Chapter 97: "Neville's Transformation: A Newfound Confidence in the Face of Snape's Taunts"

Lupin's Defense Against the Dark Arts class has garnered widespread discussion among the third-year students, as he has provided them with an excellent experience compared to the previous two term's teachers. Even the Slytherins, who are known for their "dislike of the poor and love of the rich," have greatly admired him. Of course, they couldn't show their admiration as obviously as the other houses. They are aware that their dean was made fun of in class, and it seems that the relationship between Snape and Lupin is not good either.

Being able to remain neutral in this situation is naturally the students' choice. It doesn't matter to the Slytherins, who pursue power and ambition, whether a teacher is poor or rich. As long as they are good at their job, they don't mind being practical.

Lupin's next few lessons were just as lively and interesting as the first. After studying Boguts, they learned about the Red Caps, unpleasant little monsters that lurk wherever there is blood. They can be found in the main castle, on deserted battlefields, and in potholes, waiting to violently attack those who are lost. From there, they moved on to studying Kappas, aquatic creatures that look like scaly monkeys with webbed hands. They try to strangle unsuspecting waders in their ponds.

Since the lesson that left Snape with a bruised nose and swollen face, Snape has begun targeting Neville in Potions class. Even Harry, who he usually hates the most, has no time to deal with him, as Neville has begun to fight back. This has made the Gryffindor students look at the little fat man with more respect. For example, several times Snape has asked Neville to experiment with a potion on himself. Neville has pushed back, saying, "I have absolute confidence in the potion. If you insist on experimenting on me, let me drink it myself."

All the students present can guarantee that it was the darkest moment they had ever seen on Snape's face.

"Fighting against the teacher deducts ten points from Gryffindor," Snape said before giving Neville a vicious look. Neville glared back at him.

"Why has Neville changed so much?" Ron asked in a low voice. To be honest, even if he defeated Bogut in class, he would still feel frustrated if he were told to see a big, furry spider now.

"Maybe the blow was too hard. After all, his pet died, but the final result is good," Harry replied, his tone a little cheerful. He was happy for Neville's change and also saw the excitement in Snape's eyes.

"Neville's toad is not dead," Hermione whispered, glancing at Snape to make sure he wasn't looking their way.

"That's really good news. Then why is he changing so much now?" Ron said excitedly, but a bigger question arose. He soon had an idea, though: "We'll just wait and ask him in person."

"Yeah," Harry nodded, also a little curious about it. He had been annoyed by his fear of Dementors recently and thought he might be able to get some experience by asking Neville.

Hermione remained silent. She felt that she should know the truth, but for some reason, she didn't want to tell Harry and Ron the real reason.

After class, the two of them also ran into Neville at the same time. Neville said that he had promised to keep a secret, which only confused them more. The original Neville was usually non-committal, and you could hardly hear him refuse to reply, except on some principled issues.

"It seems I can only find time to consult Professor Lupin," Harry thought weakly.

The next course made Harry even more troubled. He had to endure Professor Trelawney's unreasonable predictions and the pitying looks from a few female students. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown liked to go to Professor Trelawney's classroom at lunch and when they came back, they always had an unsettling sense of superiority, as if they knew something that others didn't. Whenever they talked to Harry, their voices became softer, as if he were ailing in bed.

Not to mention the Magical Creatures Conservation Class. Hagrid has been downcast the whole time. His beard looks like it hasn't been sorted out in a long time. Ron would never prosecute Hagrid, but it seems that another organization has. Hagrid was taken to Wiesengamao court for endangering public safety and, on the grounds of Hagrid's teaching accident, they hope to have him step down from his position in the Magical Creatures Protection Division. There may be additional sentences.

Ron ran to apologize to Hagrid in private, but instead received self-blaming words from Hagrid. Now, Hagrid has also replaced the teaching creatures with harmless ones, leading to boring lessons on how to take care of Flobber caterpillars.

Time flies so fast and it's already early October in a blink of an eye.

Harry feels a great deal of pressure. The captain of their Quidditch team, Oliver Wood, is in his seventh year this year. He is a sturdy 17-year-old and eager to win the Quidditch in his final school year. Of course, even for their own sake, the players of Gryffindor's Quidditch team are eager for a trophy. They practice very hard, despite the colder and wetter weather and longer, darker nights. No matter how much mud there is or how windy or rainy it gets, Harry's foresight remains unwavering: their team will eventually win the huge Quidditch Silver Cup.

They will face Slytherin in the near future and the last match gave them great confidence. Even the seven new, smooth wheels 2001 have no way to deal with their seekers, so the members of Gryffindor's Quidditch team are extremely confident.

In contrast, Slytherin looks sad and bleak, and Draco is overwhelmed by Pansy. Pansy keeps talking about "being a man of his word and believing in himself," and says that Draco taught her all of this, which reminds Draco that he seems to have indeed made some promises.

"I will help you," Draco said, "but only for the last Slytherin game this year. This time, I guarantee you will win the trophy and you will participate in my special training after Christmas."

"Didn't you say you wanted to play in person?" Pansy was a little frustrated, as she still remembered that he didn't say that.

"Compared to you, who have participated in a lot of training, are you not as confident in yourself as I am, an outsider?" Draco asked rhetorically.

Pansy was speechless.

"In addition, this tactic can only take effect once. Next year and beyond, I hope you can truly rely on your own strength," Draco finally gave the players another shot.

The current Slytherin students still trust Draco very much. In all respects, he has enough capital and prestige to be the leader of the current house, regardless of age. His strength and attitude are the best proof, which makes the players full of expectations for his one-time-use method.

"Let's practice," Draco stood on the court and commanded. "If someone is lazy because of their hopes on me, I will give up."

As a result, the training intensity of Slytherin did not decrease, but rather increased, and the morale of the players was also boosted.