A magical journey that begins in Azkaban

After adjusting his mentality, Draco returned to the castle, with a dangerous light shining in his eyes. If George and Fred dared to make him unhappy, he would make the twins' families outside their school even more unhappy.

"Hey, Goyle," Draco called from the common room, "lend me your bat."

Gall handed over the bat without saying a word. After Draco took it, he immediately waved it fiercely into the air, making a series of terrifying swishing sounds.

"Next time we play against Gryffindor, I will be the batter." He tightened his grip on the bat, with a fierce look in his eyes.

"You coming?" Gower opened his mouth in surprise, unable to believe his ears, "You mean, you want to give up the position of chaser and become a batsman?"

"That's right! I'm going to hit them hard in the face with the Bludger."

"But what about the game?" Crabbe quickly reminded, "If you adjust your position, we may lose."

"Do you think our team will lose to those laymen?" Draco sneered contemptuously and threw the bat back to Goyle. "I want both victory and revenge! I want Weasley to understand. , the stadium is not an auditorium!”

As in previous years, the castle began to be decorated for Christmas. Hagrid dragged a huge pine tree across the hall. The scars on his face seemed to have become much shallower, and no new wounds were added.

Rogge stood at the door with a gentle smile on his face and greeted him: "Is everything okay over there in the Forbidden Forest?"

"He's fine." Hagrid grinned, showing his teeth hidden under his thick beard.

Suddenly, his expression became wary, as if he remembered something that he shouldn't say. He looked around to make sure no one else was eavesdropping, then covered his mouth and whispered: "My salary has been saved by the school for a long time, which can completely fill his stomach."

Hagrid said, picking up the huge pine tree and carefully standing it in the corner behind the teacher's chair, "But..."

With a trace of sadness on his face, he scratched his big unkempt head: "Next winter, I'm afraid I'll have to think of other ways."

Rogge nodded. As a giant, Graup was an out-and-out big eater. To fill his belly requires extremely strong financial resources. Hagrid can handle it this year, but next year, the year after... this will be a big problem.

"Maybe you can store some food in the summer. Or like a bear, let him hibernate to reduce calorie consumption."

Hagrid's eyes lit up, obviously impressed by the idea. When Roger left, Harry and the others quickly came out of the corner and ran towards him like alert little animals.

"Hagrid, I heard him mention the Forbidden Forest. Is he threatening you?" Harry asked with concern.

"No, no!" Hagrid shook his head quickly and muttered: "Rogge helped a lot and gave me good advice. Although I don't like him, he is really pretty good."

"Maybe this is his disguise." Ron took the opportunity to slander, "Think about it, we are graduating in two years. He must want to take the opportunity to recruit a group of followers, just like what the Dark Lord once did. "

"You mean, he wants to recruit me?" Hagrid couldn't help but let out a burst of heroic laughter after hearing this. "Rogg is a pure-blood wizard, and his head is full of pure-blood thoughts."

Hagrid spread out his huge palms and continued: "I am a hybrid giant, how could he be interested in me. In his eyes, I am probably not even a wizard."

"But..." Ron opened his mouth to refute, but found that he could not find the loopholes in Hagrid's words. He frowned and thought hard.

He had no choice but to bring in Voldemort again, and raised his voice and said, "The Dark Lord used to have only pure-blood subordinates, but now, he has even begun to recruit vampires and dementors."

"But the Dark Lord himself is a half-blood wizard." Hagrid said without thinking, with a hint of teasing in his tone.

"I'm just looking out for you, Hagrid." Ron's face turned red and stood out like a monkey's butt.

However, he stubbornly insisted: "Slytherin's dark wizards are particularly good at deceiving people. I'm worried that you will be deceived."

"Perhaps, he...he will use Graup to blackmail you."

Hagrid became silent upon hearing this. In fact, deep down he harbored the same doubts.

"Ron, how is your father's health?" He awkwardly changed the subject and walked toward the Forbidden Forest.

"It hasn't gotten better." Ron's expression immediately became solemn. It was like a heavy stone was pressing down on his heart: "Fortunately, the wound is no longer bleeding, and dad doesn't need to drink a bottle of blood-replenishing medicine every hour."

His voice gradually became quieter, and it was clear that he still had bad news to say: "But the main healer said that until the toxin is completely resolved, it is best to continue hospital treatment. Tonks said that the Ministry of Magic could find no trace of the snake, it seems. It's never been the same."

Harry next to him remained silent, glancing at Ron from time to time, as if there was a huge stone in his throat. He wanted to tell Ron: "I am the snake, and I bit your father."

However, Lupine had told him that it was not Harry's fault. He only accidentally entered Voldemort's mind in a dream and witnessed the entire process of Arthur's attack.

Still, Harry couldn't shake the deep feeling of guilt.

"St. Mungo's is too far away from our Burrow..." The second half of Ron's words were swallowed up by the howling wind and snow, but Hagrid still caught a few words, as if Arthur wanted to be discharged from the hospital early.

He frowned, clearly worried about the idea. He knew very well how serious Arthur's injuries were and how terrifying the snake venom in his body was. He was undoubtedly risking his life by being discharged from hospital early.

However, Hagrid was unaware that the Weasley family was facing severe financial difficulties. Although the Ministry of Magic bears the cost of basic treatment, the additional expenses are like a huge mountain, weighing on this already not wealthy family.

In the past year, the price of magic potions and herbal medicines has skyrocketed, and the price of each bottle of blood-tonifying potion has reached as high as 1 Galleons and 3 Sickles.

For the Weasley family, this was an almost astronomical amount of money. If it hadn't been for Percy's helping hand at a critical moment, the family might have been on the verge of bankruptcy.

The strong Molly kept these things secretly in her heart and did not mention them to her children and friends. Unless they are at the end of their rope, she and Arthur will not easily ask for help from others.

The auditorium is getting ready for tonight's dinner, and there is a festive atmosphere in the air. The elves in the kitchen are like cheerful tops, spinning and busy between the stoves.

Roger came to the dungeon alone, shook the wand in his hand, and used the shining crystal wall lamp to dispel the gloom that had accumulated here for many years. While Snape was away, he planned to give the teacher a surprise.

Holly studded with red fruits, white chrysanthemums, gorgeous poinsettias and pine cones were woven into a huge garland, which was hung on the wall behind the podium by Roger, bringing a touch of warmth and vitality to the cold dungeon.

"It looks much better." Roger smiled with satisfaction, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

He waved his wand again and added some ribbons to the ceiling and walls, giving the place a new look.

"The teacher probably won't be here today." Rogge shrank his neck subconsciously. By the time Snape discovered the Christmas skin in the dungeon tomorrow, he would have been safely on the return train to Hogwarts Express.

Suddenly, a bold idea flashed in Roger's mind.

"Would you like to add a disguise charm to the door?" He stroked his wand with a hint of mischief in his eyes.

Doing what he thought of, Rogge immediately cast a spell on the wooden door. "Hey, as soon as he opens the door, his clothes will turn into a red cotton-padded jacket and a red hat on his head. Oh, why not grow a white beard..."

Roger looked around with a sense of accomplishment, admiring his masterpiece. The dungeon has completely transformed and is filled with holiday cheer. He took a deep breath, smelling the fresh aroma of pine branches and holly in the air, and felt a sense of warmth in his heart.

"It's time to get down to business." He turned towards Snape's office, his eyes sparkling with excitement. After all, some uncommon materials can be found in his cabinet.

Returning to the experimental table, Roger took a deep breath and calmed down his mind.

"2 drops of dracaena venom, 0.1 ounce of Acromantula's spider silk, ancient resin fragments (amber fragments), royal jelly..." His movements were skillful and elegant, and the processed raw materials were measured to the nearest millimeter.

The moment the flame rises, the timer starts based on your own heartbeat. With a calm mind and a steady hand, the timing of placing the ingredients will never go wrong. If you use an hourglass to measure time, there will be errors.

As the raw materials are dissolved into the silver crucible one by one, the liquid gradually takes on a transparent crystal texture and emits a strange light and aroma.

"Stir clockwise 5 times, then add moonstone powder for adsorption, filtration, and cooling." Rogge followed the recipe requirements and quickly produced a crystal adhesive with extremely high purity.

He found two scraps of scrap material and lightly applied a thin layer of adhesive. When they come together, the adhesive releases intense heat, like an invisible wave that completely dissipates the gap between the two materials.

"There are no flaws, as if they were born together." Rogge secretly exclaimed, marveling at the powerful effect of the crystal adhesive. "It's a pity that it doesn't work on metal, otherwise the effect would be extraordinary."

He carefully poured the adhesive into the silver bottle and applied several charms to ensure the bottle was firm and sealed. Just when he was about to start configuring the rune-etching water, the door of the dungeon was suddenly pushed open.

"Do you have to come?"

"Harry, now is not the time to lose your temper..." Before Lupine could finish his words, he saw a cloud of smoke erupting from the wooden door, completely covering him in an instant.

"Professor!" Harry exclaimed, quickly pulled out his wand, and shouted nervously: "This must be the old bat's conspiracy..."

"Old Bat?" Snape's cold voice sounded behind them. It was as cold as the cold wind passing through the valley, sending chills down people's spines.

When the smoke cleared, Lupine looked completely different: he had a white beard and was wearing Santa's red suit.

In order to make the prank more perfect, Rogge even took into account Mr. Snape's thin figure and specially added a spell to make the clothes look fatter.

Snape looked at the funny look of his old enemy, with a hint of ridicule on his stiff face: "It seems that our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, who is highly respected by students, needs to make up for the 'stay vigilant' course. He was actually killed by a student. What a disappointment, Lupin."

He turned to Harry, his eyes as sharp as a hawk: "In addition, Mr. Harry Potter, due to your disrespectful behavior towards the professor, Gryffindor will deduct 20 points." He stared into Harry's green eyes, mercilessly. impose penalties.

Lu Ping, on the other hand, seemed relaxed and at ease. He stroked his suddenly long white beard, his eyes flashing with joy: "I think this outfit is really good! Hmm~ It also needs a big bag full of gifts to match."

"Hey, maybe I should borrow some reindeer from Hagrid and make a grand Santa Claus appearance."

"Then you should go sweep the chimney and do some deceptive tricks..." Snape said sarcastically, frowning as he caught a glimpse of his greatly changed Potions classroom from the corner of his eye.

In the dungeon at this time, Rogge was quietly packing up the potion table with astonishing speed and dexterity.

He knew in his heart that the prank would only get a few scoldings from Snape; but if he failed to clean the potion table in time... there would be tons of slippery, smelly slug guts waiting for him to be processed.

Roger held his breath and tiptoed towards the office. Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed in my ears.

"Mr. Rogge, where are you going?" Snape's eyes pierced him like a sharp sword, a trace of disbelief flashing in his eyes.

He never expected that it would be his own students who committed all these "crimes".

Snape was used to the students' disgust and was not surprised by the provocations of the pranksters. If it had been the Weasley twins, he wouldn't have even batted an eye.

But now it seems that the prank king of Hogwarts is someone else. He had mixed feelings in his heart for a moment.

"You are actually brewing magic potion here on Christmas Eve. You are so diligent...I am so impressed!" He praised coldly, striding into his own territory.

Even though he was prepared, the sight in the classroom still made him jaw-dropping: the tinkling silver bells behind the door, the shining crystal lanterns on the wall, the reindeer carpet at the door of the office, and the Christmas wreath so big that it blinded his eyes. …

Snape felt his temples pounding, as if they were about to burst at any moment. He took a deep breath, tried to calm down his excitement, and began to take inventory of the potion ingredients that were taken away: "Dragon Blood Tree Venom, Acromantula Spider Silk..."

Snape paused, then came to the potion table and took a deep breath. The sweet fragrance filled his nostrils.

He frowned slightly and searched his memory, trying to find the source of this smell, "This sweetness should come from the honeycomb."

Snape looked at Harry and said sarcastically: "Mr. Potter, talent is not for complacency or showing off."

"If you are as diligent as Rogge, your potion scores will not just hover on the passing line." After saying that, he turned to Rogge and brought him back with his eyes.

In front of Lupine and Harry, he did not criticize Roger for his misbehavior in his classroom. However, his eyes revealed another meaning: "Don't leave for a while, let's have a good chat."

Lupine looked at the new appearance of the dungeon and thought it was good. He smiled and said: "The Christmas Eve party is about to begin, Roger, go quickly..."

"No need." Snape interrupted him with a wave of his hand, and with a dull sound, the door closed tightly.

"Lupine, take out the pensieve. Roger knows about Occlumency."

"I also want Harry to understand that it's not necessarily the professor's problem whether he can learn it or not." He suddenly let out a low laugh and said with a gun and a stick: "Oh, I almost forgot, our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor doesn't have a problem either. How to be good at Occlumency.”

He stared at Lupin and said, "Now, where has Harry learned?"

"You can clean up your thoughts and emotions." Lupine said, encouraging Harry with his eyes: "You have mastered it very well."

"Really?" Snape waved his cloak, walked up to Harry and stared at him.