Chapter 336: Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts

Wizard Sean was also harboring a deeper question—whether he possessed a second Animagus form.

As he thought about this, the sky had fully brightened.

Before leaving, Wizard Sean automatically opened his panel:

[Material Transfiguration: Skilled (10/3000)]

[Magical Transfiguration: Beginner (50/300)]

[Soul Transfiguration: Beginner (280/300)]

After this journey through the Borderlands, the Soul Transfiguration skill required to reach Skilled was now just a tiny bit away.

Thinking of this, Wizard Sean gripped his wand, and soon a black cat slipped out of Ravenclaw dormitory.

Today was a Friday in November.

Since entering November, the weather had turned bitterly cold. The mountains surrounding the school were gray and blanketed in snow; the Black Lake had frozen, hard and icy. Every morning, frost appeared on the corridors.

The black cat darted past the window and spotted a giant nearly filling the corridor.

Hagrid’s face was completely hidden beneath a snow-dusted balaclava wool hat, and he wore a mole-skin coat. Young wizards carefully squeezed through the narrow gap beside him.

He seemed to have a unique intuition for magical creatures; as the black cat passed through the portrait into the hidden passage, he stared at the portrait several times and scratched his head in confusion.

Avoiding the crowd all the way to the Great Hall entrance, the black cat leapt and transformed into a young wizard clad in black robes.

[You practiced Soul Transfiguration at the standard of a Beginner in the Master realm. Master-level proficiency +3.]

“Flying carpets… hmm, flying carpets are banned in Britain.”

In the Great Hall, Hermione was chatting with Jia Jia Siting.

Her eyes carried a hint of concern—Jia Jia Siting’s mood had not been good lately.

Of course, he wasn’t the only one in low spirits; Harry had also been looking gloomy.

“I heard Mr. Arthur Weasley say that a man named Ali Bashir had been trying to sell carpets, but was stopped.”

“Because carpets are classified as Muggle artifacts on the Register of Forbidden Magical Objects.”

Harry placed his bag on the bench and smiled.

“Oh, Harry, you look—”

Ron stared at him, puzzled.

“I’ve got a huge piece of news! You won’t believe what happened to me yesterday!”

Harry said mysteriously,

“I saw that black cat man again—”

His words sparked interest; all the wizards’ heads turned toward Harry.

“Think about it—brooms are also Muggle artifacts. This is either foreign discrimination or anti-dumping. If flying carpets were legal, broom sales would suffer.”

Only Hermione was still seriously pondering flying carpets.

When Wizard Sean reached his seat, Harry had just finished recounting his night’s adventure.

At that moment, the conversation naturally shifted to a topic that deserved attention.

“Is Defense Against the Dark Arts class still happening today?”

Ron sounded almost gleeful.

“There’s no notice on the announcement board.”

Hermione frowned.

“It’s said the hospital wing is missing a certain potion—the very one used to treat Lockhart’s condition.”

Hermione added.

This reminded Wizard Sean of the ruined potion in the dungeons.

This couldn’t be a coincidence.

Soon, the afternoon Defense Against the Dark Arts class confirmed Wizard Sean’s suspicion.

A dark shadow stormed into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

Professor Snape strode in, raised his wand, and all the windows slammed shut.

“What are you waiting for? Open your textbooks—”

he hissed.

“Oh no—”

Ron groaned,

“I bet he turned Lockhart into that mess because he’s still hoping to take over as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.”

Harry wasn’t faring any better; he quickly lowered his head.

Wizard Sean silently pulled out *Fundamentals of Defense Against the Dark Arts*, *Dark Forces: A Making Guide to Self-Protection*, and other books.

“Harry Potter! *Wandering with Werewolves*—hmm, it seems your eyes are merely decorative, or perhaps you’re too arrogant to think this book could teach you anything?”

“Gryffindor—”

Professor Snape walked up to Harry and spoke in his signature low voice,

“Five points from Gryffindor.”

Harry’s brief moment of cheerfulness dimmed again.

He now couldn’t tell which was worse: seeing Lockhart in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, or seeing Snape.

This Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson was torture for Harry, but for Wizard Sean, Professor Snape taught many practical insights—especially regarding counter-charms for dark magic.

If someone had fully observed the previous club-organized wizard duel, this lesson would have been a detailed and fitting theoretical supplement.

When leaving the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, everyone was silent.

After walking a good distance, Wizard Sean finally heard Ron say:

“Hermione, how come you’re still carrying those books?”

Ron noticed Hermione always had Lockhart’s books nearby—sometimes *Magical Me*, sometimes *Travels with Trolls*, and of course, *A Year with the Yeti* was one she often read.

“Isn’t that strange? Even Wizard Sean admits the content is real, yet we all know Lockhart is a fraud.”

Hermione had clearly been puzzled for a long time.

At that moment, two flames drifted around the corridor corner.

Fred and George ran past Harry down the corridor, strutting proudly and shouting:

“Make way for the Heir of Slytherin—the most evil wizard approaches…”

Hermione was deeply displeased by this behavior.

“This isn’t something to joke about, and Harry isn’t the Heir of Slytherin.”

She said coldly.

“Alright, Miss Granger,”

Fred said,

“but Harry’s running out of time.”

“Yeah, he’s got to get to the Chamber and have tea with his fanged servant.”

George laughed loudly.

Harry knew Fred and George at least thought the idea of him being the Heir of Slytherin was absurd, which brought him some relief.

Soon, he uttered a startling remark:

“Even if I did have a fanged servant, I wouldn’t choose to have tea with it.”

This surprised Fred greatly:

“Good idea, Harry.”

“You’ve got a decent notion.”

George walked off cheerfully.

Wizard Sean watched their commotion, then looked at Hermione, holding Lockhart’s books and smiling warmly at Harry.

“Professor Sprout is putting socks and scarves on Mandrakes… if you want answers about Lockhart, Hermione, the greenhouses might have someone who can help.”

Wizard Sean thought for a moment—he believed Lockhart’s early departure might be a good thing, as it could bring Professor Lupin sooner.

“You could ask Bruce.”