Hogwarts: Who made her a professor?

Chapter 67 The Extraordinarily Bright Mars

On the first day of the Easter holiday, the sky was as blue as a forget-me-not, and the air was filled with the scent of summer approaching.

In the vibrant spring-like setting, students from all grades gathered in small groups, playing and frolicking, or running freely, carrying the weight of youthful exuberance on their shoulders.

In the shimmering Black Lake, giant squid swim dreamily on the surface, lazily swaying their tentacles and creating ripples.

The Weasley twins rolled up their trousers and stood on the shallow water, which was just above their knees, waving happily at the swimming behemoth.

Before long, the docile giant squid swam to the shallows, and the Weasley brothers laughed as they gently stroked its tentacles, as if they were tickling the giant squid.

On the fifth floor of the castle, Belvina leaned against the window, taking in the vibrant youth of the school. The gentle spring breeze playfully brushed against her satin-like long hair, obscuring her eyes.

In this situation, a normal person would probably sigh, "Youth is wonderful." But Belvina is not a normal person. She would only stubbornly say, "Youth? It doesn't matter. You'll be old in a couple of years."

Belvina sat back down at her desk and continued writing her unfinished piece of nonsense.

It wasn't that they were intentionally trying to fob off Connery Fudge, who was far away in London, but rather that Dumbledore was too elusive, and figuring out where he went and who he met was no easy task.

The daily routine at school was so peaceful that it was boring, like a glass of bland water.

The only thing that brings a smile to one's face is that the "missing" Quirinas Quiro has finally received the attention he's been longing for.

With Belvina returning to work and clarifying in class that she was not poisoned, the inexplicable poisoning incident came to an end and was no longer the focus of students' discussions.

During their free time, the conversation gradually turned to Quirrell, who hadn't been seen in a long time. They suddenly realized that no one had seen Quirrell or heard any news about him for a long time.

Even if Professor Quirrell was defeated by the curse that bound him to his position as a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, he should at least have some news, since he was too weak to take care of himself. How could he just vanish into thin air, leaving no trace of his life or death?

Poor and pathetic Quirinas Quilleau, he never imagined he would gain attention in this way.

Boom boom boom!

A knock suddenly sounded on the door.

"Go in." Belvina didn't even look up, the quill pen still making a rustling sound.

It was Draco Malfoy, his pale oval face appearing even paler, his lips pressed into a thin line, standing hesitantly at the door, as if knocking had exhausted all his courage.

Draco visited Belvina twice during her sick leave, but he didn't get to see her on either occasion.

Once she was stopped by Basilda, and another time by Paul Bernard. The two professors gave the same reason: Belvina needed rest.

Draco stood at the door for a while, but when he still didn't get a reply, he had no choice but to drag his heavy steps into the lounge.

"Lift your feet up when you walk, don't drag them on the ground." Belvina didn't even lift her eyelids, continuing to write her rambling nonsense, which could be summarized in one sentence: Hogwarts, all is well.

Draco obediently lifted his foot, and whether out of childlike innocence or for his own amusement, he lifted his leg high with each subsequent step, his thigh almost parallel to the ground.

By the time Draco finally sat down, Belvina had already finished her long-winded rambling.

Belvina put down her quill, gently blew on the writing on the parchment, and once she was sure it was dry, she neatly folded it into a long strip and stuffed it into the envelope.

Draco, sitting in the chair, was also restless, wriggling around like a boneless worm. His squirming and turning was so annoying that it made you want to hang him up and whip him with a belt.

Perhaps tired of being a pupa, Draco finally spoke hesitantly, revealing the purpose of his visit to Belvina.

"I need your help."

"Speak up, you must have something to say since you came all this way to me," Belvina said. "Tell me before I kick you out."

Draco stood up and leaned forward, saying mysteriously, "I've discovered a shocking secret, a secret that could kick Potter out of school!"

"If you want to complain, I suggest you go to Professor Snape. You two will definitely have something in common, like kicking Mr. Potter out of school."

Belvina's answer was perfunctory. She didn't think Draco could possess any earth-shattering secrets. Spending all his time with that bunch of fat, pure-blood bastards, it would be a miracle if he could have any earth-shattering secrets.

"I didn't come here to complain to you," Draco said, slamming his head against the ground like a rattle. "I've thought this through. If I fire Potter, I'll lose my chance to defeat him head-on!"

Belvina was slightly surprised, turned to glance at Draco, and then said, "So what are you planning to do? Use this secret to threaten Mr. Potter into a wizarding duel with you? My suggestion is to just use your fists."

"No, let me explain." Draco shook his head again. "I just came back from the school hospital. I'm not sick; I went to mock Weasley. During the last Quidditch match, I got into an argument with him. If the match had taken any longer to end, we would have fought."

It's no wonder that Muggles have their own unique national circumstances; they have football hooligans, and wizards have Quidditch hooligans. I just wonder how strong the Quidditch hooligans are, and whether they'll ever get humiliated by a 200-on-1000 fight.

Draco continued, "I heard Weasley was in the hospital, so I thought I'd go and make fun of him. But then I found a letter he'd slipped into a book, and out of curiosity, I picked it up and read it. Hogwarts has a dragon, and Potter and Weasley are planning to move it away."

Draco lowered his voice further and further, as if only by doing so could he highlight the importance of the secret.

Unfortunately, Belvina already knew that Hogwarts had a dragon, that it was a Norwegian Ridgeback, and that Hagrid was temporarily taking care of it.

"I knew they had a dragon before this letter, and it was kept in Hagrid's dilapidated house," Draco continued. "I went there several times, but I never managed to see the dragon."

Belvina understood immediately. She said, "So you want me to take you there, and you want Hagrid to let you in for my sake. You certainly know how to order people around."

"You don't seem surprised at all that there's a dragon at school!" Draco said disappointedly. "You must have known all along that big oaf Hagrid had a dragon!"

Draco was not only disappointed, but also a little sad.

Interestingly, neither Belvina nor Narcissa's names conform to the Black family's traditional naming rules, while Draco Malfoy's name does, as it has the meaning of dragon and he is also associated with the constellation Draco.

Thinking about this, Belvina suddenly understood why Ron laughed when he first heard Draco's self-introduction on the train on the first day of school.

Hi, hello, my name is Draco Malfoy (Dragon) (Untrustworthy).

Then think about the starry sky in your own home: Sirius, Alpha Leonis, Gamma Orionis, Cassiopeia, and so on. It's like your whole family of wizards are looking for a puddle to become bandits.

"I can take you there, but there are two conditions," Belvina said. "First, keep your mouth shut. You can't tell anyone about this, including Cici and your dead father."

Draco nodded hastily, as if he wanted to swear an oath.

"Second, correct your form of address. You can call him Mr. Hagrid, or simply Hagrid, instead of some big, dumb Hagrid." Belvina suddenly became serious.

Draco nodded again. As long as he could see the dragon up close, changing his impolite way of addressing Hagrid was a minor issue.

Seeing this, Belvina shook her head helplessly. Correcting this crooked sapling was harder than facing Voldemort directly. She didn't know where he got all these bad habits from.

About half an hour later, Belvina led Draco across the field and knocked on the door of the Hagrid Hunting Grounds guard's house.

Soon, Hagrid's footsteps echoed from inside the house. He asked warily, "Who's outside?"

"It's me, Belvina."

The cabin door creaked open, and Hagrid instinctively tried to close it the moment he opened it. He saw Belvina outside the door, and also the little bean behind her.

"Hagrid, I guarantee he won't tell anyone. If he dares to let a word out, I'll break his legs," Belvina said.

Draco, who was standing behind, quickly explained that he really just wanted to see the dragon, and that he had known about it for a long time but had not told any professors.

Perhaps seeing Draco's sincere attitude, or perhaps out of respect for Belvina, Hagrid opened the door with some skepticism.

Hagrid's cabin was still the same as before, only the indoor temperature was no longer as stuffy as before. The skinny, black little fire dragon was lying on the bed, blowing smoke rings like an old smoker, with a few sparks mixed in.

The little dragon on the bed turned its head, opened its mouth wide to reveal its sharp teeth, and let out a fierce-looking dragon roar, as if it regarded Belvina as an intruder in its territory.

Draco's eyes lit up with excitement, eager to get close to the little dragon, but before he could take two steps, he was stopped by Belvina.

Even a small dragon can be dangerous for a young wizard. Ron Weasley, who was admitted to the school hospital, is a prime example. His hand was swollen to an exaggerated degree, and the wound from the dragon's bite had turned an unsightly green.

"You were the little peekering outside last time, weren't you, you Slytherin brat?" Hagrid closed the door, shuffling back to the bedside. "Nober! Nober! Where's Mommy?"

As he spoke, Hagrid reached out and touched the little dragon's head. The little dragon bit his finger, revealing its sharp, long teeth.

Hagrid, thick-skinned and unfazed, didn't seem to notice anything amiss. Instead, he exclaimed happily, "Norber already knows his mother! Hey, little Slytherin brat, isn't he pretty?"

Draco nodded vigorously. He wanted to reach out and stroke the dragon, but he was afraid of being bitten, and even more afraid that his bed in the school hospital would be next to Weasley's.

Belvina casually found a chair and sat down, asking, "I heard from Draco that you've decided to send Norber away?"

"Yes, Ron—the Weasleys' youngest son—wrote a letter to his brother Charlie." Hagrid's voice was filled with reluctance. "They will come to the school to take Norbert away and let him return to his life as a dragon."

In the end, Hagrid decided to send the Norwegian Spinosaurus away. Between troublesome Belvina and troublesome Weasley, Hagrid chose troublesome Weasley.

Hagrid and Charlie, the second son of the Weasleys, are kindred spirits; they are both avid dragon enthusiasts, and Charlie even went to work at a dragon sanctuary in Romania right after graduation.

"It will all be over before the Easter holidays are over." Hagrid's voice sounded somewhat sad, like a loving mother saying goodbye to her child. "Nober is still very young, but in a week or two he will become very difficult to handle, and I have to do this."

As he spoke, Hagrid pulled out a large handkerchief that looked like a tablecloth, blew his nose loudly, and continued, "I hatched Norber from the egg, when it was only this small, and now..."

Overwhelmed with emotion, Hagrid fell silent, looking down at the little fire dragon playing on the bed. Norbert, the Norwegian spinal dragon, was dismembering a tattered rag doll.

Draco looked at Belvina and shook her arm affectionately, as if asking for her opinion—can I adopt this Norwegian Ridgeback?

Belvina ruthlessly shook off his arm. If Draco really brought the Norwegian Ridgeback Dragon back to Malfoy Manor, Lucius Malfoy would really dare to die to show him that he would be strung up by the dragon sooner or later.

"You've made the right decision, Hagrid," Belvina comforted him. "Let the dragons be dragons, and the wizards be wizards."

About an hour later, Belvina bid farewell to Draco, who was reluctant to leave, and the two walked towards the castle in the afterglow of the setting sun.

An owl flapped its wings and flew across the sky, carrying a note in its beak. It passed over the heads of Belvina and her companion, arriving at the castle first and flying into the principal's office window.

Upon returning to the castle, the two parted ways in the first-floor hall. Draco was to go down to his Slytherin lakeside room, while Belvina was to go up to her lounge on the fifth floor.

If Belvina were willing to climb a few more floors, she could find Dumbledore in the Headmaster's office, his brow furrowed as he stared intently at the note from London.

If she wanders aimlessly through the Forbidden Forest and happens to encounter centaurs living there, she will frequently hear a cryptic remark from them—

Mars is very bright tonight.