HP: It's a snake, not a badger.

Chapter 99 The Storm Is Brewing

The young wizards were surprised to find that the podium was still empty today; Professor Lupin would usually be standing in the classroom by this time.

"Bang."

The familiar knocking sounded, and the children, who had been wondering, sat up straight instantly, not daring to make a sound, for fear that the man would notice them.

"Why is it Professor Snape?"

"You're asking me? How would I know?"

"Don't look around, the professor glanced in your direction!!!"

"Your Professor Lupin is on sick leave. Turn to page 175. Today we're going to learn about werewolves."

Severus was prepared to make every word a hint. He had promised Dumbledore he wouldn't tell anyone, but what the students guessed was none of his business.

"But professor, we shouldn't be learning this in this class; we've skipped a lot of things."

"Are you questioning me? Five points deducted from Gryffindor."

Ron was somewhat relieved that he had just covered Hermione's mouth, otherwise she would have been angry all day if she had said those words and been penalized.

"Shh, if you don't talk, I'll let you go, otherwise you'll be the one who suffers from the point deduction." He only slowly let go after seeing Hermione nod.

Draco felt that the Godfather was hinting at something, constantly reminding them that last night was a full moon, and that even if the werewolf drank the wolfsbane potion, he would be weak for two days. Wait, weak for two days?

He suddenly opened his eyes wide. At that moment, all the information connected. No wonder Emeric told him to be careful of Professor Lupin, and no wonder he was unwilling to tell him the reason, only saying to be careful.

He spent the entire class in terror. As soon as get out of class ended, he rushed to the podium and looked at Severus with his eyes, asking if it was true. He felt it was all too crazy.

"You guessed right, but there's no reward."

Severus's casual remark frightened Draco, and he couldn't help but ask.

"Godfather, this is a werewolf! How can there be a werewolf in the school? What if it bites someone?" His terrified expression annoyed Severus. He wondered why Emeric, who also knew about werewolves, was so calm.

"Alright, what are you afraid of? How could Ellie and I possibly let you get hurt?"

After scaring Draco, Severus was very happy. On his way back to the cellar, he only deducted one point from each of the stuttering little wizards he encountered.

"come over."

"What's wrong, Severus?"

"I'm hungry, I want to eat soup dumplings."

"Okay, I'll go make it. We can have lunch right after I'm done. You can have a cheese bun to tide you over. Do you want anything else?"

"That's all."

"How about I make another bowl of plain noodles, with a soft-boiled egg?"

The cozy lunchtime was broken by Dumbledore for who knows how many times. The slightly ambiguous atmosphere instantly cooled down, and they finished their meal with blank expressions.

"Severus, come to the principal's office for a meeting. Severus, come to the principal's office for a meeting."

Severus let out a cold sigh, put down his spoon, and went to find Dumbledore, seething with anger. He had better have something to say, or he'd be in for a scolding.

"Sizzling Honey Candy".

Upon receiving the command, the Dripping Beast silently moved its rear end, revealing the noisy room behind it. The other three deans had all arrived, but it was the only one missing. Judging from the situation, this matter was probably quite serious.

"Severus, sit here!!!" Flitwick immediately spotted Severus standing in the doorway and waved for him to come and sit with him.

"Thank you, Philius." Severus sat down and took out the pumpkin pie that Americ had just given him to share, along with a cup of white tea to cleanse his palate.

McGonagall and Sprout exchanged a glance, feeling even more that Dumbledore was bullying them. Fortunately, Emeric was there to take care of Severus.

"Albus, what happened? Everyone's here now, tell us quickly."

"Don't rush, Minerva, we still need to wait for a friend. Anyone want some lemon sorbet? It's delicious." Dumbledore said, putting candy in his mouth. Gellert rarely allowed him to eat more candy, so he made sure to eat as many pieces as possible while he could.

"No need, Severus brought us lunch. Would you like some?"

"Severus is so thoughtful, thank you."

"This is delicious! Severus, could you ask me for the recipe?"

"Severus, eat more. Look how thin you are."

The four of them instantly transformed the headmaster's office into a dining room. Sprout took out his snacks, plated them, and placed them on the coffee table, while Flitwick waved his wand to arrange the items neatly.

McGonagall looked around and her eyes suddenly lit up. She took the book from Dumbledore's hand and turned it into a dining table, just big enough to hold the ever-growing number of plates on the coffee table.

"Hey! You can't have a get-together without me!"

Dumbledore felt the candy wasn't sweet anymore, and angrily tied a knot in his beard when no one paid him any attention. The next second, he had a brilliant idea. He waved his wand, moving Philius aside to make room for himself. He even went so far as to ceremoniously place his own personal cutlery in front of him.

"Alright, let's dig in! We can eat while we wait."

Severus raised an eyebrow, gaining a new appreciation for Dumbledore's shamelessness. Luckily, he had eaten before coming, or he would have been too angry to eat.

"Principal, what are you doing here?"

A male voice appeared behind them, slightly hoarse; it was Sirius Black, who had been expelled from school.

"Sirius, you're here! Come sit down and eat with us, we'll talk after we finish eating."

After saying this, Dumbledore realized something was amiss and glanced discreetly at Severus. He saw Severus leisurely sipping his tea and flipping through his book, seemingly oblivious to Sirius's presence. He didn't know if this was a good thing or not, and could only anxiously eat a few more spoonfuls of stewed meat and rice.

"Um... no, Headmaster, just as you thought, the Dementors in Azkaban are indeed in trouble; they've started fighting." Sirius immediately waved his hand in refusal, and poured out everything he had found out.

Dumbledore sighed. "Minerva, the school is in your hands for now. Gale and I are going to find Wormtail. Severus, could you please teach Harry the Patronus Charm? The Dementors will be lingering at the school gates. Felius, restart the Duel Club; the kids need some combat experience. Pomona, teach the kids to identify herbs that can quickly stop bleeding and heal wounds; things are about to get turbulent."

"Wait, Albus, what do you mean by Dementors being at the school gate? What happened?" McGonagall felt she didn't understand at first; she needed to know everything.

"Sigh... Wormtail escaped, and Fudge thinks he'll come back and hurt Harry, so to protect Harry, they're going to use Dementors to surround the school."

Dumbledore sighed again and continued.

"I suspected it might be related to Voldemort, so I sent Sirius to check it out. Sure enough, the Dementors were having problems. I told the children not to go near the gate."

Severus put down his teacup and couldn't help but say, "Dumbledore, your judgment has never been very good."

"Severus, don't bully the old man. So what if I have bad taste? As long as Gale has good taste." That remark made Dumbledore put his hands on his hips and glare. He may have bad taste, but his partner has good taste. Didn't he see that Emeric was so well-behaved?