Volume 4: The Sea and the Ship Heading North Chapter 274 Percy's Days
The next day, the students of Hogwarts began to be divided into grades in an orderly manner.
They will not be arranged to take classes together with Durmstrang students, not because the courses they study are different, but because of the language difference. They need professors who know English to teach them in English.
Jon followed Neville and the others to attend a third-year class. After the Charms class, he found that it was just as Grindelwald said yesterday. The normal third-year curriculum was actually not of much help to him. He studied the forbidden books hidden in the ring on his own, and his improvement was greater than attending classes.
After discovering this, he did not waste the rest of his time. He asked and explored his way to the Durmstrang library.
For any school, the library is basically the most important and valuable place, and Durmstrang also has an independent librarian.
He was an old wizard who looked extremely old, with a hunched back and wrinkles all over his face. When Jon entered the library, he seemed to have just finished cleaning the bookshelves and walked back to the registration desk with a staggering gait.
"Hello, sir, may I ask what kind of reading privileges I have in this library?"
When the old wizard heard what Jon said, he put on a pair of reading glasses tremblingly, frowned and looked at Jon's face carefully.
"Students have unified permissions. They can only borrow books on this floor. For the banned books on the second floor related to black magic, they need the professor's approval."
His voice was hoarse and dull, like a broken bellows being pulled.
Jon hesitated and said tentatively.
"If I were a professor then... could I go to the second floor? My name is Jon Green."
The old wizard frowned even deeper. He seemed to think Jon was some student who came to cause trouble. His eyes had already moved away from him. He picked up a piece of parchment on the table and spoke angrily.
"So are there really students in the school who believe the rumor that I have Alzheimer's? Tell those brats, my memory has declined a bit, but I'm not so stupid that students and professors can't tell me apart! That's because I'm old now. When I was young, I would usually use the Cruciatus Curse to make you disobedient brats obedient... Hmm? Another freeloader has come to the school. Is the Witch Party so despicable now? It takes two people to teach a Transfiguration..."
Suddenly, he seemed to see the name of the new professor on the notice sent by Rozier.
His cloudy eyes widened and he reached out to adjust the reading glasses on his face.
"Jon Green?"
Then he looked up from the parchment again and looked at Jon.
"What did you say your name was?"
Jon smirked.
"That's the Jon Green you just mentioned."
The life span of wizards is generally much longer than that of Muggles. This old man is so old, he must be at least close to 200 years old. He probably didn't attend the dinner party yesterday, and went back to rest early, so he didn't know what the new professor looked like. However, due to his age, Jon usually respected such old people.
The air froze for a few seconds, and the old wizard's eyes were still full of suspicion. Jon's age really didn't match the identity of a professor, but he felt that no student in this school would be so bold as to impersonate a new professor.
The tense atmosphere was not broken until two students who came to the library together bowed respectfully to Jon as they passed by him and shouted, "Good morning, Professor Green."
The old wizard called to the two Durmstrang students.
"Is he the new Transfiguration professor who took over today?"
The two students responded to the old wizard's inquiries with great respect.
"Yes, Mr. Alpha, the Headmaster announced yesterday that Professor Green and Professor Johnson will serve as the Transfiguration Professors at Durmstrang together."
After hearing what the two of them said, the old wizard no longer had any doubts about Jon's identity.
No one in this school dares to make fun of Grindelwald.
"Professor Green, your status as a professor certainly allows you to move freely in this library, but if you want to read in the library, you can do whatever you want. If you want to borrow books to take out, you need to bring them to me first and I will register them for you."
After learning that Jon was the professor of Transfiguration acknowledged by Grindelwald himself, the old wizard no longer showed any doubt.
It seemed like as long as Grindelwald made a decision, he would have no objection even to letting a boy as old as Jon be a professor, or even letting a monkey give lectures on the podium.
This high level of trust and obedience, coupled with his age, made Jon suspect that he was most likely a die-hard fan of Grindelwald fifty years ago, and that his loyalty has not changed until now.
There are many people who are truly loyal to Grindelwald, because although his ideals cannot be accepted by the vast majority of wizards, the demands he represents are truly for the future of the entire wizarding world.
So in addition to those who gather around him due to interests, there are also many people who are truly convinced by his ideals, willing to share the same goals with him and follow him, and these people have absolute trust and loyalty to him.
After obtaining his own authority from the old wizard, Jon did not stay on the first floor of the library for long.
It's not that he doesn't need to read all the magic books on the first floor. None of them can help him. He is just simply curious about the difference between the restricted book section of Durmstrang and that of Hogwarts.
Walking to the end of the bookshelf on the first floor, there was a wooden staircase surrounded by ropes. Jon passed through the gap that only one person could pass through, climbed the stairs and came to the second floor of the library.
Compared with the first floor, this place is obviously much smaller, with only five rows of bookshelves and some tables and chairs placed against the wall.
Jon approached the bookshelf but didn't touch the books on it. Not only was he worried that the books might have cursed magic, but he could also clearly feel that the ring he was wearing was stirring.
The ring's anomaly comes from the second gem that Jon found in the Hogwarts library.
No one knew what settings the original owner had put on this stone. It seemed that it was particularly interested in the magic in the books. It was clear that more than half of the magic it had absorbed from the stone slab was still left. When Jon approached the bookshelf, he felt that it was like a baby struggling to absorb magic from these magic books.
Grindelwald had been very good to him. Not only did he save him at sea, but he also agreed to such a harsh request last night. Not to mention whether he would repay him or not, Jon would definitely not do such a bad thing as "eating up" the entire restricted books section the next day.
Without picking up any of the books, just observing the titles of all the books on the bookshelf with his eyes, Jon determined that the banned books here were basically the same as the ones he brought out from Hogwarts Castle, except that there were more dark magic categories.
After all, it is a school inheritance. When it comes to the research on what Durmstrang calls "martial arts magic", they are indeed much ahead of the outside world.
Moreover, before Grindelwald became the headmaster of Durmstrang, the tradition had always been to only admit students from wizarding families. Some of these students had inherited certain unique secrets from their families, so it is possible that some of them donated their family inheritance to the school.
Thinking of this, Jon couldn't help but think of the Weasley family.
The Weasley family had a long enough history. Even if they were not financially worthy of the title of a pure-blood family, it was impossible for such a family not to have accumulated some historical heritage.
I just don't know whether these things were taken with Ron's parents, Mr. Weasley, when they went into exile, or whether they had been snatched away by Voldemort's Ministry of Magic.
If they were stolen, now that Percy has surrendered, they will be returned to him, right?
Jon couldn't help but narrow his eyes when he thought of this.
Percy is probably living a pretty good life now.
…
"I'm certainly doing fine."
In the basement of Whitehall in London, in the British Ministry of Magic, the Misuse of Magic Office of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Percy looked at the wizard in front of him expressionlessly.
"Thank you for your concern, Mr. York, but we are discussing work matters now. Can you hand over the relevant information about the Magnolia Road case to me?"
The wizard called Mr. York glanced at him with disdain, waved his wand, and sent the parchments floating around him to Percy.
Then he deliberately cancelled the magic he had cast on the materials, wanting to scatter them all over the floor so that Percy could pick them up in a panic.
But Percy seemed to have guessed his plan in advance. When the information flew over, he simply picked it up with his hands, said thank you, and turned around to leave.
Having failed to achieve his goal, Mr. York snorted coldly. No matter how dissatisfied he was and how much contempt he felt for the only young man who could legally have the surname Weasley, he could not express it so bluntly.
As the benchmark set up by Voldemort in the Ministry of Magic, no one dared to cause trouble for Percy openly, because slapping Percy in the face now would be equivalent to slapping Voldemort in the face.
Percy didn't show any reaction to this challenge which was not a problem at all. Instead, he turned around with the documents in his hand and a barely perceptible sneer appeared on his face.
He liked watching these so-called "new-school pure-bloods" like this. The more they hated him but still pretended to be nice to him, the happier Percy felt.
After betraying Hogwarts, he lost his family and relatives, but gained much more.
On the way back to the office, almost all the employees bowed their heads and called him "Mr. Weasley" in awe when they saw him.
This is the privilege of pure-blood wizards in this Ministry of Magic. They are naturally superior to half-blood wizards. This unchanging class gap allows Percy to enjoy the vanity and respect that he will never enjoy in the Hogwarts carriage.
With Voldemort's endorsement, he completely inherited the pure-blood class of the Weasley family under Voldemort's rule. This means that as long as he does not make a big mistake, even Minister Fudge cannot give him a hard time in this Ministry of Magic.
Just as he walked out of the office, he suddenly saw from a distance a group of people in front of him split up in the middle, and then three wizards in black robes with the dark mark on their chests walked up to him with indifferent faces.
"Percy Weasley?"
The leading witch called out Percy's name.
Percy's face showed obvious confusion. The robe was marked with the Dark Mark. Not even the Aurors in the entire Ministry of Magic were qualified to wear it, except for that gentleman's personal guards, that is - the Death Eaters!
"Yes, it's me."
He also maintained the most basic calmness. Although the Death Eaters were terrible, he knew very well that he had not made any mistakes and had no problems at work.
"Do you have any questions about our identities?" the witch asked, staring into Percy's eyes. The two wizards behind her had their right hands tucked into their sleeves, obviously holding their wands.
Percy swallowed.
"There is no doubt, ma'am, that I recognize the Dark Mark."
"Give me your wand and come with us."
Percy had no intention of resisting. He knew that even if he wanted to escape, there was no possibility of escape, so he simply pulled out his wand and handed it over.
Then, in front of everyone in the Ministry of Magic, the three Death Eaters took him into the elevator and brought him to a courtroom on the same floor as the Wizengamot Court.
There was already a young man sitting in the courtroom, and Percy looked familiar with his face.
Barty Crouch Jr.
The professor of Charms at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a die-hard fan of that professor, a madman who even murdered his own parents for him.
This madman is usually in charge of the admission of Mudbloods to Hogwarts, so he is used to appearing with a mask of hypocritical smile. It is precisely because of this that he looks even more chilling.
But now, even the hypocritical mask on his face was gone, and his expression was cold and gloomy. When Percy met his gaze, he felt as if his own eyes were stabbed.
After being pushed into the courtroom, the three Death Eaters retreated respectfully, closing the door behind them, leaving only Barty Jr. and Percy.
Percy's hands and feet were cold, and the moment he saw little Barty, he already felt something was wrong.
The appearance of the Death Eaters might be because the gentleman needed to speak out and achieve a certain goal by belittling Dumbledore, but now the person he met was Barty Crouch Jr., so it was basically certain that what he was about to encounter this time was definitely not a good thing!
