A certain Hogwarts professor of runes

Chapter 188 Pro-Era

Hermione's strange behavior startled Harry, and he couldn't maintain his angry expression.

He was unsure whether to continue throwing a tantrum, but that might make him seem unreasonable.

Ron took the opportunity to put his arm around Harry's shoulder: "Harry, let's talk about it over dinner. Hermione was right—we are going to be late."

During the Transfiguration class, Harry was completely distracted. He was still wondering where Hermione had gotten the information from. Maybe it was Professor Hyp? But the age didn't match.

He was thinking so deeply that he completely ignored the frequent glances directed at him by others.

Just last class, when Divination professor Sybil Trelawney was interpreting the shape of his tea leaves, she gave all the young wizards a death omen that terrified them—a large, ghostly black dog wandering the graveyard.

Her words deeply disturbed Harry, who had seen the large black dog, a symbol of death, more than once—from the cover of the book "Omens of Death" in the bookstore to the suspicious shadow he saw in the shadows of Magnolia Crescent Street on the day he ran away from home.

After the Divination class ended hastily, Hermione, in an attempt to refute Trelawney's point of view, inadvertently let slip some things to Harry, such as that she already knew some information about his father but had kept quiet about it.

That's the real reason Harry was angry.

At noon, the young wizards bustled into the Great Hall for lunch. Harry took some sausages and fried tomatoes, but he didn't feel like eating much, as if he was too full of all sorts of worries.

Hermione pushed a small dish of dipping sauce towards him. "Harry, you heard what Professor McGonagall said too. Trelawney predicts the death of a student every year; it's her way of welcoming new students."

But Ron said worriedly, "You haven't seen a large black dog wandering around anywhere else, have you, Harry?"

Harry's stomach suddenly clenched. "No, I saw it," he said, "the night I left the Dursleys."

Ron dropped his fork on the ground and looked terrified.

But Harry was more concerned with other things. He looked at Hermione and said curtly, "You haven't told me about my father yet."

"Oh, uh..." Hermione looked away somewhat flusteredly. "Okay." She took a deep breath. "Remember when Professor Hyp put us in solitary confinement?"

"Of course, it happened last school year." Harry racked his brains for a memory. "We suspected Professor Hyp was involved in the Chamber of Secrets attack, so we followed him into the Forbidden Forest, but we were discovered. We got ten points deducted, plus a full weekend of detention." He added, "With Malfoy."

He didn't know what this had to do with his father.

Hermione looked at him: "It's about our detention, Harry. Professor Hyp brought us a stack of old documents from Professor McGonagall that we copied down—it was about a list of students who had broken the rules and the corresponding punishments."

Harry recalled more details, including how Malfoy kept nagging him while he was copying down the information.

But he quickly realized the crux of Hermione's words, and his eyes widened: "You saw my father's name on it!"

“Not just Harry,” Hermione said. “All four of them were there. I mean, the names I saw were James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew—”

"So that's why you were so surprised when you heard Professor Lupin's full name! You already knew all along." Harry finally understood something, which gave him a renewed appetite. He picked up a sausage and started eating it. But his eyes remained fixed on Hermione.

“That’s right,” Hermione said. “In fact, it’s possible that the part I copied was from those years… Anyway, I saw quite a lot of prohibited records.”

Harry stammered, "You mean, my father he..."

Hermione said softly, "Similar to twins, but perhaps a bit more lively." She chose her words carefully, "Your father's name is often mixed up with Sirius Black, and occasionally with two other people. This suggests—"

"They're friends! And my father is clearly closer to Sirius Black!" Harry slammed his fist on the table.

He recalled overhearing the Weasleys' conversation on the eve of the start of the school year. He didn't actually feel much fear when he learned that Sirius Black's escape target was him.

The fugitive killed thirteen people with a single spell, so he should have been afraid, but Hogwarts was the safest place, with Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Hyp, with whom he had a good relationship.

The only thing he couldn't understand was that Mr. Weasley had a private conversation with him the next day, just before he boarded the train. During the conversation, Mr. Weasley made him promise to swear he wouldn't go looking for Black…

Why would he go looking for someone who wants to kill him?

But now everything is clear: Blake and his father were good friends, they broke the law together, roamed the castle together, and explored the Forbidden Forest together...

It's hard to imagine that these two people would become enemies.

"Yeah, he's a Death Eater. War drives people crazy. Think of Voldemort!" Harry said to himself.

Ron stared at the two of them in disbelief, especially Hermione, who had been in confinement for almost ten months! She had kept the secret to herself without letting a word slip.

Hermione looked at Harry in agreement: "I think so too, and..." She continued in one breath, "and I also saw Severus Snape's name, there are seven or eight records of them fighting each other—your father and Snape."

Harry was stunned, and he involuntarily looked towards the teachers' table.

Fifteen minutes ago.

Similar topics were being discussed among the teachers.

Snape slowly picked up a potato, put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly. "Felix, the new professor is not trustworthy. In fact—he and that escaped criminal are best friends. They were like-minded back in school."

Felix looked up and said casually, "I don't know much about that. Could you tell me more, Professor?"

Snape glared at him. "What do you want to know?"

"All you can say."

Snape looked at him with disdain: "There's not much to say. Potter, Black, Lupin, and that Peter, they were practically inseparable in school, always loafing around and causing trouble."

"Especially that Potter, arrogant, utterly foolish, he trusted that traitor..."

"Did you two have a bad relationship when you were in school?"

Snape's expression stiffened, and he said slowly, "You have indeed found out quite a bit."

Felix curled the corners of his mouth and said with a smile, "It's all in the open. After all, you and he were both outstanding figures of that era. Many people still remember you fondly, like the landlady of the three brooms."

"Don't pry into my affairs anymore, Felix. I'm warning you..."

“We’re in cahoots, aren’t we, Dean?” Felix changed his form of address. “But you need to give me more information. If it’s a personal grudge, then I can only say I’m sorry, I won’t help you deal with Professor Lupin.”

After a long stare, Snape raised his head slightly and said softly, "Personal grudge? You'll be surprised when you see Lupin for who he really is, Felix. You can stay out of it, but I can catch Black all by myself and enjoy the sweetness of revenge."

"They ambushed you? Professor, you weren't beaten up badly when you were in school, were you?" Felix asked curiously.

Snape's gaze turned terrifying, and Felix tried to salvage the situation, saying, "Oh, of course not. At least they're evenly matched. Otherwise, who did you test your little curses on, Professor?"

Snape jumped to his feet, the chair scraping against the floor with a screeching sound. He glanced instinctively at the Gryffindor table, and at the same time, Harry looked over, their eyes meeting.

Harry's surprise had not yet faded, while Snape's eyes were as calm and still as a deep spring.

After a while, he waved his sleeves and left.

(End of this chapter)