Hogwarts Study Panel

Chapter 150: The Canary Biscuit Crisis
Malfoy had never experienced such cold snow; he was so cold that he began to shiver involuntarily.

The figure hidden beneath the black robe was like a storm cloud surging with thunder; though it made no move, everyone knew that a violent storm was about to break out.

Malfoy couldn't understand what had happened at all. He had clearly avoided Green; he had even deliberately avoided him.

This was something completely unimaginable before entering Hogwarts, and now, he deeply regretted not choosing Durmstrang...

He felt his legs shaking violently, and when he tilted his head slightly, he saw that Gore and Crabbe were almost unconscious.

This made him even more afraid.

Faced with this predicament, Professor Snape spoke up:

"Ah—an orphan..."

Professor Snape's voice sounded like a cry from hell.

……

When Harry and Ron left the Quidditch pitch, Sheehan, Justin, and Neville were standing nearby.

The greenhouse and the Quidditch pitch are not far apart, both located behind the castle.

Therefore, when Harry and Ron looked over, they could still vaguely see several figures trudging through the snow.

"Is that...Sheen?"

Harry, wrapped in a scarf, spoke as if his words had turned into white mist.

"...Anyway, Snape was definitely a... well, Sheehan, Justin, and Neville. Oh, and if Hermione hadn't had to read ten more books, she would have gone to the greenhouse to help out too..."

Ron replied, still recounting with Harry the harsh things Professor Snape had done.

"Then...us?"

Harry was surprised to learn about such a group activity, and that no one had told him about it yet.

“Harry…you didn’t know? Oh! Of course you didn’t know! Because you’ve been at the Quidditch pitch the whole time.”

Because the wind was so loud, Ron had no choice but to raise his voice.

"Greenhouses are lacking..."

Harry's voice was also muffled in the wind and snow.

"Of course we need them! Neville always comes back looking like he's dead!"

The two exchanged a glance, seemingly having the same idea.

The snow was falling heavier and heavier, and many plants in the greenhouse needed care.

For example, the pods of the *Gnaphalium affine* need to be squeezed regularly during the winter.

More importantly, the pods must be heated over a flame until they turn bright red before squeezing. If you squeeze the cold pods directly with your hands, the sharp, moving black seeds inside will explode.

Removing the vine pods from the raging, whip-like, knotty vines was no easy task, but fortunately, it was Bruce and his two senior classmates who accomplished this task in Greenhouse No. 3.

However, the three of them could often hear their screams; or Bruce would scream while Leon laughed.

In front of the domed building, Justin was about to push open the door and enter. Behind him, Neville was shyly sharing some plant care tips with Sheehan.

At that moment, snowflakes were still on Sheen's face. He nodded slightly and scribbled down the contents with his quill pen, making Neville both happy and even more shy.

"Sheen!"

"Sheen!"

As the greenhouse door opened, two loud shouts came from afar.

It was Harry and Ron. They ran over shouting, and Professor Sprout, who had just pushed open the door to Greenhouse Number Three from the inside, smiled broadly.

How wonderful, how truly wonderful...

"Congratulations on discovering the secret mission of Hope Hut—Welcome to Greenhouse Number One. There are gloves on the shelf, don't forget to take them."

Justin said with a gentle smile.

"Oh!" Ron gasped, excited by Justin's words.

"You can hardly imagine that we just escaped from Professor Snape's clutches..."

While putting on his gloves, Ron, excited and unsure of what to say, unconsciously brought up the conversation he and Harry had just had.

“He deducts Gryffindor points for even the smallest mistake—and Neville, he takes his anger out on Neville all the time! Today, he's in a terrible mood, ha! Even Malfoy couldn't escape it…”

When Ron mentioned Professor Snape, Neville turned pale and even trembled slightly.

“He must hate me to the core. He doesn’t realize that, apart from those sycophantic Slytherins, no one really…likes him.”

Harry was also gritting his teeth.

Justin frowned. In his observation, although Professor Snape was indeed harsh, his teaching ability was beyond question.

However, considering Professor Snape's various actions, he remained silent.

Unbeknownst to them, in the distance, a figure in a wide black robe stood on the snow with some inexplicable purpose.

His black eyes were fixed on them, glancing ominously at Harry and Ron before settling on those green eyes.

"...He's no good person! He keeps to himself because nobody can stand him!"

Ron muttered to himself.

Harry nodded in agreement, and the group entered the greenhouse one after another. Suddenly, Harry wanted to say something more.

Then I heard a very faint sound.

"Harry, even if there's no place for Professor Snape in this world, what right do we have to judge his soul?"

Sheen and Harry exchanged a glance, then sighed softly and entered the greenhouse.

Harry stood frozen in place, stunned. He had rarely seen such a complex look in someone's eyes, one that held so many unspeakable emotions.

Harry suddenly remembered what Hermione had told him—that it wasn't Professor Snape who wanted to kill him.

He felt a shiver run through his pores. Who... could it be?

The long robe was gone from the snow-covered ground; only the place he had once gazed upon remained, where a pair of green eyes had always lingered in the cold winter.

They are so similar.

"Alright, little gentlemen! It looks like we can finish early today!"

Professor Sprout was as enthusiastic as ever; she checked the gloves of the five people in the greenhouse to make sure they wouldn't get hurt.

Just as everyone was excitedly preparing to act, a huge noise came from the direction of greenhouse number three, accompanied by panicked shouts:

"Merlin—canary cookies really turn you into a canary!"

Professor Sprout's expression changed, and he hurriedly rushed out.

Ron and Harry looked at each other in bewilderment, while the three of them, including Sheen, were already peering into the doorway of Greenhouse Number Three.

In greenhouse number three, vines danced wildly. Bruce, pale-faced, clutched a canary and dodged around, finally throwing it aside when there was nowhere left to hide, and yelled:
"Pistol, you must remember how I saved your life!"

Then he was lulled to sleep by the knotted vine.

Professor Sprout, pale-faced, carried away Bruce, who was "asleep".

Inside the greenhouse, the canary suddenly transformed into Pister, who was furious and his face turned red.

"what happened?"

Justin asked, and Sheehan, seeing the cookie crumbs in Pister's hand, probably understood.

"That idiot! While Pister and I were controlling the gnarled vine, he fed Pister some random biscuit, hah—!"

Senior Leon was also furious—he rarely spoke ill of Senior Bruce in front of Sheen.

(End of this chapter)