novelcrest Chapter 311 An Interesting September
Chapter 311 An Interesting September
Chapter 311 An Interesting September
In less than a month, Sophia perfectly integrated into Harry, Ron, and Hermione's group. Especially when Hermione was too busy to take care of her friends, Sophia almost naturally took Hermione's place.
Her arrival was more than just the addition of a transfer student; it seemed she already knew how the three of them got along.
He quickly became friends with Harry and Ron.
Oh, it's not "seems" but a fact.
After all, Sophia had quite a bit of contact with Harry and Ron in the future, and she knew their habits and preferences very well.
The bits and pieces of experience she accumulated in the future enabled her to accurately integrate into their lives.
She knew when to interrupt, when to remain silent, what kind of humor to use to break the silence, and even knew about Harry and Ron's favorite Quidditch team and match results.
Sometimes, when the four of them eat breakfast together, it's usually Sofia who starts the conversation.
She would casually chat about new magical discoveries or tell interesting stories, and Harry and Ron would naturally join in the discussion, while Hermione would often just listen with a smile. Hermione was unaware that she was gradually shifting from the center of the conversation to an observer.
She was too busy; her studies and various tasks took up all her time.
Sofia filled that void perfectly.
However, none of this seemed to alert Hermione.
On the contrary, her relationship with Sofia grew closer and closer.
Under Sophia's deliberate flattery, the naive Hermione poured out all her secrets, both what she could and couldn't say—except for the story between her and Shaun.
As their relationship progressed, she learned from Sophia that Sophia was a distant relative of Sean, and this was the basis for the thawing of their relationship.
During that month, Defense Against the Dark Arts became the most popular course for most people, with only Draco Malfoy and his Slytherin cronies still badmouthing Professor Lupin.
"Look at what his robes have become," Malfoy said deliberately so that everyone could hear as Professor Lupin passed by, "He's dressed like one of our old elves."
Aside from them, no one cared that Professor Lupin's robe was patched and badly worn.
His next few lessons were just as lively and interesting as the first one.
After learning about the Boggart, they learned about the Red Hat, an ugly little creature resembling a goblin.
They lurk in places where blood has been shed, such as the dungeons of castles or the tunnels of abandoned battlefields, waiting to attack lost people with big clubs.
After the red hats, they began to learn about the kaba, a water-dwelling reptile that looks like a scaly monkey with webbed hands, ready to strangle any unsuspecting person wading through its ponds.
The class that most students hate is, of course, Potions.
Professor Snape was known for his strictness and favoritism, but lately he had been in an exceptionally bad mood, making the classroom atmosphere even more tense and oppressive. The students handled the cauldrons with extreme care, afraid that the slightest mistake would give Snape an opportunity to criticize them.
However, the source of Snape's bad temper was not hard to guess; almost everyone in Hogwarts knew why he was so angry.
The news that Boggart had been transformed into Snape and dressed in his grandmother's clothes by Neville Longbottom had spread throughout the school.
The news spread like wildfire, and almost every student had heard of this "strange event."
Worst of all, this is not just a joke, but there is real "physical evidence" to support it.
Professor Sean happened to be passing by at the time, and by chance, he casually took a picture of the scene.
What was originally just an unintentional photo unfortunately became a hot topic among students and was even circulated privately for a time.
The photo circulated so widely that even Snape was aware of it.
He had absolutely no sense of humor. Whenever he heard any gossip about Professor Lupin and Professor Phillips, Snape's face would turn terribly gloomy, and his eyes would blaze with vicious anger.
Neville, in particular, always seemed trembling with fear during Potions class, constantly needing to be prepared to face Snape's wrath.
Snape never had a good impression of Neville, and after the "Grandma's Outfit Incident," he intensified his suppression of him.
Neville seems to become Snape's punching bag in every class, and no matter how careful he is, he always gets blamed.
"Longbottom!" Snape's voice rang out coldly in the classroom.
Neville almost instinctively jerked, nearly dropping the stirring rod into the cauldron.
"Are you planning to poison us with this potion?" Snape glanced at Neville with disdain, his tone full of malice.
"I'm sorry, Professor, I—" Neville stammered, his face pale, as if he were about to faint.
Snape's eyes were filled with disgust as he looked at Neville as if he were an insect. "I really don't understand how you can still be in Hogwarts."
After he finished speaking, he lightly flicked his robe, turned and left with a disdainful attitude, leaving Neville standing there looking dejected.
The other students were trembling with fear, and no one dared to speak, especially under Snape's gloomy gaze.
Although most students were unhappy with Snape's attitude, they all knew that at this time, any confrontation would only invite a more violent attack.
After class, everyone gathered together and whispered about Snape's unusual behavior lately. "He's gotten even more terrifying lately," Ron muttered, "I've never seen him this angry before."
"What do you think?" Harry rolled his eyes, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "Imagine if the whole school were secretly laughing at you for wearing an old lady's clothes, how would you feel?"
Hermione frowned. Although she didn't like Snape's behavior, she knew the situation was indeed somewhat awkward. "I still think Professor Phillips's photo shouldn't be circulating. It just makes things worse."
"Snape got what he deserved," Ron muttered. "He was always targeting us, and always so mean to Neville. He got what he deserved."
Harry didn't respond, but he thought the same thing.
He never liked Snape's way of treating students, especially Neville's harshness, which made him particularly unhappy.
However, he knew that because of the Boggart incident, Snape's anger had not subsided but continued to spread in the classroom, especially his harsh accusations against Neville, which were almost undisguised punishments.
In the following lessons, Snape's hostility toward Lupin and Sean became even more blatant.
Whenever Snape heard his students praise Lupin's lessons as lively and interesting, his gaze would immediately turn icy cold.
Be ready to strike at any time.
His anger did not diminish over time; instead, it continued to fester in every Potions class at Hogwarts, especially towards those students he considered close to Lupin and Shaun.
This "invisible war" continues, and Neville is clearly the most innocent victim.
The second victim was, of course, Sofia.
However, unlike Neville, despite Snape's extreme pickiness and even his deliberate search for her faults, he still couldn't find anything to blame in Sophia.
During every Potions class, Snape would look at her with an undisguised hostility, as if her very presence displeased him.
Sophia's identity as "a distant relative of Sean's" greatly increased Snape's hostility towards her.
He clearly saw this as "taking care" of Sean, but no matter how much Snape mocked and ridiculed her, Sophia always calmly completed each step of the potion making process, her movements so skillful that Snape could hardly find fault with her.
"Miss Phillips," Snape said coldly as he surveyed the classroom, his gaze lingering briefly on Sophia's cauldron, "where did you learn all this potion-making knowledge from? Not from that 'distant relative' of yours, is it?"
The atmosphere in the classroom instantly became tense. Many students knew about the relationship between Sophia and Sean, and naturally knew that Snape was alluding to their respected Professor Sean.
Faced with this blatant provocation, Sophia merely raised her head and smiled slightly: "No, Professor."
I learned all of this from your previous courses, and you explained it very clearly.
This was not just a compliment, but also a clever retort. The whole class heard it clearly, and the air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Snape's eyes darkened noticeably; despite his anger, he was speechless. This feeling of being powerless to retaliate only fueled his rage.
The price was three extra papers for the whole class—Snape's way of venting his anger on everyone. A low sigh rippled through the classroom; the students knew that even more heavy homework awaited them.
After leaving Potions class, Harry, Ron, and Hermione gathered again to discuss Snape's latest performance. "I really don't know how he'll mess with her again," Ron shook his head, inwardly admiring Sophia's handling of the situation. "But she always manages to deal with it so easily, it's amazing."
1
"Snape's like a ticking time bomb," Harry whispered. "He'll explode the moment he hears the name 'Sean' or 'Lupin.'"
"He has absolutely no reason to target her like this." Hermione frowned, clearly feeling indignant on Sophia's behalf.
Although she herself didn't have much affection for Snape, seeing Sophia always manage to defuse these difficulties with composure, Hermione felt a complex mix of emotions.
However, it wasn't just Potions class that caused stress; Professor Trelawney's Divination class was also a source of pressure. For Harry, this was almost one of his most dreaded classes.
Every time Harry stepped into that suffocating tower classroom, he had to force himself to confront those elusive symbols and shapes.
He not only had to grit his teeth and decipher the "omens" hidden in various strange tea leaves or crystal balls, but he also had to force himself to ignore Professor Trelawney's big eyes that would well up with tears whenever he saw him.
Those eyes always made him uneasy, as if Trelawney were always ready to foretell some terrible fate that was about to befall him.
“I can’t like her,” Harry said to Ron and Hermione, a hint of helplessness in his voice. “Every time she looks at me, it’s like something bad is about to happen to me.”
Despite this, many of the students in the class almost worshipped Professor Trelawney. Parvati Petit and Lavender Brown were her devoted followers, and they would often go to the tower classroom to chat with Professor Trelawney during lunch.
Upon their return, they always wore a mysterious expression that was difficult to understand, as if they knew some secrets that only they themselves could comprehend.
"I bet they know absolutely nothing," Ron rolled his eyes, watching Parvati and Lavender walk into the hall with their enigmatic expressions.
“Yes,” Harry whispered in agreement, “but every time they talk to me, they lower their voices.”
It was as if I was about to die.
Compared to the "mysterious" and tense atmosphere of the get out of class, the class on protecting magical creatures is quite boring for many students.
After that initial, stimulating lesson, Hagrid lost confidence.
From then on, the course became monotonous and boring, far less adventurous and exciting than it had been at the beginning.
"Are we going to learn about the Flobber Caterpillar again?" Hermione asked, clearly disappointed with Hagrid's schedule.
“Yeah, it’s those Flopp caterpillars again,” Ron complained, showing absolutely no interest in these unremarkable creatures. “We just spent another hour stuffing lettuce down their throats. I just don’t understand why we bother taking care of them.”
"They don't do anything at all, they don't even move," Harry said helplessly. "They're the most boring creatures ever."
Despite their respect for Hagrid, the class on protecting magical creatures has now become one of the most boring classes for students.
The monotonous repetition of the Flobber Caterpillar course was uninspiring to everyone, and even some of the students who loved magical creatures the most began to feel bored with the class.
"I think he just lost confidence," Hermione tried to defend Hagrid. "He probably felt that he had arranged the first lesson too dangerously, and he was afraid to take any more risks afterward."
"But it doesn't have to be this bad, does it?" Ron looked at the lifeless Flobber caterpillars. "I'd rather he found us some interesting creatures, like fire crabs or something."
And so, time slipped by quietly, and before we knew it, October had quietly arrived.