Chapter 98 - 98 The first professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts to be re-elected.

Chapter 98: Chapter 98 The first professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts to be re-elected.

Harry sneaked out of Borgin and Burkes, pressing his cracked glasses against his nose and looking around.

Before him was a dirty alley, flanked by what seemed to be shops dealing in Dark Magic. Borgin and Burkes appeared to be the largest, while across the street, the window of a store ominously displayed shriveled human heads. Between two storefronts, a large cage was densely packed with enormous black spiders.

In a dark doorway, two ragged wizards were whispering and eyeing him, while some creature-like beings were licking their lips in his direction.

Harry felt a shiver run down his spine and wanted to leave this eerie place as quickly as possible.

He jogged along, occasionally adjusting his broken glasses.

...However, after two minutes, he sadly realized he had lost his way.

"Lost, are we, dear?"

Suddenly, an old, unpleasant voice startled Harry.

An old witch stood in front of him, holding a dish that resembled a collection of deceased fingernails. She looked at him menacingly, exposing teeth that appeared to be covered in moss.

Harry trembled, backing away in a panic.

"I'm fine, thank you," he stammered, "I just..."

At that moment, Harry suddenly felt something grab his shoulder and lift him off the ground.

The old witch below reached out with sharp nails, trying to pull Harry down, but he was ascending too quickly for her to reach.

With his feet off the ground, Harry flailed his legs desperately, trying to escape, but afraid that if he fell, he would become the old witch's prey.

Summoning his courage, Harry turned his head, hoping the thing grabbing him was something he had learned about in Defense Against the Dark Arts... As the top student in his first-year Defense Against the Dark Arts final exam, he might find a solution!

Turning his head, Harry saw a huge bat grasping his back, its wings flapping continuously.

The bat seemed somewhat familiar...

Like...

Like the one that caught him on the Quidditch pitch!

Harry's heart instantly lightened, and he even began to enjoy the view from up high.

He saw the ugly old witch's begrudging expression, the many shady wizards in the narrow street staring up at him in surprise, and a luxurious window that seemed out of place in the alley...

Inside that window was a silver-haired man, elegantly holding a crystal goblet and sipping wine.

The bat's wingbeats slowed as it hovered next to the window. Then, it suddenly accelerated, flinging Harry's small body toward the wall beside the window.

"Ah..." Harry cried out in terror as the wall loomed closer.

Just as Harry was about to crash into the marble wall, the silver-haired man inside glanced over at him.

The next moment, the marble wall seemed to turn into liquid, rippling with spiral waves.

Harry passed straight through the thick wall and landed heavily on a soft sofa.

"Mr. Potter, I believe you need to explain why you are in such a dangerous place as Knockturn Alley?" Dracula's calm voice came from beside Harry. "Curious about the place and sneaking in?"

"Professor Dracula!" Hearing that voice, Harry's anxiety dissipated completely, and he hoarsely shouted, "I got lost... It was my first time using Floo Powder today, and I inhaled some of the ash... So I might have said the wrong word..."

"Diagon and Knockturn don't sound very similar, do they? How much ash did you inhale?" Dracula asked with a hint of amusement.

He then noticed that Harry was indeed covered in soot, which had even dirtied the luxurious sofa cushions in the compartment.

Dracula frowned.

"Well, it's clear you've inhaled quite a bit of ash."

Upon seeing Dracula beside Harry, their eyes showed fear and respect. They didn't dare to linger their gaze on the two and quickly looked away.

"Professor, it seems like people in this alley are quite afraid of you?" Harry asked curiously. "Did you deal with them before?"

Dracula glanced dismissively at the various dark wizards and creatures along the street and sneered. "Them? I couldn't be bothered to deal with them."

Harry could only silently give a thumbs up to Dracula's extreme confidence, as he had no way to refute...

The real reason wasn't complicated.

In an alley filled with dark magic like Knockturn Alley, a dark source like Dracula, even showing a hint of darkness, could have a significant impact on the dark wizards and creatures here.

The beings that managed to survive in this place were not fools; their senses were sharper than ordinary people's. Even if they hadn't met Dracula before, they could deeply feel that the silver-haired man was... not to be trifled with!

After walking for about five or six minutes, the light in front of Knockturn Alley grew brighter, gradually dispelling the gloom and darkness of the alley.

The two finally emerged into the bright sunlight of the outside world. Harry saw a familiar white marble building from a distance: Gringotts Bank.

"I suppose you don't need me to guide you the rest of the way?" Dracula asked, stopping his steps.

He disdainfully glanced at the sunlight streaming into the alley, stepped aside, and stood in the shadow of a shop's eaves.

"Hmm!" Harry nodded vigorously. "Thank you for your help today, Professor Dracula!"

As he spoke, he ran toward Gringotts, where he saw Hermione standing on the white steps, happily waving at him.

Dracula watched Harry's departing figure, then saw the Weasley family hurriedly coming from afar. He chuckled and shook his head.

In the next moment, his figure disappeared into the shadow under the eaves.

---

In the Hogwarts Great Hall, the staff had almost all arrived.

At this magical school, there was a peculiar phenomenon—many Hogwarts professors lived within the school.

Professors like Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Flitwick could all be considered aging single wizards. They had no family burdens and didn't need to return home to spend time with family during their off hours.

Or rather, the students at Hogwarts were their family.

So, unless they had other academic exchanges to attend, these professors spent most of the summer at Hogwarts.

At this moment, Snape was leaning over to whisper something to Dumbledore, McGonagall was busy organizing the new student list and the opening banquet schedule, and Flitwick was cheerfully chatting with Professor Sprout...

Suddenly, the light in the Great Hall seemed to dim.

"Hmm, is it going to rain?" Professor Flitwick looked curiously at the magically enhanced ceiling of the hall. "There don't seem to be any clouds up there?"

"It might also be that Professor Dracula has arrived," Professor McGonagall said calmly, writing on parchment while speaking to Flitwick. "Whenever the students are not around, he tends to do things like this."

Sure enough, in the next moment, Dracula appeared at the professor's table and elegantly took his seat.

Dracula had never liked the magically enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall because it made him feel the sunlight indoors.

So he had devised a good method using the Hogwarts property deeds—to control the magical node of the castle to adjust the light transmission of the ceiling.

In simple terms, it was about adjusting the brightness of the ceiling!

However, this wasn't very suitable when there were too many students. On one hand, it affected the mood of the little witches and wizards while dining, and on the other hand, it could reveal Dracula's aversion to sunlight, exposing his vampire identity.

Of course, Dracula himself never cared about revealing his identity; it was Dumbledore who was concerned about it for him...

Thus, the sudden darkening of the sky was the result of these various reasons.

Seeing Dracula seated, Dumbledore dismissed Snape to his own seat and led the applause.

"Let us congratulate Professor Dracula! He has become Hogwarts' first Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to be reappointed for a second year in decades!"