Chapter 510 2 week later

Chapter 510 Two Weeks Later
After first suggesting that Harry teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, Hermione hadn't mentioned the matter again for two weeks.

Harry's detention with Umbridge was finally over, and Ron attended four more Quidditch practices, the last two without being yelled at.

The Transfiguration class has gone from learning to make snails disappear, to making mice disappear, and now has gone a step further and started learning to make kittens disappear. Even Professor McGonagall was surprised at the progress of this class of students.

The Potions class also progressed from the moonstone at the beginning to various antidotes - this is one of the popular test questions in OWL. Since Harry got a D in the moonstone paper, he also began to take the homework of the Potions class seriously. Although he was not as good as Hermione, he was much better than Ron and Neville.

Then, on a blustery evening in late September, as the three of them sat in the library, looking up the ingredients for Snape's antidote, the subject came up again.

"I'd like to know," Hermione said suddenly, firmly, "have you ever seriously considered teaching us Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry?"

Harry's fingers paused for a moment, but soon, he pretended to be calm and continued to flip through the "Asian Anti-Drug Encyclopedia" in his hand, pretending to be particularly focused on the content on the pages. He didn't want Hermione to see his thoughts, and he didn't want her to know that he had thought about this problem countless times in his mind during this period of time.

At first, when he and Hermione first discussed this matter, he thought it was just a ridiculous idea, simply crazy. But as time went on, the idea was like a seed, taking root and sprouting in his heart, and slowly, it became an irresistible temptation.

But sometimes, a voice would whisper in the depths of his mind, tempting him -

“That’s a brilliant idea.”

“This is a chance to show your strength, a chance for everyone to see your true strength.”

"Everyone will look at you, admire you, and rely on you... They will know who the most powerful wizard in Hogwarts is."

His hands tightened the pages unconsciously, his eyes flashing with complex light. He could imagine that if he really stood in front of those students and taught them defense, they would look at him with admiration, listen to his every word, and regard him as a real hero - just like every time he helped the Quidditch team turn defeat into victory.

Then, a familiar face suddenly appeared in his mind.

——Zhang Qiu.

Her clear eyes, her black hair flying as she raced through Quidditch games, the tender look she showed to Sherin...

A hot emotion rose from the bottom of his heart, and the uncontrollable restlessness made him blink irritably.

"This is a chance to prove myself to her."

"Even... the chance to get her."

He seemed to be able to foresee Zhang Qiu sitting in the corner of the training ground, quietly watching him instructing his students with approval and amazement in her eyes - he would become the hero in her mind, not Shaylin Malfoy.

Harry took a deep breath and suppressed the emotions surging in his heart. He knew that he could no longer resist this temptation.

He finally closed the book, raised his head, looked at Hermione deeply, and said slowly, "Well, since you trust me so much, I'll give it a try!"

"Then it's settled. We're going to Hogsmeade on the first weekend of October, and I'll arrange for everyone who's interested to meet us in the village to discuss this matter," said Hermione.

……

As for Xie Ling, a lot of things happened in the past two weeks, which made his power achieve amazing progress again.

One day in two weeks, a rare riot of dwarf pig monsters broke out in Knox County. The Ministry of Magic's Beast Extermination Squad was quickly dispatched, thinking that this was just a routine clearing operation. However, they soon discovered that the situation was far more difficult than expected - among the rioting dwarf pig monsters, there was an extremely powerful mutant individual.

Due to carelessness and lack of preparation, the firing squad suffered a heavy defeat in their first engagement. Captain Amos Diggory was caught by surprise and injured so severely that he was likely to be disabled for life and unable to serve again.

Just when the situation was in danger, Walton McNeill, a member of the execution squad, showed amazing wit and courage. He quickly cast a rare animal roar simulation spell, making a deep roar that was enough to scare the pig monsters and put them into chaos for a while.

This moment of hesitation became the key to turning the tide of the battle - the firing squad took the opportunity to launch a counterattack, and eventually worked together to successfully kill the dangerous mutant dwarf pig monster and quell the riot.

In this battle, McNeill's heroic performance won high recognition from the Ministry of Magic. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, and after Amos Diggory retired due to injury, he naturally took over as the new captain of the Beast Extermination Execution Squad.

Afterwards, McNeill quietly appeared in the Slytherin Chamber of Secrets.

The new leader of the Beast Extermination Squad had no trace of pride due to his promotion on his face. Instead, he seemed to be suffocated by the invisible pressure. He knelt on the ground, his head bowed deeply, his forehead almost touching the cold stone bricks, and he dared not look directly at the figure sitting quietly on the throne in front of him. "Master..." He said in a low voice, with a trace of instinctive awe and flattery, "Your plan has succeeded, Diggory has become a useless man, and I have lived up to your expectations and have taken over the position of leader of the Beast Extermination Squad."

His fearful breathing echoed in the secret room. After a moment of silence, Sherin finally spoke. His voice was leisurely and indifferent, like the cold wind in the night, penetrating into people's hearts: "Very good, McNeill, you didn't let me down."

Hearing this brief commendation, McNeill felt his back relax, as if he had just been pulled back from the brink of life and death, and a trace of cold sweat oozed from his forehead. He immediately fell to the ground and whispered, "It is my honor to serve the great master."

Xie Lin tilted his head slightly, his grey eyes glowing in the dim candlelight, like a beast examining a loyal servant. He tapped the side of the chair with his fingertips, speaking slowly and meaningfully: "Since you have proven your worth... then, from today on, you will be one of the seven dragon teeth under my command - named 'Blood Mastiff'."

McNeill's heart suddenly shook when he heard this, and then he was overjoyed. He quickly lowered his head even lower, and his voice trembled a little: "Thank you for the gift, Master! McNeill is willing to follow you until death!"

Xie Lin's eyes were deep and he smiled faintly, as if everything was under control.

Then, he slowly stood up and walked down from the throne, holding the black wand in his hand, his steps were neither fast nor slow, but with a certain palpitating sense of oppression.

"You are not strong enough to be my slave, so let me reward you with one more thing—" Sherin raised his wand, rotated it slightly, and pointed it at McNeill's left shoulder.

"Curse Seal - Blood of the Wild Beast!"

A scarlet magic power poured down instantly, like a burning brand, deeply searing into McNeill's flesh and blood.

McNeill suddenly tensed all his muscles, and a burning pain came from his shoulder - as if something was tearing, reshaping, and gnawing at his soul in his bones and blood.

He groaned, veins popped out on his forehead, cold sweat trickled down his cheeks, but he gritted his teeth and said nothing. His blood was boiling, his magic was roaring, and a violent force he had never experienced before was awakening deep in his body.

McNeill panted, his shirt soaked with cold sweat, but he still didn't utter a single cry. He knew that this was not only a gift, but also a test.

The red light at the tip of the wand became brighter and brighter, and a low humming sound like a wolf's howl echoed in the secret room. Following this, an ancient and cruel rune mark slowly took shape on McNeill's skin.

It was the totem of a two-headed wolf, with scarlet lines that looked like they were carved out of blood, fangs bared, and eyes flashing with wild bloodlust.

"'Blood of the Wild Beast' has been engraved into your soul." Xie Lin put away his wand and looked down at him with deep eyes. "It will make you fall into a state of rage when you are injured. The more serious the injury, the stronger the magic power will burst out. If you are killed by a fatal blow...you will gain destructive power comparable to that of a great magician."

McNeill gasped, feeling the violent magic power surging in his body. His pupils turned slightly red, as if some beast's instinct was awakening.

"But the most precious thing is..." Xie Lin leaned forward slightly and added calmly, "Every scar and every pain you suffer will make your magic power grow permanently."

McNeill lowered his head suddenly, and said in a hoarse and fanatical voice: "Thank you for your kindness, Master! I will definitely live up to your expectations!"

Xie Lin smiled slightly, turned around and walked back to the throne, his black robe sliding across the cold ground. In the secret room, only the two-headed wolf curse mark on McNeill's shoulder was left, still beating slightly, like some kind of bloodthirsty living creature, waiting for the next opportunity to burn.

[“Servant” Blood Mastiff obtained! 】

Conquering McNeil was just the first piece of good news.

The second thing was the information sent back from Amelia. After many efforts by her, Scrimgeour and Crouch, they finally succeeded in making Mr. Bletchley the Head of the Psychical Division of the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures, and the current head of the Carrow family, Alvin Carrow, also succeeded in becoming the new Director of the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures.

At this point, the four senior executives of the Department for Control of Magical Creatures (the Director and the Directors of the three branches) are all Schelling's people. It can be said that after the Department of Law Enforcement, the entire Department for Control of Magical Creatures has also successfully fallen under Schelling's control.

Of course, there were some minor incidents happening in the Ministry of Magic, but they did not have much impact on Sherin.

For example, the shameless Ludo Bagman actually returned to the Ministry of Magic, swore allegiance to Fudge, and successfully took back his position as Head of the Department of Sports and Physical Education.

The Sports and Physical Education Department was not a position that held great power, and even if it had helped to increase Fudge's influence, the effect would probably be quite limited, so Schelling did not take the matter too seriously.

Another example is the Travers family, the last escapee of the pure-blood extremists, who rejoined the Ministry of Magic and supported Fudge in a high-profile manner with both funds and publicity, thus further enhancing Fudge's power in the Ministry of Magic.

Although the Travers family was not weak, it was just that in Sherin's eyes. To be fair, although this family was not ranked in the first tier of pure-blood families, it was still very powerful in the second tier, at least not worse than the Avery family.

When Xie Ling received this information, he just sneered a few times on the spot. This fish that had slipped through the net, which he had originally ignored, now had a reason for him to free up his hands to deal with it.