As the Christmas holidays come to an end, the new semester is about to begin.

The students of Hogwarts have returned to the castle to start their new lives.

To be honest, the impact of this seemingly "huge" centaur riot on the vast majority of students can be said to be minimal......

They, like the wizards outside of school, had almost zero exposure to the event. In a sense, they are all spectators.

The vast majority of the students had never seen the brutality of the centaurs (the students were evacuated from Hogwarts as soon as the riots began...... I didn't see the "wreckage" of the centaurs in the castle (except for students like Matthew, who returned to the castle for the first time, and when he returned to the castle a little later, those remaining traces were cleaned up by Pringer).

Their knowledge of the Centaur riots, apart from the daily headlines in the Daily Prophet, was limited to the damaged portraits and sculptures on campus and in the castle......

Looking at the portraits and sculptures that used to get along day and night, and suffering such desecration, coupled with the agitation in the Daily Prophet, many young boys can be said to be indignant at this horse riot.

Extreme rhetoric, such as that the horsemen should be killed, also emerged.

But other than that, the normal life of Hogwarts has not been affected in any way-

The lessons were still to be taken, the teachers and the students were no less, and nothing seemed to have happened except for a brief change of hands during the Christmas holidays.

......

As for where the rest of the horses went, Matthew Wakefield was actually curious.

There is no doubt that there is no trace of centaurs in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts, or even in the entire Hogsmeade area...... According to records, the community, which has lived in the Forbidden Forest for more than a thousand years (almost longer than Hogwarts), has come to an end.

A large proportion of the centaurs died in the riot, as evidenced by the charred manes, torn hooves, and bright red blood stains that could be found everywhere in the castle before.

Compared to modern wizards armed to the teeth, the centaurs, magical creatures who are in a state of hairy blood drinking and do not use any magic other than prophecy, have no possibility of confrontation at all, they are too vulnerable...... Not to mention that even the prophecy magic they were so proud of was no match for Gellert Grindelwald......

The previous horrific scenes at Hogwarts show that it was a one-sided massacre!

As for the other centaurs -

Matthew believes that there are definitely many wise centaurs who would not be stupid enough to break into Hogwarts to "send them to their deaths......

Rumor has it that they are migrating deep into the Scottish Highlands, and that some Aurors have tried to track them down, but the horses are scattered and the Aurors are too few in number, and they eventually lose their target.

The island of Britain is too big, and the wizards are too few in number...... The surviving centaurs were scattered across tens of thousands of square kilometres of the Scottish Highlands, and it was an impossible task for the Aurors to pull them all out with just a ten-figure figure.

What's more, the remnants of the Order of the Phoenix may also be with the horses......

Whether it's the half-breed giant Hagrid, who came out of Professor Kettleburn's mouth and the horses colluded with, or the big black dog that suddenly appeared in the depths of the Forbidden Forest...... Matthew believes that the "dark wizards" of the Order of the Phoenix and the collusion with the horses are true.

......

The whole of Hogwarts fell into a kind of semblance of calm.

Behind this calm, there is definitely something terrible brewing, Matthew can feel.

He is not alone in this view.

On the last day of the Christmas break, Matthew saw Draco Malfoy again.

Malfoy was rumored to have been hit in the knee by a horse man, but it is no longer recognizable...... Treating this "flesh wound" is a piece of cake with wizards, and Malfoy's parents are pretty good wizards.

"Hey, Matthew!" Malfoy greeted with some weakness.

"Did you have a good Christmas?" Matthew asked.

"That's it," Malfoy shrugged, "except for a day and a night in the centaurs' caves, the rest of the time is fine!"

Matthew couldn't help but smile.

"By the time this summer vacation comes, I think I'll want my father to take me to some of the most experienced old witches...... "Malfoy sighed, "it's so unlucky...... Since I entered school in September of the previous year, I have been injured for various reasons...... I suspect I'm possessed by something bad......"

Matthew blinked and casually chimed in.

The two chatted about Christmas.

"By the way, Matthew," Malfoy said in a sudden lower-voice, somewhat serious voice, "My dad wasn't going to let me come back......"

"Not going to bring you back?" Matthew asked with some alarm.

"yes......" Malfoy nodded, "he told me that something big is definitely going to happen at Hogwarts this year...... Many wizards of pure-blood families have sensed it, and they are reluctant to let their children go back to school......"

Matthew couldn't help but frown.

Even this time last year, when the Black Witch Morgana wreaked havoc on Hogwarts campuses, causing a number of egregious attacks...... At that time, no parents considered not letting their children go back to school......

"Then why are you back again?" asked Matthew, curiously.

"Because Headmaster Grindelwald won't allow it," Malfoy sighed, "my father got a notice, and some of his friends got it, from Hogwarts...... No student is allowed to drop out of the school or transfer to Durmstrang or Beauxbatons, which was previously allowed, or they will be severely punished......"

Matthew froze there, as if lost in thought.

"So...... My dad advised me to be as careful as possible in school for the remaining half of the school year......" Draco Malfoy said mysteriously, "if I don't want to lose my life......

......

The next day, school started.

Once again, they braved the cold wind and made their way to the greenhouse.

Fortunately, the temperature in the greenhouse is quite normal and not difficult...... It's just that from time to time you can smell some weird plants.

But for most of the lesson, they need to go outside the greenhouse to work...... Spending more than an hour outdoors on a cold January morning is something that no one wants to do.

In fact, the content of this lesson was supposed to be the work of the last semester, and they needed to transplant the Flor flowers outside the greenhouse...... But due to the snowstorm at the end of last semester, the class was postponed.

But the Flor flowers in the greenhouse could not continue to grow for long, and at the beginning of the new semester, Professor Pomona Sprout of the Herbal Medicine class took them to work on it.

They wore dragon fur coats and thick masks, and carefully dug out the flor flowers that had grown about the same, out of the soil...... Once you've kept them in a sealed bag, take them to the garden.

The process on the way must be very careful, as the pollen of the Flor flower is highly poisonous...... Not only can't the students themselves smell it, but if it leaks out during transportation, it can have catastrophic consequences.

Professor Sprout carefully inspected the sealed bags of all of them to make sure nothing was gone wrong before setting out with them.

The gardens of Hogwarts were rarely open, and Professor Sprout took the key to open the large, rusty lock...... Everyone looked around curiously......

"Please don't be left behind!" Professor Sprout kindly reminded.

Five minutes later, they came to the fountain in the garden...... Except for an open piece of dirt land, there is a small pale yellow flower everywhere here.

"Can anyone tell me what these are?" asked Professor Sprout.

Because she was wearing a mask, her voice was a little unclear.

Matthew quickly raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Wakefield!" Professor Sprout called Matthew's name.

Agnes Lestrange glared at Matthew with some annoyance, and lowered her half-raised hand.

"These are Highland daisies. Matthew replied calmly.

"That's right!" Professor Sprout nodded at Matthew with satisfaction, "Good...... So can you tell me why Highland daisies need to be planted here?"

"The pollen of the Highland Daisy is similar to the pollen properties of the Flor flower, and it can remove the toxicity of the Flor flower...... Matthew said calmly.

"Great!" Professor Sprout gave a thumbs up to Matthew.

"So can we take off our masks?" said one Hufflepuff student, "I'm suffocating......

As he spoke, he reached out to take off his mask.

"Of course not!" Professor Sprout sternly stopped the student's behavior.

"Highland daisy pollen, although it can remove the toxicity of the pollen of the Flor flower, takes a long time...... "Professor Sprout explains, "so this is not desirable......

"We were able to do this because the garden was normally closed to the public...... After Christmas, the flor flowers stop producing pollen, and we can let them spend more than a month with the highland daisies to make them completely toxic......"

“...... A little more than a month later, on Valentine's Day, when the garden reopens, you will be able to enjoy the beauty of the Flor flowers...... And, of course, all the wonderful things they do......"

"But we're only in second grade, Professor," corrected one Hufflepuff girl, "we can't celebrate Valentine's Day this year." ”

Valentine's Day at Hogwarts is an annual holiday...... It is only limited to students from the third year onwards.

"Well......" Professor Sprout said, a little embarrassed, "well, I almost forgot...... Then in February next year, you can come to the garden and admire the fruits of your labor a year ago. ”

As if to ease the embarrassment, Professor Sprout shouted, "Okay, boys, let's get to work now...... Grab the little shovel that you have with you and transplant these Flor flowers into it...... Once you've completed this step, the lesson on Flor flowers is completely over!"

Everyone hurriedly got to work—

This seems like a simple step, but a small problem arises.

The garden is not a greenhouse, because the temperature is so low that the soil is almost frozen, and it is impossible to shovel it with a small shovel...... Theodore Knott even almost broke his shovel.

Matthew came up with a good idea, he took out his wand and aimed it at the congealed clump of dirt in front of him:

"Incendio!"

After roasting it over an open flame for a while, the frozen soil gradually softened.

Matthew waited patiently for a while, and the temperature quickly dropped due to the low temperature, and the warm soil that had been roasted.

Taking advantage of this time, he hurriedly planted his Flor flower.

By the time Matthew had done all the work, many of the other students were still wielding shovels vigorously.

......

The long herbal class is finally over.

One by one, they were almost exhausted.

But the Slytherin students don't have time to rest right now, because they still have a course on their first day of school.

Professor Severus Snape's Transfiguration class took place just ten minutes after the herbal medicine class ended.

They dragged their tired bodies to the front of the Transfiguration classroom.

The door to the classroom was closed, and there appeared to be a notice posted on the door.

Several students stepped forward, and they immediately showed very excited expressions.

"Professor Snape hasn't returned to school for some reason......" Malfoy celebrated with great joy, "This Transfiguration class has been postponed for the time being, which is great!"

This is naturally a good thing, even Matthew, at this time, take a good rest.

But—

That "Severus Snape" professor hasn't returned to school for some reason?

Matthew couldn't help but frown.

What exactly is the reason?

He suddenly remembered that when St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Illnesses had a "one-sided relationship" with Professor "Snape"!

Could it have something to do with that?

Matthew fell into deep thought.