Hogwarts: I will not become the Dark Lord

The next morning, everyone woke up very late. Inside the Great Hall of Hogwarts, the atmosphere was quieter than usual, with sparse and lazy conversations, punctuated by occasional yawns.

A subtle harmony seemed to have quietly woven itself between Hermione and Fleur. Others didn't know what Jerry had said to them, but Hermione and Fleur acted as if nothing had happened the night before.

Even the two of them, who used to be at each other's throats no matter what, were now sitting at the same table eating breakfast. Their occasional interactions seemed particularly friendly and polite. Although this harmony might seem a bit forced to outsiders, it was undeniable that Jerry had succeeded.

What a master!

Harry truly envied Jerry. If he had Jerry's skills, Cho Chang might have been his dance partner last night!

"By the way, Jerry, did you notice last night that Percy was promoted by Mr. Crouch? He even replaced the unwell Mr. Crouch at the ball last night. It's really unexpected," Harry suddenly recalled.

"What's so strange about that?" Jerry glanced at Harry thoughtfully. "Percy isn't bad, and with his hard work, promotion is a natural result."

"Come on, Jerry!" Ron interjected, his tone a bit teasing. "Mr. Crouch can't even pronounce Percy's name properly. It makes you wonder. I even suspect Percy poisoned Mr. Crouch!"

"Also, last night we accidentally overheard Hagrid's conversation with Madam Maxime outside the castle. It turns out Hagrid mistakenly thought she was also a half-giant, which angered Madam Maxime and caused her to explode," Ron continued.

"No wonder…" Upon hearing this, Fleur couldn't help but recall Madam Maxime's angry expression last night, and she suddenly understood.

"But speaking of which, isn't Madam Maxime really a half-giant? She's even taller than Hagrid!" Hermione frowned, looking at Fleur with suspicion.

"Please watch your words," Fleur's face turned serious, her tone carrying a hint of sternness. "To some people, words like 'half-giant' are no different from directly insulting them as 'Mudbloods.' It's extremely disrespectful and offensive."

"Potter!" Professor Snape suddenly stormed into the hall, his face filled with anger. He abruptly grabbed Harry by the back of his collar, lifting him from his seat.

"Professor Snape?"

"Tell me, Potter! Did you steal my potion ingredients?" Snape's eyes seemed to pierce through everything, staring directly at Harry, his voice low and threatening. "Did you sneak into my potion ingredients store under the cover of night wearing an Invisibility Cloak? What are you planning to do with those stolen ingredients?"

"Professor Snape, I have no idea what you're talking about!" Harry looked bewildered, clearly baffled by Snape's sudden accusation.

"Heh, it doesn't matter. I think just a few drops of Veritaserum will make you obediently tell the truth!" A cold smile crept onto Snape's lips, his voice filled with disdain.

"Professor Dumbledore won't allow you to use Veritaserum on students!"

"Dumbledore won't tolerate his students becoming thieves either, Potter!" Snape emphasized, then grabbed Harry's collar without further explanation and forcibly dragged him out of the hall.

"Will he be okay?" Fleur asked.

"Don't worry, this is a… uh… interaction, exchange between Harry and Professor Snape. It happens several times every year, we're all used to it." Jerry stretched lazily. He saw the Weasley twins, George and Fred, two of the “culprits” not far away, covering their mouths and snickering.

Jerry: You don't look like a thief, but you don't look like your mother, you look like your father!

… …

The Christmas holiday passed quickly. On the first day of the new semester, the training grounds were still covered in snow.

The second class in the morning was Care of Magical Creatures, with students from Slytherin and Gryffindor together.

However, when they arrived at Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they didn't see Hagrid. Only a witch with graying hair and a sharply defined jawline was standing there.

"Hurry up, the bell for class rang five minutes ago, you are already late," she said in a very serious tone, urging the late students.

"Who are you?" Harry asked in confusion.

"I am Professor Grubbly-Plank, and I will be temporarily teaching your Care of Magical Creatures class," Professor Grubbly-Plank said crisply.

Harry was still puzzled and asked loudly again: "Where's Hagrid? Where did he go?"

Professor Grubbly-Plank simply shook her head and replied briefly: "He is unwell and needs to rest." Clearly, she didn't intend to explain further.

At this moment, a discordant chuckle arose. Harry looked over and saw Draco Malfoy and his Slytherin students walking towards them. Their faces were filled with schadenfreude, as if they weren't surprised by Hagrid's absence, and even felt a bit gleeful.

"Please follow me, this way." Professor Grubbly-Plank led the group around the temporary stable, where Beauxbatons' giant horses were shivering from the cold.

The group followed Professor Grubbly-Plank's footsteps. As they walked, Harry couldn't help but look back at Hagrid's hut. All the windows were shuttered, as if isolating the interior from the outside world.

Hermione, carrying a heavy book, whispered to Jerry: "Have you heard anything in Slytherin? What happened to Hagrid?"

"Do you think I would know?" Jerry sighed and asked, this time he seemed to have become an invisible person. Hermione and Fleur were like thieves, following him wherever he went.

"Okay!" Hermione said, a sly smile appearing on the corner of her mouth.

Following Professor Grubbly-Plank's footsteps, they passed through the temporary stable. Inside the stable, Beauxbatons' horses were tall and majestic. They huddled together, using each other's body heat to resist the winter's cold, occasionally letting out a low whinny.

Then, they came to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, under a towering tree, where a beautiful unicorn was quietly tethered. Its coat was pure white, shining brightly in the sunlight, even the surrounding snow seemed dull in comparison.

The unicorn seemed a bit restless, gently pawing at the snow with its golden hooves, raising its horned head, as if searching for something.

"Oh my gosh, it's a unicorn! It's so beautiful!" Lavender Brown said in shock. "How did Professor Grubbly-Plank catch it? I heard that unicorns are very rare creatures!"

"Boys, please step aside!" Professor Grubbly-Plank's voice was as stern as ever. "Girls, please come forward. Unicorns don't dislike gentle touches from girls. You can approach it gently and slowly. Don't be afraid, relax. This is a rare opportunity to get close to a unicorn."

Following Professor Grubbly-Plank's instructions, the girls cautiously moved forward, while the boys consciously retreated to the side of the stable fence.

"Hagrid isn't sick, is he?" Harry and Ron stood aside, whispering their guesses about Hagrid's whereabouts.

"If you ask me, it's probably because the last Blast-Ended Skrewt died, and he's heartbroken, so he's hiding!"

Just as the two were discussing, Malfoy quietly approached, a hint of provocation in his smile.

"Potter, let me tell you a definite piece of news. That oaf isn't sick at all; he's perfectly healthy!" Malfoy deliberately lowered his voice, but it was loud enough for Harry to hear clearly.

Harry whirled around, his eyes fixed on Malfoy.

"What do you mean by that?" Harry's tone was full of vigilance.

"See for yourself, Potter. To be honest, I almost feel sorry for telling you this." A smug smile crept onto Malfoy's lips as he slowly pulled a neatly folded newspaper from his robes and lightly shook it.

Harry snatched the newspaper, quickly unfolding it. Ron and Neville immediately crowded around to read the contents together.

It was an article written by Rita Skeeter, accompanied by a photograph of Hagrid.

Exclusive exposé by seasoned reporter Rita Skeeter: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's Headmaster, the aged wizard Albus Dumbledore, has once again, with his peculiar judgment, appointed a controversial staff member.

In September, Dumbledore shocked the entire British wizarding world with a decision—he invited Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, known for his eccentricity, to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Anyone who has had contact with Moody knows that he was once a ruthless and notoriously fierce Auror. He possesses an almost paranoid vigilance, so that any sudden movement made in front of him will trigger his immediate defensive reaction, even resorting to attack.

However, compared to Dumbledore's other, even bolder appointment decision, Mad-Eye Moody seems quite mild. Dumbledore actually hired a half-giant to be the Care of Magical Creatures professor!

This half-giant, named Rubeus Hagrid, admits that he once studied at Hogwarts but was expelled in his third year for keeping dangerous magical creatures that attacked students. But surprisingly, his punishment was only expulsion from the school. Subsequently, under Dumbledore's arrangement, he took on the role of gamekeeper.

Last year, Hagrid surprisingly stood out among many more senior candidates and once again won Dumbledore's favor, successfully being promoted to the position of Care of Magical Creatures professor.

Since then, Hagrid has used his newly acquired power to introduce a series of chilling magical creatures to "challenge" and "test" the students in his care.

In a series of courses widely regarded by students as "extremely horrifying," Professor Hagrid's mismanagement has led to several student injuries, and all of this seems to have not attracted enough attention from Headmaster Dumbledore.

"I personally experienced the fierce attack of a Hippogriff," a fourth-year student, Draco Malfoy, revealed to me indignantly, "and my good friend Vincent Crabbe was bitten by a Flobberworm, suffering severe injuries. We are all afraid of Professor Hagrid, and we all dislike him, but we are mostly afraid to speak out."

The latter half of the article wrote about Hagrid's missing mother, the giantess Fridwulfa.

The savage nature of the giant race, they were once known for their brutality and bloodthirst, until self-slaughter in the last century nearly pushed the race to the brink of extinction. The few remaining giants joined the Death Eaters during the terrifying reign of the Dark Lord, creating many cruel massacres against innocent Muggles.

Finally, Rita Skeeter wrote: Hogwarts' hiring of such dangerous individuals as Hagrid and Moody as professors is undoubtedly a manifestation of Dumbledore's old age, failing strength, failing eyesight, and declining judgment. Perhaps it is time for Dumbledore to realize that he is no longer suitable to be the headmaster of this magic school and should voluntarily step down to allow a more capable leader to take over this important task.

After so much buildup, I guess the last sentence is her real purpose.

"Malfoy, what do you mean by that? You said 'we all hate Hagrid'? That's ridiculous!" Harry retorted angrily, then pointed to Crabbe behind him, "Crabbe was 'severely bitten' by a Flobberworm? That's a joke! Flobberworms don't even have teeth. Doesn't Rita Skeeter, that idiot, even do basic research before writing an article?"

"Also, Hagrid was framed, that's why he was expelled from Hogwarts!"

A mocking smile appeared on Malfoy's lips, as he said nonchalantly, "Come on, Harry, it's time for that oaf to end his disastrous teaching career. Parents won't allow a guy who might 'eat' their children to stay at the school. Haha, it's laughable to think about!"

"Pay attention!"

Just as Harry was burning with anger, preparing to retort further, Professor Grubbly-Plank's voice interrupted their argument in a timely manner.

Harry took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger in his heart, but the newspaper in his hand had already been unconsciously crumpled.

Professor Grubbly-Plank was passionately describing the various magical qualities of unicorns, deliberately raising her voice to ensure that even the boys in the distance could clearly hear everything she said.

"I really hope she stays, this new teacher is amazing!" Parvati Patil exclaimed as the bell rang for the end of class. "This is what Care of Magical Creatures should really be like."

On the way back to the castle, the students were buzzing with discussion, and it seemed everyone thought she was more suitable to be the professor for this course than Hagrid.

"But how did that disgusting, hateful Rita Skeeter know about these things?" On the way back to the castle, Hermione frowned, holding the newspaper Harry had just handed her, looking puzzled.

"Also, Jerry, Rita Skeeter actually said that Professor Dumbledore isn't suitable to be the headmaster of Hogwarts? That's too much. How could she write such a distorted, fabricated, and ridiculous article? Are the people at the Ministry of Magic just letting her spout nonsense?"

Harry's heart was also full of doubts. He clearly remembered that when Hagrid and Madame Maxime were talking in the garden, Rita Skeeter wasn't anywhere nearby, so how did she know about it?

Harry decided that this evening, after Divination class, he would go to the hut to find Hagrid.