Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Azeroth

Chapter 185, Section 184: The Relaxed Professor and Historical Issues
Harry's words reached the innermost table, and Hagrid's heavy sigh could be heard even by those standing at the bar entrance.

“Hahahaha, indeed, we’ve missed the best time to deduct your points, Harry, it’s a shame,” Professor Flitwick laughed, patting Harry’s leg as he said, “You should let us enjoy this time a little longer… after all, it’s only seven years at most.”

“Actually, you can now,” Harry shrugged. “I’ve never missed a single Charms class each week.”

“That won’t do,” Professor Flitwick winked playfully and joked, “I can’t deduct a professor’s points, that would be too hurtful—let’s not talk about that now, kid, let’s go in quickly, you’re the only one left.”

"The same as before?" Rosmerta laughed.

“Yes, please add some more ice, thank you,” Harry nodded.

Before the Potter mansion was renovated and the wine cellar was inherited, Harry and Hagrid sometimes had to get three brooms to get a good drink, so Rosmerta already knew what they liked to drink.

“Drinking something ice-cold in this weather isn’t really good,” Rosmerta said casually. “By the way, Professor Harry?”

"what's up?"

"I'm sorry to see those things about you in the newspapers—I mean, hang in there! I wish you a speedy reunion with your godfather."

As she said this, Rosmerta bent down and gave Harry a soft, warm hug, with the scent of lavender.

A few teasing whistles rang out from the other tables in the bar, but Rosmerta didn't seem to care about the taunts. After giving Harry a hug, she stood up again, rolled her eyes at the other customers, and went behind the bar to prepare.

“Ah, a sweet begonia,” Professor Flitwick slapped Harry’s thigh harder. “I dare say that just because of that hug, you’re the most envied of the three brooms tonight—hey, I’m talking about you guys, don’t you recognize who he is?”

“Oh, of course we can, Professor Flitwick!” The guests who had just whistled burst into laughter; they too had graduated from Hogwarts in their youth. “Harry Potter! Our youngest and greatest professor in history—a toast to you!”

“Thank you, and I wish you good health,” Harry replied with a smile, then called out towards the bar, “I’ll treat them to a butterbeer each, ladies.”

"Thank you for your generosity, Professor Potter!"

"Professor Potter! You will surely defeat the evil Ministry of Magic and save your godfather!"

"Oh!!"

Harry's generous spending instantly made the atmosphere in the bar even more cheerful. Three bottles of butterbeer only cost one silver sieco, but it was enough to make people happy.

The wooden tables and chairs in the three brooms were all antique pieces, and the fire in the fireplace burned continuously regardless of spring, summer, or autumn, filling the air with the sweet aroma of butterbeer and mead.

"Good heavens, you're finally here!" Hagrid complained as he saw Harry sit down beside him. "I was thinking of setting off with you, but you didn't respond to my knocking. I thought you had arrived first."

“Sorry, Hermione and I are in Mulgore. Well, Ron needs a little comforting; his pet mouse is missing,” Harry explained.

"Ha, there's no need to apologize for something like this," Hagrid said, clearly changing the subject. He looked left and right but avoided looking at Professor McGonagall opposite him. "Ron's rat... I think it was called Scabbers?"

“That’s right. He wanted me to help him divine where Scabbers had gone, but it seems to have run into the Forbidden Forest. Even I can’t find its exact location.” Without revealing his suspicions about Scabbers, Harry decided to catch the rat first.

If Scabbers really is an Animagus, Peter Pettigrew, then as his friend's pet, he must have learned about Harry's weaknesses in divination through prolonged contact. It must be said that the Forbidden Forest is indeed an excellent hiding place; the scenery there is mostly the same, consisting of trees, making it difficult to find his location without a clear landmark.

Having an age beyond the lifespan of a normal rat, having escaped to a convenient hiding place, and with missing limbs... all these anomalies made Harry unable to help but overthink.

What a coincidence.

“That’s really unfortunate,” Hagrid sighed heavily. “If Ron doesn’t mind, I’d be happy to help him catch another pet, like a cat or a dog or a wolf or something.”

“It’s best not to, Hagrid,” Professor McGonagall warned. “An untrained pet could easily harm a student, and I don’t want anyone from the Ministry of Magic showing up at the school because of that—and aren’t we talking about when you brought Harry to Hogsmeade for drinks last year?”

"Cough cough cough cough!!" Hagrid coughed violently. "Cough! Excuse me! Professor McGonagall, cough cough cough! This drink is too strong, I have to excuse myself for a moment!"

Hagrid shoved Harry aside in a fluster and rushed towards the back door of the pub like a clumsy bear. After watching his disheveled figure disappear, the remaining professors exchanged glances and burst into laughter. Even Professor McGonagall, who had just been looking serious, was smiling.

“I hope this doesn’t surprise you too much, Harry.” In this private off-campus gathering, Professor McGonagall did not address Harry as Professor Potter: “This is just a gathering of friends, don’t be too formal.”

“I see,” Harry said casually, glancing around at the surroundings. “The fact that the Most Charming Smile Award isn’t here says a lot.”

Professor McGonagall, Professor Kettleburn, Hagrid, Professor Sprout, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sinister who teaches astronomy, and even Professor Trelawney, finally emerged from her office.

But there was no professor teaching the main course.

As for Snape... it's perfectly normal for him not to participate in such gatherings. Compared to Lockhart now, even Snape has become more popular. At least this Potions professor is truly talented, a fact that even the Gryffindor students who hate Snape the most wouldn't deny.

"hahahahahahahahaha!!"

Harry's words caused the professors present to burst into laughter. If they hadn't used a spell to mute the noise beforehand, the entire pub would have been drawn to their attention. Trelawney, in particular, was laughing so hard she was banging her head on the table and slapping it repeatedly. Such exaggerated behavior would have usually displeased Professor McGonagall, who already disliked Trelawney, but today she simply smiled and shook her head.

It's clear that Lockhart has offended everyone he could.

"Would you like something to eat, mentor?" Trelawney asked eagerly. "The meat pies here are quite delicious, and the toast with cheese is also very fragrant."

“Thank you, but no need, I’ve already had dinner,” Harry said, looking Trelawney up and down. “How are you feeling?”

“Very good,” Trelawney said sincerely. “This is exactly the life I’ve been longing for—a true prophet, living up to the blood of Cassandra.”

Trelawney has changed a lot.

She was already a mature... well, a shaman with a particular specialty.

With only basic communication with the elements, and completely absorbed in the path of the spirits, Trelawney constantly tries to communicate with the dark side beneath the surface world. She has even discovered the existence of the astral plane on her own without Harry's guidance, and has mastered the ability to observe the spirits of others using the astral perspective.

The light emanating from and the state of the spirit being observed revealed enough information to Trelawney, as if she possessed a penetrating gaze upon the world, and the students had no secrets from her.

If you were to audit Trelawney's class now, you would find that the classroom is even more filled with smoke and no longer reeks of alcohol. Trelawney has abandoned the tea divination or tarot card methods she used to use to get away with it, and instead uses a crystal ball to directly present the future of the person being divined.

She received widespread praise, and at least no student will call her a fraud anymore.

In the past, in divination classes, as long as you wrote a sufficiently tragic death log for yourself, you could get a high score on the final exam—but that's no longer the case.

The students were dismayed to discover that this professor, who used to be so easy to get good grades, was now serious.

It was this change that altered Professor McGonagall's perspective, at least making her no longer think of Trelawney as a fraud who attracts attention by scaring students with death prophecies every year.

This was indeed just an ordinary gathering among professors. After all, the professors at Hogwarts are human too, and as human beings, they experience joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, and they also want to relax.

“Would you like a drink, Harry?” Professor Sprout raised his glass to Harry. “To congratulate you on becoming a professor—and this is your first time at a party like this, isn’t it? Surprised? Everyone looks so different than they did at the castle.”

“It is indeed very different,” Harry said after clinking glasses with Professor Sprout and taking a sip. “I understand. After all, you need to maintain your authority in front of the students. If you’re not serious enough, it’s hard for them to stay quiet.”

“You understand very quickly, Harry,” Professor Sprout said with a smile. “I’ve attended a few of your classes, and you have a real talent for teaching.”

"Thank you," Harry raised his glass and gestured to the professors on the other side. "Looks like everyone's had enough of someone."

Professor Sinister was drunkenly complaining to Professor Flitwick about Lockhart barging into her astronomy class to boast about his knowledge of astrology. Then all the professors were surprised to find that they all received similar treatment—Lockhart seemed to be everywhere, claiming to each professor that he knew more about the subject and had more knowledge.

There's already a sense of public outrage. After all, who among the Hogwarts professors doesn't have some special skills? Lockhart's behavior of showing off in someone else's class is truly infuriating.

"This is the first time I've ever wished that curse were real, at least then we'd only have to put up with that idiot for a year."

"Aurora!" Professor McGonagall warned after hearing Professor Sinesta's indignant words, "You're a little drunk."

In any case, such words of cursing a colleague to death should not come from the mouth of a Hogwarts professor.

“Ahem, sorry,” Professor Sinestadt said, somewhat regaining her composure. She glanced at Harry with a slightly embarrassed expression. “I hope you don’t mind, Professor Potter… um, I mean, did the Ministry of Magic send someone to see you? It’s about Sirius Black.”

“Not yet,” Harry shook his head and said, “but it should be soon, Fudge can’t sit still.”

“That would be perfect,” Sinesta said sincerely. “I hope justice will be served, and I hope Sirius will be released from prison as soon as possible—I mean, you need a family member by your side, don’t you?”

"Thank you," Harry said with a smile. "I hope so too... By the way, could you tell me about my father and his friend, about what happened back then?"

The air around the table fell silent.

“Of course,” Professor McGonagall finally nodded and said, “James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were inseparable during their time at school.”

“Perhaps you’ve overlooked someone, Minerva,” Professor Flitwick said with a chuckle. “Lily Evans—James has practically given his heart to her.”

“I must say it’s fortunate that Professor Snape isn’t here today,” Professor Sprout said, shaking his head. “He would never want to hear this… In fact, Professor Snape knows more about everything that happened back then than we do, after all, he was a party to it.”

“I know what happened between them,” Harry said briefly. “From the bottom of my heart, I don’t think what my father and his friends did to Professor Snape was right… In fact, I think they were the bad students in the school, just like my Muggle cousin, who bullied and oppressed the other students.”

Harry's words were startling, and the other professors looked at him in surprise. They hadn't expected Harry to take Snape's perspective.

“…That’s a legacy of history, Harry,” Professor McGonagall finally spoke after a long pause. “Back then, the Man of Void had already gathered his own followers. They intimidated, they killed—even though Hogwarts was a school far removed from wizarding society, it’s undeniable that even in this place that should have been a sanctuary, there was conflict.”

(End of this chapter)