Noon passed quickly, and by the end, Arthur still couldn't understand why Jones called tomorrow's trial good news.
Meanwhile, Howl had left the Three Broomsticks Pub and returned to the school.
As soon as he entered the school, two Little Witches approached him.
"Professor, are you busy tomorrow?" Her face showed unhappiness.
"Yes, Miss Patz. I have something to do tomorrow, so the class schedule has been adjusted." Howl nodded, "Why the long face?"
"It's Professor Snape's class now," she said awkwardly, then exclaimed, "Ah! I didn't mean it like that. No—"
Snape appeared on the stairs, looking calmly at Patz: "Talking about a Professor behind his back, Ravenclaw loses five points!"
As he spoke, his figure gradually approached: "If you had any self-awareness, you'd know how much I hate this arrangement, teaching fools!"
The Little witch could only leave dejectedly.
Then, Snape turned his death stare onto Howl.
"When does the competition start? Are you even making arrangements?"
"Don't rush, Severus, we need to wait for the children to get back into the swing of things after the holidays. Oh, right! Have you thought about offering some prizes?"
"Do you think I'm their parent?"
Clearly, Snape was very unsupportive of this suggestion.
"We need to give them some incentive, hmm… How about Felix Felicis? I think that would be enough to make the children flock to it."
"I don't have much. Only those without strength who hope for luck would like such a thing," Snape said indifferently.
The last time he brewed this Potion was many years ago.
At that time, he was brewing another difficult Potion and lacked confidence, so he used a little Felix Felicis.
Another time was twelve years ago, on the night in Godrics Hollow, when he stood in front of that house.
At that time, he drank an entire bottle, hoping that the goddess of luck would descend.
But it was useless.
He hated all theories of luck and was even more afraid that certain people, because of 'good luck,' would become blindly arrogant after achieving things others couldn't, thereby sending themselves into an bottomless abyss one day in the future—
"Relying on luck is harmful and useless," Snape's voice was serious and calm.
"It's just a small gift. But you do have a point. Let's talk about it again this weekend. I have to go to class." Howl nodded casually, then a box magically appeared in his hand.
"A gift from the Weasley family for you." He tossed the box towards Snape, then turned and left.
Snape flipped his hand, and his wand appeared, steadying the box in mid-air.
Opening it, he saw homemade cupcakes that looked appetizing.
"Tsk—"
He shoved the box to a passing Slytherin, then turned and left…
Early the next morning, outside the Castle, at Hagrid's hut.
It was still dark, but firelight glowed from behind the hut's murky, yellowed windows.
Hagrid was extremely excited and had woken up early.
He pulled out a deerskin coat he had sewn many years ago from his wardrobe, put it on, then went to the mirror, wiped it with an old rag, and began to comb his beard.
"Fang, go away, don't bother me."
Today was a very important day!
He had already decided what he would do next weekend.
He would go back, back to that grave, to tell that man that his son was not a murderer.
Then, he would pour him a bottle of his favorite strong liquor…
Finally, by the time Hagrid had braided his beard, it was just barely dawn.
Opening the door, the cold wind swept in. He sighed with relief, closed the door, and walked impatiently towards the Castle.
When Dumbledore, wearing his bathrobe, was dissolving honey in his cup with a spoon, and then suddenly saw Hagrid, he was bewildered.
"Hagrid… Why are you here? Isn't the trial at ten in the morning?"
"Oh! The fellow downstairs opened the door, so I came in." Hagrid smiled foolishly, "I thought, would it be better to go earlier? I've never been to the Ministry of Magic, sir, when are we leaving?"
Dumbledore glanced at the barely lit sky outside and smiled helplessly: "Immediately."
"Perfectly, I also have a friend who invited me to come early to catch up."
"Sir, should we call Howl?" Hagrid asked.
"No, no need, he's not here yet." Dumbledore stopped the excited Hagrid.
Sighing, and putting down his cup, Dumbledore quickly changed his clothes and then walked into the office fireplace with Hagrid.
"Ministry of Magic!"
Green flames rose, and after a dizzying spin, the two arrived at the Ministry of Magic.
"Oh! Mr. Dumbledore, it's an honor to see you."
"Professor, why are you here?"
The prestige of the old Hogwarts Principal was immediately evident, with many people greeting him as they passed. Those walking with him or facing him also automatically stepped aside, making way for Dumbledore.
And Hagrid was no less, having been at Hogwarts for fifty years, now none of the Ministry of Magic employees walking around didn't recognize him.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Rexlent
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"