HP: Azkaban's Outstanding Graduate

Hermione sullenly closed the law books under the table.

In another timeline of Hogwarts, Sagles deeply understood Elliott Samdron's awkward situation at Hogwarts.

Samdron, a half-blood wizard with mediocre talent who rose to the ranks of professors through hard work, was always looked down upon in the Hogwarts professorial circle.

At first, Sagres did not discover from the other party's mind that there were still factional disputes at Hogwarts in this era.

The reason is simple: Samdron is an extremely honest man; he doesn't know!

During the time that Sagles impersonated the other party to gather information, he quickly became aware of the undercurrents of factional struggle within the school.

The professors are roughly divided into three camps: the mixed-blood inclusive faction led by Transfiguration professor Martha Kelly, the pure-blood superiority faction represented by Potions professor Ninas Barker, and a few professors who remain neutral.

One afternoon in the faculty lounge, several pure-blood professors were enjoying tea by the fireplace, while Samdron, played by Sagres, sat alone in a corner grading papers.

"If you ask me, no matter how hard some people work, they can't change the limitations of their bloodline," Professor Kabock, a professor of magical literature, said, deliberately raising his voice as he wiped his monocle. "Just like no matter how much you polish a pebble, it will never become a gem."

The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Greaves, chuckled softly, "At least they're working hard, aren't they? Although hard work can't make up for a lack of talent."

Without looking up, Sagles continued writing annotations on the parchment in Samdron's slightly trembling handwriting.

He could feel the sympathetic glances from several mixed-race professors around him, but no one spoke up to defend him.

"Workplace bullying exists everywhere!"

Sagles thought to himself expressionlessly, "This faculty meeting hasn't even started yet, and several different groups of people have already started making sarcastic remarks."

Fortunately, these people weren't very aggressive; their insults sounded more like whining, so he was basically unaffected.

In order to maintain his persona, he even imitated Sam Delon's cowardly behavior to a great extent, honestly teaching and educating people.

Chapter 386 Simp? Face-obsessed?

The atmosphere in the staff break room was somber.

The flickering torches on the stone wall cast long, distorted shadows of the attendees onto the ancient stone, like a group of restless ghosts.

Sagres carefully rolled up the parchment assignment on "the magical principles of the levitation spell" that he was halfway through correcting, and silently walked toward the huge oak table.

He sat down in the spot closest to the door—a corner position tacitly reserved by everyone, as if it were naturally prepared for the original owner.

Principal Brian Gagwayen sat in the main seat, his aged face appearing even more stern in the flickering firelight, his fingers unconsciously stroking an ancient-looking bronze compass.

“Colleagues,” Principal Gagway began slowly, “we can no longer run away from this imminent threat.”

His voice was deep and powerful: "The Church's witch-hunting teams are moving toward us after 'purifying' three villages in the north. Meanwhile, the giant tribes deep in the Forbidden Forest have ended their internal strife, and a new leader has unified the tribes and begun to become...extremely aggressive."

He looked around the room, his gaze sweeping over every face that showed worry, fear, or feigned composure.

"We must confront a real question: for the safety of all students, should Hogwarts be temporarily closed?"

Before he finished speaking, a suppressed murmur filled the conference room.

"Closing schools? That's tantamount to bowing down to the forces of darkness!"

Professor of Magical Literature, Kabbalah, was the first to speak: "Hogwarts has weathered centuries of storms and has never closed due to threats. Strengthening our defenses and demonstrating our strength is the right choice."

"strength?"

The herbalism professor couldn't help but retort, "Kabbak, your arrogance will kill the children! We're not facing one or two dark wizards, but a whole team of witch hunters and raging giants! How long can our protective magic hold out?"

Potions Professor Ninas Barker joined the debate in her cool voice: "Professor Ural is being overly pessimistic. We can certainly build a strong barrier around the castle, a barrier that no Muggle can see through. The question is, are we willing to pay the price?"

As she spoke, her gaze seemed to sweep over the professors present, whose backgrounds were not so "pure," as if she were assessing their worth.

The debate unfolded between the two sides, each sticking to their own version of events, and neither side could convince the other.

The neutral professors remained silent, their brows furrowed.

Just as the debate reached a stalemate, Principal Gagwayen turned his attention to the other positions at the long table, asking each professor for their opinion one by one.

Finally, he turned his gaze to the end of the long table, as if seeking some kind of balance, or simply out of courtesy: "Ellit, what do you think? You're always so thoughtful."

In an instant, all eyes were focused on Sagres.

He could clearly sense the meaning in those gazes: the pure-bloods like Kabak and Ninas showed undisguised contempt, as if to say, "What brilliant ideas do you have?"; the half-bloods like Martha Kelly carried a hint of sympathy and helplessness, but more so, a cold indifference as if it were none of their business.

Sagrass took a deep breath. He knew the real Samdron would be stuttering with nervousness right now, but he just couldn't fake it, because he couldn't help but laugh whenever he tried to stutter.

Finally, he leaned forward slightly and spoke in Samdron's tone, which carried a hint of uncertainty and humility:

“Principal, professors… I believe that closing the school may be a last resort, but certainly not the first choice.”

He paused, as if organizing his thoughts, "Hogwarts is not just a castle, but a sanctuary and a beacon of hope for all young wizards. If it closes, the students will be scattered and more vulnerable. Perhaps we could... consider activating those ancient protective spells, while simultaneously organizing upperclassmen and all professors to construct multiple layers of defense..."

However, before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a cold laugh.

"What a 'touching' academic idea!"

Professor Kabak lowered his monocle, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "Samdron, are you suggesting we hide in burrows like goblins and lock the children in there too? Your 'protective magic' dug out of the old books is probably less reliable than your spell-wielding skills."

Ninas Barker immediately chimed in, her voice as cold as silk: "Ellit, I understand your feelings for the school... But the reality is, what we need is powerful magic, a force strong enough to deter external enemies, not just empty talk."

She ultimately did not use the word "cowardly," but the implication was self-evident.

Even Defense Against the Dark Arts professor Greaves crossed his arms and lazily added, "When you can block one of my attacks with the Ironclad Charm, then we can talk about setting up 'multi-layered defenses'."

A few suppressed snickers echoed in the conference room, like venomous snakes flicking their tongues.

A strong sense of absurdity rose within Sagres—were these people out of their minds?

His suggestion was clearly in line with their views, but he was attacked without cause simply because it was proposed by him, a "Samdron".

This is simply incomprehensible.

Not a single person in the entire conference room stood up to say a word for him.

And Sagras, just like the real Samdron, silently lowered his head amidst the barrage of taunts, rubbing his fingers together as if that would make him disappear.

He stopped speaking and just listened quietly as the others continued to argue, his heart filled with coldness.

In this rigidly hierarchical era, without illustrious lineage and formidable strength as a backing, any rational advice is nothing more than the delusional ramblings of the incompetent in the ears of these arrogant individuals.

Principal Gagway watched this scene, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes, but he ultimately just tapped the table lightly, steer the discussion back to the main topic:

“Since most professors believe we should hold our ground, let’s prepare our defenses. Professor Kabock, you’re in charge of reinforcing the castle’s outer perimeter with protective charms; Professor Barker, the potion reserves are yours; Greviz…”

As a series of instructions were issued, the meeting ultimately decided not to close the school, but to comprehensively strengthen the defenses.

The professors got up and left one after another, none of them giving Sagres, who had moved to the corner, a second glance, as if he didn't exist at all.

Late at night, Sagres sat alone in his office and finally opened the diary he had previously considered worthless and therefore never read carefully.

As you turn the pages, the densely packed handwriting records Samdron's hardships over the years:

"Today I finally passed Headmaster Gagway's interview and got the position of Professor of Charms at Hogwarts. Great! I'm sure I'll be able to find Tina..."

"Today, Ninas corrected my pronunciation in front of everyone in class again, and the students were all snickering. But I guess I really did teach it wrong..."

"Kabbak 'accidentally' lost the lesson plans I had prepared..."

"Why can't they see me no matter how hard I try..."

Sagles shook his head and sighed.

In this hierarchical era, it's harder than climbing to heaven for a half-blood wizard who has neither talent nor background to gain recognition.

He gently closed the diary, a surge of indescribable irritation welling up inside him.

That's so humiliating!

What he found even more unbelievable was that, between the lines, he could actually read the hidden affection this cowardly professor had for Ninas Barker, the Potions professor who always humiliated him!

Not a buddy!

They've treated you like this, and you're still blindly acting like a lapdog?

Is it just because Ninas has shiny blonde hair and is beautiful?

Tsk, turns out he's not just a simp, he's also a sucker for good looks!

Sagres threw his diary on the table and rubbed his aching temples.

Chapter 387 The Simp Uprising

A few days later, on a gloomy afternoon, the tranquility of Hogwarts Castle was suddenly shattered.

At the time, Sagres was explaining the details of casting the Ironclad Spell to fourth-grade students when a muffled, loud noise suddenly came from the east side of the castle.

The entire castle trembled slightly, and panic erupted in the classroom. Several students screamed, and many knocked ink bottles off their desks.

"Stay calm!"

Sagres's steady voice echoed in the classroom as he strode quickly toward the window.

Through the thick glass window, he saw a rare sight—three giants, each about five meters tall, standing like moving hills at the edge of the forbidden forest.

Their rough, grayish-brown skin blends almost seamlessly with the withered tree trunks.

One of them was prying up a huge rock from the ground and then hurling it toward the castle like a catapult.

The boulder traced an arc in the air, and finally, when it was still dozens of meters away from the outer wall of the castle, it seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall, instantly shattering into countless fragments.

Ancient protective magic rippled outwards in golden waves at the point of impact, like pebbles thrown into a calm lake.

“Merlin…” a student said, trembling.

"Quiet," Sagles said calmly. "Continue the lesson."

The panicked students seemed to be infected by Sagres's calm demeanor, and they all quieted down and returned to their seats.

The giants in the distance seemed dissatisfied with the result of this probing attack.

They let out a low growl, exchanged a few hand gestures, and then turned and left with heavy steps, slowly disappearing into the depths of the forbidden forest.

The entire attack took only a few minutes, but the resulting panic quickly spread throughout the castle.

As soon as the bell rang, the students rushed to the common room.

The corridor was crowded with panicked people, and the sounds of discussion and crying could be heard everywhere.