Hermione, let's start a revolution from Hogwarts!

Hermione was furious. How could she not understand what the other person meant?

She's obviously talking about how she couldn't make friends in school, so she's the one being pitied? No way! She's the one pitying Nietzsche... wait, wait! He was just talking about cats!

Hermione quickly snapped back to reality.

Fortunately, she reacted quickly, otherwise she would have fallen into the other party's mental trap again.

Nietzsche gets a point first.

When it was time to part, Hermione said coldly, "Think about Smaug of the Forbidden Forest first. She'll be very happy to meet your new 'friend'... Ah, I'm really looking forward to meeting these two little guys."

Nietzsche felt a sense of oppression and froze at the crossroads.

Hermione followed closely behind, earning herself a point.

"Really? I don't think they'll necessarily meet; one's at school and the other's in the forbidden forest..."

"Maybe one day when Crookshanks goes out to forage, he'll run into Smaug?" Hermione grinned mischievously, turning the tables on him.

Nietzsche stared blankly at Crookshank in his arms. No, he absolutely couldn't let it meet his Norwegian Ridgeback. That guy in the Forbidden Forest, if he knew he had an extra pet during his vacation, who knows what kind of trouble he would cause.

If they're unlucky, the giant eight-eyed spider might go extinct.

He held Crook Mountain up to his face and said, word by word, "Never go into the Forbidden Forest."

But Crookshank just yawned, blinked lazily, and then pawed at Nietzsche's hand, placing it on its ear. It was just a pitiful, unwanted mixed-breed cat.

I couldn't understand what Nietzsche said, but I vaguely remembered the words "Forbidden Forest".

Crook Mountains: Forbidden Forest? What kind of place is that?

Sometimes, the more you remind them, the more interested the cat will become.

Grindelwald didn't say anything, but followed behind the two young wizards, watching everything that was happening with great interest. He kept thinking about Dumbledore's reminder—to feel.

In fact, he agreed to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor with ulterior motives, in order to study Horcruxes.

Because Dumbledore felt that this was an era of change, and Grindelwald wanted to know the ultimate fate of the wizarding world, he left the ancient castle in Austria.

At least for now, it's not bad.

----

Sorry, sorry, I posted the wrong chapter again! Ugh!

Chapter 148 The Encounter of Two Professors

(Chapter order has been changed... Damn it, the word count of the changed chapters has to be greater than before, so frustrating...)

The next day, Nietzsche and Hermione were taken to the station by their respective parents, and they met again on the train.

Grindelwald had already found a good spot early on – the back of the train, where there were very few people, and there was a window at the back of the train where he could see the scenery rushing past behind him.

He seems to be more diligent than anyone else.

"Hurry up, come here," Grindelwald urged. "I don't want to squeeze in with the others."

“But this is usually the student carriage. Professors are supposed to sit in the prefect’s carriage.” Hermione flicked her wand, directing the luggage to return to its place.

"Utterly boring, is there any clear rule?" the professor said with disdain.

Even if there is such a rule, he pretends not to see it, and no one can stop his behavior.

Grindelwald watched curiously as the students skipped and jumped in the corridor. His lively expression didn't resemble that of a centenarian at all. Nietzsche sometimes wondered—could this professor have also had his lifespan extended by the Philosopher's Stone?

Furthermore, he also noticed that Professor Glendale would unconsciously clench his hands when the train started moving, and only relax them slightly after a long time.

“You’re very nervous.” Nietzsche untied his wizard’s robe.

From his collar, as if by magic, a cat's head suddenly appeared—Kroekshank! It jumped from Nietzsche's clothes onto the table.

Grindelwald tried to pet it, but the cat didn't cooperate at all. It arched its back, purred loudly at him, and then nimbly jumped onto Nietzsche's lap and stretched.

This surprised the professor, who stared at Crookshan with his heterochromatic eyes for a while.

“Me? Nervous?” He chuckled. “Of course. I’m resting in a secluded castle. When Albus came to me, he said that at this critical moment, only I could handle this job.”

Half truths and half lies.

But Grindelwald wasn't wrong; he was indeed locked in a castle and was indeed surprised by Dumbledore's visit.

Professor Glendale opened the window a crack, breathing in the fresh air. This old wizard was completely unfamiliar with everything outside, like a newborn rediscovering the world.

“Maybe it can even break the rumor of that curse.” Hermione had no objection to this.

To be honest, despite her disagreements with the professor on many ideas, he had helped her a lot, especially with his insights into spells and ancient runic war magic.

Powerful and mysterious—that was Hermione's immediate impression of Professor Glendale.

Footsteps suddenly echoed down the corridor, and a second adult appeared at the door of a cubicle—he was carrying a suitcase tied with rope, and his wizard robes were covered in patches.

Nietzsche rubbed his cat ears and quickly looked the other cat up and down:

This is a middle-aged male wizard. Judging from his suitcase, thin build, and unkempt stubble, he is a wizard with a stable job but who is down on his luck.

His eyes were lifeless and hazy. The moment he opened the door and saw the three of them, he looked away and glanced at the empty seat. This indicated that he was looking for a place to stay and that he was very introverted.

"Excuse me, um... all the other carriages are full..." He lowered his head, looking very melancholy.

“Of course!” Hermione pointed to the seat opposite him before he could finish speaking. “Professor R... Professor Lupin, if you don’t mind, you can squeeze in here a little.”

The other party was quite surprised.

"How do you know my name?" His voice was hoarse.

“It’s written on the box.” Hermione squinted at it for a moment, then continued, “Given the vacancy at Hogwarts, you’ll be the other professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts.”

If Professor McGonagall were here, she might say: "Gryffindor gets five points because of Miss Granger's thoughtfulness!"

At this moment, Grindelwald shook hands with Professor Lupin and introduced him, saying, "Just call me Glendale, we're colleagues this year... I didn't expect you to be the second person Albus called."

Lupin simply nodded in agreement.

Goodness, one cubicle has gathered the top two students in the grade, along with two professors specializing in black magic.

“It sounds like you’re quite familiar with Professor Dumbledore.” Lupin glanced up at the luggage rack, then pushed his dirty and tattered suitcase over and placed it horizontally between his legs.

Nietzsche realized Professor Lupin's thoughts: he cared a lot about what others thought.

Only psychologically fragile people act so cautiously—they worry that their suitcases will be squeezed together with others'.

Grindelwald nodded, not denying the other's guess, and simply said, "It seems Albus wants me to be your assistant. It's okay, I'll make a good teaching plan and won't steal your thunder."

But Hermione just let out a cold laugh in her heart when she heard that.

Teaching plan?

After spending these days with him, I've come to realize that this old professor is a true practitioner of magic. He prioritizes efficiency and practicality over safety when it comes to spells and theories, and he can conjure up all sorts of dark magic with ease.

She believes Tom Riddell has a deep understanding of this.

So, Hogwarts students are in for a rough year!

“Not at all, I’m just Professor Dumbledore’s student…” Lupin said softly.

He felt embarrassed, so he lowered his stance even further.

This wasn't out of modesty; Lupin genuinely felt unworthy of the professorship, and now that he knew Professor Dumbledore's friend was his assistant, he felt even more uneasy.

So Lupin could only awkwardly force a smile at Nietzsche and Hermione across from him, then close his eyes and go to sleep.

Strangely, Crookshanks was fierce towards Professor Glendale, but showed little aggression towards this stranger. It was odd, so Nietzsche lowered his head and continued to enjoy the fluffy, soft fur.

As the train crossed the bridge, rainwater began to slick across the windows, leaving sharp, knife-like streaks.

The rain grew heavier, and dark clouds gathered above the train, turning it into a black ocean. At that moment, Crookshan began to hiss in a suspicious manner.

“Danger…” Grindelwald’s eyes sharpened immediately upon seeing the cat’s reaction.

"what?"

"Civets can sense danger."

The train was moving slower and slower. Nietzsche looked out the dark window and found that the darkness even obscured the silhouettes of the roadside trees and weeds.

The ocean seemed to fall from the sky, as if it were about to overturn the entire train. Everyone could feel the carriages shaking. Suddenly, the train stopped abruptly, but they didn't see the familiar Hogsmeade Station.

The car lights in the corridor were all turned off.

You know, this is a magic lamp!

As the darkness outside the window began to spread into the carriage, Nietzsche realized what it meant to be "so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face." He was only separated from the two professors opposite him by a table, yet he couldn't see any silhouettes of them.

Not even a blurry outline could be seen.

"What happened?"

"Ginny?"

"Don't wander off, I'll go check what's going on!"

"I heard the car door open. Did someone get on the bus?"

Chaos erupted inside the carriage, and the temperature inside began to drop rapidly.

"The sunlight is as bright as day!"

Hermione was seated by the window. She placed her hand on the windowpane and could feel a thick layer of frost forming on it. She tried using the Illumination Charm, but even so, she and Nietzsche could only see a faint glow.

Moreover, if you get a little further away, you can't see any light at all.

Like a black hole, the darkness here absorbs all light and heat.

"Quiet!" Professor Lupin opened his eyes, flung open the cubicle door, and walked out with Grindelwald.

With the crackling sound of firewood in the fireplace, Lu Yiping held his wand in his right hand and clenched his fist in his left, and everyone in the corridor could see that he seemed to be holding a ball of silver flame in his hand.

That faint silver light was a lighthouse, and people couldn't help but move closer to it.

Under the silver light, Lupin's resolute gaze remained fixed ahead, his tired face tense.

"Everyone back in your cubicles." He noticed a scar on the forehead of one of the students huddled together in the next cubicle, then continued shouting towards the front, "The person you're looking for isn't here, get out!"

Nietzsche tossed Crookshank into Hermione's arms, then pulled out his wand and came out.

He discovered that what was getting on the train was a person wearing a cloak... no, not a person, just a black cloak. It slowly floated over and finally stopped in a place where the silver light could not illuminate.