The slacker professor at Hogwarts

081 "We're Not Dead Yet" Club

Lyle Lupin is a staunch Muggle-lover; his wife is a Muggle who works in the insurance industry.

In fact, almost all members of the Anti-Dark Magic League are pro-Muggle.

However, unlike the political narratives of the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters, which focus primarily on "Muggle wizards," the Anti-Dark Magic League's pro-Muggle stance is truly literal in its closeness to Muggles.

People generally agree that Muggles are the same kind of people, and believe that the difference between wizards and Muggles is no different from differences in nationality or skin color.

Just like Gilderoy Lockhart, a famous honorary member, who frankly stated in his book that his biggest dream is for people with magic and those without magic to live in harmony.

(Hermione, the devoted fan, memorized this part.)

Therefore, compared to political organizations like the Order of the Phoenix, the Anti-Dark Magic League is more likely to receive favor and funding from the Ministries of Magic and various sectors of society in different countries.

Of course, they can be quite a headache sometimes.

These magic masters, who are highly regarded by all levels of society, have nothing better to do than talk and speak freely every day, so all sorts of strange and unusual small clubs have sprung up in the alliance.

One of them advocates daily on various occasions that the Ministry of Magic of each country should strictly limit Aurors from using Oblivion Charms on Muggles at will.

It is precisely because of this widespread high level of identification with the 'human' group that members of the Anti-Dark Magic Alliance have a worse attitude towards 'non-human groups' than ordinary wizards.

For example, the theme of this party, celebrating the 380th anniversary of the failed goblin rebellion, was chosen to be held in Hogsmeade Village, the former headquarters of the goblins. The specific venue for the party was the "Hog's Head Pub," which was built on the site of the goblin rebellion's headquarters, making it practically like dancing on a grave.

With such a clear understanding, we will know which group is the biggest enemy of the Anti-Dark Magic Alliance.

Werewolf!

Because the only humans in this world are werewolves, everyone else will be expelled from the human race unless they agree that werewolves are also human.

In fact, some members are already trying to bring about such a legal judgment—to classify werewolves as belonging to the human group.

Among the small clubs that made such appeals was Lyle Lupin.

A black magic creature expert who has spent most of his life hating werewolves.

Because she offended the werewolf Fenrir Greyback, her young son was bitten and infected with wolf venom, turning him into a werewolf. From then on, her happy and fulfilling life was filled with bitterness.

Lockhart and Lyle got along well, and he knew all too well which groups to join to gain wider support from readers and fans, so he was also a member of this little club.

Having a wide network of connections is not just a saying.

Lockhart and Dumbledore arrived at the Hog's Head pub in Hogsmeade Village, where they happened to run into Lyle Lupin chatting with the pub owner, Aberforth Dumbledore.

"Hey, Gilderoy!" Lyle picked up two glasses of pale yellow liquor from the table and handed them to the two of them, saying excitedly, "Ms. Melissa is looking for you!"

Galatea Melis, a retired professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, taught for nearly 50 years. Her students included the Dumbledore brothers, Minerva McGonagall, Horace Slughorn, and Tom Riddle…

Their seniority is extremely high.

Old Deng was clearly curious as well as about why his old friend wanted to see Lockhart. Seeing Lockhart's puzzled look, he casually asked as he took the drink, "What does Ms. Mellors want with him?"

Aberforth watched old Deng with a sneer and said in a strange voice, "You wouldn't want to know."

Lyle clearly realized that it was inappropriate to discuss this in front of Dumbledore, but looking into those questioning eyes, it seemed as if he was deliberately hiding something if he didn't say anything.

He could only awkwardly explain, "Ms. Melis intends to invite Gilderoy to her club, which is... a social gathering of all the former Defence Against the Dark Arts professors at Hogwarts."

One point needs to be clarified: Voldemort's curse on the Defence Against the Dark Arts professorship at Hogwarts specifically stated that "all professors holding positions in this subject will be unable to serve for more than a year for various reasons," rather than directly cursing the professors to die in office.

There is no record of anyone dying in office before the previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Quirinus Quirrell.

Since the position was cursed in 1956, Hogwarts has had more than thirty Black Protection Professors. Adding the professors before Tom cursed the position, that's enough to make a small club.

Dumbledore's expression was somewhat strange; he vaguely guessed that the existence of this club might not be a good thing for him.

Aberforth suddenly burst into laughter, a mischievous laugh. "Hahaha, Aberforth, you know what? Hahahaha, the name of this club is... hahahaha, it's 'We're Not Dead Yet,' hahahaha..."

"Yes... hahaha... it was established after Quirinas Quirrell died in office!"

"!!!"

Is it funny?

Dumbledore didn't find it funny at all.

He only felt a headache coming on; the club's reputation would undoubtedly pose a great challenge to his continued search for a successor to the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts.

But what could he do?

Should we discuss renaming Ms. Miles's club?

Oh, Merlin's pink hair clip, that probably won't work. That stubborn old witch, Ms. Merlin, won't listen to his persistence.

Lockhart didn't have this problem; instead, he hoped that such a group could better help him collect some dark magic creatures.

Lyle Lupin led him to a corner of the Pig's Head pub, which had apparently been temporarily enchanted with some kind of space-expanding magic to accommodate such a large gathering of people; they walked there for quite a while.

Ms. Mellors was a kind-looking old witch, and the other members of the "We're Not Dead Yet" club all looked very impressive. Everyone seemed to welcome his arrival, and after a few words, they raised their glasses to celebrate.

It also encouraged this young man, hoping he would persevere and not die in office like his predecessor, Quirinas Quillo.

Lockhart quickly discovered the difference between this small group and the other members of the Anti-Dark Magic League.

Compared to the typical nerdy personality of Lyle Lupin, these people who had served as Defense Against the Dark Arts professors generally seemed more "wild".

Or rather, it's the difference between academic and practical training.

This difference is less a result of having served as a professor for a year, and more a reflection of Dumbledore's preference in selecting the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

He carefully recalled the professors at Hogwarts and was astonished to find that, apart from Professor Kettleburn, who taught Magical Creatures, they were all practically trained.

Even professors of divination courses are like this.

In other words, he really did find the right organization; these people are undoubtedly the ones who can truly help him find the dark magic creatures.

"We're all on the same side." One of the elderly wizards, dressed in a sophisticated three-piece suit, chuckled as he shared the cigars he had brought with him. He looked at Lockhart and said, "Young man, everyone is concerned about your situation at Hogwarts. Is there anything we can help you with? Feel free to ask. If we help each other, the club will be more active."

Of course it's needed!

Lockhart's eyes lit up, and he was about to speak when he suddenly felt the Boggart in his wizard's robe pocket stirring restlessly. After thinking for a moment, some terrifying images and emotions began to surface in his mind.

Soon, Boggart transformed into a pale, withered arm with sharp black nails, which gripped him from inside his clothes.

The dark magic creature it has transformed into now has a unique ability: when it touches a human, it creates terrifying wails in the human's mind.

This ingenious use was enough for Boggart to secretly pass messages to him.

Boggart said, "Beware! This wizard is extremely hostile towards you! It's unusual that he's the only one hostile towards you!"

"!!!"

Lockhart's heart tightened, but he smiled nonchalantly and began to recount his groundbreaking adventure, loudly proclaiming how much his favorite student, Harry Potter, respected him.

really!

The old wizard's hostility intensified again when Harry Potter was mentioned!

Death Eaters? Or other followers of the Dark Lord?

Soon, Lockhart learned the old wizard's name from others—Corban Yaxley.

Born into one of the twenty-eight holy pure-blood families, he owns a dragon breeding farm, a wand material supply forest, and the global chain of wizard clothing brand "Elegance." He briefly served as a professor under Principal Armando Dippert, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic, and a member of the Wizengamot Inquisition...

Of course, he also has some other identities.

For example, Death Eaters!

He was one of the members who participated in the operation to kill Dumbledore in the original book. After Voldemort's return, he rose to the position of Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement (whose subordinate departments included the Auror Office and the Wizengamor Administration).