Harry Potter: Is It Normal for a Hogwarts Professor to Be a Dark Lord?

With only one week left before the Christmas holidays, the students had become quite distracted during classes.

It wasn't the anticipation of the upcoming break, but rather the hope of seizing an opportunity to spend some time at the now half-sized snowball field.

Yes, it had become so popular that one had to fight for a chance to play there.

Initially, the hundred upper-year students who had attended the class could easily and freely engage in snowball fights.

But soon, other upper-year students who had only observed the class began to grasp the techniques of the magical snowballs. After a few days of practice, they too joined the main group.

Similarly, the younger students discovered they could also try their hand at it for half an hour.

Though few managed to meet the standard of the magical snowballs, even "chatting" with the little ghosts was quite fun!

Thus, almost every student in the castle used their free time as much as possible to queue up at the snowball field.

Despite the colder weather and the onset of night, their enthusiasm was undeterred.

Fortunately, Tver, thinking of the students, limited each person to half an hour of playtime per day, preventing them from crowding there all day.

However, Filch later caught several students sneaking out of the castle at night, waiting for midnight to rush in for a snowball fight.

These were just the ones who got caught; there were likely many more who went unnoticed!

Tver had to set a new rule for the little ghosts, banning night-time play for students, to curb this trend.

Otherwise, Filch, the old Squib, would end up patrolling the freezing outdoors all night, eventually becoming the school's second ghost employee...

As the holidays drew nearer, the students regretted more and more not signing up to stay at school on the previous week's notice!

Especially Malfoy, who initially planned to mock Harry and the others for not being able to go home for Christmas, only to find out he was the one missing out!

He thought about asking Snape to register him again, but seeing the murderous look on his head of house's face, he reconsidered and decided against it.

The game was fun, but his life was more important...

As for Harry and Ron, who had planned to stay, they were much happier.

On the first day of the holiday, they got up early and cheerfully played wizard chess in the common room while discussing their holiday plans.

"George said we can strut over there today to play snowballs. If we follow them, we might learn a thing or two!" Ron said wistfully.

Harry smiled in agreement, "I wonder if we can learn it. It looks pretty difficult."

"Relax, if George and Fred, those two idiots, can learn it, why can't we?" Ron said confidently.

"You guys are still playing!" Hermione appeared beside them, looking annoyed. "Can't you do something productive?"

"Productive?" Ron blinked in confusion.

"Nicholas Flamel!" Hermione reminded loudly.

Harry awkwardly scratched his head, realizing he had indeed forgotten about it, caught up all day in playing with snowballs.

Ron, a bit slow on the uptake, groaned and, thick-skinned, said, "I've been busy writing papers recently; I almost forgot about it myself. But haven't you been buried in books lately? Found any clues?"

"No," Hermione sighed as she sat down, deflated.

But a moment later, she perked up, quickly glanced around, and whispered, "There's still one place in the library we haven't checked out yet."

Ron stared at her in disbelief, as if she had become someone else.

"You mean the Restricted Section of the library?"

"Yes," Hermione confidently lifted her head, "that's the area we haven't been able to search."

"I might as well go check out Professor Fawley's office to see if he has anything on Snape!" Ron said with a grimace.

Harry nodded in agreement, but Hermione was not pleased.

"The professor often stays alone in his office; if you dare go there, you'll be caught right away!"

"Don't worry about it. The professor said he won't be staying at school during the Christmas holidays but will go to visit an elder," Ron shook his head smugly and added, "He mentioned it offhandedly last night while we were playing wizard chess."

Despite his suspicions about the professor, he wouldn't pass up the daily opportunity to chat with him.

Harry also wanted to play chess and talk with the professor about the magical spells that existed only in Hermione's books, but his skills in wizard chess were so poor that even Seamus could beat him, so he could only envy them.

Hermione was so envious it was almost painful; she couldn't forgive herself for not knowing how to play wizard chess.

"You've already lost to the professor, and besides... just hurry up and look up information on Nicholas Flamel!" she said.

Then, to prevent Ron from saying something that might upset her further, she briskly dragged her luggage away.

Today, the first day of the holidays, she, a student not staying at school, had to bid a reluctant farewell to the snowball fights—when they returned, this place would be gone.

As Hermione walked away, Ron, undeterred, said, "I held my own against the professor for a month before he surpassed me; that's already much better than Percy and the others!"

"Tell me about last night; you went to sleep as soon as you got back, and you haven't talked about the private lesson yet," Harry looked at Ron expectantly.

Ron's daily accounts of the professor were Harry's anticipated moments, ostensibly to increase his understanding of the professor to unravel the mysteries within.

Hermione didn't buy this excuse, but she would always pull up a stool to listen to Ron's boasts.

Ron proudly tilted his head back, "Last night's wizard chess match with the professor was thrilling; it completely drained all the wisdom out of my brain. Even though I lost in the end, it was the most spectacular game I've ever played in my life! More importantly, at the end of the class, the professor gave George and Fred special badges, thanking them for their unique contributions!"

"Badges?" Harry looked puzzled as he pulled out his own badge from Halloween. "What's so special about that?"

Ron looked enviously at the badge; he had one too, but it could only be used twice, unlike Harry's, which could be recharged.

"Theirs are a bit bigger, consume more magic, but can be worn anywhere on the body! Displayed right on the chest!"

Harry didn't feel any difference; unlike Ron, he was fine with wearing it on his waist or chest. But when the twins strutted over, chests puffed out, he noticed what was special.

"Why do your badges have two different colors, red and blue?"

At that, George joyfully pointed at the red badge on his chest, "The professor said when we're together, the two badges can work alternately to avoid using too much magic!"

"When facing powerful magic, they can also work together to form a formidable Shield Charm!" Fred excitedly added.

Ron pursed his lips in displeasure.

"My one badge can match your two!"

"Come on," George waved dismissively, "We're off to have a proper snowball fight, the fierce kind. Are you coming?"

Harry and Ron simultaneously knocked over their wizard chess pieces.

"Of course we are!"