Chapter 347: The Half-Crippled Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor
On the first day of Hogwarts, it rained heavily outside.
Gines drove Aaron to King's Cross Station and moved his suitcase onto the express train on Platform 9 3/4.
"Young Master, I have prepared your robes. If you are not satisfied with anything, just let me know via owl," Gines said with a meaningful smile. "Also, I wish you a happy new semester. This year will be very interesting."
"Thanks for the good wishes. At least the Professors at Hogwarts won't resort to physical violence like Ancestor Wehert."
"That's not necessarily true."
Aaron frowned slightly. "What else are you hiding from me?"
Gines hesitated for a moment. "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts Class Professor is a formidable person."
"Is there anything else?"
"He's a legendary Auror."
"You know that's not what I'm asking," Aaron said impatiently.
"Uh..." Gines chuckled. "This really isn't convenient to say. The Young Master will understand when the time comes."
With that, he turned and disappeared into the rain, not giving Aaron a chance to ask further questions.
Aaron pouted unhappily, holding Abey, and looked for an empty compartment in the aisle.
After walking a few steps, he heard Draco's voice, and his eyes lit up.
If anyone he knew could get news from the Magical Worldin advance, it would definitely be Malfoy.
Aaron walked towards the compartment where the voice came from. Draco was complaining to Crabbe and Goyleabout the teaching quality of Hogwarts when he saw Aaronstanding at the door.
"Come in quickly," Draco said, happily opening the sliding door and offering him the window seat.
"What are you talking about?"
"Durmstrang," Draco said with some regret. "If my mother hadn't been unwilling for me to go so far away, I should be attending that magic school now.
At Durmstrang, you can learn real Dark Arts, while Hogwarts can only teach ridiculous defensive spells."
"Real Dark Arts?" Aaron scoffed at the remark. "You might get a chance this semester."
Draco paused, then excitedly said, "Did Dumbledore finally agree to Professor Snape becoming the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class Professor? He's not completely senile yet."
"No, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Class Professoris an Auror."
Hearing this, Draco's interest instantly waned.
He didn't think an Auror's teaching level could be that strong, at least not comparable to Professor Snape's.
"There's something I want to ask you," Aaron said, looking at Draco seriously. "Is something big going to happen recently?"
Draco nodded, closing the sliding door and windows tightly, then lowered his voice and said, "Cornelius Fudge told my father that the Triwizard Tournament will be held at Hogwarts.
This is internal Ministry of Magic news and hasn't been announced yet."
Triwizard Tournament?
Aaron immediately understood what Gines was hiding from him.
He recalled a divination he did last year, and the crystal ball indeed showed a cup filled with flames.
But a hint of doubt also arose in his heart. The Triwizard Tournament was just a competitive exchange between three magic schools, and there was no need to hide it from him at all.
"Are you going to participate?" Draco asked with interest. "If it were you, you might be able to win this honor."
"Hehe!" Aaron's mouth twitched slightly. "It's too dangerous, and being low-key is my consistent principle."
"That's a real shame," Draco said, shrugging helplessly. "If you don't participate, Potter will probably steal the spotlight. He never misses an opportunity to show off."
Aaron:...There must be some misunderstanding here.
The train continued to travel north, and the rain grew heavier, constantly hitting the windows with a pitter-patter sound.
As time passed, the sky grew darker, and the black clouds seemed to press down.
This scene was no less intense than last year, but without Dementors blocking the way, it only made the students on the train feel slightly more suppressed.
It wasn't until nightfall, when the train stopped at Hogsmeade Station, that the students, having changed into their school robes, disembarked into the heavy rain.
A rumble of thunder came from the sky, and the first Classstudents gathered in front of Hagrid in the pouring rain.
The weather was quite bad, but that was no reason to change Hogwarts' tradition. The young Wizards of the first Class had to cross the Black Lake by boat to reach the Castle.
As for the Wizards above the first Class, they crossed the platform, and Thestrals would pull carriages to take them to Hogwarts in advance.
After getting off the carriage, Aaron put Abey in his hood and walked to the entrance hall with an umbrella.
"This rain is really heavy," Draco said, wiping the rain from his face. "I wish I had brought a bigger umbrella. Neither of you reminded me."
"We didn't expect the rain to last this long!" Crabbe said, feeling wronged.
"You're lucky to just be drenched," Aaron teased. "First ClassWizards have to cross the river in a storm, and if they're not careful, they'll fall into the Black Lake."
"Oh dear!"
A red balloon filled with water suddenly fell from the ceiling, landing squarely on Ron's head, making him even more disheveled than he already was and almost bumping into Harry.
"Haha! Well done," Draco laughed. "Now I feel much better."
"Peeves!" Professor McGonagall roared angrily. "Get down here!"
"I didn't do anything," Peeves cackled, continuing to recklessly throw water-filled balloons until Professor McGonagall brought up Dumbledore, and he reluctantly flew towards the stairs.
Professor McGonagall led the Wizards above the second Class to the Great Hall and then quickly returned.
Before the first Class Wizards arrived, she had to keep the entrance hall as clean and tidy as possible.
The Great Hall was very warm, and the rain-soaked students all sat down at their respective House tables.
"Our Defense Against the Dark Arts Class Professor is quite arrogant, isn't he, still not here," Draco said, looking at the empty seat at the faculty table, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes.
"Whether he's late or not doesn't matter; I'm more interested in whether he's reliable," Aaron said pointedly.
Draco also nodded in agreement. No Defense Against the Dark Arts Class Professor had lasted more than a year, especially Gilderoy Lockhart, who was simply a bizarre character in the Wizarding World when they were in their second Class.
Just then, the Great Hall doors opened, and Professor McGonagall led a line of first Class new students to the front of the Great Hall.
These young Wizards didn't look like they had come by boat; they looked more like they had swum across the lake, as almost every part of them was soaked.
Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on a chair, and the patched hat, with its mouth agape, sang a simple school history, introducing the four House founders and its own origin.
The general meaning was that the Sorting Hat was fair and just, had never misjudged anyone, and would sort every young Wizard into the appropriate House.
"Next, when I call your name, please sit on the chair," Professor McGonagall unrolled a long scroll of parchment with the names of the first Class new students. "After the Sorting Hat announces the House, go to the corresponding table."
Stuart Ackerley — Ravenclaw.
Malcolm Baddock — Slytherin.
Eleanor Branstone — Hufflepuff... Applause rose and fell, with every House warmly welcoming their juniors.
After the ceremony, almost everyone turned their eager gaze to Dumbledore, even Draco, who disliked him the most, was no exception.
Dumbledore looked at the expectant crowd, smiling as he spread his arms. The Sonorus Charm made his booming voice audible in every corner of the Great Hall. "I have only two words for you: Eat up!"
As his voice fell, the golden empty tableware was piled high with steaming food.
The students, who had been hungry for almost a day, immediately couldn't hold back and began to devour the food with their cutlery.
"He should have done this a long time ago," Draco grumbled while eating.
"Everyone thinks so," Aaron said, tearing off a chicken leg for Abey and pouring a large glass of milk, then slowly cutting the steak on his plate.
"The Defense Against the Dark Arts Class Professor still hasn't arrived," Draco said gleefully.
"Maybe he was delayed on the way!" Aaron said indifferently.
After everyone had eaten their fill, the food scraps, along with the tableware, disappeared, and the long tables became clean and tidy again.
Dumbledore stood in the center of the faculty table and, as usual, gave the newly admitted first Class students some Precautions. Then he looked at everyone meaningfully. "This year, the House Quidditch Cup will no longer be held."
"What?"
The students gasped, momentarily unable to process the news.
The Quidditch team members looked even more incredulous. If there was no Quidditch match, wouldn't they, as players, become mere decorations?
Before the Great Hall became too noisy, Dumbledoreshowed a mysterious smile, and his tone became incredibly excited. "This is because this academic year, Hogwarts Castlewill not only be your home but also the home of some special guests.
Hogwarts has been chosen to host a highly prestigious event..."
Before he could finish speaking, the Great Hall doors were rudely slammed open, and the rumbling thunder also entered the Great Hall.
A man in a hood stood at the doorway. He leaned on a long walking stick and limped in.
His face was scarred, his features were damaged to varying degrees, his right eye was very small, but his left eye was like a protruding large eyeball.
"If nothing unexpected happens, he should be our Defense Against the Dark Arts Class Professor," Aaron forced a smile. "No wonder Gines said he was a legend among Aurors. It's really hard on him to come to Class half-crippled."
"He's a madman," Draco said, his face pale. "Mad-EyeMoody. He specializes in fighting Dark Wizards. Almost all the prisoners in Azkaban know him."
"Not bad," Aaron said. "That means he has a lot of experience fighting Dark Arts. Even Professor Snapeprobably wouldn't find fault with him teaching us Defense Against the Dark Arts Class."
"But he's crazy," Draco said, somewhat panicked. "He might even experiment with Dark Arts in Class."
"Isn't that perfect?" Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you interested in Dark Arts?"
"No, that's not what I meant. I mean he might use students for experiments."
Aaron:...