Hogwarts starts with stealing power.

When Professor Lu Ping returned to campus, Lin Xia received an envelope specially sent by an owl in the laboratory.

The owl politely tapped the red "Exclusive Visitor" button outside the lab door with its beak. Hearing the notification, Lin Xia pushed open the door and saw an owl standing on the ground.

It gently pecked at the envelope on the ground with its beak. Lin Xia fed it some magical food, and the owl flew around her once with satisfaction before flying away.

Lin Xia then picked up the envelope from the ground, opened it, and discovered that it contained the recipe for wolfsbane medicine.

She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Wolfsbane is a new type of medicine that has been developed in recent years, and the formula has not been leaked.

Because this potion is relatively uncommon and not in high demand in the magical world, it receives little attention.

This has also led to insufficient promotion of wolfsbane medicine.

If there is demand for this, then this medicine is a scarce medicine.

If there is no demand, then it is incomprehensible why such a drug has been developed in the world.

In the eyes of many wizards, being bitten by a werewolf is basically a death sentence, with no chance of recovery.

At the end of the envelope was Dumbledore's signature, saying it was a gift for the entire laboratory.

Lin Xia had previously learned from Hermione that she had reached an agreement with the headmaster that the laboratory would undertake the production of a batch of wolfsbane potion to fill the vacancy left by professors at the school who were unwilling to produce the potion.

The principal almost called out Professor Snape's name.

From their previous confrontation, she could tell that Sirius Black had been very unfriendly to Snape when they were in school, or perhaps their whole group was unfriendly to him.

No wonder Professor Snape has held a grudge all this time and has been targeting Lupin at every turn.

From Lin Xia's perspective, if Lupin hadn't been so skilled at Defense Against the Dark Arts, and hadn't taught with more dedication than other professors, she would have also been inclined to have the school dismiss him.

Appointing a werewolf as a professor, especially one who completely loses his mind on the night of a full moon, is far too dangerous.

"Lin Xia, who wrote you the letter?"

Draco emerged from the lab, looking utterly exhausted.

He and Hermione were working together to research methods to reduce mental strength. Recently, they had come up with some ideas. Instead of following the traditional potion route, they planned to modify special materials and use their properties to see if they could directly stimulate the mental strength of young wizards.

He has spent the entire day in the lab testing materials.

Just as I was finally able to catch my breath, I saw Lin Xia holding a letter in her hand.

Lin Xia waved the envelope. "Are you interested in the method for making the wolfsbane potion?"

Draco's eyes lit up. He took the letter, glanced at it, and muttered to himself as he looked at the materials on it:
"Stone root powder, Ge Xian flower... I never expected that these ingredients would have such a strong suppressive effect on wolfsbane."

Oh, right, he also used some energizing ingredients... wait a minute, I think some of those ingredients could also be used in psychic potions.”

Lin Xia asked curiously, "Didn't you say you weren't planning to use a pharmaceutical product?"

Draco snapped out of his reverie: "Right, right, I got too engrossed in my thoughts. We're not planning to make potions anymore; instead, we'll create a physical object. I think perhaps some of the materials can be incorporated into this item to keep the little wizard lucid."

Lin Xia asked, "I don't know if you have any time recently. I plan to have you and Hermione make the wolfsbane potion."

Draco readily agreed: "Leave it to us. I think this potion will be very helpful for our research on creations related to mental power. I've had a lot of inspiration come to mind."

If he hadn't just come out to rest, he would have been eager to go back to the lab to do experiments.

While Lin Xia was obtaining the wolfsbane potion, news of Professor Lu Ping's return to his office also spread.

Those familiar with the situation expressed their doubts, feeling that the school's move was too audacious, and that Lupin had already shown a great deal of uncontrollability.

The professor, unaware of the inside story, only felt that his burden could be lightened a bit, as the Defense Against the Dark Arts class had been particularly difficult to teach lately.

Some of the temporary substitute teachers had long been fed up with the young wizards' frequent mistakes, and every Defense Against the Dark Arts class was a disaster, with many unexpected incidents.

There is a teachers' meeting this afternoon.

Lupin had already returned to Hogwarts, so as is customary, he was to attend this meeting.

Midway through, he encountered Snape in the corridor.

When Snape saw him, a flash of undisguised contempt crossed his eyes.

"It seems like any Tom, Dick, or Harry can get into Hogwarts now! Is the school really that short of professors? Maybe we should post another job opening. I refuse to believe that we can't find a satisfactory candidate after a few more rounds of recruitment."

In the past, Lupin had always silently endured Snape's taunts without responding, but this time he did.

“Hogwarts has no shortage of powerful wizards, but it lacks wizards who know how to teach. My teaching style is different from other professors, which is why I received hundreds of letters from students after I left the school.”

Lupin smiled slightly at Snape. "What can we do? These students just love it when I lecture them."

Snape looked at him coldly, then suddenly said sarcastically, "A professor as glib and charming as you is certainly not as popular as you."

Lu Ping smiled slightly, "I don't know if you've ever heard the old Chinese saying, 'Sour grapes.'"

Snape said expressionlessly, "Since you're so popular, you certainly don't need me to provide you with wolfsbane medicine anymore. I just need more time to work on my research."

Lupin: "Dumbledore messaged me today saying that the wolfsbane potion will be provided to me by Lin Xia's laboratory, so you don't need to worry about that, Professor."

Snape suddenly stopped, staring coldly at Lupin, and said in a voice as sharp as a viper's breath:
"Aren't you feeling smug right now? You thought your friend who was your enemy hadn't betrayed you after all, and that your friend who you thought was dead had actually come back to life in front of you. Aren't you happy?"
But Lupin, this is just the beginning; your nightmare is yet to come!

Lupin said indifferently, "I thought Professor Snape wouldn't believe in prophecies. What you just said is even more outrageous than a prophecy."

“Furthermore,” he paused, “no matter how you see me, I have never done anything immoral or immoral, and I have never intentionally harmed any human being.”

Snape sneered, "You'll just use this facade of innocence to win people's sympathy, Lupin. Your true identity will never be revealed!"

The moment you were exposed, I only hoped that Hogwarts wouldn't regret choosing you as a professor.

Lupin simply smiled, unfazed by Snape's provocation.

He has never liked arguing with people.

But he knew that Snape's mood would continue to be very bad.

Because through his channels, he already knew that tomorrow, news about Sirius Black being exonerated would be published in major magical newspapers.

Under the Ministry of Magic's will, they will allow Sirius Black to appear before everyone openly and proudly, standing tall and proud.

Lupin, however, had no idea how the Ministry of Magic would handle Peter Pettigrew, or that Voldemort was still alive. In fact, the news spread faster than Lupin had anticipated.

Before the next day had even arrived, and the magic newspapers hadn't published any related news, rumors were already circulating in the school that Sirius Black was innocent.

The topic originated in the Great Hall, where the young wizards were chatting idly when the question suddenly came up, and they quickly received replies from others.

In an instant, the news that Sirius Black was innocent became the talk of the town for every wizard.

Even Ron and the others couldn't figure out where the information came from.

The only thing they were certain of was that the twins had been spending the last few days in the lab, working together to plan the paper presentation and figuring out if there was a more efficient process to follow.

Lin Xia let them handle this matter freely.

To put it bluntly, this isn't her paper presentation. What's wrong with twins wanting to be a little different?
After all, the two of them were the main characters at the paper's publication conference.

So when Lin Xia later learned that the Weasley twins had decided to sing the Hogwarts school song before the thesis presentation, she was not surprised at all.

This is something twins would do.

Tonight, the young wizards dining in the Great Hall were buzzing with discussions about the rumors, glancing at Harry every now and then.

The reason Sirius Black was mentioned by the young wizards was because he was related to Harry.

It is said that he had a good relationship with Harry's parents and was once believed to be the one who killed them, but it turns out that this was not true.

"So the Ministry of Magic has been wrongly accusing people all along, and even imprisoned him in Azkaban for more than ten years. Will the Ministry of Magic provide compensation after he is released?"

"If he were to sue the Ministry of Magic, he would probably have to pay compensation. Would he come looking for Harry? I heard he's the executioner who killed dozens of students!"

"Shh! Don't shout so loudly. What if this is also a rumor? And I think it's very possible!"

"On the other hand, he killed dozens of students. Is there any witness to that?"

It wasn't that all the wizards on the street saw Sirius Black kill... oh wait, it seems it was that all the wizards on the street saw him kill dozens of people, without specifically mentioning students.

So who were those wizards who actually witnessed it? There must have been wizards giving false testimony back then!

"Will Harry acknowledge him? I heard that person has a good relationship with his parents. Will he come to Hogwarts? Although I know he is innocent, I don't want him to be at the school."

……

"Harry, are you alright? So many people are talking about your relationship with Sirius."

Ron looked at Harry with concern. Ever since they went into the Great Hall for dinner that evening, he had keenly observed that Harry was very distracted.

Harry forced a smile and shook his head, saying, "I'm fine. They just don't believe Sirius was framed. They'll know the truth when the newspapers publish the story tomorrow."

Hermione wasn't sure where the rumor came from, but she didn't think much of the newspaper Harry mentioned.

This involves Voldemort, so the Ministry of Magic will definitely selectively conceal some details.

“Harry, things aren’t that simple. Don’t be too optimistic. Also, I think the rumors tonight were spread by someone with ulterior motives.”

Although I don't know his purpose, it certainly wasn't to draw attention to Sirius Black, who was about to be exonerated.

Hermione spoke quickly, her eyes growing brighter and brighter, and she soon came up with some speculations.

"Harry, haven't you noticed? All the students are talking about you!"

They're not really interested in Sirius Black. They're just curious what you'll do, so I think the person spreading the rumors is after you!

Harry frowned. "Me? Sirius Black is innocent. He's my godfather, and once he's cleared his name, I'll definitely be with him."

Hermione: "If, and I mean if, even if the newspapers publish the truth tomorrow, but Sirius Black's reputation is still very bad, would you tell him to his face that you refuse to acknowledge him as your son?"

Harry shook his head: "How could that be? I know he's innocent, I believe him!"

Hermione thought for a moment and said, "It's possible that the person behind it all is deliberately misleading us into believing that Sirius Black only escaped the crime because of his high intelligence, and won't tell us the real truth."

Harry said angrily, "That's not right!"

A surge of anger rose within him, and he didn't hear what Hermione said after that.

He was thinking that if the magic newspaper really wrote something wrong, he would use his right to reputation to help Sirius Black fight the case.

Black is Harry's only family in the world, and Harry wants to give him justice.

Harry's sudden outburst startled the other young wizards, and soon the rumor spread in a different version.

"Harry is very hostile towards Sirius Black, and their relationship is irreparable."

"Was Sirius Black exonerated with the help of the Death Eaters? Perhaps this is another conspiracy by the Death Eaters?"

"I heard that many Death Eaters surrendered to the Ministry of Magic immediately after Voldemort died, and claimed that they had been bewitched by Voldemort to join the Death Eaters."

Thankfully, Draco didn't come to the Great Hall tonight, otherwise, if he had overheard the young wizards' discussion, he probably would have been the second one to want to flip the table.

In Lin Xia's laboratory.

Ron and the others came to the laboratory. They knew that Harry was emotionally unstable and were afraid that he might do something impulsive, so they came to the laboratory specifically to call on the Weasley twins, who were good at analyzing public opinion, to analyze it together.

They were lucky; the Weasley twins happened to be free tonight, so they approached them.

Hermione asked, "What do you think the people spreading these rumors are trying to do?"

Tomorrow's newspapers will carry the news of Sirius Black being wrongly accused, and since Hogwarts students can't go out, they shouldn't know about this.

The twins thought for a moment and said, "The person behind this probably doesn't want Sirius Black to be exonerated so quickly. You didn't tell me the truth, so we can only guess a little bit of what the person behind this is thinking."

When Lin Xia came out of the laboratory and heard this, she casually said, "After tomorrow's newspaper is published, if the students are still spreading rumors that Sirius Black was dragged out by those nobles, Harry, you can personally stand up and redeem Black's reputation."

Ron hesitated, "Is this the right thing to do?"

Lin Xia smiled and said, "Whether it's suitable or not depends on how much Black means to Harry."

Since Sirius Black is innocent and is Harry's godfather, what's wrong with Harry standing up for him and saying a few words?

If we say nothing and let the rumors spread, what difference will it make whether Sirius's innocence is cleared or not? (End of Chapter)