HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

"There will be absolutely no problem this time!"

The student in the lead waved his fist excitedly, even putting his wand in his pocket. "With Headmaster Dumbledore protecting us, we can beat the game with our eyes closed! And we might even break the record!"

Dumbledore smiled gently, his eyes sparkling behind his half-moon spectacles: "Children, it's not a good habit to rely too much on the old man. But let's see what interesting things we'll encounter today."

He conjured up a handful of lemon-flavored shaved ice. "Want some candy? It'll help keep you in a good mood."

The dungeon runs smoothly beyond expectations, and some students have even started planning which item to redeem from the catalog.

Along the way, powerful dark magic traps were quietly dismantled by the old man's casual incantations, and ferocious magical creatures were cleverly lured away or soothed by him.

Parvati asked with admiration, "Headmaster, how did you spot the trap?"

Dumbledore blinked. "Experience and observation, my dear. And a little understanding of the nature of magic. Remember, often the most obvious temptations hide the deepest dangers."

“But you are the greatest white wizard of this century,” Lee Jordan said excitedly. “All dangers are nothing but a piece of cake in your eyes, right?”

“Oh, thank you for your trust,” Dumbledore said with a smile, “but perhaps you overestimate my abilities.”

"How could that be! I bet you're the most powerful of all the mirror images!"

They arrived at the magnificent stone gate of the final hall with ease, almost as if they were on a picnic.

With victory in sight, Lavender almost jumped for joy. "We did it! It was that simple!"

Another student reached out and pushed the door open: "Let's go get the reward! This speed is absolutely record-breaking!"

Ecstasy filled the hearts of every Gryffindor student.

Just as the student leader was full of confidence and preparing to push open the final door, the "Dumbledore" image beside him suddenly sighed softly and regretfully.

“My dear child,” Mirror’s voice remained gentle, yet carried a strange chill, “Do you know? Sometimes, the most deadly threat does not come from the enemy in front, but from unreserved trust.”

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over each of the smiling faces that had suddenly frozen in place.

The next moment, the whole world seemed to have been thrown into a steel furnace!

Without warning, flames so hot they could distort the air surged forth from the void like a roaring beast, instantly engulfing the entire corridor.

The four students felt like insects thrown into amber, unable to move even a finger, and could only watch helplessly as the flames consumed them.

Dumbledore maintained his compassionate expression and shook his head slightly.

"Remember this lesson, and hopefully this 'scorching' experience will help you live longer in some real crisis in the future."

The students were terrified, reaching for their wands but unable to move. "Professor...?! Why?!"

"Why? Because a well-planned betrayal teaches you to be more vigilant than a fire-breathing dragon. This is what Professor Greengrass wants to tell you, and the name of this lesson is—'Absolute security is a deadly illusion.'"

Then, he casually waved his wand.

Several white lights flashed violently, and the four Gryffindor students were as if they had been grabbed and thrown out by an invisible giant hand, instantly ejecting them from the instance.

The students watching from outside saw these Gryffindors walk out unsteadily, their eyes glazed over, as if they were questioning the meaning of life.

"So fast? It must have taken seconds from start to finish, right? Isn't Headmaster Dumbledore a bit too powerful?"

Curious people immediately surrounded him and pressed him for answers.

The student leading the group slowly raised his head, his face displaying a complex expression of despair and utter absurdity, as if his worldview had been utterly shattered.

"Indeed ridiculously strong... beyond imagination..."

He took a deep breath and added, almost in tears:

"But he betrayed us."

"..."

After a brief silence, the crowd erupted in chaos!

The headmaster's betrayal—a piece of news worthy of being recorded in Hogwarts history—spread like wildfire throughout every corner of the campus.

The shock and absurdity it brought far exceeded the sum of all previous sneak attacks by the mirror images of black wizards and wandering wizards.

This betrayal, with an almost cruel humor, imprinted the ultimate creed that Sagles had been trying to instill into the hearts of every student:

In this arena, never completely trust anyone, no matter how strong, reliable, or righteous they may seem.

From then on, the fun of dungeons soared to new heights.

Every recruitment becomes a thrilling gamble, and every battle alongside the professor's mirror image is accompanied by a shadow of vigilance.

The professors, on the other hand, had extremely mixed feelings, as they would occasionally hear legendary stories about their "other side" in the ring.

Sometimes it's about saving people from dire straits, turning the tide amidst cheers of "Big Boss is awesome!"

Sometimes, it involves putting people in dire straits, delivering a "lesson-worthy" backstab amidst screams of "I'm doomed!"

……

In Potions class, Snape glided silently among the students like a bat, scrutinizing their cooking of slugs.

He suddenly stopped next to a Gryffindor, leaning in with an imposing air. "Longbottom, if your brain, filled with reeds, still has any ability to process information, you should know that it's time to stir things up, instead of just standing there like a troll."

Neville was so startled that he nearly knocked over the crucible.

Ron whispered to Harry beside him, "...What if he suddenly puts 'something else' in our pot? Like in the wrestling ring..."

The sound was soft, but it made Snape turn around abruptly.

He stared down at Ron, his lips twisting into a cold smile.

"Oh? It seems our Mr. Weasley has finally shifted his limited brain capacity from 'what to eat today' to... some useless fantasies."

Ron's face turned bright red, while Snape continued spewing venom, "It seems Professor Greengrass's 'situational teaching' has indeed been very effective, successfully implanting fear into your already meager brains."

He bent down abruptly, his face close to Ron's, almost nose to nose: "Let me show you the difference, kid. In the ring, he teaches you to be wary of everyone. Here—"

His voice was even lower, "You just need to be wary of me. But if I really wanted to put something in your cauldron..."

He straightened up, revealing a cold, fake smile: "You won't have a chance to notice anything; you'll just be lying in the hospital contemplating life. Also, ten points deducted from Gryffindor for your foolish delusions and wasting everyone's time. Now, stir!"

Chapter 250 Lupin's Uncle

At breakfast, Dumbledore, watching the students around him whispering and glancing at him from time to time, couldn't help but look over his half-moon spectacles at Sacramento at the end of the teachers' table.

He said gently, “My dear Sagrais, I must say, you have successfully infused Hogwarts with an unprecedented vitality.”

Sagres was slowly cutting a steak when he heard this, and he merely looked up.

"You've also challenged the dungeon?" he asked calmly.

Dumbledore nodded. "Last night, when everything was quiet, I recruited four temporary teammates..."

"And what was the result?" Sagles asked without looking up.

"Ah, I must say, this is truly eye-opening," the old headmaster said with a smile. "If it weren't for you, I probably would never have witnessed Minerva betray me in my entire life."

Dumbledore picked up a piece of candy, examined it briefly, and then put it in his mouth. "Even now, when I eat, I can't help but check if it will suddenly turn into... um... a 'lesson'."

“This shows that the teaching is working, Headmaster,” Sagres replied calmly. “Stay vigilant at all times is the first step to survival. Whether it’s candy or… people.”

The old man raised an eyebrow. "I bet you and Alastor Moody will become best friends."

Sagres raised his head: "Mad-Eye Moody?"

Then he shook his head to himself, “I admire his practical spirit. But his methods lack systematicity and rely too much on personal experience and intuition.”

His tone was flat, as if he were commenting on the saltiness of a dish.

Minerva McGonagall finally couldn't hold back any longer and joined the conversation with a slightly unnatural tone: "Albus, I must explain that what you've encountered is merely a magical construct! Its behavior is based on... based on some extreme interpretation of 'practical instruction'!"

She seemed to be trying to defend her "other side," saying, "I would never treat a colleague that way, and I hope you understand that."

Dumbledore blinked innocently, his tone light: "Oh, of course I know, Minerva. I must say, that mirror image transmutation was masterful; she turned the floor beneath my feet into a pool of ever-changing, sticky maltose, trying to restrict my movement—very creative."

He seemed to be savoring the memory.

"Professor Dumbledore, have you encountered Professor McGonagall's projection?"

Professor Flitwick, who had just arrived, interjected excitedly, "What are its tactical choices? Is it to take the initiative and control or to counterattack? I've added several different styles of moves to my mirror image, just waiting for a student to force it to use them!"

“Then you’re going to be disappointed, Philius,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “At least for the time being, there shouldn’t be any students who can threaten the Professor’s mirror image.”

“It won’t be too long,” Professor Flitwick said confidently. “The students are making remarkable progress, and at this rate, it might not be long before a team defeats the ‘rebellious’ ‘professor’.”

Professor Flitwick made a rare joke.

“I must remind you, Felius, this is not some interesting academic experiment.”

Sprout warned, "Children now enter greenhouses as if they were entering a minefield; even the mildest white succulents will frighten them."

She sighed, "Yesterday, a student even tried to use a blazing fire to deal with the harmless Mibumibo, just because its color 'looks a bit like' the biting kale I used for my projector."

Sagres finally finished the steak on his plate.

He put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and calmly looked at everyone. "This is a necessary growing pain in the learning process, Professor Sprout. It's better for them to be wary of greenhouses now than to lose their lives in the wild due to misjudgment in the future."

The breakfast conversation came to a temporary end in a subtle atmosphere.

The professors rose and left the auditorium, each lost in their own thoughts. Sagres also stood up and walked out.

Remus Lupin appeared to have been waiting for him for a moment by the marble staircase in the foyer.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's eyes were weary yet earnest, and his voice was slightly hoarse: "Professor Greengrass, could I have a moment of your time?"

Upon hearing this, Sagres stopped in his tracks, his grey eyes calmly meeting his gaze.

"Is there something you need, Professor Lu Ping?"

“It’s about… next Friday.” Lupin seemed a little flustered. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to teach that day. I usually ask Professor Snape to substitute, but…”

He gave a wry smile. “You know, that’s not the best option. I was thinking that the projections you created could teach independently, so I was wondering… could you please help me bring my students into the arena that day and create a simple teaching copy instead of the regular classes? To ensure their learning isn’t interrupted.”

Sagles did not respond immediately, but silently stared at Lupin, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate Lupin's carefully maintained calm exterior and see the pain that had accumulated in his heart from the monthly torment.

After a moment of silence, Sagres suddenly spoke, his tone still calm and unremarkable: "Perhaps, we can try to solve that... more fundamental problem within you?"

Lu Ping froze, his pupils contracting slightly, as if he hadn't understood or couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Wh...what? I don't understand what you mean..."

“What I mean is, I might be able to cast a spell to forcibly ‘reshape’ your form and permanently lock it into human form.”