Chapter 390 - 391: Ministry’s Announcement

When Sagres returned to the office in Hogwarts Castle, he had already made a decision.

He needed to keep a low profile for the time being in this chaotic era, and Hogwarts was an ideal place to hide.

However, for an unfamiliar face to suddenly appear in the castle during such a sensitive period would inevitably attract unnecessary attention.

With that thought, his gaze fell on the drawer enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, where Professor Elit Samdron was sleeping soundly.

"If Barty Crouch Jr. could impersonate Moody with Polyjuice Potion for so long..." Sagres murmured to himself, pressing his wand against his temple, "then I can do something similar."

He closed his eyes and carefully recalled every detail he had extracted from Samdron's mind: the slightly greying hair at his temples, the faint scar above his right eyebrow from a childhood accident involving a tree branch, and the habitual frown he wore while speaking.

Silver light glowed at the tip of Sagres's wand.

His bones began to creak softly, and his face reshaped itself like melting wax.

A moment later, the mirror reflected Professor Samdron's weathered face.

Sagres tested his facial muscles, forming a slightly worried expression that suited the man's personality perfectly.

In the days that followed, Sagres lived a double life.

During the day, he was the cautious Charms Professor Elit Samdron, dressed in slightly worn wizarding robes, teaching students from all four Houses on schedule and politely conversing with his colleagues at the staff table.

He subtly used Legilimency to catch fragments of thoughts and conversations from those around him, constantly refining his disguise.

"Professor Samdron, your explanation of the Levitation Charm today was particularly clear," a Ravenclaw witch told him after class.

"Thank you for the compliment, Mylissa," Sagres replied, accurately calling her by name while giving a shy smile that perfectly matched Samdron's personality.

Another Gryffindor boy approached excitedly.

"Professor, I used to get confused about coordinating wand movements with pronunciation, but the key you demonstrated yesterday, 'a slight flick of the wrist while enunciating clearly,' helped me master the Softening Charm immediately!"

Sagres nodded slightly and replied in a gentle tone, "I'm very glad to hear that, Crot. Very glad indeed."

"Professor..." another student quickly added, "I feel like what you've been teaching us lately is especially practical. Before, it always seemed..."

Sagres merely adjusted his glasses and replied modestly, "Perhaps the recent situation has made me realise that students need to master more practical applications of magic. Only then will they be better able to protect themselves."

At the same time, he couldn't help complaining inwardly.

Of course you find it practical. Many of the things I'm teaching are concepts far ahead of this era.

Teaching in a way that fully matched the background of this period was indeed a considerable challenge.

Every night, Sagres studied magical texts from this era in his office, not to search for a way back, but purely out of interest.

He kept the real Samdron inside the drawer enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, regularly feeding him nutrient potions and keeping him unconscious with Stupefy.

One evening, Professor Martha Kelly, who taught Transfiguration, called out to him in the corridor.

"Elit, I heard you inspected the castle's protective enchantments a few days ago. Did you find anything?"

Sagres had found no memory of this in Samdron's mind, but his expression remained unchanged as he adopted a worried look.

"I'm still investigating, Martha. Is the school really going to be closed?"

Professor Kelly nodded helplessly and lowered her voice.

"The Headmaster plans to discuss temporarily closing the school at next week's staff meeting. You know, if the witch hunts continue to spread..."

"But sending the students home won't make them any safer," Sagres said with feigned regret. "If anything, it will only put them in greater danger."

"We all know that, but given the current situation, the giant tribe in the Forbidden Forest is about to attack the castle again..."

"Don't worry. We'll find a solution."

"Let's hope so."

Watching her retreating figure, Sagres fell into deep thought.

That night, he connected with Noctis's vision once again.

Through the raven's eyes, he saw that Hogwarts, more than five hundred years in the future, was already beginning to fall into unrest.

Several familiar figures had gathered inside his office: Dumbledore, McGonagall, and several Ministry of Magic officials, all frowning as they spoke with varying expressions.

"Sagres has never missed a class," Professor McGonagall said, frowning with concern. "Even last year, when he accidentally caught a severe cold, he still insisted on teaching."

"I knocked on his office door this morning, and no one answered. That was at eight o'clock."

Dumbledore stood beside the desk, his sharp gaze sweeping over the various objects scattered across it.

He gently picked up the hourglass and examined it carefully.

"Minerva, Severus," he said softly, "have either of you heard of magical accidents involving time travel?"

Snape's mouth twitched slightly.

"Are you suggesting that Sagres was attempting something that dangerous?"

"The condition of this hourglass is highly unusual," Dumbledore said, slowly turning the object in his hand. "The sand inside is completely motionless. To my knowledge, this phenomenon only occurs when time magic has been severely disrupted."

"A Time-Turner?!"

A nearby Ministry official stared at the hourglass in Dumbledore's hand in surprise while hurriedly taking notes on a piece of parchment.

...

A few days later, the Ministry of Magic issued an official announcement in the latest edition of the Daily Prophet:

#Sagres Greengrass: Hero or Criminal?#

Hermione snatched a newspaper from a young wizard, her voice trembling as she read aloud.

"As of today, the Ministry of Magic has officially issued a warrant for the arrest of former Hogwarts Professor Sagres Greengrass. According to Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge, Greengrass is suspected of multiple serious crimes..."

Ron's spoon clattered into his bowl.

"Are they insane? How dare they? Professor Greengrass just defeated You-Know-Who!"

Harry quickly scanned the charges listed in the newspaper:

• Suspected of threatening senior Ministry of Magic officials

• Suspected of murdering senior Ministry official Barty Crouch Sr.

• Suspected of killing an unknown number of Azkaban Dementors

• Suspected of carrying out extrajudicial punishment against suspects

• Suspected of illegally using a Time-Turner for time travel

• Suspected of using ancient war magic explicitly prohibited by the International Confederation of Wizards

• Refusal to cooperate with a Ministry of Magic investigation

"They didn't even mention that he saved Harry!" Seamus Finnigan said indignantly from a nearby table.

Draco Malfoy's sneering voice also came from the Slytherin table.

"What a bunch of idiots!"

Hermione was trembling with anger.

"This is ridiculous! Someone must be manipulating things behind the scenes!"

She put down the newspaper and quickly began analysing the situation.

"I've heard that Minister Fudge has always been wary of Professor Dumbledore's influence. Now that Professor Greengrass has demonstrated this level of power, it must make him even more uneasy."

Ron frowned. "But the charges they've listed..."

"Most of them are baseless, or accusations based on highly questionable standards!" Hermione interrupted.

"Take the so-called 'killing of Dementors,' for example. We all saw what happened. Professor Greengrass was protecting the students. The same applies to the other charges. And as for the Time-Turner..."

She suddenly stopped, her face turning pale.

"Unless... Professor Greengrass really was conducting some kind of time-travel experiment. Maybe that's why he's been missing for the past few days!"

"Time travel?" Ron's eyes widened. "Is that actually possible?"

Hermione pulled a thick book from her satchel.

"Long-term time travel is extremely dangerous. There are specific examples mentioned in Hogwarts: A History. There have indeed been cases of wizards becoming trapped in the past for extended periods because of time travel, but in the end they..."

"In the end, what?" Harry asked eagerly.

Hermione's expression grew worried.

"The book says there was once a wizard who tried to travel back in time to save his dead wife. He remained in the past for a very long time, and when he finally returned to the present... he died of old age within minutes."

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