Chapter 873: Confrontation Between Pairs

Harry found that Fan Lin and Hao Min were already standing in a safe corner, and so was Ron. Several people were standing not far away waiting for him, their coat collars fluttering in the wind.

As Harry ran towards them, he opened the scroll and found five words on it - in Sirius's handwriting: Today, old time, same place.

"Is Hedwig okay?" Hermione asked worriedly, and now he came back to his senses.

"Where did you take it?" Ron asked. "Professor Grapeplan," Harry said. "I also met McGonagall, listen."

He relayed to them what Magna had said. To his surprise, they weren't shocked. Instead, they exchanged meaningful glances.

"What?" Harry said, looking from Vanlin to Hermione and back again. "Okay, I was just talking to Ron. What if someone tried to intercept Hedwig mid-flight? I mean, it's never been injured on a previous flight, has it?"

"Whose letter is that, anyway?" Ron asked, taking the note from Harry.

"Speak in a nasal voice," Harry reminded softly. "'Old time, old place'? Did he mean the fire in the teaching and research office?"

"Obviously," said Hermione, who was also reading the note a little uneasily, "I hope no one else has read it."

"But it was still sealed when it got to me," Harry said, trying to convince herself as much as she did, "If they don't know where we met him before, then no one will know what it means, no. ?"

"I don't know," Hermione said anxiously.

"But what is confirmed is that someone has started to block the communication at Hogwarts Castle. You should have realized it earlier, Harry. Ever since Filch started intercepting our letters..." Fan Lin said slowly, " However, I don’t think Hedwig has been intercepted. As a snowy owl in the magical world, you have to go up and catch it yourself if you want to be intercepted.”

"You mean..." Harry lowered his voice, "You mean Umbridge..."

"I can't guarantee it, but we can no longer use the owl room, and we can no longer use Hedwig to send letters in the future. I will call Dobby over by then, and Dobby will have to work hard." Fan Lin said , when the bell rang again, Fan Lin said as he led the three people forward, "It is not difficult to reseal the paper roll with magic, and we don't know if anyone is really monitoring the fireplace network system. , but there is no doubt that Umbridge’s intervention is inevitable. She wants us to lose contact with the outside world, or isolate us. In fact, this is the consequence of being discovered. I think Umbridge is Want to collect information about Dumbledore."

They walked down the stone stairs to Potions class, and several of them were distracted. For Fanlin, this is just a signal, a signal that Umbridge is making big moves.

It's impossible for Umbridge to live in peace, but she hasn't found a sure way to drive Dumbledore out of the school.

But when they reached the last few steps, they were awakened from their reverie by Malfoy's voice.

Malfoy stood outside Snape's classroom, waving a piece of parchment that looked like an official document, and deliberately raising his voice so that they could hear every word clearly.

"Yes, Umbridge approved the Slytherin House Quidditch team to continue activities. I went to apply to her early this morning. This is actually a matter of course. I mean, she knows my father very well. , he frequents the Ministry of Magic. It will be interesting to see if Gryffindor can be allowed to continue to participate in the game, isn't it?"

"Don't be angry," Hermione whispered to Harry and Ron. It was not a wise thing to have a conflict at this time. However, with the tempers of Harry and Ron, it was obviously not something that could be resolved with such a light word.

They glared at Malfoy, their faces red and their fists clenched.

"Calm down, this is what he wanted." Fan Lin frowned, Malfoy provoked, this matter seems to have not happened for a long time, so, what is the reliance, Umbridge?

"I mean," Malfoy raised his voice a little higher, his gray eyes flashing with malice, looking in the direction where they were, "If this issue has anything to do with the influence of the Ministry of Magic, I don't think they have much Chance. According to my father, they have been looking for excuses for Weasley in recent years. The same goes for Potter. My father said that it was only a matter of time before he was sent to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Diseases. People who are befuddled by magic have special protective measures."

Malfoy made a face, his mouth dropped and his eyes rolled around.

Clara and Goyle chuckled as usual, and Parkinson squealed with joy.

Fan Lin blocked Harry with his hand, but before Fan Lin could say anything, something seemed to hit him on the shoulder, causing him to fall to one side.

He immediately understood that it was Neville who had just walked past him and rushed towards Malfoy.

Fan Lin was a little stunned at first, but he was not in his right mind. St. Mungo's Hospital of Magic?

There is no doubt that this is Neville's restricted area.

"Neville, no!" Fan Lin rushed forward and grabbed Neville's robe. Neville struggled wildly, his fists flying wildly, trying desperately to get closer to Malfoy. Malfoy was immediately horrified.

"Help me!" Fanlin asked Harry and others for help. He put one hand around Neville's neck and managed to drag him back, away from the people in Slytherin College. Goyle and Clara moved their arms and stood in front of Malfoy, ready to fight.

Harry and Ron reacted and grabbed Neville's arms respectively, and together with Fan Lin, they successfully dragged Neville back to the Gryffindor line.

Neville's face flushed red, and the pressure on his throat caused him to become confused, and individual words came out of his mouth in disarray.

"Don't, funny, don't, muggle, show him."

Suddenly, the door to the Potions classroom opened and Snape appeared there. He scanned the Gryffindor line with his dark eyes, where Harry and Ron were wrestling with Neville. At least that's how it seemed to Snape.

"Are you fighting hard, Potter, Weasley, Longbottom and Al?" Snape mocked contemptuously in his cold voice. "Ten points from Gryffindor. Potter, let Longbottom go, or you will be punished with confinement. Everyone, come in!"

Several people let go of Neville, who was panting and glaring at Fanlin.

"I have to stop you, Neville..." Fanlin said breathlessly, while picking up his schoolbag, "Kara and Goyle will tear you in half, and you will hit them right in the face. Damn it, this has no good consequences..."

However, Neville didn't seem to think so. This was the first time Neville lost his temper with Fanlin. Neville said nothing; he just grabbed his schoolbag and walked into the Potions classroom.

"In Merlin's name," said Ron slowly, following Neville, "Why is that?"

No one answered. Both Fanlin and Harry knew clearly why Neville felt pain about the topic of magical damage to the brains of people at Stonewall High School, but he had sworn to Dumbledore that Harry would not tell anyone about Neville. Even Neville didn't know that Harry and Fanlin knew about it.

Harry and Ron sat at the back of the class as before, while Hermione and Verlin were in front of them. They took out parchment, quills and "A Thousand Magic Herbs and Fungi". The whole class was whispering about what I had just done, but when Professor Snape slammed the door, everything fell silent.

"You should have noticed," Snape said contemptuously in his deep voice, "that we have a visitor today."

Snape gestured toward a dark corner of the dungeon, and Harry saw Professor Umbridge sitting there with a clipboard on her lap.

He glanced past Ron and Hermione and raised his eyebrows. Snape and Umbridge were his two most hated teachers. He has a hard time figuring out who he would rather win.

"We will continue to study the preparation of curse removal potions today. You will see that the potions you prepared are the same as those left last week; if they are prepared correctly, they should be brewed successfully after the weekend... indicating..." He said again Waving his wand "...on the blackboard...now, go ahead..."

Following Professor Snape's order, everyone began to get busy, and Fanlin temporarily forgot about Neville's displeasure and Umbridge's arrival.

Speaking of which, the curse-removing potion is a powerful curse-removing potion that is suitable for many curses and even black magic. The effect is somewhat similar to the purification potion, but the curse-removing potion is more targeted. A powerful curse-breaking spell that requires magical power.

Professor Umbridge in the corner spent the first half hour of class taking notes, which made Fan Lin very comfortable. At least Fan Lin had basically reached the final stage of cooking before Umbridge asked the question. , just need to control some time.

Harry listened with great interest as Umbridge asked Snape questions; his interest made him take the medicine he prepared lightly.

"Salamander blood, Harry!" Hermione complained, grabbing his wrist to prevent him from misplacing the medicine for the third time. "Not pomegranate juice!"

"Got it," Harry said vaguely. He put down the bottle and continued to look at the corner. Umbridge stood up. She began her performance as she walked two tables away from Snape, who was bent over Dean Thomas' boiler.

"Ha," Umbridge sighed. "Well, this lesson seems appropriate for their level," she said cheerfully behind Snape, "but I still doubt whether it would be appropriate to teach them how to prepare medicines like curse-removing potions. I think the Ministry of Magic would consider moving it from removed from the syllabus.”

Snape slowly straightened up and turned to look at her.

"How many years have you taught at Hogwarts so far?" Umbridge asked, her quill flat on her clipboard.

"Fourteen years," Snape answered. The expression on his face was unfathomable.

Harry watched secretly as he added a few drops; his potion fizzed dangerously and turned from turquoise to orange.

"As far as I know you originally applied to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts." Professor Umbridge asked Snape.

"Yes," Snape replied calmly.

"But you didn't succeed?"

Snape's lips twisted. "It's obvious."

There were some chuckles in the classroom, and everyone was feeling uncomfortable.

Professor Umbridge scribbled a few notes on her clipboard.

"As far as I know you have applied for this position every year since you started working here."

"Yes," Snape said quietly, barely moving his lips. He looked very angry.

"Do you know why Dumbledore has refused to give you this position?" Umbridge asked.

"I suggest you ask him himself," Snape said hastily.

"Oh, I will," said Professor Umbridge, smiling sweetly.

"I assume this is part of the investigation?" Snape asked, his dark eyes narrowing.

"Oh, yes," Professor Umbridge said, "Yes, the Ministry of Magic thoroughly understands the... um... background of every teacher." She turned her face, walked towards Pansy Parkinson, and then asked her about the course. The problem.

Snape looked at Harry. After they looked at each other for a few seconds, Harry hurriedly shifted his gaze to the potion. The potion clumped together and gave off the strong and pungent sound of burnt rubber. the taste of.

"Then, Potter, you can't score again." Snape's words were full of hostility. With a wave of his wand, he emptied Harry's boiler. "You write an article for me, introducing the correct ingredients of this potion, and highlighting the reasons and process of your mistakes. It will be due in the next class. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Harry said. But it was secretly satisfying to see Snape deflated, but at the cost...

Snape had already given them homework, and in addition, he had to attend Quidditch practice this evening. This meant he had to spend many more sleepless nights.

Now that I think about it, it's incredible how happy he was when he got up in the morning. Now he hoped from the bottom of his heart that the day would end soon.

"Maybe I will miss the divination class." He looked gloomy. After lunch they stood in the courtyard, letting the wind whip at the edges of their robes and hats. "I want to pretend to be sick, so I can use class time to complete the article assigned by Professor Snape. Then I won't have to stay up late."

"You can't skip class." Hermione's expression was solemn.

"Listen, you and Fanlin have quit the divination class. You hate Trauni."

"I don't hate her," Hermione said haughtily, "I just think she's a completely appalling teacher and a complete old liar. But you've missed the history of magic, so I don't think he should be absent today. Any class." (To be continued)