Not Too Foolish

After the Weighing of the Wands, Skylar's life returned to teaching and studying Transfiguration.

He has made considerable progress in Human Transfiguration and is confident that he can master Human Transfiguration before December.

A few days later, Rita Skeeter's article about the Triwizard Tournament was published. It was less a report on the Triwizard Tournament itself and more a sensationalized account of Harry's personal life. The entire article focused on Harry, with Beauxbatons and Durmstrang 'Champion names relegated to the last line and misspelled, while Skylar was completely ignored.

That's not all; Rita not only turned Harry's stammering into a disgustingly long monologue, but also asked others for their opinions of him.

"Harry finally found his first love at Hogwarts. His close friend Colin Creevey said that Harry was inseparable from a girl Hermione Granger, Miss Granger was stunningly beautiful, born into Muggle family, and like Harry, one of the school's top students." This made Harry and Hermione the main targets of ridicule among the Slytherin students.

This infuriated Harry. He even accidentally yelled at Cho Chang, his goddess, once.

Hermione naturally shared in some of the unpleasantness, but she didn't yell at the innocent passersby.

What she cared more about was whether anyone would misunderstand her love life because of this. However, when she thought of the day when Skylar led Daphne into the classroom, she couldn't help but feel a pang of bitterness in her heart.

This was the first time she had felt genuine envy for Daphne, who was born into Pure-blood families, being so easily chosen for Slytherin House.

She remembered the day she put on the Sorting Hat, which asked her— Ravenclaw or Gryffindor?

Because of her admiration for Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of the century, she resolutely chose what she considered the best house, Gryffindor.

She couldn't help but wonder what things would be like now if she had chosen Ravenclaw back then.

Eleanor and Katarin did not attend classes with the Hogwarts students, even though Dumbledore had promised them the freedom to audit any class.

Eleanor spent most of her time on that Ghost Ship, under the personal guidance of Karkaroff.

Katarin was similar, spending most of her time in the carriage, personally instructed by Madame Maxime.

After the Weighing of the Wands, Skylar had a friendly conversation with both girls. As far as he knew, both the Ghost Ship and the carriage had been imbued with the Undetectable Extension Charm.

Not only is the space large enough to accommodate hundreds of people, but it is also divided into many sub-spaces, such as boys' dormitories, girls' dormitories, washrooms, offices, and classrooms. It is practically a mini portable school designed for small-class teaching.

Skylar made good use of his Time-Turner. In addition to his daily studies, he also spent time with Daphne, Morrie, and Astoria every day to strengthen their bond. Although pursuing power to rescue Meredith was important, he could not take the three girls' sacrifices for granted; he could not be so selfish.

That evening, in the underground classroom of Potions.

Under the dim lights, the classroom felt even colder and more gloomy than usual at night.

"Professor," Skylar said respectfully, "Is there something you need from me?"

Snape's eyes remained grim as he spoke in a deep, smooth voice, "Participating in the Triwizard Tournament, was that your own idea?"

"Yes, Professor," Skylar replied, "I believe my abilities are not much inferior to those of seventh-year students, and I have my reasons for participating."

A flicker of doubt crossed Snape's usually empty eyes, and he said slowly, "Is it because of Meredith? That girl from Shafiq?"

"That's right." Skylar looked directly into Snape's eyes. "To me, she is a companion, family, and someone I love."

Snape couldn't help but scoff, "Foolish!" He seemed to realize he had deviated from his usual aloof persona, pursed his lips, and said coldly, "With your family background, looks, and strength, what kind of woman can't you have? Why cling to the past?"

Skylar sneered inwardly, "Professor, you're probably projecting your own past onto this."

"Professor," Skylar said firmly, "If I abandon my beloved today because of a small difficulty, how can I deserve to have a sincere relationship in the future?"

He raised his voice slightly, "Besides, even if there's still a chance to rescue Meredith, even if she has truly become someone else, or even remarried, I will act like a real man and take her back!"

Snape's eyes underwent a rare change, the temperature in the classroom grew even colder, and the perceptive Skylar even sensed a hidden killing intent.

Hmph, I've hit the nail on the head, haven't I, you old bat?

After a long pause, Snape's eyes returned to their usual emptiness. He said coldly, "You're unlike any Malfoy I've ever known... You're an idiot..."

"While you may be foolish, since you've made up your mind," Snape continued, "As your headmaster and a friend of your father, I should offer you my assistance, both for public and private reasons."

He took a book from a hidden compartment in his desk and handed it to Skylar. "Take this book. It's my magic notes from my studies. It should be helpful to your abilities."

Hmph, how could Skylar not know that Snape was seeing his past self in him? He clearly wanted to help Skylar and make up for his regrets from back then, but he insisted on putting on a businesslike act.

Of course, Skylar had taken the benefits from him, so he naturally wouldn't reveal these things.

"Thank you, Professor!"

"There's one more thing," Snape's deep voice echoed softly, "This time, don't share this book with anyone, not even your brother."

"I understand, Professor." Skylar immediately grasped his meaning and couldn't help but smile.

Last semester, Skylar shared his beginner Potions notes with the Slytherin students without Snape's permission, so it seems Snape already knows about it.

Skylar did that for a reason; he was testing Snape's limits.

Snape was a very complex character. He was a Half-blood wizard who joined the Death Eaters, who valued Pure-blood Supremacy Dark Arts and power. He was originally loyal to Voldemort, but switched sides because of the woman he loved. However, this does not mean that he was truly loyal to Dumbledore.

He obeyed Dumbledore's orders only to protect the boy he hated most.

Ultimately, Snape was only loyal to himself, and he was someone Skylar could win over.

It's not surprising that Snape knew about what happened last semester, because Skylar had no intention of hiding it from him.

Snape's performance was hilarious.

He didn't accuse Skylar of revealing his Potions secrets, but similarly, he didn't praise Skylar for helping Slytherin significantly improve its Potions abilities.

He knew about it, but acted as if he knew nothing and said nothing.

This time, he finally took the initiative to ask Skylar to keep the notes hidden, and even forbade Draco to share them.

What does this mean? It simply means that Snape's personal assistance to Skylar was due to Skylar's own connections, and had nothing to do with Slytherin or the House of Malfoy!

This once again highlights the importance of reputation.

Whether it was the Greengrass Family, the Nott Family, Trelawney, or Snape in front of them, they all saw another possibility in Skylar!

This world has a third possibility besides Dumbledore and Voldemort!

Snape gave a soft snort and said coldly, "I take back what I just said. You're not too stupid."

[Obtained <Snape's Magic Research Notes>!]