Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 14 Course Selection
“Welcome to our new classmate.” Dumbledore stood up.

He opened his arms in a welcoming gesture, a bright smile spreading across his face.

"Welcome, our old friend! Now, let's eat to our hearts' content!"

Delicious food descended from the sky, magically filling the empty plates on the long table with food.

They thoroughly enjoyed the delicious food. In no time, the remaining food in the golden platters disappeared, and they were soon filled with fruit pies, chocolate cakes, orange puddings, and other desserts.

“Severus, I don’t see Avery,” Abbott mumbled, his mouth full. “Why didn’t he come to the opening banquet?”

On the other side of the long table, Murceber, Regulus, and Crouch sat together talking quietly.

Snape probably guessed why Avery was absent, and that it was precisely because of him.

He could only give a vague reply to Abbott: "I don't know either, but it is indeed a bit strange."

Finally, the desserts were all cleared away, and the plates and wine glasses were clean and shiny again.

At this moment, Dumbledore stood up once again.

The noise in the auditorium gradually subsided.

"Please be quiet for a moment," Dumbledore said with a smile. "I must trouble you to listen to an old man's rambling."

"I want to remind everyone that students are not allowed to enter the forbidden forest next to the hunting grounds. In addition, only students in the third year and above are allowed to visit Hogsmeade on weekends."

"More importantly, I am delighted to welcome Professor Wilmina Grapland to our roster this semester, where she will be teaching you Defense Against the Dark Arts this year."

Professor Glapland?

Snape couldn't help but look up towards the main seating area—

An elderly witch sitting next to Dumbledore stood up; her chin was very prominent and her gray hair was meticulously trimmed.

Snape remembered that in the original book, Professor Grappleland took over as the substitute teacher for the Department of Protecting Magical Creatures from Hagrid.

I never expected her to be teaching them Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. Could she be Dumbledore's troubleshooter?

"Furthermore, I think most people in this Great Hall know that a war is taking place outside Hogwarts."

"Voldemort and his henchmen are still causing trouble and harming the innocent."

The auditorium was filled with the sound of fearful breathing.

Dumbledore paused for a few seconds, then continued:

"The current situation is very dangerous. Please pay extra attention to your own safety and remain vigilant at all times."

"If you discover anything unusual or suspicious, please report it to the school staff immediately."

"Alright, it's getting late, everyone go back to your dorms. Get some rest and prepare for tomorrow's classes."

A cacophony of clattering tables, chairs, and benches filled the air, along with ear-piercing scraping sounds.

Everyone got up, left the auditorium, and headed towards their dormitories.

Even in his familiar dormitory at the bottom of the lake, Snape did not see Avery.

There was no suitcase next to his bed, which was empty.

In his open wardrobe, there was nothing but a few old textbooks left over from the end of last semester.

Before going to sleep, Snape was still wondering if Avery had dropped out of school because of this.

Will he join the Death Eaters ahead of schedule? It's unclear what impact this might have on the future.

The next day at breakfast, the auditorium ceiling was a clear, deep blue, with a few wisps of white clouds drifting among it. Today was course selection day.

After they had breakfast, they remained in their seats waiting.

“Show me the courses you’ve chosen.” Abbott took Snape’s application form.

"I need to make sure my choices are basically the same as yours, otherwise being the only Slytherin weirdo in the whole class won't be a pleasant experience."

He made some changes to his application form and smiled, saying, "Thank goodness you're here this year."

"Pah!" Snape couldn't help but spit at him.

The process of confirming the sixth-grade timetable is more complicated than before.

The deans of each college must first ensure that every student's OWL score meets the requirements before allowing them to continue studying the corresponding NEWT advanced course.

Not long after, Professor Horace Slughorn, heavily pregnant, walked towards them from the faculty dining table.

“Yes, your Potions OWL grades are excellent,” Slughorn said, looking down at Snape’s application and his OWL grades. “You can continue to take my advanced courses.”

"As for the others, let me see... Herbalism, Transfiguration, Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts are all excellent, and protecting magical creatures is also good."

“Very well, Snape. Perhaps you would like to become an Auror or a healer?”

“I haven’t decided yet, sir. But I think these courses, especially Potions, are a sophisticated science and a wonderful skill that we should be fascinated by and continue to study.”

Slughorn glanced at Snape with some surprise, stroking his walrus-like silver beard as if deep in thought.

“Alright, next one—” He handed the timetable to Snape.

A few minutes later, Abbott's schedule was also arranged. In addition to the six courses Snape was supposed to take, he also chose Muggle Studies.

“We don’t have classes right now,” Abbott said to Snape, looking at the schedule. “The first class isn’t until ten. I’m going back to the common room for a bit, what about you?”

"Go back by yourself. I want to wander around by myself for a bit. See you in the classroom later."

During the summer vacation, Snape kept thinking about something very important, and he couldn't wait to see it.

He climbed the stairs to the eighth floor of the castle, walked through the corridor, and came to a huge tapestry.

The tapestry depicts a scene where Banaba the Fool tries to teach a troll to dance ballet.

Noticing Snape's arrival, the troll stopped beating the ballet teacher and turned to look at him.

Snape quickly ran to both ends of the corridor to check if anyone else was nearby.

After confirming that he would not be seen, he walked to the window on one end of the white wall opposite the tapestry, and then walked to the other end to the vase that was as tall as a person.

"I need a place to hide things... I need a place to hide things..."

This was repeated three times, and a smooth door appeared on the white wall.

Snape looked around to make a final check, then carefully grasped the brass handle and opened the door.

He quickly slipped into the room of Requirement and closed the door.

The birdsong in the castle immediately ceased, and all was silent.

This place is like a deep cathedral, with the items that generations of Hogwarts people have hidden inside forming high walls.

Besides the piles of broken furniture reaching the ceiling and magical items that had almost lost their magic, there were also some dusty, filthy bottles filled with solidified potions.

Worn-out hats, cloaks, thousands of books, and rusty swords were all piled up here haphazardly.

(End of this chapter)