The originally calm face of Gellert, who was listening to the children's debate, suddenly flushed.
It was from anger.
He never expected rumors to be this outrageous, losing to a Sniff...
I damn well lost to Al! Lost to Al! The greatest White Wizard in the world! Not some Sniff!
You little bastard students! Can you stop spreading rumors?
It has nothing to do with the Sniff!
"That was merely the Sniff's assistance! The fact is Professor Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald!" Justin Finchley loudly proclaimed, "And it was with the help of our senior from Hufflepuff, Professor Newt Scamander. I believe Grindelwald is the strongest Dark Wizard, after all, he was defeated by Dumbledore—while the You-Know-Who you mention was defeated by a baby!"
"Grindelwald!"
"You-Know-Who!"
The two sides began to quarrel chaotically, while the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students sat aside eating popcorn.
After all, You-Know-Who came from Slytherin; as the saying goes, black or red, it's all red. Voldemort's power also indirectly proves that Slytherin does not breed idlers.
Hufflepuff was trying to prove Grindelwald's might, which in turn highlighted their own excellence—you see, Senior Newt was a major force in capturing the strongest Dark Wizard in the world, and this is an honor for Hufflepuff.
"Youth is wonderful," Harry commented sharply on the side, and he looked at Gellert, who was still nonchalantly polishing his gold coins, and said loudly, "Actually, I think Grindelwald is quite formidable. After all, compared to a baby, an adult Sniff does have some combat ability..."
Gellert took a deep breath, put down the gold coins from the Sniff's nest, and closed the cage.
He decided to polish something else, like... the Sniff itself.
So, he reached out and grabbed a Sniff.
However, in his agitated state, his hand slipped, and the Sniff scurried along his sleeve and slipped into his clothes.
"Hahaha..." Harry laughed even more heartily seeing this scene. What could he say? Perhaps the Sniff really is Gellert's nemesis?
This matter must be shared with Vivi when I go back, to talk about the embarrassing incidents Gellert experienced today! And the inter-house debate about which Dark Demon King is stronger.
It was quite a while before Newt and Tina arrived, Newt with a few Sniff cubs hanging on him.
"What are you guys arguing about?" Tina curiously asked.
"Mrs. Scamander!" Hanna was the first to speak, "We're debating who is stronger, Grindelwald or the You-Know-Who. Personally, I think Grindelwald is more formidable because Voldemort was defeated by a baby..."
"Nonsense!" Daphne quickly retorted, "What's so great about Grindelwald as the strongest Dark Wizard? He was just your Hufflepuff captive! Beaten by a Sniff as well!"
Not far away, Grindelwald, who was pulling a Sniff out of his bosom, turned dark-faced.
Tina noticed the change in Grindelwald's expression and held back her laughter, telling the students, "Children, this is not something worth arguing about..."
"Assistant Gael," Harry suddenly asked, "which side do you think makes a valid point? Are you supporting the You-Know-Who, who was countered by a baby, or the Sniff capturing Grindelwald?"
"I have no opinion," Gellert said through gritted teeth.
Present were Harry, and only Tina and Newt knew Gellert's true identity.
They hadn't even told Hagrid.
Of course, Dumbledore had already warned them not to tell Hagrid because this master of Mind Reading couldn't keep any secrets.
Seeing Gellert so at a loss, the two of them exchanged a smile.
No one expected that upon coming to Hogwarts, he would suffer such indignity.
Think about it—a proud Gellert who has ever suffered such humiliation? Being ridiculed to his face by a group of young wizards as being captured by a Sniff, and yet he had no way to stop them.
This is Hogwarts, with Dumbledore and his sister holding the fort in the castle; even given three bullies, he wouldn't dare do anything to the young wizards.
Even if given Alfonso's snake guts, he wouldn't have the guts.
"Alright, children," Tina said, holding back laughter, "this is not worth arguing, especially you Slytherins, You-Know-Who is not your pride, and this is something you must realize."
"Yes, Mrs. Scamander," the students replied in unison.
"What a pity," Seamus murmured, "I thought it might escalate into a real fight between the two houses."
"Remember to secretly throw a magic spell next time," Hermione said in a similarly low voice.
It should be noted that Newt's theoretical classes were quite good. Despite his social anxiety, when it came to his profession, that social anxiety seemed to miraculously disappear.
In keeping with the mention of Sniff this time, he held up a Sniff and began describing the habits of this animal to everyone.
"The Sniff is a burrowing animal, covered in black fur, with a long snout, and has a particular fondness for all things shiny,"
As he said this, Newt held up the Sniff and described its appearance and habits to everyone.
"Moreover, monsters often breed Sniff to dig treasures deep underground—however, I must warn you, while Sniff have gentle dispositions and may show affection to you, they can be destructive to your valuables, so never keep them at home."
At this point, the students burst out into laughter.
Newt noticed Daphne raising her hand, and he asked, "Miss Green Grass, do you have a question?"
"So, Professor, did the Sniff really steal something from Grindelwald?" Daphne asked.
"Yes, that's a fact," Newt nodded with a smile.
He then continued, "Sniff live in their own nests, generally twenty feet underground, with their litters producing six to eight. So you can see the Sniff cubs I was holding in my bosom just now, that's a litter."
During the end of the class, Newt gave everyone a shiny Sniff badge, the Sniff on it was even wearing a pearl necklace, looking quite suave.
"It's just missing a pair of sunglasses," Justin remarked sharply.
Everyone got one, even Assistant Gael did.
But Assistant Gael didn't seem too happy, and no one knew why.
"Look at Assistant Gael," Hanna from Hufflepuff asked in confusion, "the Sniff badge looks so nice, why isn't he happy? Doesn't he like it?"
Harry thought, he indeed doesn't seem to like it much.
But Gellert, in his dedication, still pinned the Sniff badge to his chest.
In some ways, Gellert indeed is much stronger than Voldemort. Harry didn't think Voldemort would pin a badge featuring Harry Potter's big portrait.
During dinner, Harry recounted the incident to Vivi.
"You guys are really mean..." Vivi said softly, but she had no intention of mourning her foolish brother.
He had it coming, Vivi thought.
She thought again of Gellert's reluctant face as he wore the Sniff badge and covered her mouth while holding back laughter.
When it was time to go back to the dormitory, Vivi casually glanced over at Miss Fari, who gave her an "ok" hand gesture.
She gently curled up the corner of her lips and turned to walk towards the Slytherin common room.
As expected, when she stepped into the Slytherin common room, there were indeed over a dozen senior students waiting for her there.
(Asking for monthly votes...)
(Today's twelve thousand words have been delivered!)