days at Hogwarts

Chapter 798 Who could it be? It's so hard to guess

In the storage room inside the office, there is a well-crafted black solid wood dining table, covered with a dark green tablecloth embroidered with gold thread, and on it is a steaming cream of mushroom soup.

The soup base is snow-white and tender, with emulsified fat floating in it. Thinly sliced ​​ham is added to it, and the taste is fresh and rich. The freshly picked mushrooms absorb the soup, which has a moderate salty and sweet taste.

This is the dish prepared for the year-end dinner
Professor Snape did not go to the auditorium to have lunch, but instead notified the kitchen to send the dishes to the office. As an assistant teacher, Loren helped mark the test papers for a few hours. It was only natural that he should take advantage of the professor's privileges.

This cream soup is a bit greasy to drink directly, Loren is more used to it with staple food. He dipped the bread in the mushroom soup and thought it tasted good. While eating, he asked:
"I didn't see those specimens and materials in the storage room. You moved them all to Slytherin's secret room? You said you wanted to transform it into a potion laboratory. How's the progress?"

"Fortunately."

"The lab is planning to recruit students individually, or will it select club members?"

"When recruiting students for the next school year, clubs will be given priority."

“Why wasn’t there an announcement?”

"The preliminary preparations have not been completed yet. 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 accounting stage. The renovation of Pomona's greenhouse is more complicated and involves more things. The potion laboratory is on the back, and the budget approval will take another two weeks."

"Funds, approval..."

Loren repeated these words, dragging out the last syllable, making weird expressions on his face, "Vice Principal Snape has adapted very quickly. In less than a year, he has become familiar with the way of speaking of this position."

"..."

Snape looked up at him with an expressionless face, and then continued to cut the steak, holding the knife and fork tightly and sawing back and forth. It took him half a minute to cut off a thumb-sized piece, put it in his mouth, chewed it for a long time, swallowed it, and then repeated the process.

Loren's forehead twitched and he muttered quietly, "This is what happens when you are promoted to vice principal. When you become principal, won't it be even more excessive?"

"It is Minerva who has taken over as Headmistress."

Snape corrected, his expression and tone calm.

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

Loren chewed the bread soaked in soup and analyzed vaguely: "Is it difficult to guess who will take over as the principal?"

"And what happens next?" Snape chewed slowly with a playful smile on his face.

“Who knows what will happen in the long term?”

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

It's just boring to talk to this professor.

“Cream of mushroom soup is still a bit greasy.”

"If you wipe the corners of your mouth before commenting, it might be more convincing."

"I just said it's a little greasy, but I don't deny its deliciousness." Loren lowered his head and scooped another spoonful of soup. "Besides, I'm about to graduate. If I don't taste it more, I won't be able to taste the taste of Hogwarts anymore."

"Who knows..."

After casually commenting on the professor's special meal and finishing his meal, Loren wiped his mouth and glanced at the several stacks of unmarked papers on the table, and said goodbye at the right time.

After Loren left, Snape picked up the knife and fork with both hands again and continued to cut the steak slowly. He chewed the thumb-sized strips of meat carefully for nearly half a minute before swallowing them, with a faint smile in his eyes.

When Dumbledore was young, he was a dedicated professor of Transfiguration. After he was promoted to the headmaster, he still cared about the growth of his students, but he had not provided targeted training and education for many years. He went to great lengths to torment Potter in order to help him grow up as quickly as possible to face Voldemort. As for Loren and Miss Granger, they certainly had other purposes...

A gentle, unambitious wizard with powerful magic.

A politician who cares about the disadvantaged and has ambitious goals.

And the two grew up together and have a close relationship. What could be a more suitable combination than this?

Snape chewed the steak silently, picked up the wine and took a sip. The bubbles floated along the wall of the glass, making a slight sizzling sound.

……

The lunch hour in the auditorium has also ended.

Loren came out from the basement stairs, facing the scorching sunshine in the courtyard. Feeling the warmth of the sunshine on his face, he couldn't help but squint his eyes slightly.

Many young wizards sat around in the courtyard, talking and laughing, with smiles on their faces as bright as the sun.

"Um……"

Loren thought back.

When she and Hermione separated in the morning, she said she wanted to say goodbye to Professor Bubbage. After all, he was a close professor with whom she had been communicating for several years. The little fame that Hermione had made in the academic world in recent years was also thanks to Professor Bubbage's careful guidance and his tireless recommendations when she attended various exchange meetings.

Lunch time has passed. Estimating the time, I guess they should have had the staff meal in the office.

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

Just as he walked up a dozen steps, he suddenly heard a slight sound of wind behind him, which made the temperature around him drop by several degrees. In the school castle, this was obviously a sign of ghosts approaching. He turned around and saw Myrtle, who was wearing glasses, floating in front of him.

"Loren!"

A shrill voice sounded right next to my face.

Loren's ears were ringing from the shock. After a while, he looked helpless and said, "Myrtle, when did you learn bad things from Peeves?"

"I'm not imitating Peeves!"

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

"I'm not scary, I'm angry, I'm very angry."

"Angry about what?"

"You and Hermione are graduating, and you only said goodbye to Nick and didn't think of me at all."

The short and fat ghost girl stared at him straightly. Her round face seemed to have turned into the Weeping Myrtle again. Her eyes looked more prominent because of her thick pearl-colored glasses. "I thought we were friends! Now I know. You don't want to be friends with Myrtle at all. No one wants to be friends with Myrtle. Fat Myrtle, ugly Myrtle, Myrtle who only knows how to cry..."

"..."

Loren was silent for a moment, then turned around and continued walking upstairs: "The emotions are not full enough, the lines are too contrived, and most importantly, you didn't shed a tear."

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

"Do you want to continue to stay in school?"

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

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

"You're so weird. I just couldn't bear to leave this world. I stayed in Hogwarts after I died. Why should I leave?" Myrtle tilted her head towards him and continued, "I have been despised for decades until you suggested that I rehearse a play and Draco revised the script for me. Only in the past two years have I started to receive attention. I haven't experienced this feeling enough."

"That's it..."

Loren slowed down his pace, watching the ghost girl floating backwards in the air, listening to her chattering about the new play. He had an inexplicable feeling in his heart that perhaps the ghost girl would not stay for too long.

(End of this chapter)