The days at Hogwarts

"To be honest, there was a time when I looked down on you, Severus." Dumbledore said softly, "But I think that these years of working together have allowed me to uncover the turbid veil on you, just like the bottles and jars in this room, which look gloomy and terrifying, but are used to save people."

"Oh, you guessed wrong. The ones on the front shelf are all famous poisons."

In the dim office of the Potions Professor, the green candle flame under the lampshade flickered a few times, as if confirming Snape's words.

Dumbledore was silent for a moment. "I have received news that the International Confederation of Wizards has decided to hold the next conference in New York, and the British Ministry of Magic has agreed to this change."

"It sounds like the Ministry of Magic's finances must be much more comfortable," Snape said bluntly.

"That's what I was going to say," Dumbledore said softly. "The goblins at Gringotts recently reported that after Peter Pettigrew was executed, their dark magic detection devices found traces of Bellatrix Lestrange near Gringotts in Diagon Alley.

"Perhaps you have noticed that there are fewer Dementors wandering outside the school. They have been assigned to patrol Diagon Alley."

Snape frowned. "Gringotts...those greedy goblins who only care about gold can find that crazy woman?"

Dumbledore seemed to smile. "Thanks to Quirrell's attack on Gringotts, the goblins have stepped up their detection of the Dark Arts."

"What does that mad woman want to do?" asked Snape.

"Moody guessed that it was for the things in her underground vault. However, she is now a wanted criminal of the Ministry of Magic, and the goblins will not handle her business." Dumbledore raised his teacup and wanted to take a sip, but put it down again. "But the goblins also did not agree to the Ministry of Magic searching Gringotts' underground vault. They believe that it would be a huge damage to Gringotts' reputation."

"That's in line with the goblins' style. I hope that when that man leads the Death Eaters to break into Gringotts, the goblins will be able to defend the underground vault to the death." Snape said sinisterly.

Dumbledore smiled and said, "No one can blame them. After all, the goblins don't know that Voldemort is about to return. The Wizengamot has already intervened in this matter. I believe the goblins will agree to make an exception..."

"Be careful, Severus..."

……

It was very late at night. The round, bright moon hung high in the deep blue sky, making the surrounding stars appear dim. The clouds moved, causing large shadows to move with them.

quietly.

In the corner upstairs of the Shrieking Shack, a thick blanket was spread on the ground. Two little wizards snuggled together, Loren's head on Hermione's shoulder, Hermione's head against Loren's head, and the two of them leaned against the wall, sleeping peacefully.

A fluffy white blanket covered the two of them, dispelling the cold night.

The little wizard is a little wizard. He obviously just said he was too sleepy to rest for a while. He wanted to ask for news later, but he fell asleep now.

The werewolf Lupin looked at the two little wizards huddled in the corner, smiled and shook his head, reached out and picked up another roasted chicken leg and threw it into the werewolf's mouth, sucked off the skin and flesh, spit out the bones, and let out a satisfied sigh.

It’s so convenient.

I heard that the storage alchemical item that can keep things warm was made by Loren. That’s amazing, even more amazing than what they did back then.

"I wonder if I can trade with him..." The werewolf Lupin's scary eyes showed a thoughtful look, "He seemed to have said that he wanted a Boggart..."

It just so happens that the club also needs to use Boggart to teach students the Patronus Charm. Loren showed a method of precise control of Boggart last time. I wonder if this method can turn Boggart into a Dementor in front of other students...

"Never mind. We can still buy a few more Boggarts." Werewolf Lupin decided to ask Professor McGonagall for funding this week.

He grabbed a few more roasted chicken legs and enjoyed them one by one.

In the corner, the sleeping Loren could no longer lean on the wall and slowly slid down, dragging a little witch down with him.

Sleep with clothes on.

……

Early morning, the entrance hall of Hogwarts Castle.

"It's all your fault. If you hadn't suggested taking a break, I would never have fallen asleep!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. I was the one who cast the Stunning Spell on you... I don't know who drooled on my collar last night, and it still stinks... Eh~"

"You're talking nonsense!" Hermione's face flushed, she didn't know whether she was embarrassed or angry, "I clearly cleaned it up with a cleaning spell!"

"..."

Watching the two little wizards walking towards the auditorium while playing and fighting, Lupin, who had regained his human form, leaned against the door frame and looked back in the direction of the rising sun.

Although last night's bright moon made him guess about today's weather, when Lupin saw the bright sun, he couldn't help squinting his eyes and revealing a relaxed and comfortable smile.

The golden morning light pierces through the clouds, and the dazzling sun seems to dispel all the mist. The rare sunny weather in autumn makes people relax unconsciously. They want to find a grassy field, cover their eyes, and have a good sleep under the bright sunshine.

Lupin took a deep breath, filling his chest with the fresh morning air, and exhaled contentedly: "Hiccup~"

Lupin closed his mouth tightly and took a deep breath.

My werewolf form had such a good appetite that I couldn’t control myself last night and accidentally ate too much.

The caretaker, Mr. Filch, passed by holding Mrs. Norris, looked at him with some curiosity, and then disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

"Remus, good morning!" Professor Hagrid, who taught the Care of Magical Animals class, walked in from outside and greeted him warmly from a distance, "It's a nice day today!"

"Good morning, Hagrid. Yes, it's a lovely day today."

Then he went upstairs to the infirmary for a checkup. Madam Pomfrey trotted over as soon as she heard his voice, shouting, "Remus, let me see how you are."

Madam Pomfrey had known about his werewolf identity for a long time. When Lupin was in school, it was always the school doctor who sent him to the willow tree hole to transform. In her eyes, Remus Lupin had always been the poor little wolf cub.

Lupin smiled at her and nodded, "I feel great. Apart from being a little sleepy, I feel like I can finish today's class easily."

Professor Lupine has three classes on Friday.

……

On the other side, Loren and Hermione found a bathroom to wash up and hurried back to the hall.

Surprisingly, none of the young wizards noticed them. The Gryffindor table was now surrounded by a crowd of people. The chatter of exclamations and discussions filled the entire hall, almost blowing the ceiling off.

"Merlin's beard! Neville, how did you do that?"

"Neville! You're the first, you're the first again, you're the only one!"

"Longbottom! Glory to Gryffindor!"

Loren and Hermione were blocked outside the crowd and could only hear the little wizards outside praising Neville. They listened for a long time but still couldn't understand what was going on.

At this moment, a little wizard with light brown hair suddenly emerged from the crowd. Loren quickly pulled him over and said, "Seamus, tell me, what's going on so early in the morning?"

"Oh my God, you don't know yet!" Seamus waved his hands, looking very excited, "Neville has completed the first step of the Animagus ritual! Last night on the night of the full moon, Professor McGonagall took him to bury the secret medicine!"

The Animagus ritual requires the wizard to hold a mandrake leaf in his mouth for a month.

One month later, on a full-moon night, take it out and put it into a crystal bottle along with the saliva, add a hair, a silver teaspoon of dew and a hawk moth pupa, and make a secret medicine...

"Merlin's beard..." Hermione exclaimed softly, covering her mouth.

Loren also had an amazed look in his eyes, and he began to recall Neville's every move in the past month since the start of school.

When school started, Neville thanked him timidly, gave him a candy bag, and joked and played with them...

The closer it got to the end of the month, the more taciturn Neville became. He only spoke a few words when he had to. Once he returned to the dormitory, he would hold his notebook in silence. Even when Ron asked him to talk about Quidditch, he didn't answer. It turned out that he had a mandrake in his mouth.

Ding--

ding ding-

Professor McGonagall, who was at the guest of honor table, tapped her goblet with her fork: "Children, children, pay attention."

The noisy little wizards paused for a moment, staring at Professor McGonagall eagerly.

"Those who are interested in Animagus can pay attention to the exam after Halloween. If members of the teaching class want to start trying, they can also ask Mr. Longbottom privately. Now go back to your seats." Professor McGonagall said.

Amid the noisy discussion, the young wizards returned to their seats in groups, leaving Loren and Hermione free to sit next to Neville.

"That's amazing, Neville!" Loren couldn't help but admire, "Even though Professor Trelawney threatened you with divination, you didn't damage the mandrake leaves. What a strong endurance!"

"No, that's not it... My mom gave me the idea. My tongue is enlarged, so I found a small mandrake leaf and pressed it under my tongue. It won't affect my speech or eating, as long as I don't bite my tongue."

Neville's face was flushed with embarrassment. Although he had experienced this several times, he was still not used to this kind of scene where he was the center of attention.

"That's pretty impressive!" Loren praised.

Holding a mandrake in the mouth was neither difficult nor easy, but at least he himself couldn't do it, and at least no one in the class could do it except Neville.

"This time we must succeed!"

"Come on, Neville!"

Throughout breakfast, little wizards would occasionally pass by, each expressing their admiration for Neville and encouraging him to become the first Animagus in the school.

Compared to when school started, the chubby Neville has lost some weight, but he is still the same as before. When faced with compliments from others, he just blushes and responds in a low voice.

Chapter 319: Removing the Roof and Opening Windows

Baked beans in tomato sauce, blood sausage, grilled mushrooms...

A good day starts with breakfast.

When Loren looked up after his stomach was full, he saw that the hardworking owl postmen had delivered today's express and letters, and were flapping their wings and returning home one after another, carrying the food given by the little wizards.

Hermione was reading a magazine intently, with a piece of bread in her mouth and a magazine in her hands.

Loren leaned over and whispered the large title on the cover: "Transfiguration Today, Animagus Special Collection?"

Hermione put the magazine down and poked her head out from behind the pages, holding a piece of bread in her mouth. She said happily, "It contains the latest research on Animagus by scholars and experts in recent decades, especially Professor McGonagall. Her paper accounts for almost half of the article."

"I remember you mentioned this when we stole the Mandrake blade, and said it contained the answer to whether the Time-Turner affects the Animagus ritual."

Loren nodded as he recalled the past and asked, "How is it, does the time-turner have any effect on the Animagus?"

"Yes, it has an impact, and it's quite significant..." Hermione hung her head in frustration, then took a big bite of bread and explained, "For the user, the time added by the Time-Turner is real, and it is reflected not only in memory, but also in physiology."

"What do you mean?"

"That means, if I use the Time Turner for one more hour, I will age one hour. If I use it for one more month, I will age one month." Hermione looked sad and resentful. "No wonder Professor McGonagall doesn't let me use it more often. Besides being dangerous, it will also make me age prematurely."

Loren felt his temples throbbing a few times: "You are only 13 years old, there is no way you can use the word aging, it's better to say growth--"

"That's even worse." Hermione whined even more miserably, "If I spend my precious teenage growth time during the day, it means less sleep, which will have an impact on height, intelligence... many aspects. No wonder Percy looks as tall as George and Fred..."

"..."

Percy was innocently implicated.

Also, why didn’t you think this way when you stayed up late before?

Seeing that the girl was about to cry out of sadness, Loren held back his complaints, patted her shoulder, and comforted her: "Then quit the divination class and don't use the time turner anymore."

"I won't!" Hermione took another big bite of bread. "I'm going to wait until October 16th to see the result of Lavender's prediction."

"..."

Loren silently withdrew his comforting hand, poked a spoonful of mango pudding, and tasted it quietly.

After finishing the bread, Hermione wiped her hands and looked at the dining table. She also wanted to take a portion of pudding, but she had not yet digested what she had eaten last night, so she could not finish a whole portion of pudding.

So Hermione raised her spoon and scooped a spoonful of his mango pudding, pursed her lips, and looked at him with some regret: "Why isn't it strawberry flavored?"

Loren remained silent.

Just go ahead and do what you want.

……

At night, Hermione walked towards the entrance of Gryffindor Tower under candlelight, still recalling the topic she had just discussed with Professor Bubbage - the impact of transportation on social development.

"In Muggle society, transportation is a reflection of productivity. The speed of transportation affects the speed of development to a certain extent..."

"But wizards have Floo powder, brooms, Apparition... They have solved the transportation problem a long time ago, but the production method still seems very primitive."

The little witch was mumbling some difficult words, and the people in the portraits in the corridor occasionally heard a few words, but they found it difficult to understand.

Before they knew it, they had reached the portrait cave. The Fat Lady woke up from her nap and asked, "Password?"

"Transportation...mode of production...social development..." Hermione was still mumbling strange words before she came to her senses.

The fat lady felt a pain in her head and screamed, "Password!"

"Good luck," Hermione replied, finally coming to her senses.

The portrait popped open, and Hermione crawled through the hole into the common room, which was full of little wizards who were excited about the weekend night. They were chattering together, some playing cards, some playing chess, and some adding fuel to the fire and giving bad ideas. The atmosphere was lively.

It didn't take Hermione much effort to spot Loren in the corner, lying on the armchair with a special edition of Today's Transfiguration in his hands.

"…Special thanks to Ms. Minerva McGonagall for her support of this publication…"

Loren turned the last page and saw his professor's name among the two full pages of acknowledgments. He smiled and read it quietly.

There was a sudden slight vibration beside him, and someone pushed his arm away and sat on the armrest of the sofa.

Smelling a familiar scent, Loren knew who it was without turning around: "Transfiguration is related to the magic of the moon phases; the key point of Animagus is the transformation of familiar forms and the control of animal nature; the transformation process of Animagus of the same type is related... Professor McGonagall has come up with more things than those old scholars have explored in the past few decades. Tsk, Professor McGonagall is in the limelight."

"What are you talking about? Professor McGonagall doesn't care about being in the limelight." Hermione pushed him with a smile, "Besides, the old scholars have also put forward many groundbreaking views--"