Hogwarts: Harry Returns from Water Margin

Chapter 128 The Limbless Professor Hermione's Doppelganger

Chapter 129 The Limbless Professor Hermione's Doppelganger

Harry's attempt to distinguish between the real and fake Slytherins, as well as the old and new ones, stunned the Great Hall into silence. All the students stared in disbelief, as if they were statues of clay or wood.

Hermione, having taken several elbow strikes from Ron, raised her eyebrows, widened her eyes, and stomped hard on him, angrily saying:

"I'm not deaf!"

After saying that, he angrily lowered his head, took out the death diary, and began to write furiously.

Colin was struck dumb by Harry's words, as if struck by lightning. His face turned ashen, and he struggled to speak for a long time, unable to utter a single word.

The Slytherin students were about to protest, but then they remembered that only Harry could openly enter and leave the Chamber of Secrets. They all felt as if they had been doused with ice water, and all their resentment turned into saliva that they swallowed down.

Seeing that he had subdued the crowd, Harry stepped forward and, in a voice as loud as bells, proclaimed: "While Slytherin often feasts on monsters like the Death Apostles, it also has its share of valiant heroes!"

"Take Blaise Sabini and Theodore Nott, for example. They are both fine men you met in the secret chamber, skilled in magic. Doesn't that count?"

Upon hearing this, the two men who had been named seemed to have drunk fine wine. Sabini felt a heat rising in his chest, and Nott's fingertips trembled slightly; both felt as if their internal organs were burning hot.

But they pretended nothing was wrong, one feigning to straighten his sleeves, the other bending down to stroke his wand, their eyes and brows revealing a joy that seemed to be unable to be hidden, like tender buds in early spring.

Colin paused for a moment, his momentum softening considerably, and stammered, "But Slytherin is the house that produces the most dark wizards; other houses don't have this problem—"

"That's nonsense! Sirius Black, who betrayed us by siding with Voldemort and caused my parents' deaths, was a Gryffindor!"

These words were like a stone thrown into water, creating ripples. Snape's face drained of all color instantly, turning as pale as gold leaf. With a sudden exertion of force, the silver cup in his hand was deformed.

Colin was speechless, his throat gurgling, but he couldn't utter another word.

Seeing that the situation had been brought under control, Harry continued, "As the ancients said, 'Universal love and non-aggression, education for all.' If we condemn someone as a thief or a scoundrel simply because of their birth, wouldn't that be just like that so-called pure-blood theory, turning into a mere academic doctrine?"

Upon hearing this, the students of the Gryphon, Hound, and Badger houses all fell silent. The students of Slytherin, however, straightened their backs, their faces radiant.

However, before the joy could subside, Harry shouted angrily, "Slytherin is full of filthy scoundrels! How can these murderers represent the entire house? True heroes should distance themselves from them!"

No sooner said than done, Harry suddenly drew his ring knife, its cold gleam pointing directly at the Slytherin table.

"Today I want to know clearly: do you want to be the old Slytherins, colluding with the Death Eaters, or do you want to be the new Slytherins!"

Upon hearing this, the creatures of the Serpent Court looked at each other, their eyes meeting, but they were like stranded fish, only opening their mouths without uttering a sound.

How can a Gryffindor student represent Slytherin like this?

Why should I?

They even used a knife handle to scare people!

Although these students harbored some resentment, the dean didn't come to their aid, and who dared to claim the title of "willing to associate with Death Eaters"?

Immediately, a quick-witted voice shouted, "I'd like to be the new Slytherin!"

One person started it, and a hundred people echoed, and in an instant the whole hall was filled with such shouts.

Seeing this, the students from the three academies nodded in agreement, their faces showing satisfaction.

Harry then asked Colin, "Does Colin have anything else to say?"

Colin shook his head vigorously, then sat down and said, "I have none left."

Harry Lang laughed, "In that case, I'll be assigned to a different courtyard than everyone else!"

Before he finished speaking, Fred and George jumped up, clapping and cheering.

"Homage to the King of Hogwarts!"

"Merlin's stinky socks! The Lion King has already taken control of the entire forest!"

With these two leading the way, the students in the hall cheered and roared. Even the Slytherin students smiled, unlike the previous time when they were so distant.

It is:

The crowd roared like a surging tide, and the applause thundered through the heavens.

Four courtyards united in a prosperous era, a thousand-year-old castle reborn!

Hermione put the death diary into her robes and sighed, "What a waste of all my magic, it's been completely useless."

"You underestimate Harry," Ron grinned. "Have you forgotten how those Aurors treated Harry?"

"Even those well-informed Aurors are willing to listen to him, not to mention the Slytherin students."

As the two were talking, Harry began sorting the new students into their respective houses.

Those new wizards, having just witnessed Harry's awe-inspiring presence in all four houses, dared not utter a single word. They all obediently moved closer, letting him place the Sorting Hat on their heads.

"Alright, Hufflepuff!"

"Thank you, Mr. Potter."

"Let me see... Slytherin!"

"Thank you, Harry."

"Gryffindor!"

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Potter."

"Are you all blind?!" the Sorting Hat finally snapped, "He just moved his arm and pinned me over your heads!"

"The one who assigned you to the department is an old hat!"

The Sorting Hat made a lot of noise, but by then the Sorting Ceremony had already taken place, and Harry had returned to his seat with Nagini, so no one paid any attention to it anymore.

Dumbledore had by now recovered his spirits, his face beaming again. He took a silver spoon and lightly tapped his wine glass, and the noise in the Great Hall gradually subsided.

"Thank you, Mr. Harry Potter, for the Sorting Ceremony and for the inspiring speech."

"However, I have a few more things to tell you all."

"The first thing is the change in the instructors, which I think you've already noticed."

"Mr. Remus Lupin will be the new professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Because Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart..."

Dumbledore glanced at the edge of the seating area and saw Lockhart staring intently at the audience, his eyes peering at him.

"Because Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart was injured in the secret room, he needs at least a year to recover."

"However, his love for Hogwarts is beyond my imagination. He is willing to serve as the assistant professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts and continue to accompany everyone."

Lupin rose to greet the crowd, but few responded. The hall was filled with the lamentations of female students about Lockhart's injury, mixed with their joyful shouts of seeing him again, which had completely drowned out Lupin's figure.

Dumbledore tapped his cup again. "And Mr. Rubeus Hagrid! He'll be the new professor of the Conservation of Magical Creatures class!"

"As for the reasons for Professor Celticburn's resignation, well, I think there's no need to elaborate. Let him enjoy his retirement at Hogsmeade."

Harry, who had never taken a class on protecting magical creatures and had never heard of this person, asked curiously, "This is strange, why not go into details?"

"You must know, the great Lord of Hogwarts," Fred leaned forward and said, "if we're comparing him to Professor Celticburn, then Hagrid can hardly be called a fanatical fanatic of magical creatures."

George chimed in, "He's just a beginner enthusiast at best."

Harry pulled a few Galleons from his pocket and tossed them over. "Brothers, don't keep me in suspense. Tell me, how insane is this professor?"

Fred caught the gold coin in mid-air and chuckled, "To put it another way, when I first met Professor Celticburn in my third year, he still had two arms and one leg."

"Now he only has one arm and half a leg left."

"Fred, your information is so outdated," George said, shaking his head. "Don't you know about how he flirted with Norbert right after summer vacation started?"

"Now he's just a head and a body left."

Ron grinned repeatedly as he listened. "This guy is really crazy."

Fred and George exchanged a glance and couldn't help but laugh. "Who says otherwise?"

After everyone finished their meal and drinks, they dispersed to rest. Nagini, too, went to the private room that Dumbledore had prepared for him.

Just as they were about to leave the hall, Dumbledore suddenly spoke up again: "Oh, right, there's one more thing."

"Dementors are guarding the entrance to the castle this year, so please stay away from them. These creatures don't know what carelessness is."

Upon hearing this, the students of the four colleges were immediately in uproar.

"They actually let Dementors into the school?!" Ron's eyes widened. "Harry was absolutely right, Fudge has really gone mad."

Harry laughed loudly, "Brother, don't panic. I'll teach you the Patronus Charm to subdue Dementors."

Upon hearing this, Ginny squeezed in front of Harry and looked up, saying, "Is it still under the Chamber of Secrets, Harry? Can I come with you?"

Harry clapped his hands and replied, "Please come, sister."

Hearing that classes were about to begin again, and that it was another high-level spell like the Patronus Charm, everyone crowded around to ask for it. Harry accepted all requests without hesitation.

The next morning, as usual, Harry and the others went to the Great Hall for breakfast to prepare for class, stuffing their bags full.

Listen, dear reader: Hogwarts is rarely a place of leisure from the third year onwards. There are usually six or seven compulsory courses, and at least two electives. The workload is truly heavy.

Hermione's schedule on her desk was covered with dense writing, resembling a spider web.

Ron glanced at her sideways and immediately said, "Hermione, your schedule must be messed up."

"They've scheduled ten classes for you in one day; there's simply not enough time."

Hermione, engrossed in chewing bacon and eggs, mumbled, "Well, actually it's no problem. I already talked to Professor McGonagall during the summer."

"I might not be exceptionally intelligent, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid." Ron pointed to the timetable and said, "Nine o'clock this morning, Muggle Studies, Arithmetic Divination, Divination—how can one person have three classes at the same time?"

Harry took the timetable and examined it closely, also finding it strange. He wondered, "Big sister's arrangement is really odd. Could it be that she has already mastered some Transfiguration, able to create clones from even a hair, and has mastered the magic of creating avatars?"

Hermione's expression turned strange upon hearing this, and after a long while she shook her head and said, "Your line of thinking is quite novel, but you're wrong."

"As for why I'm taking three classes at the same time, I'm sorry, I can't say."

"You had to hide this too?" Ron asked incredulously. "We swore brotherhood together, we even drank the blood wine."

"Please," Hermione sighed, "I've made an unbreakable vow and signed six or seven magical covenants. I can't even bring myself to say it, or even have the thought of it."

"And even if I could tell, the Ministry of Magic would arrest me the next second and send me to Azkaban to spend the rest of my life in jail."

Seeing the seriousness in her voice, Ron could only click his tongue in disbelief.

Upon hearing this, Harry's eyes lit up, and he chuckled, "Since you can't tell me, how about I guess?"

(End of this chapter)