A Professor of Magic at Hogwarts Chapter 616: An unusual dinner

"A certain Hogwarts rune professor ()"

On September 1st, in the evening, it was cloudy and rainy.

The Hogwarts Express pulls into Hogsmeade Station.

Ron and Hermione had to brave the rain to maintain order on the muddy road, and carried the little wizards who were a little bit overexcited to the carriage. Harry dawdled on purpose until the platform was almost completely empty before finding a chance to slip out. So they were almost the last to get into the wagon.

"Hey, those little devils are so disgusting." Ron complained, "I suddenly want to eat French food, how about you?"

"Anything will do," Hermione said wearily.

The carriage started to move, the clouds were overcast outside, the light was darker than usual at this time of day, and the rain hit the roof of the carriage and rolled into the carriage, making Harry shiver. The carriage finally stopped by the stone steps leading to the oak gate. Hermione, who had been dozing off, woke up and jumped out of the carriage, "Hurry up, you two!"

"She's absolutely starving," Ron said under his breath to Harry.

The three of them merged into the crowd, ding-dong the stone steps filled with stagnant water. The bright foyer was in the distance. Hot, he climbed the last few steps in one breath.

A pair of shoes blocked his way. .

Harry raised his head and looked at Professor Haipu's blunt expressionless face. An inexplicable fear struck him, causing his internal organs to ache. Ron and Hermione looked back at them in surprise.

"Professor?" Harry swallowed.

"Harry, stay after the dinner. Principal Dumbledore and I are going to take you somewhere." Felix said, he blew the cold wind at the door for nearly half an hour, almost thinking that Harry missed the train .

Warren's fur was soaked, and finally he couldn't take it anymore and ran to the auditorium.

Harry opened his mouth and swallowed what he was about to say, "Okay."

Felix nodded to him and led him to the auditorium. "Professor?" Felix stopped and looked at Harry. Harry shivered from the cold, "What am I going to do to prepare..."

"No, oh, better bring your wand."

Harry plodded into the Great Hall.

The dining table was in chaos. When he sat down, Ron and Hermione gave him puzzled looks. Harry shook his head. He couldn't help but look towards the professor's bench. The chair whispered something to Headmaster Dumbledore, who nodded gravely.

His heart sank bit by bit.

"I already told Harry, when the dinner is over..."

"I see." Dumbledore said in a deep voice. He picked up a fork and tapped the goblet. On the road, some people who were only interested in chatting with their classmates before found something unusual.

"Two new professors!" Seamus said in surprise, he counted them one by one with a puzzled face, "Why is there an extra person..."

"Professor McGonagall's seat is vacant!"

…

"Mr Slughorn next to Snape, and Mr Bagshot next to Professor Happer," Harry whispered.

Hermione inhaled lightly, looking a little uneasy.

"What's wrong?"

"The number of chairs is not right, one more——"

At this moment, the door leading to the hall opened, and Professor McGonagall led a row of young wizards in and made them line up in front of the staff desk. Then she put a dirty hat on the stool and stood by waiting.

The Sorting Hat sang loudly:

I have worn it on the head of the most outstanding duelist,

Though not yet given life;

I am older than everything in the castle,

But don't think I'll never change.

Four founders of great schools,

Their deeds have been passed down for thousands of years;

Who else in the world knows enough about them?

Think who carried their thoughts!

Godric Gryffindor, the invincible duelist,

Rowena Ravenclaw, her wisdom is unmatched,

Helga Hufflepuff, magnanimous and merciful,

Salazar Slytherin, a shrewd mind and unscrupulous.

Despite the decay of the body,

But their ideas are reproduced in students;

The four colleges are full of talents,

Together let Hogwarts fame spread far and wide.

But I want to pour a basin of cold water on you,

Single thoughts can only fight in isolation.

There is no difference between courage and recklessness,

Wisdom and arrogance go hand in hand,

Kindness and weakness always transform into each other,

The difference between shrewdness and selfishness is only a thought.

I am standing in front of you now,

Let me be honest with you about the past;

I have fulfilled my duty to speak frankly—

Now let's start sorting.

The Sorting Hat remained motionless after speaking. It was as if the pause button had been pressed in the auditorium, and it took a few seconds before sparse applause resounded. The students whispered, "It's the first time I've heard the Sorting Hat criticize the thinking of the four houses." Ron said in surprise.

"But it does qualify," said Harry, applauding along with the crowd, although he was also a little surprised.

Usually the Sorting Hat just gives the qualities that the four houses value, and praises the four founders (sometimes with the exception of Slytherin). Last year was different, it was an unprecedented warning for students to stick together, but that was because Voldemort was stalking outside the school.

Now that the war was over, Ginny even made a bet with Ron on the train that the Sorting Hat would sing a nasty song about people coming out of war this year.

Professor McGonagall was also a little dazed. She cleared her throat vigorously, and the whispering stopped abruptly. She took out a long list of freshmen and read the names on it one by one—

"Tulce Elimore."

"It's very distinctive." On the professor's seat, Grindelwald put down his hand and said softly.

Felix smiled slightly, and glanced across the auditorium. The students and professors had different reactions to the song of the Sorting Hat. For example, Slughorn, who had been loudly trying to get along with many professors before, was silent now. , frowned.

He glanced at Dumbledore, then glanced at Grindelwald from the corner of his eye without any trace, and his walrus beard trembled.

Maybe he was weighing in his heart whether he would be at a disadvantage... Felix secretly thought. He knew that Dumbledore had used teaching and asylum as an excuse to win over Slughorn, but Voldemort hadn't fallen at the time, and Slughorn didn't want to expose himself to the public.

Now that the war is over, the cunning old walrus can finally hold back.

But this also brought an advantage, Severus finally got his wish and got the position he wanted.

"...Toby Gilbert."

Felix took a look at the Sorting Hat and keenly grasped the point of this year's Sorting Hat song - as last year - calling students to unite as one. But the two are different. Last year it was because of external enemies, but this year it may be because of internal reasons.

Did the Sorting Hat hear anything from Dumbledore?

He looked at Grindelwald, who was full of interest and leisurely, and thought that the direction was quite obvious-the old man's strength had shrunk seriously, and he could only talk about it, even though Felix had taken this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class. The book list made fun of Grindelwald, but he didn't think that the Dark Lord, who once aspired to rule Muggles, would easily bow to his peaceful ideas.

Taking his book as a target for criticism is more or less the same.

Felix has already made up his mind that he must go to attend two classes when he has time. His book has been written with great care, and Grindelwald can't let it be interpreted indiscriminately.

"—— Hubbard Zenobia."

"Slytherin!"

The sorting ceremony was finally over, and Professor McGonagall came over to pick up the sorting hat and chair—"Please wait, Minerva." Dumbledore said suddenly, and Professor McGonagall froze in place, and asked hesitantly: " Albus?"

Dumbledore stood up swiftly, briskly on his feet. He smiled and said, "I'm just a little curious. If it were now... what college would I be assigned to." He picked up the sorting hat, turned his arms around his head, and sat on the small bench funny.

The auditorium suddenly boiled.

Although their stomachs were growling with hunger, the students stood up one after another, standing on tiptoe and looking forward to it. "He's crazy!" cried Hermione. "No, that's normal!" Harry and Ron said in unison, and all the students looked at Dumbledore without blinking.

"What do you say he wants to do?"

"I don't know, but if the Sorting Hat assigns him to another college, it will be fun to watch!"

"Maybe that's what he wants!"

Dumbledore sat on the small bench in an orderly manner, with his long white beard dragging on the floor, he closed his eyes, as if he was communicating with the Sorting Hat, because at the brim of the Sorting Hat, there was a rip in the hat The ground opened, and it shouted: "This is against the rules, Dumbledore!"

"Oh, don't be like this... be accommodating..." Dumbledore whispered, only Professor McGonagall heard this sentence, her lips were tightly pursed into a line, her fingers kept opening and closing, and she was entangled in her heart. Don't force the Sorting Hat off Dumbledore.

She couldn't decide which one would turn into a scandal... so she could only freeze in place, her chest heaving violently.

It was a minute or two before the Sorting Hat reluctantly called out the word "Gryffindor".

Dumbledore stood up contentedly, and handed the Sorting Hat to the annoyed Professor McGonagall. Felix, Grindelwald, and Snape were thoughtful, although their thoughts were completely different.

Felix is ​​looking forward to the speech after the dinner even more, what will Dumbledore say? Will he support school reform? Grindelwald's lesson preparation this year is extremely targeted. Without Dumbledore's acquiescence, there would be no such outrageous book list.

Dumbledore has returned to his position. As if nothing happened, he opened his arms and said with a bright smile: "Nothing can represent my mood at the moment like a big meal. Let's Let's eat!"

Then he sat down and delicious food fell from the sky.

Grindelwald stared, slightly taken aback, thinking that Dumbledore would at least say something.

"The headmaster never disappoints in that regard, does he, Minerva?" More than ten words must be."

Professor McGonagall, who had just sat down, snorted softly, with his eyes on Dumbledore.

"It's better to add one more, prohibiting sudden madness."

When the last piece of dessert disappeared, Dumbledore stood up again. Felix looked at his headmaster with great interest, and his eyes stayed on the black gemstone ring that seemed to grow on his hand. It might be the resurrection stone ? A chance encounter with Xenophilius Lovegood a few weeks earlier came to mind.

It's a pity that they didn't say a few words at all, because Mr. Lovegood seemed to have a bad stomach and was in a hurry to find a toilet.

I don’t know if his interview failure is related to this matter...

"Okay... New students, welcome to enroll; old students, welcome back to school!" Dumbledore wiped the corners of his eyes emotionally, "What awaits you is a new school year of magic education..."

"Administrator Filch asked me to tell everyone... Quidditch selection will... test spells and make up the list of candidates..."

Students listened lazily, drowsily, to the clichés.

"This year the school has welcomed two new professors, and at the same time there have been some minor changes in the original faculty. First, let us welcome Professor Slughorn, who has worked with me and is an experienced Professor of Potions..."

"Potions?"

The students opened their eyes wide and stared at the old wizard who stood up and waved enthusiastically to them. He was wearing a delicate waistcoat with a belly too big to be buttoned up. His bald head reflected the light from the top of his head as his body turned. .

"Sure enough—" Hermione tapped the table lightly with her fist.

"Really what?" Ron asked puzzled, like most of the students, his eyes swiveled between the new professor and Snape, with an expression of watching the show.

"Didn't you find that there is one more professor this year? I thought—"

"At the same time, Professor Bagshot and Professor Snape," Dumbledore said with his usual expression, but his voice slightly raised, "will be co-professors of the Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

Hermione took a breath.

"It turned out to be arranged like this! Alas, Professor Snape has finally got his wish."

The students' discussion became louder. "All I care about is who's going to teach the sixth form," said Ron, as Professor Bagshot politely stood up in salute and Snape just lazily held out a hand to cheer the Slytherins Voice.

Ron bared his teeth and said: "The gap is huge, although I also hate Snape, but compared to a squib-"

"Ron!" said Hermione warningly.

Ron shrank his neck, "Well... I won't say it, but the problem is there, I can't pretend not to see it, everyone knows how to choose..."

Dumbledore waited until Grindelwald sat down, and then continued: "The two professors will divide their work and cooperate. Professor Snape is in charge of teaching the first to fifth grades, and Professor Bagshot is in charge of the teaching of the improvement class..."

There was a loud hiss from Slytherin House, they were complaining about their Headmaster.

Even Harry was very surprised. Although only the Slytherin students clearly expressed their opposition, the other three houses responded mediocrely, but that was because they didn't know that Mr. Bagshot was a Squib. If they knew, they would probably be the same Noisy.

Harry looked at the professor's chair and couldn't help worrying about Mr. Bagshot, but his expression remained the same.

Somewhere in his heart, Harry secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although he hasn't taken Professor Bagshot's class yet, at least one thing is certain, he won't have much chance to deal with Snape this year.

He suddenly had a thought, maybe Snape chose the first to fifth grades for this reason.

After announcing the change of position, Dumbledore still stood where he was, obviously having something to say. The hum in the auditorium gradually disappeared~IndoMTL.com~The students all thought of the song of the Sorting Hat and the strange behavior of Principal Dumbledore, and perhaps they could hear the answer from his words.

"The past year has seen Voldemort and his entourage wreak havoc, and people have suffered a lot. Fortunately, we didn't have to sacrifice as much of our treasured treasures as we did in the last ten-year war, and I hope you all In addition to celebrating, take even a minute—such as now—to reflect on what war has brought us.”

What follows is an extremely long minute.

"I think each of you has your own experience. Please remember the thoughts at this moment, it will allow you to grow and distinguish right from wrong. It is normal for a person's thoughts to change with their own experiences. I clearly remember the sorting scene when I entered school: the sorting hat made a decision almost immediately. But just now I didn’t know where it would sort me... But one thing is for sure, paranoia will make people go to extremes, challenge Dispute."

Dumbledore's words stopped abruptly.

"Okay, you have enough time to think about these annoying problems in the future, but the most important thing is to get a good rest. I saw someone yawned, so... good night."

The chairs were pushed back one by one, Harry stood up together with the others, his mind seemed to return to the warm and comfortable bed first, and then he saw Professor Hap beckoning to him with a serious expression.

He suddenly woke up.

"What's the matter, Harry?" said Ron, yawning, as Hermione ran off to give directions to the first years.

Harry gave him a deep look.

"If... well, I mean I can't come back, I left something in the box..."

"What are you talking about?" Ron rubbed his stomach.

"...remember, box."