Draco looked at the sharply worded open letter in the Daily Prophet and thought to himself, " Laodeng's efficiency is pretty fast, you know what."
Hermione sat beside him, holding Crookshanks who was eating obediently, her quiet gaze also fixed on the news report.
She used to feel only wariness and alienation, even instinctive rejection, when she mentioned Pure-blood families.
But things are different now.
She was no longer the Muggle-born witch who dared to stay far away; she was someone who stood beside Draco, someone who would become the mistress of the Malfoy family in the future.
During this period, although Lucius remained serious and unsmiling, he never truly made things difficult for her, nor did he look down on or deny her because of her background.
This time, he openly defied Fudge on behalf of Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and their students.
Hermione has now completely accepted her in-laws.
Time flew by, and soon came the annual Quidditch final at Hogwarts, which was also Wood's last Quidditch Match before graduation.
Harry rode the latest Firebolt given to him by his godfather Sirius, nimbly weaving across the pitch, the wind whistling past his ears, in top form.
Despite the strong resistance from the Ravenclaw Chaser, including Cho Chang, Harry showed no fear, utilizing the speed and agility of his Firebolt to its fullest potential.
Harry overcame the slight distraction caused by Cho Chang's charm, and the entire stadium erupted the moment he caught the Golden Snitch with pinpoint accuracy!
Gryffindor successfully won the Quidditch Cup, bringing a perfect end to Wood's Quidditch career. Wood held the trophy with tears in his eyes and hugged his teammates tightly. This victory was the most precious gift he could receive before graduation.
The bell rang for Defence Against Dark Magic class, but instead of the usually gentle Professor Lupin, Snape, dressed in black robes with a gloomy expression, walked into the classroom.
The classroom fell silent instantly. After the ordeal of the past two years, no one dared to provoke the Slytherin Head of House again.
Snape's gaze swept across the class, and he said coldly, " Professor Lupin is on leave; I will be teaching these classes."
Without wasting any words, he turned and wrote the question on the blackboard: the difference between Werewolf and a real wolf, then coldly asked, "Who can answer this?"
The classroom fell silent.
Draco's mind raced.
Taking into account Professor Lupin's leave of absence, and Snape's sudden mention of Werewolf, he instantly realized:
Professor Lupin's leave of absence must be because the full moon is approaching, and he needs to go to a secluded place to transform and avoid the crowd.
Snape, seeing no one respond, didn't mind and continued explaining to himself.
His words were full of contempt and sarcasm towards Werewolf.
When the bell rang, he said
Write a paper on identifying and killing Werewolf, no less than three volumes, due next class.
His words caused an uproar in the whole class.
The students dared not speak out in anger until lunchtime, when the Great Hall was filled with resentful discussions.
Ron, looking miserable, rummaged through the potatoes on his plate and wailed, "We're doomed! Professor Lupin isn't here. We're going to be tortured by Snape for several more classes."
"Exactly! He's a Potions teacher, what does he know about Defence Against Dark Magic? Yet he dares to assign such outrageous homework; he's clearly just deliberately making things difficult for us!"
Lavender, unusually, didn't argue with Ron.
In fact, no one can deny that Snape's Defence Against Dark Magic was extremely solid.
His students disliked his harshness and strictness from the bottom of their hearts and were unwilling to accept his teaching methods.
Upon hearing Lavender's words, the students looked distressed and nodded in disapproval.
Professor Lupin's classes are always humorous and easy to understand, and his assignments are few and practical. He would never deliberately make things difficult for them like this.
Now that Snape has two assignments to give them, everyone is wailing that he's trying to kill them.
" Professor Lupin is on leave, can't we study on our own?" Harry asked, puzzled.
The surrounding classmates immediately nodded in agreement:
"Exactly! Studying on your own is better than attending his classes!"
"No, that won't work." Hermione shook her head and calmly analyzed, " Defence Against Dark Magic is a required subject, and the Ministry of Magic has regulations that prohibit skipping classes without a valid reason."
"Furthermore, Headmaster Dumbledore wouldn't dare let us research Defense Against the Dark Magic on our own without a teacher. If anything went wrong, no one could bear the responsibility."
At this point, Hermione said helplessly:
"The only person in the school who can immediately fill in for this course and has the necessary qualifications is Professor Snape. Whether we like it or not, he's the only one who can teach these classes."
Upon hearing this, everyone deflated, their nascent hope instantly extinguished.
After enduring several days of heavy homework and oppressive classes, the whole class erupted in cheers when Professor Lupin walked into the Defence Against Dark Magic classroom again.
But seeing his pale and haggard appearance, with deep weariness in his eyes, just like he was on the Hogwarts Express, the students felt sorry for him and fell silent.
The students complained to Professor Lupin that Snape was strict in class and assigned an excessive amount of homework.
Lupin smiled gently and said, " The Werewolf papers assigned by Professor Snape are all cancelled. You don't need to write them."
A cheer erupted in the classroom. He then took out teaching aids and began to teach about Hinkypunk, and the classroom atmosphere became relaxed and pleasant again.
After class, Draco stopped Professor Lupin, making an excuse that he had a question to ask.
Hermione stood aside, puzzled. Draco had never asked any professors questions before; this was very unusual.
The two walked side by side down the castle corridor, Hermione following silently behind. Professor Lupin asked, " Malfoy, is there a problem?"
Draco stopped and asked directly, "Professor, what do you plan to do after you resign?"
Hermione was stunned by these words. She quickly realized that Voldemort's curse on the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts had never been broken, and none of the professors had lasted a year.
Professor Lupin would surely resign for various reasons before the end of the semester, but she still didn't understand why Draco would suddenly ask this.
Professor Lupin was also taken aback, then a faint sense of melancholy washed over him. He remained silent for a moment, then said softly:
"Someone like me is never welcome anywhere. I guess I'd better find a remote place and live a peaceful life."
"Professor, would you be interested in working under me?"
Hermione froze in shock; she had never expected Draco to say such a thing.
Lupin stared wide-eyed at Draco in astonishment, taken aback by the sudden invitation.
Because he has lived for so many years, he has been disliked, ostracized, pitied, and taken advantage of.
He was even invited by a student to work under him.