"Alright, children, time's about up—let's call it a day!"
Professor Sprout clapped her hands cheerfully and said:
"Pack up your tools… Morag, don't forget your trowel under the flowerpot… Pansy, be gentle with the geranium next to you… Don't leave anything behind in the greenhouse, and remember to finish your homework on time!"
The students, covered in dirt and smelling of dragon dung, began to file out of the greenhouse one after another.
Wade weaved past a few students and walked up to Professor Sprout.
"Professor?"
"What is it, Wade?" Professor Sprout held a trowel in one hand while rearranging a plant a student had failed to transplant properly. "Need my help?"
"It's like this, Professor," Wade said, glancing around to make sure the last two students had left the greenhouse before lowering his voice. "Do you remember Haley?"
"Of course," Professor Sprout stopped working and said with pity in her voice, "That poor child… Do you need to see her?"
"Yes… well, not me, actually," Wade said. "Her sister wants to see her. I asked Professor Dumbledore about it before, and he said it was you who arranged for someone to adopt the girl."
"Yes, that was me—oh, Merlin!"
Professor Sprout's face lit up with a mixture of shock and joy. She almost cried out, but quickly lowered her voice and asked, "Her sister—is she… you mean… that child, she's…?"
Faced with the professor's searching gaze, Wade nodded firmly.
Professor Sprout's smile was practically spilling off her face.
"That's wonderful… Thank Merlin! I've been so worried about her all this time… and how about her… that little problem of hers?"
"We're working on it," Wade said. "Professor Dumbledore contacted Newt Scamander, but he's currently in Cherrapunji, India—apparently on a mission to rescue a Graphorn. In any case, once he's back, we'll begin looking into a way to help her."
"If there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask!"
Professor Sprout looked expectantly in his eyes and said earnestly, "I'd be more than happy to help… and by the way, I think the Ministry's decision was completely ridiculous—like they'd been whacked on the head by a bouncing bulb!"
Wade couldn't help but laugh. "I think so too, Professor."
"Oh! Right—the address!"
Professor Sprout scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Wade.
"You can take the girl to this place, but it's best if you don't show your face. I suspect the Ministry has been keeping an eye on Haley—they know how much that child means to her."
"I understand, Professor." Wade glanced at the address and saw it was in a small town near Kilmarnock. He asked, "The people who adopted her are…?"
"A distant cousin of mine," Professor Sprout said with a smile.
"He's a Squib, and his wife is a Muggle who doesn't know about the wizarding world. They're both wonderful people. They don't have children of their own and are absolutely smitten with Haley now."
"After all… she's such a sweet and lovely child. She deserves the best."
…
Sunlight filtered through a small window, casting a warm glow on a brass chandelier and an oak table.
Professor Troka was holding a book, lecturing the students.
"Vampires are an ancient magical species that survive by feeding on the blood of living beings. Of course, they can eat regular food, but their dulled sense of taste means they only perceive faint flavors—and it's also hard for them to digest."
Professor Troka's voice was dry and monotonous.
"That's why most vampires prefer blood or blood-based foods."
"Vampires possess extraordinary strength, speed, and healing abilities, but they also have their weaknesses—sunlight, garlic, holy water… and of course, wooden stakes."
At that, a muscle twitched at the corner of his eye, and he instinctively leaned back, as if trying to distance himself from the book in his hand. He paused before continuing the lecture.
Wade glanced down at the Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook and saw that the current page featured a vampire pierced through the heart by a wooden stake with its mouth open in a silent scream.
He couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for their new professor.
Glancing around, he noticed that no one else seemed to catch Professor Troka's odd expression—most of the class was half-asleep.
Vampires don't differ much in appearance from humans, and it was only thanks to some special lessons from Dumbledore that Wade could recognize Troka's true nature. The other students were none the wiser.
"Help me…" Beside him, Michael lay slumped over his desk and muttered weakly, "Did Professor Troka catch whatever ghostly disease Binns has? This is the first time Defense Against the Dark Arts has ever been this boring… buzz buzz… buzz buzz…"
Michael's droning successfully lulled Goyle, who was sitting nearby, to sleep. The tall boy slumped forward with a thudonto the table, but Professor Troka merely glanced at him and said nothing.
Michael let out a huge yawn, and tried to open his eyes to take a few notes. That's when he realized that Professor Troka had been reading straight from the textbook the entire time.
Surrendering completely, Michael reached forward to pull up the hood of Goldstein, who sat in front of him, to use it as cover, then peacefully fell asleep.
Wade had to cover his mouth with his fist to stifle a laugh. Even with all his effort, the smile still crept up from his eyes.
Goldstein, of course, noticed. He turned to glance first at Michael, then at Wade, and gave a wordless, exasperated shake of his head. But instead of taking the hood off, he sat up a bit straighter.
The boring textbook reading went on for most of the class—until finally, a student couldn't take it anymore and raised their hand high.
Professor Troka tried to ignore it, but the student was persistent.
He had no choice but to lower the book and say, "Yes? What is it, MacDougal?"
"Professor!" Ravenclaw's Morag MacDougal asked, "We've already read all of this in the book. When will we get to do some practical work?"
"Well…" Professor Troka said a bit sheepishly, "The school doesn't exactly keep a live vampire around for you to practice on…"
"What about the underground chamber? I heard it's already been renovated!"
Slytherin's Blaise Zabini chimed in. "Professor Abigail told us that this term we'd get to do some really intense combat training down there!"
"Yeah, exactly!" Other students quickly joined in. "We want to go to the underground chamber! Why aren't we allowed in this term?"
On that matter, Professor Troka actually did know something…
"Well... the school temporarily closed the chamber for a reason. It's related to a 'top-secret project' by the Ministry of Magic. It will only be announced when the Ministry deems it necessary..."
"What project, Professor?" The students eagerly cut him off, completely ignoring the second half of his sentence.
"I can't say… Until everything is finalized, no one is allowed to reveal anything."
Though Professor Troka refused to say more, under the barrage of pleading and protesting voices—some whiny, some teasing—he wavered and finally said, somewhat evasively:
"All I can tell you is… it's an unprecedented event. So be prepared, children. Perhaps one of you will earn a lifelong honor from it…"
"Prepare how, Professor?" Several girls begged with pitiful expressions, "Please, Professor Troka, just tell us a little more!"
"Well… this..." Professor Troka hesitated for a moment.
"If I were you, I'd start studying hard right now—especially Defense Against the Dark Arts. You'll definitely need it when the time comes. Don't wait until it's too late and regret it, children..."
The classroom fell into a sudden hush.
The students looked at Professor Troka, puzzled and skeptical, suspecting he was just making up an excuse to "motivate" them to study harder.
After several more minutes of persistent questioning, they couldn't get anything else out of him.
Professor Troka simply resumed the lecture, and before long, the classroom returned to its usual sleepy atmosphere.
When the dismissal bell finally rang, both the students and the professor wore the same expression of relief.
"Wade Grey?" Professor Troka stood at the classroom door, looked at Wade and said, "If you have time, come by my office later, will you?"
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- +235 Chapters
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