The Pacifist Necromancer of Hogwarts

While the salamanders were happily jumping around in the fireplace, Anthony asked Professor Kettleburn for advice on how to raise salamanders in the office without turning the room into an oven - It's just a variation of the Warmth Charm, Professor Anthony. Learn some tips on firewood selection. - and pretended to be curious about how high the maximum temperature of the flame could reach.

He noticed that Snape glanced at him and the old professor in the rocking chair several times, as if he wanted to make some comments on topics such as flame temperature control. But Flint was hesitating and saying that he might go to play Quidditch, and then he said that many pure-blood families had extended an olive branch to him, and maybe he would accept the offer from one of them, so Snape Just listened with a long face.

Professor Kettleburn enthusiastically showed Anthony his tricks and invited him to try it. Anthony tentatively lit a fire, and Professor Kettleburn used a fire stick to poke the salamander in the fireplace, and then easily picked the guy into Anthony's fire.

It's a little colder... yes, that's good. The old professor squinted at the salamander in the flames, which was rapidly changing its color. Wait, it's hot! It's too hot!

As soon as he finished speaking, another salamander jumped out of the flames. Anthony quickly turned down the fire, fearing that a nest of salamanders would soon be born in the professor's fireplace.

Professor Kettleburn picked out the second salamander and looked at it: It's okay. Severus, do you need it?

Snape turned his head and looked at the guy holding the fire stick with an appraising look: It's too small. There is better quality salamander blood in Diagon Alley.

Okay. Professor Kettleburn said, throwing it into a jar, stuffing a flame into the jar, and handing it to Anthony without any explanation, It's yours.

Anthony took the glass jar that exuded a slight warmth - the thin salamander was leaning on the wall of the jar, staring blankly outside - hesitated and accepted it.

Although Professor Kettleburn seemed to still have more to say, when Snape finished the employment consultation, Anthony felt that he had to say goodbye. It was almost dinner time and students were pouring out of their classrooms. Anthony could hear the sphinx at the door asking passing students if they wanted to try a few puzzles, but all of them declined it.

Before Anthony left, he couldn't help but keep his coat - just in case Mr. Flint, who had a D average in Charms class, forgot how to pronounce repair as before.

Although Snape thought Flint was as strong as a bull and as burly as an orangutan, and still didn't know how to spell refresher, Anthony still placed the wizard's robe beside the barrel. He walked out of Professor Kettleburn's office with Snape, holding a large pile of dead branches and leaves and a salamander in his bag. Snape was going to have dinner in the Great Hall, and Anthony was going to Hagrid's cabin to teach him the ropes of making a fire.

Then the two might have a meal of hunter's chicken stew - the leaves Professor Kettleburn had given contained rosemary, and Hagrid had raised quite a few chickens. Anthony remembered seeing the rest of the side dishes in Hagrid's cupboard, probably just enough for them to have a few drinks.

…

How have you been, Professor Snape? Anthony asked, breaking the silence.

Snape glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, not even bothering to answer his dry greeting. So Anthony and Snape walked in silence for a while, attracting many students to look at them secretly. Anthony heard a student whisper to himself: Snape actually asked Anthony to help him carry firewood.

Anthony was sure Snape heard it too, because the corners of Snape's mouth twisted as if he was hesitating whether to belittle the student's sanity, take away her marks, or both.

But he finally chose to laugh at Anthony: Professor Anthony, it seems that your chickens think you are a house elf?

Anthony said calmly, I guess they were just concerned about me because I was walking with a vampire. You don't have to blame them for that, Professor Snape.

Snape seemed to want to make a comment about the dangerous identity of the necromancer, but then an owl flew in from the window, flew over the heads of all the students, and landed on Snape's shoulder under their doubtful gazes. Snape's expression suddenly turned terrible. He untied the letter from the owl's lap, unfolded it and glanced at it briefly before stuffing it into his pocket.

The owl flew around him several times, but without waiting for the owl food, it landed on an empty torch holder and looked at Anthony standing aside with his round eyes.

Well, all I have is corn kernels and nuts, Anthony said.

The owl hooted angrily and was waved away by Snape. His brows were knitted tightly, and his face was so gloomy that water could drip from his face.

Anthony asked: What's wrong?

Without saying a word, Snape strode back to the stairs and went down the stairs. Probably something happened in the cellar. Maybe the letter informed Snape that someone had stolen his entire stock of demulcents.

Anthony shrugged and did not follow.

…

With Professor Kettleburn's method, Anthony finally no longer has to worry about Hagrid fainting from heatstroke. His future godson was now placed in a large copper kettle with a leaky bottom, which would make a clanging sound when shaken. From time to time, the firelight shines through the holes in the bottom of the pot, like a strange lamp.

Hagrid happily placed the copper kettle on the table, and without saying a few words, he opened the lid and took a look. The window finally opened, and Yaya stuck his head in from the window, wagging his tail, and wanted to lick Hagrid's face happily, but could only nudge his waist with his nose. It was unbearably hot and had been chained outside the door for the past few days, acting as Hagrid's warning to those who wanted to break into the Forbidden Forest.

Hey, where's my teapot warmer? Hagrid said, standing up and trying to find a suitable quilt for his little baby. He frowned at the tea stains on the thick patchwork warm jacket, and then decided to make a new one with wool himself.

Anthony said: There is nothing wrong with letting him learn to drink tea from an early age.

No, Henry, Hagrid said, You're better than me in most things, but when it comes to raising dragons, you're not as good as me. You shouldn't feed a fire dragon tea.

What will happen? Anthony asked curiously.

Hagrid said seriously: The fire it breathes will smell like burnt tea stems, and may clog its nostrils. This will make most dragons feel inferior!

Okay, that sounds serious, Anthony said. Dragon mental health and stuff like that.

…

Hagrid was happy to raise the salamander in the jar, but now he had to concentrate entirely on the eggs and couldn't be distracted for the time being. He placed the jar on the fireplace and looked at it admiringly for a while.

It can grow very big, he said. When it hatches, the two little guys will be just enough companions.

He told Anthony that the Salamander was a very practical magical animal. Just put them in a flame and that flame will be difficult to suddenly extinguish. The kitchens of many restaurants will keep a few of them, and they will put the salamanders inside the stove and let them crawl around inside when they are simmering.

They simmered a pot of hunter's chicken stew in the fire where the salamanders lived, and drank a few cups of the dragon's future rations.

…

When Antony returned to the castle, it was already dark. The dark blue sky pressed against the mountains in the distance, and the layers of woods were reduced to black silhouettes. The sound of giant squid playing in the water came from the other side of the black lake. Some students gathered on the shore, chatting and laughing, and threw bread to feed the big guy.

On the way back to the office, he heard the discussion between two junior students and realized why Snape left in a hurry.

Mrs. Parkinson comes to school.

I heard she gave Parkinson a really bad name, one girl said. It seemed like she did something embarrassing. I hope it meant swearing.

Her friend said, But Parkinson's is fine. I mean, if you ignore the fact that she's always hanging around Malfoy and looking at people through her own nostrils, she's generally pretty tolerable.

The student said, I don't like the way she talks, you know, the bastard, mudblood, 'us pureblood' kind of thing. That makes me want to roll my eyes at her.

But you don't want to hex her. Another person said, Look at Malfoy, if 'We Pureblood' club all went to Azkaban, for now, I think Parkinson is the one who should The last person to get in.

…

By the time Anthony reached the door of the office on the second floor, he felt that he already knew more than half of the plot through the students' gossip. Even though most of the students were having dinner in the Great Hall at that time, such news always spread rapidly in Hogwarts like wings. In just a few hours, it could be blown from the cellars to Ravenclaw by the summer wind. Law Tower, soon Gryffindor Tower, and eventually even the Owlery.

It sounds like Mrs. Parkinson exchanged letters with a certain - or certain - school governor and his wife, and then appeared in the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts one beautiful afternoon. Meanwhile, Anthony was discussing with Professor Kettleburn the rosemary in the firewood, and whether a little bay leaf and cinnamon should also be added. After the afternoon conversation, Mrs. Parkinson obviously did not get a satisfactory answer from the Headmaster, so she waited at the door of the Headmaster of Slytherin for a while.

According to students' descriptions, she spent most of her time just standing there like a statue, with only Draco Malfoy receiving a cordial greeting from her and Blaise Chabini receiving a nod. But the head of Slytherin was clearly busy, so Mrs. Parkinson summoned an owl—the students didn’t even know how she did it—and delivered a neatly written letter to the esteemed Professor Snape. long letter (so said the students who saw her writing in the hallway).

From another group of students' accounts, an owl had been trying to get close to Professor Kettleburn's window this afternoon, but was driven away by something inside. Anthony felt that this might have something to do with Professor Kettleburn's resume: he once helped an unlucky botanical garden avoid being harassed by letters from the Ministry of Magic.

Then, in the various narratives, things suddenly become confusing.

In some versions, Snape appeared in the corridor, had a pleasant conversation with Mrs. Parkinson (there were some tacit, gossipy glances involved), and told Mrs. Parkinson that her daughter had done very well in Potions. not ideal. Even though she was only in her first year, he could already predict that she would not be able to get her O.W.Ls in Potions.

Mrs. Parkinson is like a larger Pansy Parkinson in this story, and Snape is a larger Draco Malfoy. Mrs. Parkinson told Snape in a sweet voice that she felt there was nothing wrong with his teaching and that she trusted him 100%. Then she called her daughter over and scolded him severely.

In other versions, the story is completely different. Pansy arrived in the corridor before Snape arrived and threw herself squealing into her mother's arms. Her mother treated her like a puppy that had been out playing for a long time and was covered in mud. She was angry and helpless, and full of contempt for her intelligence. She only talked to Snape who came up behind her during the whole process and paid no attention to her. Pansy yelled next to her.

The narrator of this story eliminates the possibility of a fictional love story and describes the conversation between Mrs. Parkinson and Snape as chilling. Pansy said that she had lied, and her mother said that she felt she was lying now. Snape asked if you need me to ask the Divination Professor or Arithmancy Professor for your family trust issues.

Lie? the audience asked, What lie did you tell?

It sounds like it's about whether Parkinson was injured playing Quidditch. The student in the middle said, Does this even need to be asked? Of course not, unless a Bludger flew into her dormitory in the middle of the night. , broke her nose.

One student said meanly: Maybe her nose will look better if it's smashed.

…

While the rumors were still spreading in the school, Anthony already knew the specific process. It's just that the narrator is a bit unexpected: Madam Pomfrey.

Tracy came to the school hospital late at night and asked her if there was a special medicine. Under Madam Pomfrey's questioning, Tracey and Madam Pomfrey recounted what happened that afternoon.

As soon as Mrs. Parkinson called the owl away, Pansy, who was playing with the owl in the shed, knew her mother was coming. She immediately rushed to the Slytherin cellars and told her mother that she had made everything up in the previous letter, all because she was so homesick and wanted to see her family.

Her mother was keenly aware of the unnaturalness in her tone and pointed out that she liked to pinch her hands whenever she lied. When Snape arrived, Mrs. Parkinson passed directly by Pansy, asked Snape about Tracy Davis, and asked him if he had noticed that the noble Parkinson family was fighting for the honor of Slytherin. He did his part - Of course, it's all a joke - but didn't get the respect he deserved.

Pansy has always firmly stated that she was not injured in any way and was not threatened. She only wrote Tracy Davis in the letter because it was the most reasonable name she thought of. She even told Mrs. Parkinson how long she had been thinking about making up the name, her voice trembling as she spoke.

Pansy was too nervous to notice that Tracy was standing aside, waiting for Mrs. Parkinson's questioning. But Pansy cried and fussed, embarrassing the Parkinson family and never admitted that Tracy poured the bottle of pus. Mrs. Parkinson thought it was very annoying to have such a daughter, so Pansy ran back to the bedroom crying, completely humiliated.

She said the wrong thing, Tracy told Madam Pomfrey at the time. She told her mother that, yes, Davis was a bastard, but he was also human.

I don't think she meant to say that at first, Madam Pomfrey told Anthony. I know what children are like. When they're angry, they talk indiscriminately and throw all kinds of cups against the wall. But this The glass did hit Mrs Parkinson.