Professor Vampire.

Chapter 35: Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons that do not take place in the classroom

Dracula ultimately did not face any punishment of being placed on probation.

In contrast, Snape, the Head of Slytherin House and a senior professor of Potions, was given a probationary sentence by Professor McGonagall for instigating a duel between professors. Additionally, his salary was docked for six months.

According to the gossipy old professor, Kettleburn, it seemed that Professor McGonagall had been wanting to do this for a long time but had been waiting for the right opportunity.

As Head of Slytherin House, Snape had a long history of bias against Gryffindor House. He never deducted points from his own house and had a "habit" of deducting points from Gryffindor. This had caused Gryffindor to be at the bottom of the point standings for several years.

Professor McGonagall was seething with frustration but had refrained from acting out to maintain her impartiality as Deputy Headmistress.

Now that she finally had a reason to act against Snape, how could she not take full advantage?

However, Snape was actually quite innocent in this situation.

He had never intended to fight with Dracula. The idea to do so had come entirely from Dumbledore, and it had resulted in him getting a good beating.

As the primary culprit, the old headmaster could only shrug his shoulders.

If the grand landlord of Hogwarts was untouchable, then the diligent Snape would have to play the scapegoat...

...

November passed quietly, the weather grew colder, and Christmas approached.

One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts students awoke to find several feet of snow covering everything and the lake frozen solid.

The Weasley twins faced punishment from Professor McGonagall for magically enhancing some snowballs to chase Professor Quirrell around, eventually pelting him in the back of his purple turban.

Quirrell, hit by the snowballs, fell face-first into the snow, looking extremely disheveled, far from the dignified appearance one would expect of an assistant professor.

However, he inwardly sighed in relief.

Since Voldemort obtained the diary Horcrux, the weakened fragment of his soul that had been inhabiting Quirrell had abandoned him and taken residence in the diary. Now, Quirrell wore the turban not for Voldemort, but simply to cover the ugly scar on the back of his head.

Quirrell pulled his arm from the snow, touched the back of his head, and privately thanked his luck that Voldemort had shifted his focus. If he had been struck by the twins' snowballs, Voldemort, feeling humiliated, would surely have taken it out on Quirrell, making his life miserable.

However, before Quirrell could get up from the snow, he suddenly trembled.

As if remembering something, he hastily stood up. Seeing the diary soaked through with snowwater, Quirrell's face contorted with extreme frustration and sadness...

...

Outside the castle, heavy snow continued to fall, while inside each classroom, roaring fires kept the air pleasantly warm. In such an environment, students yawned one after another.

Dracula, holding his textbook, frowned as he watched the yawning little witches and wizards below the podium.

"What's the matter, Weasley?!" he suddenly raised his voice and shouted.

The twins, startled by the sudden outburst, jumped up.

"Uh, report, Professor, we didn't do anything!" they said in unison.

"Then explain, why are you two so tired that you dare to sleep in my class?" Dracula asked with a cold smile.

"Professor, we were in detention with Professor McGonagall until curfew yesterday, and then we had to finish the homework you assigned," Fred began to complain to Dracula. "We only slept for three hours last night and just can't hold on anymore..."

"What mischief did you two get into?" Dracula asked with growing interest. "It seems like Professor McGonagall puts you in detention every two days."

George peeked at Dracula's expression and saw that he seemed in a good mood. He then spoke up, "Professor, don't you know? We threw snowballs at Professor Quirrell's head!"

After saying this, the twins exchanged a proud glance and puffed out their chests.

Dracula looked at Fred and George's smug expressions and couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

As he shook his head, his gaze inadvertently fell outside the window. Seeing the falling snow, an amusing idea sprang to mind.

"Well then, given how tired everyone seems in this weather," Dracula said with a mischievous grin, "let's learn something different today."

With that, he walked to the window of the Dark Arts classroom and pushed it open.

The cold wind rushed into the classroom, immediately jolting the drowsy students awake.

"Today's lesson will take place on the lawn outside the castle," Dracula announced. "To save time, everyone jump out the window with me. Don't worry, I'll catch you!"

He was the first to jump out the window with practiced ease, leaving the students in awe.

For Dracula, the second-floor Dark Arts classroom was still too low. He landed gracefully on the thick layer of snow-covered lawn without using any magic.

"You can come down now!" Dracula shouted from the soft snow below.

Fred and George, seeing Dracula's show of skill, were instantly wide awake. They rushed to the window, ready to follow the professor's lead.

Lee Jordan, with his dark skin, was scared and quickly grabbed the hoods of their robes, nervously saying:

"Hey, aren't you two worried about getting hurt? What if Professor Dracula doesn't catch you?"

"Oh, are our little baby Lee Jordan scared?" Fred teased with a grin. "Don't worry, sweetie. Falling from the second floor is just a couple of days in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey will fix you up!"

Before he finished speaking, Fred jumped out the window.

George, seeing Lee Jordan still trembling and panicked, patted his shoulder:

"Lee, don't worry. Professor Dracula can catch even Harry Potter falling from a height, so he'll definitely catch us jumping from the second floor."

With that, he let out a yell, put his arm around Lee Jordan's shoulder, and dragged him to the window.

Amidst Lee's screams, the two jumped out together.