Chapter 283: I Shouldn't Have Taken This Professor Position!
Chapter 283: I Shouldn't Have Taken This Professor Position!
Hiss
The loud train whistle echoed in Ivan's ears, accompanied by a jolt as the train slowly started moving forward.
Ivan flipped through his book, the carriage was quite quiet. If it weren't for the inconvenience of brewing potions here, he would have taken out the cauldron from his suitcase.
Soon, a conversation could be heard from outside the door, and the next moment, the compartment door was pushed open.
"Ivan?" The brown-haired young witch who entered was holding a willow basket, from which came a faint, soft, snoring sound.
Ivan turned his head, and it was Hermione, Ron, and Harry who had come in.
The three of them quickly squeezed in and closed the sliding door.
The compartment was spacious enough, and with Lupin curled up in the corner, there was still room for three more people.
Hermione sat down in the empty seat next to Ivan, while Ron and Harry took the seats on the other side, curiously looking at Lupin, who was sleeping in the corner.
"Who is he?" Ron asked, looking at the man in the patched robes.
"The new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He's sleeping, so you'd better keep it down", Ivan reminded them.
However, Ron's expression turned serious. He leaned in, motioning for everyone to come closer, and after a cautious glance at Lupin, he whispered.
"Did you check him out, Ivan? He's not a Dark Wizard or a fraud, is he?"
Ron's words left Ivan stunned, his face turning a bit strange.
"Ron, how can you say that?" Hermione angrily rebuked.
"I'm just asking. You know how things have been the past few terms", Ron said with a sheepish smile, then continued to defend himself.
"Last year's Professor Quirrell was a Dark Wizard connected to the Dark Lord, and last year's Lockhart was a pretentious fraud who attacked so many people at the school. It was thanks to Ivan that they were caught."
"Before we got on the train, George and Fred were guessing how long the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor would last this time."
Ron whispered, but he didn't notice that the curled-up Lupin in the corner had twitched.
The noise of Harry and the others pushing the door and talking had woken Lupin up just as he had fallen asleep.
But due to his extreme fatigue, Lupin didn't get up to greet Harry and the others; instead, he planned to continue sleeping.
However, he never expected to overhear such a conversation.
Lupin didn't dare to open his eyes or move, and he gave a bitter smile in his heart.
Initially, Ivan had left a good impression on him, not discriminating against Werewolf Wizards and being the son of a comrade. Lupin had even thought about getting to know him better, but now Ivan had become someone he wanted to avoid.
When Dumbledore invited him to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, he never mentioned anything like this.
Lupin couldn't help but wonder if he shouldn't have taken this position. Was it still possible to get off the train now?
Ivan, flipping through his potions book, was unaware that Lupin, whom he had managed to gain some good will with, was now avoiding him.
After Ron had his rant, he didn't bring up the tragic experiences of the previous professors again. Instead, he began telling the three of them about the amusing incidents during his family's trip to Egypt.
Ron's pet rat, Scabbers, had immediately burrowed into Ron's pocket the moment they entered the compartment and refused to come out.
Ivan had been distracted by Scabbers' strange behavior.
At first, Ivan thought he might have exposed himself somehow and was considering whether to lock Scabbers up to prevent him from escaping. But then he realized that Scabbers was afraid of Lupin.
Since Sirius could immediately recognize Peter in his Animagus form in the photo, it stands to reason that his friend Lupin should also be able to recognize him.
Of course, we might also add Hermione's new pet, a Persian long-haired cat—Crookshanks!
Ivan shifted his gaze to the willow basket by the table, where the intelligent cat was nestled inside.
"Ivan"
Ivan, who was lost in thought, was interrupted by Hermione's words. When he snapped back to reality, he saw Hermione looking at him with a pout.
"Hermione, what did you say? I didn't hear you." Ivan said with a puzzled expression.
"You promised to write to me, but I didn't receive a single letter all summer! And you never replied to any of the letters I sent you", Hermione repeated, her brown eyes fixed on Ivan.
"Sorry, Hermione. I was busy with other things during the summer, so I forgot", Ivan apologized.
Recalling the events of the summer, a shadow crossed Ivan's face. He had been busy tracking down the attacker and had no time for writing or replying to letters.
He hadn't even received any of Hermione's letters because they were usually sent to his home.
Only the Hogwarts Owls could find his hideout, and he wondered if it was because Dobby often Apparated between Hogwarts and his temporary base, thus revealing his location.
Forgot?
The young witch's eyes widened, and her pale cheeks puffed up in anger.
This was the second time!
During their first-year summer, Ivan had been busy researching the Wolfsbane Potion and forgot to send her letters, so she had specifically reminded him this time, but he still forgot.
"I heard George and Fred also sent you letters during the summer, but they didn't hear back from you for a long time. They were worried and even considered going to Knockturn Alley to look for you if Mum hadn't stopped them", Ron chimed in.
Of course, Ron didn't think anything had happened to Ivan. He had never seen Ivan in a difficult situation.
Hermione, however, wasn't so sure. She noticed that Ivan's expression was not good and her anger subsided.
Thinking about what Ivan had said about being busy with other things during the summer, the clever young witch became concerned that Ivan might have encountered some trouble.
"Ivan, did something happen to you during the summer?" Hermione asked, worry evident in her voice.
Harry and Ron, reminded by Hermione, also realized that the situation was indeed unusual and looked at Ivan.
"No, nothing happened. I just ran into some difficulties while improving a potion", Ivan denied Hermione's concern, shaking his head and speaking again.
"You know, once I get into my studies, I forget everything else."
He even waved the book *How to Improve Potions* in his hand.
Harry and Ron, recalling the Wolfsbane Potion Ivan had developed, quickly dismissed their doubts. Ron even joked that Ivan might earn another Order of Merlin this year.
"The same person can't receive two Order of Merlins, Ron!" Hermione corrected Ron, though she still had some doubts about Ivan's explanation.
After all, even if improving a potion was busy, it shouldn't be so time-consuming that he couldn't spare a few minutes to write a letter.
(End of Chapter)
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