days at Hogwarts

Chapter 254 Chapter 252 School Finance

In the vast dim classroom, Snape's substantial eyes swept over the young wizards at an even speed without stopping, only for a moment when he glanced at Harry.

Loren sat on the right side of the classroom, with Hermione sitting at the same table, and Harry sitting behind them. The Gryffindor members in the Potions Club were basically concentrated in this area.

There is a parchment list from last night among the open pages on the desk, and some testable ideas are already displayed on the right side of the African egret flower.Not only did he add these painful medicinal ingredients, he also tried to make the Wolfsbane potion more... palatable without affecting its properties.

Putting down his quill, temporarily clearing his head of all kinds of potion processing methods, and breaking away from deep thinking, Loren recalled the scene in the potions office last night.

Last night was the first time since Sirius left Hogwarts after Easter vacation that he was alone with Professor Snape, and the professor didn't mention a word about Sirius.

Doesn't the professor know about the grudge between him and Sirius?

Loren doesn't think so.

Out of hostility to Sirius, Professor Snape would definitely not turn a blind eye to his sudden departure, and would definitely ask Dumbledore for the reason.

Based on Dumbledore's habits, he should have told Snape the reason, and asked Snape to pay attention to his thoughts and mentality at all times.

But Snape didn't say a word about it, completely ignoring the incident.Loren even felt that the somewhat ridiculous task of improving Wolfsbane potion was to some extent done for comfort and to divert his attention.This made Loren feel the comfort of being cared for.

Snape went around and made sure that all the members were present and then said, "Does anyone know about Damocles Belby?"

Damocles Belby was awarded the Second Class Order of Merlin for his Wolfsbane potion. The Daily Prophet reported on his award ceremony a few days ago. Celebrities from all walks of life in the British magical world were present. He is the successor. The most popular cover star since Lockhart.

Werewolf disease has the characteristics of wide spread, large number of infected people, strong concealment, and difficulty in containing the source of infection. Because of the impact of werewolf disease, wolfsbane potion caused a sensation in many countries once it was made public.

Especially in the United States, which is a country of immigrants. In the past few centuries, a large number of werewolves who could no longer live in their place of origin fled to the United States. The large-scale werewolf communities that gathered once caused huge turmoil and almost exposed the existence of the magical world.

One of the twelve Auror founders of the Magical Congress of the United States died under the siege of werewolves.

In addition to government officials, many magic schools have sent invitations to Damocles Belby to teach, including Ilvermorny, Beauxbatons, Durmstrang...

Hermione recalled the exaggerated development photo in the middle of the Daily Prophet. Damocles Belby stood in the center holding a medal, surrounded on both sides by officials from other countries attending the medal ceremony.The Magical Congress of the United States of America, the German Ministry of Magic, the French Ministry of Magic... the wizarding governments of many countries sent high-level officials to attend the award ceremony, and the British Ministry of Magic attended the ceremony was Barty Crouch, Director of the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

Belby was a Briton, and the awarding ceremony took place in Britain. According to convention, the person conferring the award should be Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. In any case, Fudge should be present.But Fudge was absent, as was Senior Undersecretary Umbridge, who was supposed to take over.

Given Barty Crouch's position, the purpose of his attendance at the ceremony was more to communicate with the Ministry of Magic of other countries. From this, it seemed that they did not want to congratulate Mr. Belby.

Thinking of the recently enacted Anti-Werewolf Act, the Ministry of Magic's attitude became subtle and gloomy.

Where should the werewolves in Britain go? Many indescribable thoughts flashed through Hermione's mind, but she still couldn't find an answer.

Most of the members of the Potions Club raised their hands. They are students with special skills in Potions. Many of them are interested in developing in the field of Potions. They pay close attention to the dynamics of the Potions world. They are interested in the fact that they recently won the second level of the Knights of Merlin for their Wolfsbane potion. The Potions Master of the Order is no stranger.

Except for Harry, who was stunned for a moment, looking left and right at the classmates who raised their hands with a blank expression.

Snape glanced at him expressionlessly, and then quickly said: "Mr. Belby graduated from Hogwarts. After completing his studies, he was engaged in the improvement of classical potion formulas. In the mid-70s, about 20 years ago , he saw the ritual of ancient Egyptian wizards taming werewolves from a damaged history book. Inspired by the mysterious ritual, he came up with the idea of ​​developing wolfsbane potion. "

Hearing this, Loren looked thoughtful.

Snape has said before that potions and curses are essentially magical rituals, but they are expressed in different ways.Mr. Belby's behavior of developing the formula from the ritual just confirms this statement.

"It wasn't until this year that the formula for the wolfsbane potion was finalized." Snape's voice was low and his words were unhurried. His words seemed to float into the hearts of the young wizards. "Many people expect to learn from potions." Achieve honor, prestige, wealth and even power. Now Belby is what you want to be.

But I want to warn you, except for Belby, more potions practitioners are unknown. The long and boring life will consume most people's ambitions, and in the end they can only seek food and clothing. "

After hearing the above words, Loren thought that Snape was overthinking. As a technical profession, potion masters would never be too poor no matter how hard they worked.

Some of the young wizards in the audience listened silently to Snape's lecture. In fact, the last large-scale production task of rue essence had made many people realize the cruelty of this industry. Those who had experienced the blow and had not given up the idea of ​​​​entering the industry did not care. These few words.

Snape looked at the group of young wizards, and several senior students among them had approached him privately, begging him to help write some letters of recommendation.

The young wizards listened attentively, without any embarrassment on their faces. Snape pursed his lips: "The purchase of raw materials, the production and development of potions, preservation, and sales... After understanding the bleak reality, Finally, if you still want to engage in the above-mentioned industries, you can register with Professor McGonagall, and she will arrange some internships during the summer vacation."

The eyes of the students in the audience suddenly widened. Before they could start talking, Snape interrupted smoothly: "Now the class officially begins. Today we will talk about the influence of the moon phase on the properties of potions..."

While listening to the lecture, Loren put some thought into thinking about this matter. Snape had mentioned this matter as early as when he was dealing with the basilisk corpse during the Christmas vacation. The potion business at Hogwarts was going to expand, so McGonagall The professor needs to recruit a group of people.

When arranging internships, I’m afraid it’s not about using cheap labor.

……

Dinner time, auditorium.

Sitting on the seat on the right side of the guest of honor seat, Snape took a piece of buckwheat bread from the plate and said, "Minerva, the matter has been notified, and someone should come to register with you soon."

"I know, I will arrange the candidate as soon as possible."

"Oh..." Professor Flitwick praised the delicious red cabbage and beef soup, blew his beard and sighed, "I didn't expect the business to expand so fast. A year ago, we even petitioned the school board for Pomona's rare seeds. I’m applying for additional funds.”

Sprout stopped his knife and fork and explained seriously: "Actually, it doesn't matter if I take out the seeds for free for teaching. Minerva insisted that it be counted as the school purchased it from me, and it should be calculated according to the market price."

Professor McGonagall had a faint smile on her face: "This is what it should be. I also have a plan. Once the school has the ability to be completely independent and allows it, we will pay the school's employees in proportion and even give some to the students."

<divclass="contentadv">"Wow!" Professor Flitwick thought of many things in an instant, "Counting the school's original scholarship fund, they don't need second-hand magic books."

"The school's broomsticks can also be replaced with new ones..."

"And those cauldrons with holes in them."

Due to the control of the school board, although the school's funds are not tight, it cannot be said to be abundant. Many teaching tools are older than the students, and some are even older than the professors.If it weren't for the fact that the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors often don't get paid, and there are often donations from alumni, there would be no way to replace many things if they break.

The broomsticks used in flying lessons are still the old-fashioned Sweep series. Some magic supply stores have stopped selling these brooms, and they are reluctant to pile them up in the warehouse and use them to sweep the floor.

For little wizards who are exposed to flying for the first time, this kind of broom often has some naughty little problems, and there are also loopholes in safety issues.Professor McGonagall has planned to purchase a batch of affordable brooms during the holidays and retire the current batch of old brooms.

After listening to colleagues talking about their needs, Professor McGonagall smiled and said slowly: "It's still early for the school to operate completely independently. We still have a long way to go."

"If the previous accounts were correct, would this process be faster?" Dumbledore sat in the main seat, thinking happily.

Mentioning the previous accounts, Professor McGonagall couldn't keep the smile on her face. She glanced at the old principal's white beard and said, "The most important problem to solve now is the professor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, a "real" Defense Against the Dark Arts class. professor. "

Dumbledore blinked, thought for a moment, and realized that he shouldn't mention the accounting error when the atmosphere was just right.

"Well, I think expanding too fast will cover up the problem. Appropriate slowing down is a wise choice." He pondered for a moment and twitched his beard, "As for the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, don't worry, Minerva. I already have a suitable candidate who will be available after the summer."

"I hope he can spend Christmas at school. As for Easter-" Professor McGonagall also pondered for a moment, then raised his glass after a while and said, "Let's wait until after Christmas."

Flitwick and Sprout lowered their heads and concentrated on enjoying their lunch, and finally couldn't hold back their cheerful laughter.

On the long Gryffindor table, Loren was struggling with a dish of braised calf's knee. The tender meat of the calf's knee collided with the chewy tendons and teeth, creating a wonderful taste and a salty aroma. The thick soup makes people almost want to swallow it with their tongues.

Food is great, but when gnawing on a bone with a mandrake blade in your mouth, you need to be careful with your movements.In addition to the teeth that may accidentally bite off the leaves, the bones and brittle bones in the mouth are also sharp tools for the young leaves.

When picking up the meal, Loren had an unknown premonition that he might fall into this delicious braised veal knee today, but he picked up the meal without much hesitation.

Is there anything bigger than eating?

After carefully nibbling on the first achyranthes, Loren pursed her lips and put the blade against the roof of her mouth with her tongue to verify.

Well, the leaves are in good condition, without any scratches, and there is no taste of grass juice.

Loren immediately relaxed, grabbed the second achyranthes and started to chew on it.

The crunching sound only happened twice, and a fresh taste of young plant leaves spread on the tongue. It was sour, a little astringent, and had a sweet aftertaste.

The mandrake blade shattered in the mouth.

Loren was stunned, and even smacked his lips and tasted it. It didn't taste bad.

I looked at the beef that was stewed and colored in my hand. The color was red and attractive, the meat was fragrant, and there were still crispy bones in my mouth that I had not swallowed.Without thinking much, Loren chewed the mandrake and swallowed it.

The grass juice had a refreshing fragrance, and even played a role in relieving greasiness and increasing flavor. Loren ate even more happily.

"Is it delicious?" Hermione's voice sounded next to her.

Loren nodded: "It's delicious, mainly because it tastes good and chewy."

"I mean mandrake."

"Hehe..." Loren smiled, "I was discovered by you."

While eating, he was stunned, looking at his expression, and anyone could tell that. Hermione glanced at him, reached out and took the last calf's knee from his plate, opened her mouth and took a small bite. .

"Don't-" Loren reached out to stop her, but suddenly noticed that Hermione's diet was normal today. The soft banana oatmeal and stew were replaced by steak, fried sausages, and even hard-crusted croissants.

Hermione lowered her head and nibbled on the chewy osso bucco in small bites: "I accidentally bit it into pieces when I was brushing my teeth in the morning, and then I spat it out."

Loren raised his eyebrows and looked at her strangely: "I didn't even notice it if you didn't tell me. Aren't you disappointed?"

"Don't lose."

"why?"

Hermione's tone contained the pleasure of enjoying the food: "Because we have not yet mastered the principles of Animagus transformation, and have not yet mastered the method of using reason to suppress wildness, this ritual is doomed to fail from the beginning."

"I'll just tell you!" Loren couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth and muttered, "I said this from the beginning, but you still don't believe it. If you failed, didn't you tell me earlier..."

"If it weren't for me, you would have vomited the mandrake in disgust on the first day. If I told you that I failed, you would have turned around and vomited the mandrake into the trash can. I want to see how long you can hold on." Hermione whispered, "And you failed yourself."

"It's not my fault. I was fine when I ate the first achyranthes. It must be the problem with the second achyranthes."

Hermione ignored him, her expression was calm, and she concentrated on tasting the food in front of her.