Hogwarts: Who made her a professor?

Chapter 46 Setting overly ambitious goals is sometimes not a good thing.

Time is like a tireless ox or horse; before you know it, it's December.

With the Christmas holidays approaching, Hogwarts was covered in a layer of silvery white, with several feet of snow covering the grounds and the Black Lake frozen solid.

During this time, Belvina Black visited the school kitchen several more times, and even demonstrated what it means to "kill the goose in the snow" on the day it snowed.

Thanks to Belvina's careful feeding, Bassheda Bablin gained weight from autumn into winter, and the ancient Runewen sweetheart's figure became more and more plump. She was so anxious that she kept nagging about losing weight, but at the same time she showed off a bowl of goose meat.

Just because the two elective course professors were having a good time doesn't mean everyone is happy; at least Quirinas Quirrell was very unhappy.

Belvina, determined to continue her tug-of-war, remained completely indifferent to Quirrell. She then turned to Snape, only to be met with the same rebuff.

Two Slytherins with deep-seated grudges found themselves on the same side because of a not-so-bright Ravenclaw, something neither Quirrell nor Belvina and Snape expected.

In addition, Professor Quirrell continued to perform consistently well in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and the students' patience with him was eventually worn down by a heavy snowfall.

The Weasley twins even cast a spell on the snowball, making it chase Quirrell everywhere. But instead of demonstrating his abilities, the annual toy was hit on the back of the head by the magical snowball, and his ugly turban turned white.

To make matters worse, the theft of the Philosopher's Stone was making no progress. Quirrell knew exactly where that damned stone was, right within his reach, but his path was blocked by a trap led by Cerberus.

Not only was Quirrell unhappy as he struggled through his days, but the students in the various colleges were also unhappy.

Although warm flames burned in the lounge and the Great Hall, the draft through the corridors was still icy cold, and the potions class in the underground classroom was even more unbearable.

Snape's sharp tongue and the terrible weather created a powerful combination, resulting in a double attack of mental magic that left the students in a terrible state.

The students counted down the days, eagerly anticipating the upcoming Christmas holidays.

That morning, Belvina, who had nothing to do, was conscripted by Professor McGonagall to help decorate the auditorium and make it more festive.

Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and Belvina stood in the Great Hall, waving their wands. Christmas decorations flew around under their direction, and the Great Hall gradually became beautiful and magnificent.

The walls were covered with cascading ribbons of holly and mistletoe, and towering Christmas trees stood throughout the room, some adorned with glittering icicles and others sparkling with hundreds of candles.

"Professor McGonagall, we've brought in the last tree—would it be alright to put it in that corner over there?"

Hagrid dragged a huge fir tree into the auditorium, his messy, hairy head hidden by the tree branches.

Three other first-year Gryffindor students followed Hagrid. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stared in amazement at the newly decorated Great Hall, their mouths agape, almost forgetting their business.

Ever since Hagrid mentioned Nicolas Flamel, Harry and Ron have been going to the library, trying to find out who Nicolas Flamel is.

As the trio was talking to Hagrid, Belvina walked over carrying an acacia wand. The fir tree Hagrid brought was the last one; once they dealt with it, they could continue to relax.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation, but you can speak a little louder." As she spoke, Belvina raised her wand, and the acacia wand sprayed out glittering little icicles, followed by strings of golden bubbles.

The last fir tree was quickly decorated.

"If you had been any louder, Nicolas Flamel might have taken pity on you and run from the warm Pyrenees to the cold Scottish Highlands."

Hagrid was taken aback for a moment, then realized that Belvina already knew about the Philosopher's Stone, but the gamekeeper was still somewhat unhappy. Belvina shouldn't have told Harry and the others about it.

"Professor Black, who Nicolas Flamel is has nothing to do with Harry and the others," Hagrid complained. "They don't need to know."

"Oh, is that so?" Belvina feigned ignorance. "I thought you were discussing alchemy. If Paul knew that one of the first-year students was interested in alchemy, he would jump for joy."

Whether Paul Bernard will jump up is unknown, Hagrid is about to jump up, and Hermione Granger will jump up immediately.

"Professor Black! You mean Nicolas Flamel is French, or a wizard who practices alchemy?" Miss Know-It-All exclaimed excitedly. Belvina had only given her a hint; it was Hagrid who truly made Hermione understand.

Rupert Hagrid, a man who kept his mouth shut like a wide-mouthed bottle; Belvina Black, a shameless woman who casually let slip information.

Then, Harry, whose mind was a little slower, realized it too, and exclaimed, "I remember where I've seen Nicolas Flamel's name before! On the Chocolate Frog poster! I saw Nicolas Flamel on the poster!"

As the clouds parted and the sun shone through, the problem that had troubled Harry, Ron, and Hermione for so long was finally solved.

They searched through "The Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century," "The Directory of Famous Contemporary Magicians," "Major Discoveries in Modern Magic," and "Studies on the Development of Modern Wizardry," but they couldn't find Nicolas Flamel anywhere. Little did they know that the right answer was right beside them.

Harry continued, "Once we know who Nicolas Flamel is, we'll figure out what Fluffy is guarding!"

The first-year students' joy was palpable, completely oblivious to Hagrid's increasingly dark expression; their big friend was now utterly helpless.

"Ah, so your big pet's name is Ruwei!" Belvina said softly. "But I remember the Ministry of Magic explicitly forbids keeping Cerberus. Am I mistaken?"

At this moment, Hagrid appeared even more helpless.

Besides Cerberus, Hagrid also kept many magical creatures, most of which were prohibited by the Ministry of Magic. As the custodian of Hogwarts' keys and the game field keeper, he broke the law!

Just then, an annoying sound came, a sound so soft that everyone could hear it.

"Gryffindor loses five points, Potter, for your loud noise in the Great Hall," Snape said in his irritating tone, with Draco Malfoy following behind him, a hint of schadenfreude on his face.

The entire school knew that Snape disliked Harry, and that the Slytherin headmaster could find any reason to deduct Gryffindor's house points whenever he wanted.

"Harry wasn't making a sound, Professor Snape," Hagrid retorted. "And Professor Black is here too."

It would have been better if he hadn't said that, because once he did, Snape immediately felt that the points he had just deducted were too few; he should have deducted twenty points instead.

If Belvina weren't a professor, or a Slytherin, Snape would probably have deducted points from her score as well.

"You're as annoying as ever, Severus," Belvina said lazily. "Your actions won't make your school any better; instead, they'll just make you seem petty and narrow-minded."

The reason I confronted Snape wasn't because he deducted Gryffindor points—that had nothing to do with Belvina—but simply because the Potions Professor had just rolled his eyes at Belvina.

"When it comes to pettiness, I think Professor Black is far superior," Snape said in a smooth voice, flicking his sleeves as he strode away, preventing the conflict between the professors from escalating.

It seemed that the five points he inexplicably lost had temporarily reminded Harry of his mistake, and he muttered to himself, "I hate him. I hate him in every way."

Draco glanced at Harry with a smug look, then stepped forward and said to Belvina, "Do you have any plans for the Christmas holidays? If not, you can come with us on holiday; Mom will be very happy."

As he spoke, Malfoy secretly observed Harry's expression, and in doing so, he launched into a tirade against Harry.

He continued, "How wonderful it is for families to reunite and go on vacation together! Unlike some people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because their families don't want them. I really feel sorry for them!"

To everyone's surprise, Draco's attack missed, and Harry completely ignored him, because Harry felt that staying at Hogwarts for Christmas was a very happy thing.

The attack didn't work on Harry, but the area-of-effect attack did, covering Belvina, Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, and everyone else who stayed at school for Christmas.

“My family is serving time in Azkaban. Am I supposed to go there to reunite with them?” Belvina said with a laugh. “That’s not a good place.”

Hagrid, standing to the side, took a half-step back with his massive body. Despite the many years that had passed, the fear of Azkaban still deeply affected him.

Unexpectedly, completely unexpectedly, Belvina's casual remark to Draco had such a profound and far-reaching effect.

"What is Azkaban?" Harry asked in a low voice, which was quite remarkable; he had actually learned to lower his voice.

"It's a wizarding prison," Hermione replied in a low voice. "I've read about it in a book." Another Gryffindor had learned to speak softly; it was truly a cause for celebration.

"But why would Professor Black's family be there?" Harry asked, puzzled. He knew nothing about the intricacies of wizarding society and naturally had no idea who Belvina's family was.

Seeing this, Hagrid quickly changed the subject, not daring to let the Gryffindor trio continue their discussion. Who knew if Belvina would fly into a rage, or if the Weasleys' youngest son knew about Sirius Black.

"Alright, you should leave now. Don't bother Professor Black any longer," Hagrid said. "Come sit with me; my rock cakes should be ready soon."

As Hagrid spoke, he pushed Harry and the others away like he was coaxing chicks.

The Gryffindor trio all looked at Belvina, their eyes filled with a silent plea for help. It seemed they had already witnessed the power of Rockbread.

After the four members of Gryffindor left, only two Slytherins remained by the last fir tree.

Draco, caught up in his own triumph, realized he had misspoke. His aunt was also all alone; both her parents had passed away, one brother was in Azkaban, and the other was nowhere to be found.

"I just—I just wanted to—" Draco tried to explain, but found himself unable to do so clearly, and suddenly became tongue-tied.

"You're just trying to provoke someone because they ignore you, to prove your existence," Belvina said softly, her tone revealing no emotion.

Since the Quidditch match, perhaps after seeing Harry's performance art on his flying broomstick, or perhaps after witnessing Harry's close call with the Golden Snitch, Malfoy has reverted to his old ways.

He was indignant about the Slytherin team's defeat, frustrated that he couldn't help Slytherin, and he would deliberately make sarcastic remarks to Harry as he passed by, sometimes even going so far as to mock Harry for not having a complete family.

His behavior was appalling and childish, and utterly ineffective, only making Draco Malfoy appear incredibly incompetent—or, to put it more simply, incompetent rage.

"I remember you wanted to be Slytherin's Seeker," Belvina continued. "How about you play a match against Higgs and try to make it onto the team?"

Give Draco a new goal to strive for, instead of constantly comparing him to Harry. Harry Potter isn't Earth, and Draco Malfoy isn't the moon.

"You can't defeat your opponent by talking behind their back, unless you can get everyone to talk badly about them. Can you do that?"

Draco shook his head. Many people disagreed with him, and everyone admired how he could stay firmly on his wildly flying broomstick.

"Then do what you can do, like successfully joining the Slytherin team first."

"Are you really not coming on vacation with us?"

"No, your father wouldn't want me to share his Christmas turkey. Ah, Hagrid probably wouldn't mind giving a former Ministry of Magic official a piece of ham as a Christmas present."