Hogwarts: This professor is too Muggle.

Chapter 96 Set off!
The dinner was over and everyone returned to their dormitories.

Hermione lay on the four-poster bed, her hands resting on the edge of the quilt. She heard Lavender yawn, then let out a long, contented sigh, her breathing slowly becoming more even. There was a rustling sound from Parvati's bed; she always had to toss and turn before she found the most comfortable sleeping position.

This night seemed no different from the past three hundred nights. They would fall asleep under the starlight of the Scottish Highlands, but Hermione was unable to fall asleep. She didn't know whether it was because of Professor Lewynter's scolding in the hall or because the school year was about to end.

She is about to return to Hampstead Gardens on the outskirts of London and will not be able to perform magic for two and a half months.

Parvati in the next bed was still awake, her breathing still not calming down.

"Hermione... Hermione..."

Her voice, lowered, echoed from the dormitory: "I heard that you got full marks on all the other exams, but only failed the practical exam in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Is that true?"

"Ah."

The final grades had been handed out, and the little witch had secured first place in her grade with a commanding lead. Furthermore, Harry and Ron had also passed with flying colors. Neville had barely made it past the mark, though his Potions score was a bit weak, but his Herbology made up for it somewhat...

"Don't worry about it. I think Professor Lewinter is deliberately teasing us. Not to mention us, even if the Aurors were here, they would fail too."

The little witch in the darkness didn't respond. If it had been Professor McGonagall or Professor Flitwick presiding over the exam, there would definitely not have been such a ridiculous farce where the whole school failed. But when it came to Professor Lewynter doing something like this, for some reason, she seemed to think it was nothing wrong.

She curled up a little in the quilt and caught a glimpse of the stars through the window, which looked like hoarfrost, while the night sky outside was a dark deep blue.

The little witch began to reflect on her wrong thoughts and thought that her roommate was right and that failing the exam was not entirely her fault.

Blame it on Professor Lewinter.

……

At dawn.

Edge of the Forbidden Forest.

The gamekeeper and the hound woke up and began to wash and brush their teeth in the dim morning light. Yaya ran around the house, occasionally barking, but more often making low whimpers.

Hagrid took out a bag of insecticide from the firewood pile in the yard, sprinkled it on the pumpkin patch, pulled off the vines clinging to the fence, locked the door after confirming that there was no problem, and walked towards the castle.

Yaya chased after him, grunting, holding his pink umbrella in his mouth, and nudged him a few times with his head.

Hagrid took it, wiped his saliva on his clothes, and rubbed its head. "Ronan and I have agreed that you will go hunting with them during the summer vacation. We will share the roast meat and stew with you, and make sure you have enough to eat. If you get tired of the food from the centaurs, just go to the castle. Mr. Filch will not ignore you, and the house-elves in the kitchen will prepare food for you."

"Woo..."

Yaya swung his butt and ran along the path into the depths of the forbidden forest on his short legs, crying out in a shrill voice.

There was not a moment's time to feel sorry for the separation from the master, and the next two months were a joyous holiday of hunting and eating meat.

……

The hall was still decorated in Gryffindor colors. Compared to last night's banquet, breakfast was particularly quiet. The only sound in the entire hall was the clinking of cups and plates.

The four deans handed out holiday notices to every student. In the blink of an eye, the little wizards packed their luggage, organized their schoolbags, and walked out of the school gate under the leadership of Hagrid and boarded the red train parked next to the platform.

"Hoo! Hoo!"

The whistle woke up the wilderness, the wheels began to turn, rolling over the morning dew on the rails, and the Hogwarts Express slowly set off, heading towards the Muggle world.

On the grass beside Black Lake, Melvin watched the white steam gradually dissipate and merge into the clouds in the sky.

"It's time for us to set off, too."

Professor Kettleburn chuckled twice and gently whipped the tall Pegasus beside him with a linen whip.

The three chestnut-maned Pegasus felt pain and lowered their heads to bump into him, causing him to stumble. This earned them several scoldings, mixed with laughter: "You foolish horses! I got up early in the morning to feed you Romanian hay and gave you mead from the Three Broomsticks. Now you're full and satisfied, and you want to pay me back for even a couple of lashes?"

Melvin looked at these sturdy Pegasus.

Before the Floo Network and portkeys became popular, Pegasus carriages were the mainstream means of transportation for wizards, and they have not completely disappeared until now.

There are many types of Pegasus, each with unique abilities. Hogwarts has Thestrals, Beauxbatons has Rune Horses, and the hills of Ilvermorny have Gralings. The three in front of you are Professor Kettleburn's private collection, and their breed is called Iserlon.

Its mane is brown with red, and it is sturdy and strong, a bit like a Ferghana horse. It is said that it has the blood of a fire dragon flowing in its body. It only eats fresh grass grown from dragon dung and loves to drink fruit brandy.

Considering that they had a long journey today, Professor Kettleburn only fed the horses some mead, which seemed to make the horses unhappy.

As Kettleburn installed the frame and the ropes, he said, "I tell you, Melvin, that you're stopping in Budapest, and that's why you're traveling by Iserlohn. Before, when I went to Romania on my own, I always used a portkey. I've been there many times and never had to go through any immigration paperwork."

Melvin laughed and said, "I thought the professor was some dangerous person who was banned from other countries."

"Haha... I'm not that guy Newt."

"The professor is going to retire next year, right?"

"How do you know? Did Albus tell you?"

"That's it."

"You have to admit you're getting old. When you're young, you're in good health and can still handle things even if you're missing an arm or a leg. But now that you're old, your bones are brittle and you can barely stop those animals in class."

"You can't stop magical creatures, but you can stop dark wizards with malicious intentions. I remember during the Christmas holidays, the professor seemed to be targeting Quirrell. Did he discover something was wrong?" Kettleburn continued to tease the Pegasus, grinning. "I didn't find any evidence, but after spending a lot of time with magical creatures, I can sense some of their true emotions. Some animals are temperamental but not inherently bad; you can touch them without any problem. Some animals seem gentle, but they're actually waiting to bite you at any moment. Wizards are the same way."

Melvin nodded slightly.

Professor Kettleburn loves to seek death. He chases magical beasts in the wild all year round and trades contraband with dark wizards many times. He can live to this age only because of his unique experience.

The Isserons calmly let them put the bikes on the frame, their dark eyes were particularly bright, and no one knew what they were thinking.

"Melvin! Professor Keltborn!"

Ripples appeared on the calm lake surface, and the ground seemed to sense some kind of tremor. A burly mixed-race giant strode towards this side, holding a teddy bear in his hand and a pink umbrella on his waist, revealing an indescribable funny look.

After sending the students on the bus, Hagrid immediately ran over here. It wasn't because he was afraid of missing out, but because he was simply excited: "Here I come! Here I come!"

Hagrid's eyes widened when he saw the three Pegasus: "Are these Iserlohns? Look at their muscles, so beautiful!"

The man stretched out his hand to touch their trapezius muscles, but was slapped by the horse's tail. Without getting angry, he simply grabbed the tail and shamelessly touched it a few times. Then he was hit by the horse's hoof, the kind that kicked him from behind.

If it were an ordinary wizard, he would have been sent flying after two hits. However, the half-giant's physical fitness was such that he was not hurt even after two hooves, but it still hurt.

"hiss……"

Hagrid was grimacing and gasping for air while trying to get closer to the Pegasus.

“The little ones are so cute!”

The rogue look made Melvin laugh.

Professor Keltburn put the Pegasus on the carriage. Seeing the interaction between Hagrid and Pegasus, he seemed relieved and couldn't help grinning: "Let's go, we're leaving too!"

The mahogany carriage is exquisitely crafted and inlaid with gold and silver carvings.

If you look closely, you will see that the silver jewelry is indeed silver jewelry, and the gold is actually made of brass.

The carriage's roof was shorter than Hagrid's, but once inside, the space opened up, almost as large as the school hall. It wasn't well-maintained, though: hay, a trough, and other horse gear were piled on the carpet, and there were only a few chairs by the window.

"go!"

The wooden wheels embedded with cast iron crushed the soft grass. The carriage slowly moved for a distance, then took off into the air and rushed across the Black Lake towards the distant mountains.

On the eighth floor of the castle in the back, a half-open window was revealed, and the old principal with silver hair and beard and the phoenix both stuck their heads out. Man and bird watched them go away, unable to help but smile.

The Vice Headmaster in the room reported his work diligently: "The work summary for this school year has been submitted to the Board of Directors. Mr. Malfoy didn't say anything, but he asked to meet with Melvin and Severus. Melvin had a tight schedule and asked me to postpone it, but Severus flatly refused."

"..."

Dumbledore's smile widened when he heard this.

"There's no rush to start school right now. The most important thing is the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Mr. Guffey wrote to me last week, asking when this year's job posting would appear in the newspaper."

The vice-president said solemnly, "President, you've seen the mess Melvin has caused. We can't just post ad-hoc professor recruitment ads every year. We have to find a way to solve this problem."

"Well... I already have a choice."

Dumbledore took down a beautifully bound book from the shelf, "I Am Magical," and the wizard on the cover had a particularly bright smile.

"Gilderoy Lockhart."

Professor McGonagall couldn't help but frown slightly. She had heard of the name of this best-selling author. Although she didn't like his style, judging from his experiences and performance in those books, this Lockhart was capable of being a professor.

However, is the content of the book really his experience?

"Is there no other choice?"

"I believe students can learn a lot from Professor Lockhart, not just book knowledge."

"..."

After Professor McGonagall left, Dumbledore sat behind his desk and took out the sapphire-inlaid crown, his blue eyes reflecting the same obscure fluorescence.

We already have some understanding of Voldemort's experience and process of creating Horcruxes. Considering that it is impossible for Voldemort to use the founder's relics as carriers from the beginning, if we think deeply, the number of Horcruxes produced by Voldemort may exceed his expectations.

No matter how simple the process of making a Horcrux is, it still requires tearing the soul apart.

From the essence of magic, the soul is the source of a wizard's magic. After being torn apart many times, Voldemort's soul was still able to retain consciousness and rationality. He did not become a crazy madman, and his magic became even more powerful.

According to Nicolas Flamel, Melvin might be able to unlock the secret.

Both appear to be connected to Salazar Slytherin.

How much legacy did the founder leave behind?

Dumbledore thought quietly, his right hand resting on the armrest of the chair, tapping it unconsciously.

(End of this chapter)