Back in the Papers

"Good job." Sagreles swept his gaze over everyone. "More than seventy of you passed the test. Honestly, that proportion exceeded my expectations."

"Professor, is there a reward for passing the test?"

"A reward?" Sagreles hadn't considered that. He didn't think passing such a test warranted any reward, but since a student had asked, he decided to humor them.

"The Rune Crystal Vial is the reward. Everyone who successfully passes the test can get one from me." He raised the crystal vial in his hand and explained, "It has been enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm and an Unplottable Charm. It can store magical flames or alchemical liquids. Of course, it can also hold food and keep it fresh permanently."

He could even mass-produce such simple alchemical items. After all, this was merely a basic application of rune magic. Aside from a few ancient and rare runes, there was barely any technical difficulty involved.

Even so, its ability to store alchemical liquids and magical flames already far surpassed most similar items on the black market. If sold, it would be worth no less than six Galleons.

The next day, while the young wizards were still eating breakfast in the Great Hall, the post owls shattered the hall's quiet.

The Daily Prophet's front-page headline gleamed blood-red beneath the candlelight—<Dark Magic Combat Training Discovered at Hogwarts? Over Two Hundred Students' Lives Hang by a Thread!> The accompanying photograph captured the instant a Slytherin girl was struck by a troll, though she was currently sitting safely in the Great Hall, having breakfast.

"What is this?" Ron asked in confusion, holding the paper. "Didn't Fred and the others say Professor Greengrass's practical class had been a complete success?"

Harry snatched the newspaper from him. He quickly scanned the headline, then carefully read the article.

"This is complete nonsense! No one was injured in class..." He slammed the paper onto the table and said indignantly, "Professor McGonagall already told us that every student had protective magic cast on them."

"They even edited fangs onto the troll." Hermione picked up the paper and read it. She set down her cup of pumpkin juice with a heavy thud. She noticed Ron staring at the anonymous interview at the end of the article: "An heir to an ancient family admitted that certain professors were turning the school into a Knockturn Alley fighting pit."

"Another pure-blood family scheme..." She understood at once. "It's slander. Why do they keep targeting Professor Greengrass?"

"Er, I heard Professor Greengrass sent members of several families to Azkaban before he became an Auror..." Ron clearly knew some secrets about pure-blood families, or perhaps they weren't secrets at all. "Some were even killed by him on the spot... Of course, they were all extremely dangerous Dark wizards, and each of them had more or less some connection to certain families..."

"You mean it wasn't just that one incident? Professor Greengrass has done many things like that?" Harry couldn't help asking.

"Yes." Ron nodded firmly. "You might not know this, but as soon as Professor Greengrass graduated from Durmstrang, he became a registered Dark Wizard Hunter with the International Confederation of Wizards. Quite a few people have fallen into his hands..."

"'Dark Wizard Hunter'? How have I never heard of that?" Hermione looked unusually puzzled.

Ron answered as if it were perfectly ordinary. "That organization was disbanded last year for certain special reasons... Besides, they never had many members, and the Confederation prohibited related reports."

"Then how do you know about it?" Hermione sounded skeptical.

Ron immediately looked offended, as if he'd been insulted. "My dad worked on related matters. What? Do you have any other questions?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow and said nothing more.

Harry was still indignant over the newspaper's report, but there was clearly nothing he could do about it.

"At first, Professor McGonagall had quite a few criticisms of Professor Greengrass's teaching methods, but after this, she seems to have become somewhat supportive of them instead." Hermione told the two of them what she had observed.

"So what? What does that mean?" Ron said indifferently.

"It means Professor Greengrass's teaching methods have no problems at all. In fact, they've been remarkably effective." Hermione said firmly, "Other than Snape, the heads of the other three houses have all acknowledged Professor Greengrass's teaching results. Doesn't that explain enough?"

"The strange thing is that the Daily Prophet dared publish this kind of report without conducting any investigation..." Harry said doubtfully.

"That isn't strange at all!" Hermione said. "The Daily Prophet does this sort of thing all the time. They don't care what the truth is."

"Hermione's right," Ron added. "That's why our family hardly ever reads the Daily Prophet."

"Oh, the school has a new rule." Hermione suddenly told them, "Lower-year students can now audit Professor Greengrass's Charms Theory classes too. I've already signed up. Do you want to come with me?"

"We already have more than enough classes..." Ron shouted. "We don't even have time to rest!"

Harry actually wanted to go and take a look as well, but he still had Quidditch practice, and he already had very little time. He was about to refuse Hermione's suggestion too.

"Is your answer the same?" Hermione glared at Harry as he tried to speak and snapped, "Hmph! Then don't ever expect to see my notes again... or my homework..."

Ron immediately looked horrified and hurriedly waved his hands in denial. "You've misunderstood, Hermione. I meant that we already have enough classes, so no one would care about having one more!"

"That's right! Ron's right. Besides, it's Professor Greengrass's class. Of course we're going..."

"That's more like it..." Hermione snorted coldly. "You should know that not just anyone can attend. I got the three of us these spots from Professor McGonagall."