Snape's plan

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Snape walked into Ethan's office, his expression as indifferent as ever.

"Ethan, I didn't know you were so close with Lupin," Snape remarked, frowning.

"What were you talking about?" Snape asked casually.

"It's nothing, just some questions about the course," Ethan replied with a smile.

Snape's frown deepened. He knew Ethan wasn't telling the truth, but it wasn't his business to press further.

"I assume you're here for something important?" Ethan prompted.

"Yes," Snape replied with a slight pout. "Starting tomorrow, Lupin will be ill. I will be taking over the Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

Ethan was taken aback. Snape's announcement seemed out of the blue. 

"Should I congratulate you, Professor Snape?" Ethan asked blankly.

Lupin had just left Ethan's office and was in good health. Yet, here was Snape, claiming Lupin was too sick to teach. Ethan knew the full moon was approaching, and Lupin would turn into a werewolf—a painful transformation. It made sense that Snape would need to step in.

"Just a bit of small talk," Snape said lightly. "

I've been brewing a potion under Dumbledore's orders and missing some ingredients. Do you have any of these?" 

He handed Ethan a list.

Ethan scanned the list and noticed several herbs circled in red.

"I have these," Ethan said, smiling as he opened his bag and handed the herbs to Snape.

Despite his smile, Ethan was seething inside. Snape's visit had a hidden agenda: to expose Lupin as a werewolf. Snape wanted Ethan, with his dual role as a Hogwarts professor and Ministry official, to "discover" Lupin's secret and do the dirty work of revealing it.

Snape believed a little nudge was all Ethan needed to uncover Lupin's identity, leading to Lupin's expulsion from Hogwarts—something he dearly wished for.

But Snape had miscalculated. Ethan had no intention of falling into his trap. Exposing Lupin would bring unnecessary trouble, and Ethan saw no benefit. He decided he would not play along with Snape's scheme.

Ethan decided to play dumb until the end. After preparing all the medicinal ingredients for Snape, he sat back in his seat without saying a word.

Snape waited for Ethan to ask questions, hoping to drop some hints. But Ethan remained utterly disinterested, and Snape's face quickly turned ugly.

Feeling frustrated, Snape thanked Ethan for the herbs with a scowl and left the office. He realized he couldn't rely on Ethan to expose Lupin and would have to depend on the students instead.

The next day, Hogwarts students experienced their worst Defense Against the Dark Arts class, with Snape substituting for their beloved Professor Lupin. Snape deducted ten points from Gryffindor right off the bat for Harry's slight delay, making the Gryffindor students grimace for the entire class.

Snape's teaching style starkly contrasted with Lupin's engaging and interactive approach. Ignoring the lesson plan, Snape discussed werewolves in a tedious lecture. His harsh demeanor led to a flurry of point deductions: five points from Gryffindor for Harry asking about Lupin's whereabouts, another five for Hermione correctly answering a question, and finally, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sentenced to detention after Ron stood up to defend Hermione.

Under Snape's intimidation, the lesson dragged on, becoming so dull that even the Slytherins were restless.

Meanwhile, Hermione listened attentively, her mind racing with thoughts.

Not long after Snape's class ended, Ethan's office door was knocked on. Hermione's bushy brown head peeked in.

"Professor Ethan, can I talk to you?" Hermione whispered nervously.

"Of course, come in and sit," Ethan said to Hermione.

Hermione's face looked much better. Was it because of Ethan's soothing potion or did she give up using the time-turnner?

Hermione, who was sitting in the chair, was hesitant. She had something to say to Ethan but needed to decide whether she should say it or not.

In the end, Hermione mustered up the courage to speak out.

"Professor Ethan, I suspect that Professor Lupin is a werewolf." Hermione gritted her teeth and expressed her conjecture.

Ethan was a little surprised. He sat up straight and looked at Hermione seriously, "Hermione, why do you think that?"

"Professor Snape is taking our Defense Against the Dark Arts class recently," Hermione said uneasily.

"He told us about werewolves, and I found that many of Professor Lupin's symptoms were the same as those of werewolves." Hermione's expression was a little disturbed.

"And Professor Lupin once took us to a class to defeat Boggart. There were some minor accidents in that class. At the Professor Lupin was afraid of a silver-white sphere."

Through Hermione's description, Ethan remembered the failed Defense Against the Dark Arts class, one of Lupin's rare failed Defense Against the Dark Arts classes.

Boggart is a magical creature that can conjure up the most fearful things it faces.

Due to the accident caused by Ethan on the Hogwarts Express, the thing that many little wizards feared the most became the Dementors. So when Lupin showed Boggart, almost everyone Boggart turned into a Dementor.

This caused a collective panic, and everyone thought that a dementor had broken into the school and ran out of the professor in fright.

"At that time, I always thought Professor Lupin was afraid of crystal balls. After Snape's class, I suddenly realized that Professor Lupin feared the moon because the full moon would turn him into a werewolf!" Hermione Analyzed carefully.

"Very good, Hermione, your analysis is excellent." Ethan applauded Hermione with satisfaction.

This made Hermione a little shy, and her face turned red again.

"Thank you for telling me, Hermione; I will investigate this matter," Ethan said to Hermione.

Although he already knew Lupin was a werewolf, he still had to pretend he didn't know.