Thus began the life of the new semester, and everything was as usual without any fluctuations.

"Severus Snape" returned to Hogwarts Castle just one day later, and Matthew saw him at breakfast;

Matthew frowned slightly, staring at the mysterious Transfiguration teacher, and quickly fell into thought.

The house-elves seemed to have stopped resisting, and for at least a month or so, there were no major problems with all three meals at Hogwarts, and most people had forgotten about it, with the possible exception of Hermione Granger, who seemed to be keeping a close eye on everything she had with the house-elves.

The horses and the elves have not been heard from either, at least in the Daily Prophet, where Matthew has not seen any record.

Not only Hogwarts, but the entire wizarding world seems to have fallen into an eerie calm......

As the instigator behind this series of events, what the Order of the Phoenix did seemed meaningless.

......

With the end of the cold January, spring has arrived.

Everything has recovered, and the original harsh climate of the Scottish Highlands has gradually become mild. The sun shone on Hogwarts Castle again, and the gloomy atmosphere of winter began to dissipate......

Every time they take a class in herbs and pass by the garden, they can smell all kinds of charming fragrances coming from there.

One day in mid-February, when Matthew came to the auditorium and saw the costumes around him, he realized that today was a special day-

It's Valentine's Day for another year.

The walls around the auditorium are decorated with a variety of beautiful pink flowers, which is full of festive atmosphere, and when someone passes through the doors of the auditorium, heart-shaped confetti falls from the sky, and on the long tables of the four colleges, there are several piles of roses of conspicuous colors, exuding a fragrance......

Of course, none of this has anything to do with a sophomore like Matthew Wakefield. Only students in the fourth grade and above are eligible to celebrate Valentine's Day...... As a result, they were able to get a one-day vacation.

As for students in Year 3 and below, Valentine's Day has nothing to do with them in principle.

There are some exceptions this year, though, as Valentine's Day falls on a Sunday this year...... Principal Grindelwald wouldn't give a make-up day off to students in the fourth grade and above.

In addition to the decorations, the Valentine's Day atmosphere inside the auditorium is strong. Even around Matthew, you can see many couples snuggling together......

It's very tiredoming.

Matthew finished his breakfast quickly.

When he reached the hallway, he saw a number of students walking towards the garden......

But there are a lot fewer people than at this time last year...... As it's Sunday, Hogsmeade is also open for an extra day for all students and students, with many couples choosing to head to Hogwarts for their Valentine's Day......

Madame Patil's teahouse is a popular spot for couples.

Matthew naturally won't go to Hogsmeade, and after experiencing the Tom Gaunt incident, he has some "psychological shadows" about it.

But in the garden, he was interested in seeing it.

(The description of Valentine's Day at Hogwarts in the previous chapter is a bit different from the previous one, and has been changed, sorry!)

......

The decoration in the garden is also very ambiguous.

The sun hanging in the sky was heart-shaped, apparently enchanted from the ceiling, rose petals could be seen everywhere, and some golden cherubs (a kind of elf with special magic) flew around in mid-air......

There were couples snuggling together, and Matthew quickly walked away from them. At the same time, try not to disturb them as much as possible......

I have to say that the view from the garden is beautiful...... Under the careful care of Professor Sprout, the herbalist teacher, there are many wonderful and rare flowers to be seen here......

The smell in the air is also very intoxicating.

Five minutes later, Matthew arrived at his destination.

The area where the Flore flowers and highland daisies are planted......

He sniffed vigorously as he approached, and only after noticing that there was no peculiar smell in the air did he walk over with confidence.

Although the Highland Daisies could theoretically neutralize the pollen of the Flor flowers, Matthew felt it was better to be cautious...... After all, the toxicity of Flor pollen is still very strong.

The blooming Flor flower is a pale blue flower, and I have to say that it is very beautiful indeed.

But Matthew wasn't here to admire its beauty...... Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one around, Matthew bent down and took out his wand at the same time.

As fast as he could, he dug up a Flor flower from the dirt by the roots.

With a Flor tree nearly two feet tall, it would be difficult to bring such a "behemoth" out of the garden...... At the gate of the garden, Mr. Pringer was keeping an eye on the students who came and went.

The plants in the Hogwarts gardens are not allowed to be picked easily, let alone taken out of the garden!

But luckily, just over a month ago for Christmas, Neville Longbottom gave Matthew a magical little purse.

It's small, but it can accommodate a few points of space.

Matthew carefully tucked the floral flower into his purse, trying not to damage its roots and stems.

Just after Matthew had done all this, a strange couple suddenly walked over.

They looked at Matthew suspiciously.

Matthew pretended nothing had happened and walked away.

To be honest, Matthew Wakefield felt a little guilty as he hurried out of the garden for such a "stealing" act...... In particular, the owner of these flowers, Professor Pomona Sprout, is usually very kind to them......

He could only "think that in order to plant this flower, I was tired and tired, and it took me more than half a year"...... This clumsy excuse is to reluctantly comfort myself.

......

Matthew left the garden with ease, and Mr. Pringer's pass did not hinder him.

After all, Mr. Pringer wouldn't use a plant detector to scout them carefully.

It also made Matthew breathe a sigh of relief.

Just as he was about to return to the Slytherin common room—

"Matthew!" shouted, almost startling Matthew.

For a while, he almost thought that it was his behavior just now and the "East Window Incident......

Moreover, it was Professor Horace Slughorn, the dean of Slytherin House, who called his name.

"Hello...... Slughorn...... Professor......" Matthew asked, a little nervous.

Thankfully, Slughorn wasn't here for what had just happened.

At least he didn't mention that—

"It's another Sunday, isn't it, Matthew, my kid ......" The Potions professor winked at Matthew, "What's the evening going on?"

"No," Matthew shook his head, "I'm only in second grade, not old enough to attend Valentine's Day...... We also don't qualify for the Valentine's Day gala......"

"That's great!" Slughorn looked smiling, "in that case, Matthew, don't forget our party...... Slug Club Party ......"

Matthew realized that he had fallen into Slughorn's language trap because he was so nervous.

“...... If I'm not mistaken, it's been a long time since you've been here...... Hehe, not positive at all......" Slughorn complained.

"I'm sorry......" Matthew struggled to find an excuse for himself, "......"

In fact, after the new semester, due to the premonition that something terrible was about to happen at Hogwarts, and Draco Malfoy's warning...... Matthew has tried to draw a line with all the "dangerous people".

He's in school now, and he's very low-key!

Among them, of course, is Horace Slughorn.

Although Matthew believes that Slughorn's sleekness will most likely not be too deeply associated with dangerous things...... But it's better to be cautious.

“...... There's Professor Grindelwald's Valentine's Day celebration tonight...... Those seniors won't be coming," Slughorn shook his head, "Be sure to be there, don't forget, Matthew!

At this time, Matthew really couldn't find an excuse, so he finally had to nod.

With that, he turned and walked away.

......

Since it was Valentine's Day, Sunday's fight club event was also temporarily cancelled.

Matthew spent an afternoon in the library...... The current Hogwarts is probably in the library, and I won't be able to eat dog food at any time......

After all, if you dare to show affection in the library, you have to beware of the wrath of Mrs. Pince, the caretaker.

It wasn't until six o'clock in the afternoon that Matthew reluctantly put down the book on "Dementors" in his hand and stood up...... He's going to Slughorn's dinner.

Ten minutes later, Matthew arrived at the door of the Potions teacher's office.

There was a gentle knock on the door, and soon the door was opened.

"Welcome, Matthew......" Slughorn said eagerly, looking bloated in a dark green puffer jacket, "Come on in......

As Slughorn had guessed, today's Slug Club dinner was a little shabby.

The number of club members present is small......

There is no doubt that this has something to do with Professor Grindelwald's Valentine's Day celebrations...... The senior Slug Club members, couples or not, clearly didn't want to miss Professor Grindelwald's celebrations......

The number of members in the lower grades is not large.

The original two long tables have been reduced to one, and at the only long table, a few students sit scattered around......

Slughorn didn't pull Matthew for a pleasant greeting as he had done before;

After opening the door, he turned around and began to talk to a grown man—

Matthew knew him, one of several Aurors from the Ministry of Magic who were based at Hogwarts...... I vaguely remember his name, it seems to be called "Delix......

When Dlux graduated from Hogwarts, he scored excellent in all his exams and became an Auror for the Ministry of Magic...... Although his performance in the other world is terrible, it has to be said that he is indeed an honor student, and it is not surprising that he has a close relationship with Slughorn.

They seemed to talk for a while, and in the middle of it, Dlux raised his hand to gesture something.

It wasn't until Matthew was seated that he left in a hurry.

......

Hermione Granger did not attend the party.

When the bait wasn't being communicated with the veteran wizards, Hermione was still sensible.

She also remembered the warning Matthew had told her earlier about Slughorn.

In addition to Matthew, the only second-year students are Neville and Malfoy, and Blais Shabini.

In the first grade, there was only one Elaine Shafiq.

Plus three third-graders......

All the members of the Slug Club have arrived...... There was no doubt that Slughorn couldn't make a table of people at the table.

"It's embarrassing, isn't it......" Neville whispered.

Matthew nodded thoughtfully.

Professor Slughorn didn't seem embarrassed, though, instead seemed to be pleasant.

Maybe it's just a disguise.

"Cheers to our pocket party!" he shouted, holding the mead alof.

Matthew took a sip of his own mead, not knowing why...... He suddenly felt that today's mead tasted better than before.

"How's your grandfather, Draco!" Slughorn was able to talk to them one-on-one as there weren't many of them.

"His dragon pox is under control now...... No recurrence......" Draco Malfoy replied very respectfully, "I've been at home for the last few years......

"That's good......" Slughorn nodded, and said with great regret, "Poor Abraxas, it's a pity that he has dragon pox at a great age......"

"By the way, Cowmike......" he turned his gaze back to Cowmike McLagan, "I think your uncle's body should be fine, right?"

"Of course," said McLagan grinningly, "he can now eat three pounds of beef in one meal!"

......

To be honest, this slug club dinner was a little boring.

Horace Slughorn had been chatting with the younger students about their parents and grandparents...... Matthew had no doubt that he couldn't wipe his mouth with a word.

But he wasn't idle.

Because Elaine Shafiq was pulling him by and asking about it, Matthew was very tired of asking, but he couldn't refuse.

Not even the time to quietly communicate with Neville.

Now he just wants this meeting to end quickly,

He's almost like a year—

Finally, this nightmarish two-hour time has finally passed.

Professor Slughorn was starting to get tired, too.

In fact, it's time to leave.

Students from various colleges left one after another.

Suddenly, Elaine Shafiq was clutching her head in some pain, as if something was wrong.

"Oh, damn it, Elaine......" Slughorn's face changed.