The Bard of Hogwarts

Chapter 23 Snape's Thoughts

Unbeknownst to Ino, the Slytherin common room fell into absolute silence shortly after he left.

The previous prefect had also returned and was now standing obediently to the side, showing none of his previous airs.

Behind the prefect stood a greasy-haired middle-aged wizard.

"professor!"

"Professor Snape!"

"Dean!"

The little snakes, who were just chatting away, now stood up and greeted each other as if they had seen their natural enemy.

However, Snape ignored the greetings around him, only nodding slightly when he passed one or two students.

Snape walked up to Malfoy expressionlessly and then silently looked him up and down.

"Professor!" Malfoy stood up somewhat awkwardly, a stark contrast to his earlier impassioned speech.

"You enjoy this honor?" Snape's eyes swept around the room. "And all of you! You get a sense of accomplishment just by gathering together and listening to gossip?"

"I'm sorry, Professor."

"I'm leaving now."

"I still have my thesis..."

As Snape reprimanded them, the number of people in the common room dwindled dramatically, and in an instant, everyone had left.

Even some students who were actually writing papers chose to take their belongings back to their dorm rooms.

At this moment, only Malfoy was on pins and needles. It wasn't that he didn't want to leave; as the only one called on by the professor, everyone else could walk away, but he couldn't.

A few minutes later.

Only three people remained in the vast Slytherin common room.

"Lucius wrote to me, asking me to take care of his excellent son..."

Seeing the bewildered Malfoy before him, Snape really didn't want to say anything more.

However, out of consideration for Lucius's past relationship, he could not choose to turn a blind eye.

"From now on, you can do whatever you want, but don't let me hear you gossiping behind my back again."

"Professor, I understand." Malfoy nodded quickly, and then, with Snape's tacit approval, ran back to his dormitory as if fleeing.

"Bang!"

With Malfoy's figure completely disappearing behind the door, only Snape and the Slytherin prefects remained.

"Mond, keep things quiet for a while. As for your usual methods, you can continue, but be careful with the means and methods."

Prefect Mond Acreth, born into the Acreth family of the Holy Twenty-Eight, easily understood what Snape meant.

"Keep quiet" means that Slytherin can no longer cause as much trouble as they have in recent years. And "be mindful of your methods and approaches" is practically an explicit instruction to stop their past traditions.

Although I was somewhat unwilling, I had no choice but to accept the situation.

"I know what to do, Mr. Snape!"

……

As Prefect Mond's figure gradually disappeared into the distance.

a long time.

Snape raised his arm, examined it carefully for a moment, and then gently lowered it.

Today's college sorting ceremony reminded him of someone from his past, someone he had admired when he was in school.

During the dinner party, Snape saw those amber eyes again, but unlike the purity and clarity others saw in them, he saw only falsehood.

Just like the deep blue sea, where countless unknowns and secrets lurk beneath.

When Snape was still at Hogwarts, he had the privilege of meeting him. He had the same black hair, the same gentle and elegant demeanor, and even the same warm smile on his face.

When the two figures overlapped in his mind... Snape felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

That's why he made a special trip to the common lounge after the banquet tonight.

As the head of Slytherin, Snape also had to consider the safety of his students.

This year at Hogwarts, everything felt strange to him—the new students, the professors, and even the headmaster.

Therefore, he wanted to nip all potential problems in the bud, including the traditional "underhanded tactics" of the past prefects in the college.

Therefore, it doesn't matter if we miss out on the Academy Cup for six consecutive years.

……

October 2, 1991, Thursday.

At dawn, to the sound of someone calling her, Ino reluctantly opened her eyes.

"Thank you, Draco! I'm awake now."

"That's good. There's still half an hour before class, so you can still make it to breakfast. I've also picked up your class schedule for you; it's on the table."

After Malfoy finished speaking, he rushed out.

"Bang!"

As the door slammed shut, Ino couldn't help but let out a wry smile.

Seeing Malfoy's hurried appearance, it was obvious that he had gone to the Great Hall early and was pretending to wait for Harry to "bump into" him.

"That's really a bias... but I'll have to find a time to buy an alarm clock!"

Ino glanced at the pocket watch on the bedside table; it was exactly 8:30. Just as Malfoy had said, there was still half an hour before class.

But he knew very well that in that half hour he would not only have to wash up and get dressed, but also had to outwit and outmaneuver those moving stairs. If you really thought about it, there was no time to eat breakfast at all.

Ten minutes later.

After washing up and changing into a brand-new robe, Ino picked up the class schedule left by Malfoy on the table.

"Charms class... it's not Transfiguration class after all."

Although it differed from his expectations, it was actually quite normal.

In the film, the first lesson is a Transfiguration class between Slytherin and Gryffindor, but this is not a short one-hour movie; there are too many variables in a real world.

"No matter what, you can't be late."

The moment Ino saw the timetable, she made up her mind: she would rather skip breakfast than be late for the first spell class.

Charms class was the course he valued most, so Professor Flitwick's first impression was extremely important, as it directly determined whether he could receive special tutoring later.

As a Slytherin, it's already difficult enough to get special treatment from the head of a Ravenclaw class; to be late on the first day on top of that...

Thinking of this, Ino opened her suitcase, took out a piece of dried cheese, and hurriedly went out as well.

……

8:50 AM.

"Phew! I made it in time. Thank goodness Professor Flitwick didn't come," Ino muttered to herself.

After some maneuvering on the stairs, we finally arrived at the door of the Spells classroom.

Upon entering the classroom, I found that quite a few people had already arrived, especially the little eagle with blue stripes on its collar, almost all of them were already there.

"Mr. Swinburne! You sit in the first row."

Just as Ino was about to find a seat she liked, a voice came from behind the podium.

"I heard that last night outside the castle, you successfully cast the fire-starting charm and had it quietly float on the top of your wand to provide light for everyone."

Professor Flitwick, who was less than two feet tall, was seen climbing the specially made small stairs step by step towards the lectern.

"Thank you for your compliment, Professor Flitwick," Ino said with a smile. "My love for magic made me practice for a long time during the summer vacation."

"While I encourage talented students to learn on their own, I want to say that they shouldn't blindly practice on their own," Coach Flitwick said with an approving look.

Then he looked at the students in the classroom and gave them a serious warning:

"I hope you will remember this: don't blindly practice magic on your own. I encourage you to learn on your own, but I would prefer you to practice magic under my guidance."

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(End of this chapter)