate Mischief!"

"Then why did you suddenly jump out and scare people?"

"I'm not trying to scare people, I'm angry, I'm furious."

"What are you angry about?"

"You and Hermione are graduating, and you only said goodbye to Nick, without thinking of me at all."

The short, plump ghost girl stared straight at him, her round face seemingly transforming back into the weeping Myrtle. Her thick, pearl-rimmed glasses made her eyes appear even more prominent. "I thought we were friends! I know now, you don't want to be friends with Myrtle at all, nobody wants to be friends with Myrtle, fat Myrtle, ugly Myrtle, all you do is cry..."

"..."

Loren paused for a moment, then turned and continued walking upstairs: "The emotions weren't strong enough, the lines were too affected, and most importantly, you didn't shed a single tear."

"Well... I'll revise it again when I see Hermione later." Myrtle smiled and floated a few meters in front of him. "Your tears need to go back to the bathroom to get some water."

"Do you want to stay in school?"

"What do you mean? I'm a ghost of Hogwarts, of course I have to stay at the school." Myrtle blinked.

"Dumbledore has a way to guide ghosts to another world. Don't you want to go?"

"You're so strange. I just couldn't bear to leave this world, so I stayed at Hogwarts after I died. Why would I want to leave?" Myrtle tilted her head at him and continued, "I've been disliked for decades until you suggested I rehearse a play, and Draco revised the script for me. Only in the last two years have I started to get attention. I haven't had enough of that feeling yet."

"Is that so..."

Loren slowed his pace, watching the ghost girl float backward in mid-air, listening to her rambling explanation of her newly written play. He had a strange feeling that perhaps this ghost girl wouldn't stay long.

(End of this chapter)