https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-524-The-Elder-Wand-and-the-New-Wand/13461439/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-526-Sirius-Black-s-Defense-Against-the-Dark-Arts-Class/13461442/
Chapter 525: Detention and the Jumping Cauldron
Chapter 525: Detention and the Jumping Cauldron
"Arrogant, self-important, always breaking the rules, seeking attention, meddling, and utterly disrespectful—just like his father." Snape watched the three figures walking away, his gaze fixed on Harry, his eyes filled with deep-seated hatred.
"If judged by Slytherin values, he indeed isn't very likable. Yes, all three of them", Felix said softly. "But you heard only the last few words, without context... So I told them we were talking about my new wand, which I've given a fairy-tale name."
Snape remained silent, his black eyes still fixed on Harry's retreating back. From this angle, the resemblance to his father was striking.
After a moment, he spoke coldly, "Felix, I will pass on the information about your wand to that person."
Felix replied calmly, "I expected as much. You decide how much to reveal."
"Do you think I have a choice?" Snape said discontentedly, his black robes fluttering as he walked through the rain, his figure blurring in the distance.
...
"Bad luck", Ron muttered as he climbed the stairs.
"Oh, don't—"
They stood at the door of the staff room, Harry nervously knocking, hoping no one was inside. The few seconds of waiting felt like an eternity. Finally, a familiar voice called from inside, "Come in."
Things didn't go as hoped. Harry thought, hearing sighs from both sides. He took a deep breath, pushed the door open, and walked in. The room was long, with soft light hanging from the ceiling, warmer than outside, likely due to the fireplace in the corner. Professor Mcgonagall lifted her head from a pile of parchment, her sharp eyes peering over her square glasses.
"Potter, Weasley, Granger, what brings you here?"
"We were asked to see you because... because of some mistakes", Harry said, handing over the note. Professor Mcgonagall frowned, taking the note. The paper was stuck together, a signature Order of the Phoenix technique. Her eyebrows furrowed even deeper. She took out her wand and tapped the note, which then unfolded automatically.
Professor Mcgonagall quickly read through it, remaining silent for a long time after.
"Is this true?" she asked. "Eavesdropping on a professor's conversation?" The note not only explained the process but also hinted at the background, mentioning that the two were discussing confidential Order of the Phoenix matters.
"We didn't mean to", Harry explained, his face pale. "We—uh, went out for some fresh air after lunch, and then—" Professor Mcgonagall snorted, and Harry continued, steeling himself, his mind returning to a few minutes earlier—
"Did you hear that? Sirius's class is quite popular", Hermione said thoughtfully, as she and Harry, Ron emerged from the Great Hall, ready to get some fresh air.
"He said it was a secret", Harry said, his tone bitter, kicking at the ground. "He said it was a surprise, and we have his class tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it."
Hermione and Ron laughed.
"What's wrong?" Harry looked at them, puzzled.
"You sound like a child arguing with a parent... Watch out!" Hermione said. A first-year student stumbled toward them, almost colliding with them.
"Running is prohibited in the castle; you might bump into someone else", Hermione said sternly at first, then softened her tone. "What happened?"
The first-year student looked terrified, constantly glancing back as if someone was chasing him.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron exchanged glances.
"Hey, little one, we're prefects. If someone is bullying you, speak up", Ron puffed out his chest, making his prefect badge more visible. "I have the authority to assign detentions and deduct points..."
"Come off it, Ron, we can't abuse our prefect powers", Hermione said sternly, looking at the first-year, who still looked shaken. "What's the matter?"
"I, I just saw the Potions professor in the courtyard, and his eyes were so scary!" the first-year stammered.
"Is this your first day realizing that... Well, it is", Ron muttered.
"Professor Snape... yes, he is quite strict", Hermione said slowly. "If you unintentionally made a mistake and were reprimanded, just correct your behavior, and don't worry about it—"
"Yeah, you've got a long road of bad luck ahead", Ron added. Hermione glared at him, and he immediately shut up. When her attention returned to the first-year, he started winking at Harry, who thought Ron's comments were quite accurate.
"No, no, Professor Snape was talking to another professor. I think... they didn't want to be disturbed", the first-year said, his face turning red, stammering and on the verge of tears before running off.
...
"So you want to figure out what's going on?" Professor Mcgonagall asked sternly.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione nodded woodenly.
"We are prefects, so we have to, have to..." Ron scratched his head, and Professor Mcgonagall glanced at him. "Frankly, Mr. Weasley, the prefect guidelines do not justify your behavior today, let alone the fact that this is not the first time."
The class bell rang, and Professor Mcgonagall stood up, tucking the parchment on her desk into a drawer. "I fully agree with Professor Snape's decision to deduct points..." She pursed her lips. "...and assign detention, starting this week—"
Harry and Ron looked up in horror, both thinking the same thing: Quidditch tryouts were on Friday afternoon.
"—every Saturday evening until lights-out, preparing potion ingredients until the end of the month."
With that, Professor Mcgonagall dismissed them, and the three hurried to the Potions classroom. Ron grumbled the whole way. "We're going to be late again, and I bet that old bat will find a way to make our lives miserable... Why didn't Professor Mcgonagall say a word for us? Snape is making a mountain out of a molehill. Now he's found someone to help him process a whole semester's worth of potion ingredients..."
Harry suddenly felt a bit nauseous, recalling the dim classroom, the dissected toads, the pungent ginger roots and peppermint, the horseradish, and the secretion from the spotted toad, the bat and rat spleens, and the slimy snails... He shuddered.
By evening, they trudged back to the common room with heavy steps.
"I told you, Snape isn't going to let us off easily. Ten points deducted for each of us for being late. Whose fault is this...? We're nearly down two hundred points now." Ron moaned, almost as much as Moaning Myrtle. They slumped into the most secluded corner of the common room, feeling dejected.
Harry and Hermione were also in low spirits.
"Do you think we could deduct points from other houses?" Ron suggested, but neither of the other two responded. Harry and Hermione were used to Ron's unreliable ideas and knew he would give up eventually.
"We can't do that, and you still have a pile of reports to write", Hermione finally couldn't resist correcting him.
"If it were Malfoy and his gang..." Ron's eyes gleamed, but the light quickly faded. "Oh, right, he's a prefect too."
At that moment, Harry, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.
"That story... the one Professor Hup used to name her new wand, is it the Tale of the Three Brothers? Is it famous?"
"Absolutely, mate, I grew up hearing it", Ron replied without hesitation. "It's a story from The Tales of Beedle the Bard."
"Wait, I think I've seen the name of that book somewhere, Beedle the Bard—Pettigrew, in other places..." Harry said slowly, instinctively looking at Hermione, who usually had the answers.
But this time, Hermione also wore a thoughtful expression.
"Have you really seen it, Harry?" she asked.
Harry gave her a clearly confused look.
Ron, trying to stifle a laugh, said, "This is a rare day. Even Miss Know-It-All can't find the answer."
Hermione glared at him. "If you know, just say it."
But Ron was enjoying the process. He shook his head and rubbed his chin. "Think about it, what is something that Harry and I know, but you missed—something we had a chance to come across—"
Hermione's eyes also took on a confused look.
Harry, however, had an idea. It couldn't be something related to their studies, because Hermione wouldn't miss a single detail in her textbooks or reference materials. It had to be something he and Ron had come across while passing time...
"I remember now", Harry's eyes lit up, and Hermione immediately focused on his face. He said with certainty, "It's Mick's Magical Misadventures. The book was mentioned there, but I can't recall the exact part."
"But I've read a few of those too", Hermione realized, and she and Harry turned to look at Ron. Ron tried to keep up the suspense, but under their combined gaze, he quickly surrendered.
"Alright, that's the content of the last volume: Little Wizard Mick's friends were in danger, and in a critical moment, he used magic—thus revealing his Wizard identity. Mick was very sad because, while he received his Hogwarts acceptance letter, he lost a group of friends. However, on the day Mick was about to leave, his friends returned. They didn't mind that he was a Wizard; instead, they genuinely wished him well. Later, Mick told his friends the story of 'The Wizard and the Jumping Cauldron.'"
Ron concluded, "It mentions the name 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' just once, right there."
"Good job", Harry praised.
Ron grinned.
Hermione was still pondering what Ron had said, "The Wizard and the Jumping Cauldron... what's that about?"
This stumped Ron. He thought for a moment and stammered, "Well, it's about... um, a kind old Wizard who was about to die. During his life, he was very friendly to Muggles and always tried to help people. The neighbors loved this old man. But his son didn't understand him. So, before dying, the old Wizard left a magical cauldron behind—this old man must have been an alchemist, like Nearly Headless Nick Flamel! Ahem, let me continue—after the old man died, his son refused to help the poor neighbors anymore, being quite heartless. Then the cauldron started tormenting the son, making it hard for him to eat or sleep. In the end, the son decided to follow his father's ways and continued to help the neighbors as much as he could."
Ron was a bit out of breath after saying so much. He took a couple of deep breaths and summarized, "I guess the story is meant to show that Wizards can live peacefully with Muggles and help each other... that's what my mom said, anyway."
"But—" Hermione bit her lip, still puzzled, "I don't see the peaceful coexistence—yes, the old Wizard was certainly kind, but his son was forced to be good, driven by the cauldron."
Ron shrugged, "I don't know."
Hermione glared at him.
"Don't look at me. I was just a kid back then; it's a miracle I remember anything", Ron said.
At that moment, a voice chimed in, "Leave him alone. He was still drooling over his teddy bear back then." Fred and George Weasley walked over, beaming, "Sold seven Extendable Ears. On the first day of school!"
"You still need money?" Harry asked.
"Not really", Fred sat down next to him, saying casually, "But we need some test subjects. They promised to give us feedback on our products."
"Like you did with the Skiving Snackbox?" Hermione suddenly asked sternly.
"What?" Fred asked, surprised.
"I saw it! You posted the recruitment notice for test subjects on the bulletin board. If I hadn't been putting up the spell test list, I wouldn't have noticed—" she pursed her lips, looking exactly like Professor Mcgonagall.
Fred and George Weasley exchanged glances.
"Soon enough, you'll change your mind, Hermione", George said dismissively, "You'll need them, especially this year with O.W.L.s. Every year, a few students break down, and it's tough on everyone, especially the high achievers—remember, Selton wore an onion-flavored amulet?"
"Of course I remember", Fred said seriously, "We sold it to her. Unfortunately, the concentrated Joy Elixir doesn't seem to mix well with onions." He stood up and nodded at George, "Come on, let's find Lee. He might have some leads—"
Noticing Hermione's angry stare, he quickly changed the subject, "Oh, right, about your earlier question, George and I asked Dad the same thing—Dad said Wizards can be good or bad, which is why people like him are necessary."
"People like him...?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
"Dad was working on laws to protect Muggles", George said succinctly. Taking advantage of Hermione's moment of thought, the two of them left.
Harry felt conflicted. On one hand, Mr. Weasley's efforts to protect Muggles through legislation, like the old Wizard using the cauldron to control his son, were both admirable. But hearing this from Fred and George Weasley, who were always up to something, made it seem a bit odd, especially with their sneaky demeanor...
Lying in his four-poster bed, Harry pushed all these jumbled thoughts aside. The thought of hearing Sirius's class the next day filled him with anticipation.
(End of Chapter)
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