Chapter 78: Ashamed

The next morning, Arthur and Cho arrived at the Great Hall together.

Yesterday evening, Arthur had missed dinner, so he secretly went to the kitchen late at night and prepared himself a midnight snack.

By the time he finished eating and returned to his room, it was already past midnight.

He was quite familiar with this routine and had even asked the house-elf to make him food.

After eating, he still couldn't fall asleep, so he fell into a dream until four in the morning. He was still in a dazed and sleepy situation.

While eating the bread and jam on the table, Arthur and Cho spoke casually about their classes for the semester.

Cho had chosen Ancient Runes this semester, but she was a bit nervous because she did not know the subject.

Arthur was currently giving her some basic knowledge to help her get started.

At this moment, hundreds of owls suddenly flew in from outside, flapping their wings and delivering letters and envelopes to the young wizards and witches.

One weird owl struggled to reach Ron and then finally couldn't hold on any longer, falling into a large bowl of milk.

Feathers and milk splattered everywhere.

Ron and Neville didn't pay attention to the almost-dying owl but instead stared at the red envelope delivered by the owl as if it were a time bomb rather than a letter.

Harry, who was beside them, didn't quite understand why Ron and Neville had such expressions.

Neville's voice was filled with deep fear as if he had recalled something painful.

"A Howler! Ron, you'd better open it."

Ron stretched out his hand tremblingly, trying to open the envelope.

Sadly, it was too late. The corners of the envelope had already started to smoke.

Mrs. Weasley's furious roar resounded through the entire Great Hall, and everyone heard the message of the Howler.

Ron's face turned red, and he couldn't say a word. He wished he could find a hole in the ground to hide in.

Ginny, who was nearby, also felt uncomfortable.

Mrs. Weasley even congratulated her for being sorted into Gryffindor, instantly making her the center of attention.

Arthur watched this scene with a smile. It was the Weasley siblings' moment of embarrassment. Mrs. Weasley's voice was so loud that it could shatter the ceiling.

"They are really pitiful. If my mom sent me a Howler like that, I think I would consider dropping out of Hogwarts," Arthur said.

Cho, on the other hand, sympathized with Ron and Ginny's situation.

However, Arthur didn't see it that way.

As the Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office in the Ministry of Magic, Mr. Weasley's role was to prevent wizards from randomly interfering with Muggle products.

Ron's actions had put Mr. Weasley in a difficult position.

If it weren't for the loopholes Mr. Weasley had left while drafting the Muggle Protection Act, Ron would likely have been expelled from Hogwarts and faced additional punishments.

Mrs. Weasley, as a housewife, relied only on Mr. Weasley as the family's source of income. Arthur couldn't imagine what kind of disaster it would bring to their family if Mr. Weasley lost his job.

And yet, all Mrs. Weasley did was scold Ron.

That was already an acceptable reaction to a private issue inside the family.

Without focusing on this issue, Arthur and Cho bid farewell together, and Jack went to the Herbology classroom for their first-semester class.

When Arthur arrived in the classroom, Professor Sprout greeted him warmly.

After seeing the Essence of Dittany Arthur brought yesterday, Professor Sprout thought even more highly of this bright young wizard.

"All right, class! Welcome back to Hogwarts!"

Clapping her hands, Professor Sprout caught the attention of all the students and began the lesson.

Today, Arthur and his classmates will be learning about Mandrake plants.

Mandrake plants are a powerful healing used to reverse the effects of transfiguration or curses on people.

The roots of this plant resemble a baby, with the leaves on top. When Mandrake plants are pulled out of the ground, they emit a loud wailing sound.

This cry is extremely terrifying and can even lead to the death of wizards.

However, what they were currently dealing with was not mature Mandrake plants but rather their early stage.

Sometimes, Arthur wondered if Dumbledore knew that the task this year involved a snake and specially prepared Mandrake plants for that reason.

But that didn't make sense either because direct eye contact with the snake would cause the death of wizards.

In the original story, the petrified young wizards were indirectly avoiding eye contact with the snake, which saved them.

After a class session, many young wizards were tormented by the piercing cries of the Mandrake plants.

Neville passed out because he hadn't put on his earmuffs correctly.

Arthur thoughtfully cast a Muffliato Charm for Hermione and himself, so they couldn't hear the outside noise at all.

The entire class communicated through gestures, which Arthur found quite funny.

They still had a Defense Against the Dark Arts class in the afternoon.

Arthur and Hermione didn't have any hopes for this professor, whom they considered a fraud, and even Harry felt the same way.

He was very dissatisfied with the idea of Professor Gilderoy dragging him around for photographs, so when Arthur called Professor Gilderoy a fraud, Harry believed it without hesitation.

However, other wizards, especially the young witches, were full of expectations for this class.

After all, Professor Gilderoy presented himself so well, and everyone believed him to be a powerful wizard.

Soon, Professor Lockhart walked in with a smile on his face.

His eyes lit up when he saw Harry.

"Harry!"

"Professor Lockhart."

Harry forced himself to give an awkward smile and greeted Professor Lockhart.

But Professor Lockhart seemed unaware of his unwillingness and casually placed his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"I understand, I get the attraction of being in the spotlight for young people. After all, the taste of being in the headlines is unforgettable."

Professor Lockhart talked to Harry in a way that showed he was an experienced person.

"Professor, I—"

Harry tried to refute, but Professor Lockhart patted him and didn't let him finish before continuing.

"I know, it's all my fault. I let you experience the taste of fame, but you can't go flying in the sky with a car."

Professor Lockhart's serious tone made some students who didn't know the truth look up to him in admiration.

They didn't expect Professor Lockhart to be such a great writer and show such concern for his students.

He was truly heartwarming.

Meanwhile, Arthur and Hermione, who knew the truth, watched Harry being tormented by Professor Lockhart with a sense of joy.

...

https://www.patreon.com/Abyssuit

You can find up to 35 advance chapters at my patreon.