Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle

"I'll ask the principal to open the school's fireplace. It won't be too much trouble. As professors, we have to take responsibility for any accidents that happen to students at school."

"Alright, alright, you're the vice-principal!"

"..."

Melvin was seeing off a few fourth-year students. He nodded slightly, smiled gently, and casually pushed the emerging baby snake back into his coat pocket, as if he had not heard Professor McGonagall's words.

responsibility?

What responsibility?

Whatever it had to do with him was Lockhart's responsibility.

They chatted and laughed while sending the students home. A few minutes later, before Melvin saw anyone, he heard several crisp sounds.

"Good morning, Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Lewinter..."

Hermione, Marietta, and Qiu Zhang approached, wearing the robes of their respective houses. The styles were similar, with only slight differences in the crest, center line, and scarf colors. Gryffindor's was red and gold, Ravenclaw's was blue and copper.

She is just thirteen or fourteen years old. Not only is she young and beautiful, but she is really full of youthful vitality.

After the locked room incident, the three seemed to have become friends and had a very good relationship.

Melvin was slightly surprised to see they didn't take their suitcases: "Aren't you going home for Christmas?"

"I originally planned to go home, but I changed it to staying at school after seeing Professor McGonagall." Hermione smiled, revealing her two buck teeth. "I heard that Harry and Neville will wake up before Christmas. We plan to wait for them to be discharged and spend this Christmas together."

"That's it..."

Melvin habitually put his hands in his pockets, paused, and then calmly took them out: "Professor Snape and the others are working hard to make the antidote. It should be ready in the next two days, not too long."

"..."

Hermione noticed the professor's movements and thought he was going to take out some candy or something, but there was nothing. She felt a little strange and couldn't help but look into his pockets a few more times.

The mid-length cashmere windbreaker is specially thickened, and its shape is similar to that of an ordinary wizard's robe. The pockets open at an angle are convenient for putting hands in and small items such as keys.

According to her previous observations, Professor Lewinter had a small, traceless stretching spell vessel, most likely in the shape of a small cloth bag or wallet, which was very convenient.

It looks ordinary when placed in your pocket, but it is actually filled with candy.

Normally, because of the Traceless Stretching Charm, the professor's pockets always looked flat and smooth, but today's pockets were a little different, slightly bulging, indicating that there was something inside.

What is something you need to carry with you but is not convenient to put into the stretch spell space?

Just as the little witch was looking at it suspiciously, a head popped out. It was very small, not even as big as a thumb, with black eyes and a short horn on its forehead.

The man and the snake happened to meet each other's eyes and stared at each other blankly.

The young snake panicked and silently retreated into its pocket.

Hermione's eyes were wide open, her face full of disbelief.

"If you get bored staying at school, you can help Professor Flitwick decorate the Great Hall and Hagrid decorate the Christmas tree." Melvin calmly covered up the past and changed the subject. "I have an appointment to meet someone at the Three Broomsticks. I'm leaving now. Bye."

Watching the professor walk out of the castle, Qiu Zhang and Marietta were a little confused as to why the professor's steps seemed a little hurried.

Hermione opened her mouth, but no words came out.

……

There are still a few days until Christmas, and the festive atmosphere in the village is already very strong.

Except for the Pig's Head Bar which still had the ugly pig's head sign, all other shops were decorated with red ribbons and star-shaped accessories. Branches of holly and mistletoe were hung in the windows, and their gorgeousness contrasted with the white snow on the roads and roofs, making it very beautiful.

A giant bow was tied to the sign of Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, and half the street where Honeydukes was located was filled with the sweet aroma.

Melvin pushed open the door of the Three Broomsticks, and a gust of hot air mixed with the aroma of wine hit him in the face. His coat pocket shook slightly, and the sudden change in temperature made Yurm seem a little uncomfortable.

The wind and snow were still blowing outside, and the fireplace in the store was burning brightly.

There were a few people chatting at the bar on the first floor. As Christmas was approaching, many wizards were on holiday and idle at home. Since they couldn't find anything to do, they came to the Three Broomsticks this morning to join in the fun.

The second-floor projection screen was showing a training match of the England national team, with occasional cheers after a goal being scored.

The Shadow Mirror has been rolled out for a year and a half, and the wizards have adapted to it. The initial novelty has gradually faded. Although it can still attract customers to the tavern, there are no new programs to fill the gap. Except for the football fans, other wizards no longer have the same enthusiasm as before.

"Mead and Firewhisky..."

Ms. Rosmerta handed the guests two glasses of wine and chatted with them for a few words. Then she looked up and saw the young professor coming in. She immediately smiled.

"Professor Lewynter, anything to drink?"

"Mead will be fine."

"You're here to see Mr. Guffey?"

"Is he here?"

"I'm here early. I'll be waiting for you on the third floor." Rosmerta placed the mead on a tray and led Melvin upstairs. It wasn't because she was worried he wouldn't know the way, but mainly because she wanted to chat and get some information. "I heard that the school's Rislytherin's chamber of secrets has been opened again, and the students have suffered heavy casualties. Is that true?"

"Where did you hear this rumor? How come there were so many casualties?"

Melvin didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and shook his head in denial, "They will be fully recovered in the next two days and have a peaceful and happy Christmas."

"So the secret room is really opened!" Rostamer opened his eyes wide and was a little excited.

"Well, Mr. Guffey and I are here to discuss this matter. It will be in the newspaper as early as tonight."

"It must be an exciting adventure, right?"

"That's it."

"Will it be on the screen this holiday?"

"There's no such plan for now." Melvin poured cold water on her. "There's not enough time, and there are still some things that haven't been dealt with."

Rosmer Tatton felt lost; the last time the film was released, it had been so impressive that it had earned as much profit as in previous years in just one holiday.

She wanted to find out more, but she had already reached the third floor and Mr. Guffey from the publishing house was waiting in the room. She couldn't ask too much, so she could only hand over the wine glass indifferently and go back to the counter.

Melvin looked at the middle-aged wizard who had been waiting in the room for a long time and gave a polite smile: "Mr. Guffey, long time no see."

Barnabas Guffey, the editor of the Daily Prophet, remained the same as he had been when we last met. His hazel eyes were set in deep sockets, making his gaze appear deep and mysterious. His hooked nose was tall and striking. His peaked-lapel robe was ironed to perfection, the collar looking crisp as new, and embellished with a low-key quill pen pattern.

With magic power to nourish their bodies, the average lifespan of wizards far exceeds that of Muggles. Powerful wizards can live to be two or three hundred years old, and ordinary wizards can basically live to be over a hundred years old as long as they do not suffer from dragon pox, and they age very slowly.

Only the beard and hair had more gray.

Barnabas stood up and shook hands: "Professor Lewynter, long time no see."

"Mr. Guffey looks a little tired?"

"It's a long story..."

Barnabas sat back down and sighed, "A top reporter from the newspaper has gone missing. There's been no news for several months, and commissioned feature articles have been delayed. She's also a contracted author for our publishing house, but there's been no follow-up on her manuscript."

"..."

Melvin took a sip of the mead. Hmm, it tasted pretty good.

"If it was just a breach of contract, it would be fine. We are all worried that something might have happened to her."

"Maybe she's just out looking for inspiration, cutting off contact with the outside world. That Lockhart has been deep in all sorts of remote places. Isn't that what writers do?" Melvin consoled him sincerely. "Don't worry too much. Maybe she'll be back soon."

"Merlin's blessing, I wish her good luck."

Barnabas sighed, put away his depressed mood, and talked about business: "Speaking of Lockhart, I received news that Lockhart is now in the closed ward of St. Mungo's. You mentioned in your letter that Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets has been opened again. What exactly happened in the school?"

Melvin began to tell him the embellished version of what had happened.

The story begins with an old case from fifty years ago. The boy who survived, Harry Potter, and his good friend, the gamekeeper, happened to learn about the case. Even though all the evidence was against Hagrid, he still believed in his friend, so he took a few friends to investigate the truth.

After a series of twists and turns and obstacles, he got help from ghosts and eight-eyed giant spiders and finally found Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets.

"They all knew that as long as they told the professor the truth, this adventure would have a perfect ending, Hagrid could be cleared of his wrongdoing, and they would have a happy Christmas...

"But no one expected that the first person they found was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. This famous legendary adventurer was actually a liar who stole memories and claimed credit for his achievements.

"Professor Lockhart wanted to take all the credit, but was also worried about not being able to deal with the basilisk, so he tricked dozens of young wizards into the Chamber of Secrets as bait."

After some exaggeration, Melvin concealed his own guidance and the matter of Parseltongue, and put all the blame on Lockhart.

"The students demonstrated their bravery and wisdom, and through their unity and cooperation, they successfully defeated the basilisk and Lockhart."

"..."

Barnabas listened quietly, his expression becoming more and more serious. He extracted key information from his mind: the Chamber of Secrets left by Slytherin, the monster that had been sleeping for a thousand years, the old case from fifty years ago, and the drama club students' victory over the basilisk.

Every bit of it is big news that attracts attention.

If this were to be a special series of reports, the Daily Prophet would not have to worry about sales for the entire year.

As the editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet, Barnabas was experienced. As he listened and sorted out the news, he soon realized that there were many vague points in Melvin's story.

Although he knew that this was probably a deliberate concealment, he still wanted to find out.

"Professor Lewynter, I have some questions."

"You said."

Barnabas paused for a moment, then asked carefully, "What was Salazar Slytherin's purpose in building the Chamber of Secrets?"

"He's been gone for nearly a thousand years. No one knows for sure." Melvin shook his head and repeated the same explanation he gave to the principal. "There have been no casualties in the past thousand years. Myrtle's death was an accident."

"What is the method to open the secret room?"

"This...cannot be disclosed for the time being."

"Who opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago?"

“I can’t tell you that either.”

"Was the basilisk finally killed?"

"..."

Barnabas got the answer, but it seemed like he had no answer.

He was a shrewd old editor who was well versed in the mysteries of running a news media. He had also served as the mouthpiece of the Ministry of Magic and knew that this was a hint for the newspaper to pay attention to the bias in its reporting.

Barnabas simply asked directly, "Professor Lewynter, how do you want us to report this?"

"First of all, we must not allow it to have a negative impact on the school, and we must not allow parents to blame the school. Remember, this was just an accident, and no students died."

Melvin had planned this before he arrived: "Secondly, the image of the founder, Slytherin. Although the Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk existed, the rumors of harming and cleaning up Muggle-born students were just unfounded rumors. The Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk were precious treasures left to future generations by the founder. It was only because of the misleading actions of some ill-intentioned Dark wizards that the tragedy of fifty years ago occurred.

"We must report this matter objectively and rigorously, without bias, and without causing wizards to misunderstand the founder.