Chapter 54 Substitue Dark Arts Teacher

Chapter 54.

When Soren opened his eyes, it was still not fully light outside, probably between four and five o'clock in the morning. Most of the students in the Great Hall were still in deep sleep, indicating that last night's late-night chat had indeed taken quite a toll on their energy.

Daphne lay beside him, clutching his left arm tightly, her delicate face pressed against his chest, the warmth of her breath tickling his left ribcage. Her silky golden hair spread across his chest, with a few strands playfully trying to sneak into his nostrils, making him feel a sneeze coming on.

On his right side, Meredith occupied his right arm, peacefully sleeping with a serene expression. Upon closer inspection, the once proud little girl was gradually revealing her extraordinary charm, with delicate brows and eyes that carried a hint of allure amidst her vigor.

Both girls were exceptional life companions; to have one was already a blessing earned from past lives. Thinking about how he could embrace both sides, enjoying the fortune of having two partners, Soren couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction in his heart, feeling that he had finally not wasted the opportunity given by heaven to relive his life, and he broke into a happy smile.

He heard footsteps in the hall, and not far away, Dumbledore was speaking. Surely, he was here for a security check, concerned about the safety of the place in the early hours.

Seeing Dumbledore approach Percy, Soren quickly cast an "Aquila oculus Charm" on himself, a family spell of the Lestrange, which could enhance sensory acuity. Lestrange spells were generally related to the five senses and intuition, likely connected to their family's penchant for torturous spells.

"How's it here, Percy?" Dumbledore's gentle voice asked.

"Very good, sir, everything is under control." Percy's voice was slightly sharp, clearly excited to report directly to the headmaster. "Since last night, nothing has occurred."

"Good, thank you for your hard work." Dumbledore must have nodded in acknowledgment to Percy. "Severus?"

A hurried footstep approached, the robe whooshing with wind, and mixed with it was a faintly spicy scent. Soren recognized it as the smell emitted from wolf's bane roots. This person must be Professor Snape.

"Headmaster, I have searched the entire fourth floor; he is not there. Filch also checked the underground classrooms and found nothing." Snape's voice bore a hint of exhaustion, likely due to the all-night search.

"Very well, what about the astronomy tower? Professor Trelawney's room? The owlery? The broom shed? Have these places been checked? Has Hagrid contacted his friends to search the Forbidden Forest?" Dumbledore spoke softly, clearly not wanting to wake the sleeping students.

"All checked; he is not there."

"Good, I have always thought he wouldn't linger." Dumbledore's voice took on a note of reassurance.

"Then, headmaster, what are your thoughts on how he entered the school?" Snape's voice contained a trace of anger.

"There are many possibilities, Severus. They differ, but I believe the one you suspect is absolutely wrong." Dumbledore's tone was extremely serious.

"Do you remember our conversation—headmaster—" Snape's voice became lower, and Soren had to concentrate to barely make it out. "At the beginning of the term, I raised objections regarding your appointment—"

"Enough, Severus!" Dumbledore interrupted him.

"But, without inside help, he wouldn't be able to enter Hogwarts..." Snape still seemed intent on making his point.

"Enough, Severus. I do not believe anyone in the castle would assist him in entering the school. Now, I must first go look for the Dementors." Dumbledore raised his voice slightly.

Then the conversation fell silent, suggesting that Snape had also left, leaving only Percy still patrolling, lucky for him to have such good spirits.

When the professors announced the search was complete, and Black had left the castle, the three girls looked at Soren with increasingly strange expressions, recalling his deductions from the night before.

In contrast, Dumbledore didn't seem disappointed—he was simply satisfied that the intruder had not remained in the school, eliminating the danger hidden within was the most important thing at the moment.

In the following days, the school buzzed with rumors about Black. The tales of how he entered the castle became increasingly bizarre—Hufflepuff's Hannah Abbott claimed to have heard that Black could transform into a flowering bush!

Besides the growing rumors, many changes occurred within the castle.

For instance, the damaged portrait of the Fat Lady was taken down, replaced by a fully armed Sir Cadogan and his plump gray pony.

The little lions of Gryffindor were quite unhappy about this; Sir Cadogan spent half his time challenging people to duel. The other half was spent figuring out the ridiculously complicated passwords, which he had to change at least twice a day. This troubled Neville, who had poor memory; he had to write down the passwords on a small piece of paper to avoid the embarrassment of being unable to enter the common room.

For example, Harry is now under close surveillance. Professors walk with him in the corridors for various reasons and excuses; Percy follows him everywhere, like an extremely proud guard dog.

Since the Patronus Charm exchange session, Soren's popularity has reached a new height.

Many Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students have developed a fondness for this skilled yet approachable lower-year student. Whenever Soren walks down the corridor, he is greeted enthusiastically by students from these two houses, and even the entire Slytherin house seems less annoying—Slytherin students have started to get along well with their Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw classmates.

Another thing that has also boosted Soren's popularity is the successful publication of "My Adventures with the Basilisk at Hogwarts" at the end of September, which climbed to the top of the sales rankings for wizard novels in just a month, earning Soren a considerable amount of Galleons and boosting his fame, achieving both fame and fortune.

Although many people know about Soren defeating the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets last year, they do not know the details or the dangers involved. Only after reading this novel do they realize how incredible it is for a second-year student to have successfully defeated the Basilisk.

With a lot of word-of-mouth promotion from the students, the contents of "My Adventures with the Basilisk at Hogwarts" have become the hottest topic in the school, even overshadowing the topic of Sirius—everyone is worried about not being able to join the conversation and is frantically ordering the book from Diagon Alley, resulting in almost everyone at Hogwarts having a copy.

On that Friday, during Defense Against the Dark Arts class, students were surprised to find that Professor Lupin was absent due to illness and that Professor Snape would be substituting for him.

The students were in an uproar—this was probably the first time they had heard of a professor missing class due to illness since they started school. The medical wing, overseen by Madam Pomfrey, was renowned for its effectiveness, with few conditions that could not be treated. There were even rumors that the medical room's standards were on par with St. Mungo's Hospital. Professors, being outstanding adult wizards, rarely suffered from such ailments. According to a student who had just visited the school medical room yesterday, Lupin was not there.

"What happened to Professor Lupin?" Dean Thomas asked anxiously.

"Perhaps I should teach you how to respect a professor, Mr. Thomas," Snape said, wearing that spine-chilling smile. "I am not Professor Lupin; I do not have such a good temperament. For disrupting the class and disrespecting a professor, Gryffindor loses ten points."

"Sorry, Professor," Hermione reacted. "We're just worried about Professor Lupin's condition."

"There's no danger to life…" he said slowly, but his tone was so cold it seemed capable of forming ice shards. "Now, back to your lesson; Professor Lupin left no records of what you've learned…"

"Sorry, sir, we learned about Boggarts, Red Caps, Kappa, and Grindylows," Hermione said quickly, "and we were about to start learning—"

"Silence," Snape said coldly, "I did not ask a question. I am merely criticizing Professor Lupin's lack of structure in his teaching."

"But he is the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had!" Seamus Finnigan shouted. He greatly admired the abilities Lupin displayed and was a staunch supporter of him.

"Only the best you've encountered, Mr. Finnigan," Snape's face showed no hint of emotion. "You are far too easily satisfied. You should know that I have always considered dealing with Red Caps and Grindylows to be a first-year level exercise. Now, today we will talk about—" he opened the textbook, searched for a while, then softly uttered two words: "Werewolves!"

"Sorry, Professor." Hermione stood up again, "According to the schedule, we should be studying Hinkypunks instead."

"Miss Granger, may I ask if you are the teacher? Or am I?" Snape pressed his thin lips together. "I am speaking to all of you!" He glared fiercely at the entire class.

"Now, who can tell me the real difference between wolves and werewolves?" Snape asked, his eyes shimmering with a strange light.

Everyone sat still and silent, except for Hermione, who, as usual, raised her hand high.

"Are you saying—" Snape's voice began to carry a mocking tone, "Professor Lupin hasn't told third-year students the difference between the two?"

"We told you," Parvati suddenly said, "We haven't gotten to the chapter on werewolves yet, we're still learning—"

"Be quiet!" Snape said harshly, "Yes, it's truly hard to believe that I'm faced with a class of third-year students who can't identify a werewolf. I must inform Professor Dumbledore about how far behind you all are..."

"Please, sir," Hermione raised her hand high, "There are a few minor differences between werewolves and real wolves. The snout of a werewolf—"

"This is the second time you've spoken out of turn, Miss Granger," Snape said coldly, "Due to an intolerable know-it-all, Gryffindor loses five points."

Then he turned to say, "Soren, you explain!"

To be fair, Soren actually thought Snape was right, although the little lions were quite innocent—the ability to identify werewolves was actually a first-year lesson; unfortunately, such an important class was ruined by Quirrell. Under Quirrell's stammering explanation, most little wizards were probably daydreaming, with only eager students like Hermione being exceptions.

Soren first took out silver from his pocket, then used Transfiguration to turn the desk into a motionless werewolf, letting the two stand side by side while pointing out their subtle differences and explaining in detail.

Soren's explanation was lively and interesting; even the Gryffindor lions listened attentively, and even Hermione couldn't help but feel admiration—if she had been the one explaining earlier, she surely couldn't have done as well as Soren.

Snape didn't expect Soren to do such a thing, but it was exactly what he wanted, so he awarded Slytherin fifteen points. This time the little lions didn't complain about the points deduction; after all, Soren's explanation did help them understand—Ron grumbled a few things about "showing off," but no one was willing to pay him any attention, which made him feel quite bored.

Before class ended, Snape assigned homework on werewolves—a paper discussing how to identify and kill a werewolf, at least two sheets of parchment.

Just as the classmates were groaning about the assignment, the first Quidditch match of the semester would kick off the next day.

Originally, this opening match was scheduled between Slytherin and Gryffindor, but Slytherin's captain Marcus Flint, not wanting to play against Gryffindor in bad weather, found an excuse to switch the match order with Hufflepuff—changing the match to Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff, which infuriated Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff was also quite dissatisfied with Slytherin's actions.

Hufflepuff's new Quidditch captain Cedric had complained to Soren about this issue more than once. Flint's move had indeed drawn a wave of hatred toward Slytherin, enough to offset the goodwill Soren had worked hard to earn for Slytherin.

Soren didn't care; Flint was a pureblood hardliner, and he and Soren had ideological conflicts. Soren understood that a dispute between them was inevitable, so he chose to watch Flint's self-destructive actions with indifference.

*****

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