Professor Vampire.

Chapter 21: The wilting Professor Dracula.

And so, Dracula became the scene designer for the Halloween feast.

On the evening of the last day of October, when the young wizards arrived at the Great Hall in droves, they were instantly stunned.

The doors of the Great Hall at Hogwarts had turned into a gaping mouth ready to devour anyone who dared enter, with several sharp fangs hanging over the doorway, as if ready to chew the young wizards to pieces.

In the magical world, Halloween holds great significance for wizards.

Therefore, even the newly admitted young wizards had experienced the Halloween atmosphere no less than ten times. The current scene didn't scare them; they were just incredibly amazed by the decorations in the Great Hall, utterly shocked.

Of course, there were some first-year students from Muggle families who had never seen such a spectacle and were almost frightened out of their wits.

When a giant spider suddenly descended from the "fangs" above, a few timid girls nearly burst into tears.

The interior of the Great Hall had completely changed color as well.

The thousands of brightly lit candles floating in the air were gone, replaced by thousands of bats flapping their wings and flying around. Accompanying them were black clouds that filled the entire ceiling of the Great Hall.

A transparent enchanted ceiling now displayed a stormy sky, summoned by weather spells, with occasional thunderclaps and flashes of lightning.

Among the thunderclouds was a small gap, just large enough to reveal a crescent moon, casting a faint, silvery light as it peeked through the clouds.

Returning one's gaze to the Great Hall, one would see that the four house tables had transformed into blackened deadwood. Numerous withered, gnarled branches extended from the tables, with bats occasionally hanging upside down to rest.

At the front of the hall, Hagrid's giant pumpkins had been carved with sinister grins. Hollowed out and filled with bright candles, the flickering flames cast eerie shadows.

The largest pumpkin, enchanted with an Engorgement Charm, dominated the front area of the hall, enveloping the entire staff table within its belly. The young wizards could see the professors, each dressed in different costumes, through the pumpkin's gaping mouth.

Dumbledore sat in the center, wearing a pure white robe in honor of Halloween. The robe, enchanted to float occasionally, made him look like a ghost.

The small Professor Flitwick wore a pumpkin helmet on his head and sat in an extra-high pumpkin chair, resembling a tiny pumpkin knight.

Even the usually stern Professor McGonagall had softened her demeanor. She had used Transfiguration to turn her hat black, with a small black cat perched on top, its tail occasionally swishing.

Snape was the only professor not dressed in a Halloween costume. However, his sullen expression made him look like a large bat, perfectly matching the Halloween atmosphere.

As for Dracula, he seemed unchanged from his usual appearance.

But as the young wizards entered the Great Hall, Dracula observed the frightened expressions of the first-years and laughed pleasantly. His eerie smile revealed two sharp fangs.

...

Fred and George were the first students to fully embrace the Halloween spirit.

They painted each other's faces with black and white paint, creating crude skeleton faces, and then ran screaming into the Great Hall.

Taking advantage of the dim lighting, the twins mixed in with the other students, occasionally using Lumos to suddenly illuminate their skeletal faces, causing nearby students to jump in fright.

Even in the dim light, Dracula's vision remained sharp.

He sat at the staff table, leisurely swirling a glass of bright red wine, enjoying the twins' antics until they pulled out a large stash of dungbombs and stink pellets...

Dracula's face darkened, and he disappeared from his seat in an instant.

The next moment, he appeared behind the twins and snapped his fingers. All the dungbombs and stink pellets were instantly encased in solid ice.

Fred and George felt the weight in their hands and, upon seeing the ice block, realized Dracula was behind them.

"Professor, weren't you at the staff table? How did you get here so quietly?" Fred instinctively tried to hide the ice-encased dungbombs behind his back.

But the ice was too cold, and his hands trembled, causing the heavy ice block to slip and fall toward the floor.

Dracula's eye twitched, and he summoned the ice block into his hand before it hit the ground, also confiscating George's stink pellets into his own extended storage space.

"Professor, we worked so hard to collect those. Please don't confiscate them!" George pleaded pitifully.

But with his face painted like a skeleton, his expression only appeared comical and grim.

"Tonight is Halloween, and I don't mind you playing some pranks," Dracula said, understandingly, as he looked at the ridiculous skeleton faces.

Then his expression turned cold. "But did you not realize we're about to have a feast? Do you want everyone to eat in the middle of a foul stench?!"

Fred and George grinned sheepishly, unsure of what to say.

"I'm confiscating these for now. You'll get them back when I'm in a better mood."

Dracula didn't bother scolding the twins further.

With a flick of his red-and-black cloak, he returned to his seat at the staff table.

Thinking the Halloween feast would proceed smoothly, Dracula was surprised when, a few minutes later, the Weasley twins, still with their ridiculous skeleton faces, sneaked into the giant pumpkin lantern and approached the staff table.

"Don't even think about getting your dungbombs back," Dracula said impatiently.

"Professor, we're not here for that," Fred quickly explained.

George nodded, "We just thought, since it's Halloween, we should follow tradition."

With mischievous smiles, they said in unison:

"Trick or treat!"

Dracula looked at them in surprise, then smiled playfully.

"Here you go!" He grabbed a handful of lollipops from the table and tossed them to the twins.

"Thank you, Professor!" Fred and George gleefully caught the lollipops and immediately put them in their mouths.

The next moment—

"Ugh!"

"Professor, why do your lollipops taste like rust?!"

Dracula laughed joyfully, his sharp fangs gleaming.

"Can't you tell what character I'm playing? This flavor of lollipop is the most fitting, don't you think?"

"You win, Professor! Your vampire act deserves full marks!" Fred and George bowed in admiration.

At that moment, Dumbledore, who had been watching the scene, beckoned to the twins.

"If you've had enough of Dracula's tricks, come over here. I have plenty of real sweets for you." He pulled out two large bags of Honeydukes' special edition treats and handed them to the twins.

The twins accepted the candy, tears of gratitude in their eyes.

Compared to the mischievous Dracula, the headmaster was too kind!