hotmtlnovel Chapter 263 Hogwarts Military Preparations
Chapter 263 Hogwarts Military Preparations
Chapter 263 Hogwarts Military Preparations
Now, Dumbledore told the students about the change of professors for the semester.
When Harry heard the news that a new teaching assistant had been added to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, he immediately became quite alert.
Why was he so wary? Well, Dumbledore only mentioned the man's surname, omitting his given name.
Harry looked up at the professors' table and saw a middle-aged man stand up in response, who was handsome:
His face resembled duckweed floating on the waves, his nose like rotten wood without a peak; his eyes were as dim as a flickering lamp, his beard as unkempt as weeds. He mingled among the various classes of people, his features indistinguishable; amidst the clamor and shouts of the crowd, he was nowhere to be found. Truly: a wandering swordsman, his form aloof and unrecognizable, lost in the crowd, nowhere to be found.
He showed no emotion, but simply rose, bowed slightly, and silently sat down.
Harry thought to himself: This guy seems to be hiding his true strength.
He then turned to Hermione and whispered, "What do you think of this person, elder sister? Professor Dumbledore only mentioned his surname, not his given name. He seems very strange to me."
Hermione stared intently, muttering, "It is indeed strange. I never expected that someone would share the same name as that ancient Greek dark wizard—the probability of that is not high."
Ron had other plans. After a moment's thought, he said, "But isn't he a bit too ordinary? He doesn't even give me the same feeling as Lockhart."
Harry shook his head and said, "Brother, you're mistaken. As the saying goes, even a drop in the ocean has its own light. Even ordinary people have their own temperament."
"Look at this fellow; if we don't go looking for him, no one will even know he's at the table."
"If I'm not mistaken, he must have used some kind of concealment spell to hide his aura."
Hermione stared at Helbo, lost in thought, and said, "If he really is that despicable ancient Greek dark wizard Helbo, then Voldemort must have sent him."
The three of them talked amongst themselves for a while, and all agreed that this Haierbo's origins were unknown and that there must be something fishy going on.
Harry became suspicious and took out the Marauder's Map from his pocket to examine it.
The ink on the map was moving, and indeed only the surname "Hairbo" was visible, but the given name was not, just as Dumbledore had said.
Hermione also took out the Death Diary to ask if the professor's assistant, Herpo, was the ancient Greek dark wizard from a thousand years ago.
In just a few breaths, the demonic book responded, admitting that it was not true.
The demonic book explained that this Haierbo's skin, flesh, and bones, from the outside, were no different from those of an ordinary person.
Even upon close examination of its magical pathways, no trace of its strangeness could be found. It was nothing more than the body of an ordinary mortal.
Harry thought to himself: This book of demons cannot be entirely trusted. Voldemort has the great power to reshape his body, so creating a good husk shouldn't be too difficult for him.
He then snapped his fingers again, summoning several house-elves and instructing them to keep a close watch on Helbo and report any movement immediately.
After giving the instructions, they continued eating.
After the meal, the students dispersed in a lively atmosphere.
Ron intended to go with Harry and Hermione to investigate, but as soon as he got up, Lavender rushed up to him like a gust of wind, grabbed his arm, and dragged him away.
It turned out that it was the class monitor's duty to guide the freshmen back to the lounge.
Ron couldn't refuse, so he could only grumble under his breath and reluctantly go with Lavender.
As the crowd jostled and pushed their way out of the Great Hall, Harry hid in the shadow of a pillar, opened the locket around his neck, and whispered, "I would like to ask my sister to go and find out whether Halberd has a soul."
After saying that, a green dragon emerged from the box. It was less than an inch long and was swimming freely in the air.
She first bumped Harry's nose, then transformed into a streak of blue light, disappearing through beams and pillars in search of Halberd's whereabouts.
After seeing Nagini off, Harry went straight to find Dumbledore.
As soon as they stepped out of the auditorium, they saw the old man whispering to Snape, shoulder to shoulder, as they walked toward the office.
Harry hurried a few steps and called out, "Professor, wait! I have something important to ask you!"
Snape turned around abruptly, saw Harry, and his face immediately showed disgust. He snorted coldly, twirled his black robe, and strode away.
Dumbledore raised his hand to call him, but seeing that he had left so quickly, he could only shake his head and give up, turning back to ask gently, "Harry, is there something you need?"
Harry said with a forced smile, "If the professor doesn't want me to come looking for him, he'd better be more careful with his shady dealings in the future."
"Tell me, what is the background of this Hailbo? Why does he have a surname but no given name? What is his place of origin? Can you tell me clearly?"
Dumbledore shook his head frankly, "I can't explain it."
"If he's someone with no connections, why did he end up at Hogwarts?"
"Hmm—because his magical skill level is indeed very high."
It should be noted that both Grindelwald and Voldemort, those who stirred up trouble, were defeated by Dumbledore. Now, this old man has personally praised Helbo for his skillful methods, which must carry significant weight.
Harry, curious, pressed for an answer: "What's this 'High Law'?"
"During the interview, I asked him why he wanted to apply for the position of assistant professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and guess what he said?"
""
"Hey! What are you waiting for? I don't have time for riddles!"
Dumbledore, taken aback, shuddered and had no choice but to say frankly, "He said the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is cursed, so it's better to be an assistant."
"You should know, Harry, he was the first person to discover the curse in all these years."
Harry nodded slowly after hearing this and said, "To be able to see through Voldemort's curse, he must be quite capable."
"But if this person harbors ulterior motives, how will the professor control him?"
Dumbledore simply smiled. "Outside of Hogwarts, people usually just call me Dumbledore, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that."
After speaking, he lightly raised his wand, and in an instant, layers upon layers of magical runes appeared in the night sky, their incantations flowing like a spider web, densely enveloping the entire castle.
"But inside Hogwarts, Harry, what do you think they should call me?"
Harry stared at the sky full of magical runes, pondered for a long time, and then said with certainty, "The White Lord."
Just then, the mischievous ghost appeared out of nowhere, chuckling in a hoarse voice, "Heh heh, Scarface isn't stupid~"
Dumbledore didn't even look up. He simply flicked his wand, and a gust of wind suddenly rose up, blowing Peepi away with a screeching sound.
He straightened his cuffs and said gently, "Actually, I still prefer to be called professor."
Harry saw that he had revealed his abilities and knew that he now had the castle inside and out under his control, so he understood the situation.
He then gave a slight bow and turned to head straight for the Gryffindor Tower.
After walking down only two or three floors, a blue light suddenly appeared, swirling around them. It turned out that Nagini had somehow slipped out from a gap in the beam and floated down onto Harry's shoulder.
She pressed her cool body against Harry's neck and whispered in his ear, "I saw it. There's a soul inside him."
Harry turned his head and said, "Sister, you really haven't misjudged me?"
"Hermione is guiding me. She's always been with Helbo, you know. She carries a Horcrux with her diary and has two souls inside her. I can't mistake her."
Upon hearing this, Harry made up his mind, and half of his previous doubts disappeared.
He nodded and said, "Since my sister is the guarantor, let's leave it at that for now. I'll go and listen to his lecture myself, and then I'll carefully assess his abilities."
He then returned to his dorm and chatted with Ron and Hermione for a while before finally going to bed.
The next morning at dawn, Harry and the other students rubbed their eyes, got up, had breakfast, and went to the professor's house.
The first class was Potions, and Snape still had a gloomy face and said some vicious things, but the potions he taught were very different from usual.
He no longer taught any ordinary medicines to refresh and calm the mind, but instead chose potent drugs for fighting, deadly poisons that would kill instantly, and curses that would afflict the soul—all the most vicious agents to be used on the battlefield.
In the afternoon, everyone resumed their studies. This time, Trelawney didn't teach them to look at the tea leaves again, but instead had each of them hold a crystal ball and observe whether they would suffer any misfortune.
The next day, everyone filed into the History of Magic classroom early in the morning.
Harry had been preparing to get a good night's sleep, but today this old devil floated up to the podium and, instead of talking about the War of the Giants, went straight to the history of modern magic.
First, it tells how Grindelwald led the Mara Party to wreak havoc in America and wreak havoc on the world; then it tells how Voldemort drove the Death Eaters to run rampant in Europe and poison the world.
Furthermore, he mentioned that the grandparents and ancestors of many of the students in the hall were all loyal martyrs who sacrificed themselves for righteousness in the great saga.
Upon hearing this, all the students in the room held their breath and focused intently, banishing all traces of drowsiness, until Bins's soul trembled as he spoke.
"Mr. Potter! The infamous Savior! His parents died for the wizarding world! He himself defeated Mystic!"
"But you must understand, he's not the only one who can save the magical world!"
Then Binns turned his finger to Neville, "Just like returning Mr. Longbottom's parents!"
"Frank, Alice, they were good kids—they were driven mad by the Death Eaters! Countless Cruciatus Curses—"
—But they didn't back down in the end!
"If they were still in school, I should give Gryffindor two hundred points! No! Two thousand points!"
Binns went on and on, recounting the Longbottoms' self-sacrifice with heartbreaking detail.
Neville's eyes reddened and his breathing became heavy; the students around him were all filled with righteous indignation, and curses rose and fell, their resentment so intense that they wished they could tear the roof off.
Pansy in the corner was trembling with fear, like a startled quail, her fingers gripping Draco's arm tightly, trying to shrink into his embrace.
Draco's face turned even paler, his complexion turning ashen, and his eyes darted around furtively. He quickly reached out and straightened the Boxer emblem on his chest.
In the midst of the noise, the bell rang suddenly. Bins abruptly threw down the chalk in his hand.
"get out of class is over! Go on!"
At that shout, the students grabbed their weapons, cursing and swearing, and surged out of the classroom in a chaotic uproar. A few others remained seated, staring intently at Malfoy and his gang in the corner.
Ron followed Harry through the crowd, his eyes bulging, his teeth grinding together, and he cursed, "No wonder my mother never talked about my two uncles; they were both killed by Death Eaters!"
"These damned beasts! Scum! Bastards!"
Which of these students, born into the magical world, hasn't suffered at the hands of Death Eaters? Binns's recounting of these bloody old grievances has ignited the burning hatred in the hearts of these students.
Hermione glanced around, a chill creeping over her, and said to Harry, "Harry, have you noticed anything off in class these past few days?"
"This is somewhat like—a military mobilization? Or war preparedness?"
Harry laughed and said, "So, Hogwarts has become a military academy."
As they were talking, they turned the corner and passed the pillars, heading towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
Just as they reached a crowded area, Draco suddenly appeared from the side, rushing to block Harry's path. His face was tense as he said, "Mr. Potter, may I speak with you?"
The corridor was bustling with activity, and many eyes were secretly astonished by what they saw.
Harry glanced at his dusty face and nodded, saying, "Let's talk over there."
The two moved to a quiet corner of the corridor, where many people were already peering around.
Draco walked with a limp, like a lame old man. Once he stood still, he just kept rubbing his hands and scratching his ears, unable to utter a single word for a long time.
A murmur began to rise from the crowd. Harry, increasingly annoyed, glared and snapped, "Say what you mean! Stop beating around the bush!"
"Well, I was planning to write back to my father last night. But I think it would be better to write this reply under your supervision."
"If any leaks of classified information occur in the future, I think this will prove my innocence."
Harry was quite surprised to hear this, and looked him up and down again, saying, "You are quite cautious. If you had been this respectful when you first entered school, I would never have been willing to become sworn brothers with you."
After saying that, he patted him on the shoulder again, "We'll talk about this later, I'm about to go to my Defense Against the Dark Arts class."
After saying goodbye to Draco, Harry and the other Gryffindor students headed straight for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
As soon as the door was pushed open, Umbridge, dressed in pink, appeared flustered. She was rubbing her hands, twisting her feet, rolling her eyes, forcing a smile, and constantly glancing around.
Upon seeing Harry, he hurriedly bowed and smiled obsequiously at him, "Oh, good morning, Mr. Potter."
"I think you must remember who I am, Dolores Umbridge."
"As you know, this is my first time being a professor, and I don't have much experience. I hope you can understand."
The old woman kept chattering away, irritating Harry. He suddenly glanced at her and said coldly, "Pink and delicate, how old are you now?"
That's incredibly ruthless! Umbridge's face turned from pink to red, then to blue, then to white, then to purple, as if a paint shop had been opened on his face, displaying a dazzling array of colors.
Harry ignored her and looked at Halbert beside her. The man was sitting upright and meticulously, holding a book in his hand.
Harry stared intently, and his eyes widened in surprise!
Do you know what that book is?
It is "What is Black Magic".
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