days at Hogwarts

Chapter 800 Now, the dinner begins

The glow in the sky gradually dimmed.

A few purple clouds floated on the top of the tower. The light in the sky had not yet completely dissipated. The sunlight hanging in the western sky slanted across the campus, and even the edges of the green grass were dyed with warm rose red. Wild roses bloomed in the courtyard, and the fragrance was rich. Two slightly fat cats lay on the grass, meowing intermittently, their soft and fluffy tails swaying slightly, enjoying the coolness leisurely.

This year's year-end dinner officially begins.

The seventh graders all arrived early and, instead of being scattered around the tables as usual, chose seats in the front row, which were close to the makeshift stage and convenient for watching the ghost play.

Loren met Nick, who was almost headless, and Myrtle, who had stopped crying. He smiled and nodded to them, flew around the Gryffindor table a few times, and then retreated underground to continue rehearsing.

The time came to half past six.

The auditorium gradually became lively and the atmosphere was warm.

The professors also arrived early tonight. They did not sit in the guest of honor seats immediately. Instead, they scattered around the long tables of each college, greeting the seventh-year students and occasionally walking around other colleges. Dumbledore also came to join in the fun. Wherever he went, there were cheers. Even Professor Snape sat at the Gryffindor table for a few minutes.

"I was bored just now, so I sat with the juniors for a while. In addition to hearing them talking about Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore, I also heard someone talking about Professor Snape." Loren and Hermione were sitting in the front row, and he leaned over to whisper in her ear, "They say Professor Snape left his job for two years, and the freshmen who enrolled in these two years were not targeted by him. They had a pretty good impression of him. He was taciturn and cursed people in his papers without using any swear words, but some people actually thought he was cool."

"If we weren't in the same grade and the same college as Harry..." Hermione paused, "we might not have been targeted."

"..."

Loren fell into deep thought.

There were desserts and drinks prepared by the house-elves. They couldn't fill their stomachs, but they were a good choice to kill time before the dinner officially started. Some seventh-grade students used the excuse that they wouldn't be able to eat later, so they ate and took the food, and even put the food in their pockets, which was very unseemly.

Loren didn't care about other people's eyes. Relying on the space pendant, he stuffed several pieces of cake and pudding into it.

Two little third-grade witches were sitting next to them. They kept looking towards the guest of honor seat and kept muttering to themselves.

"I heard that Professor McGonagall will be speaking tonight..."

"Yes, I heard about it too... Professor McGonagall also gave a speech at the sorting ceremony at the beginning of last year. Did you know that Dumbledore has submitted his resignation to the board of directors and appointed Professor McGonagall as the next headmaster?"

"Has it been confirmed?"

"My father works for the Ministry of Magic and is responsible for connecting with the school board. He can't be wrong. Dumbledore is retiring and Professor McGonagall will take over. My father also said that the next person to take over is Professor Snape."

"Professor Snape of Slytherin!"

"Yes, he worked undercover as a Death Eater to transmit intelligence in the early stages of the war. He has made great achievements in academics and may even receive the Order of Merlin. The Ministry of Magic officials have no objection to this..."

“He’s really cool!”

"Although he has a cold face in class, he will answer any questions."

Loren took a bite of strawberry mousse and his eyebrows knitted together.

I looked up at Professor Snape who was sitting in the guest of honor seat. He happened to turn his head and look over here. He still had no expression on his face, but his eyes were slightly cold, as if he was mocking... The students nowadays have been deceived, and the other professors didn't even bother to expose him. In a few years, no one will remember his true face anymore.

The dinner party officially started.

Compared with the back-to-school dinner and Christmas dinner, the year-end dinner is not as grand.

The Great Hall was only lightly decorated, with banners in Gryffindor's colors hanging on them. The candles were leftovers from previous banquets, floating in the air, of varying lengths and colors, with the flickering candlelight creating a unique beauty. The magic dome reflected the summer night sky, with a half moon and a sky full of stars.

"Ding ding..."

Professor McGonagall tapped the goblet with her spoon. "Quiet, children. Please be quiet."

The noisy noise gradually stopped, and the eyes of the whole hall were focused on Professor McGonagall. A few slow-witted students realized that she was sitting in the middle of the guest of honor. She turned her head to look at Dumbledore, who blinked at her and smiled gently.

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and stood up:
“Before the dinner officially begins, I have something to say.

"Another year has passed. Everyone here has gained knowledge, grown physically, and become more mature in mind and soul than the previous year. All the faculty of Hogwarts, including me, are honored to witness your growth.

"Compared to the past, not only Hogwarts, but the entire wizarding world has ushered in a long-lost peace and tranquility. Our families no longer have to worry about attacks from dark wizards all day long, and we no longer have to stay at home out of fear of danger..."

The students at the long table are in two states.

The senior students showed emotional expressions, celebrating the current peace and reminiscing about the times that were gone forever.

In the past, they had sat in this auditorium at many year-end parties, listening to the professors and the headmaster telling the legendary stories of the school: Professor Quirrell who was possessed by Voldemort, Professor Lockhart who used the Oblivion Spell to steal other people's adventures, Professor Lupin's hasty departure, and Crouch who suddenly disappeared...

The lower grade students stared at the empty metal plates in a daze, hoping that the delicious food would come out sooner. They also remembered those days, but the impression was not so deep. Every year, there were students entering Hogwarts, and every class of students had their own legendary stories.

Loren lowered his voice and said to Hermione, "Look, Dumbledore's mouth is moving. He's urging Professor McGonagall to tell some jokes, to stop talking, and to start eating quickly."

"He just yawned."

"You don't understand. This is applying the skill of chanting a spell to speaking. It's very fast and you can finish it as soon as you open your mouth."

“I really hope you can learn this skill too.”

"Ok?"

Loren turned around and hesitated for a moment: "Are you mocking me?"

"Have it?"

Hermione tilted her head and asked rhetorically.

"..."

Loren frowned, glanced at her expression secretly, and thought secretly in his heart.

"Here, I need to announce something to you."

Professor McGonagall suddenly raised her voice, attracting all the students, and paused: "Like the seventh-year students, Headmaster Dumbledore will also bid farewell to Hogwarts this year and embark on a new journey. All faculty members, including me, would like to offer their sincerest blessings."

The tumultuous noise immediately flooded the entire auditorium.

Although they had known the news in advance, the students were still talking about it when Professor McGonagall actually announced it. But when they looked up and saw that face with a gentle smile and met those soft blue eyes, the chaotic thoughts in their hearts seemed to be pulled away, and all the discussions gradually subsided.

"Ha ha……"

Dumbledore stood up and looked around, then laughed before he began to speak: "I have a long, self-satisfying speech, interspersed with 1270 jokes I collected from 38553 joke books. I can't help laughing when I think of them."

"..."

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips.

The other students had complicated expressions.

Dumbledore winked mischievously: "But I want to put those jokes aside for now." "You did the right thing, Headmaster!"

"Great!"

There was a sudden burst of laughter from the audience. This was their Headmaster Dumbledore.

"I have consulted many friends about this speech. Some suggested giving you some advice on life, some said magic skills are more practical, and some asked me to make public my hot kaka recipe... But at this moment, at the last year-end dinner as the headmaster of Hogwarts, if I were to tell you something, it would be..."

Dumbledore paused for a moment, then suddenly raised his voice:
"Now, the dinner begins!"

……

Cheers and screams intertwined, claps and table clapping mixed together, countless joyful voices gathered together, resonating and echoing, like thunder, thousands of candles swayed, illuminating the auditorium with shadows. The magic dome above seemed to feel the same excitement, the stars trembled, the moonlight swayed, and the whole castle was bidding farewell to the principal in its own way.

A variety of delicacies appeared out of thin air on the golden plate, and light golden champagne appeared out of thin air in the goblets, with fine bubbles floating in the air, which filled up again after drinking.

After an unknown amount of time, the students filled their stomachs and the excitement and enthusiasm resurfaced in their hearts. The discussions first gathered in a small area, and then gradually spread out, chattering.

In the guest of honor seats, the professors did not stare at any particular student, or even cast obvious glances at them, in order to avoid making them feel uncomfortable.

Professor McGonagall picked up the glass and shook it gently. "Severus, the financial accounting is complete. After deducting the fixed expenses of the school and the part invested in the school-enterprise business, there is still a surplus of 40,000 Galleons."

"..."

Snape turned around with a complicated look in his eyes: "Minerva, I understand that you have just taken over as the headmaster and you are very excited, but do you really want to talk to me about work at this time?"

"I see you've finished eating."

"If you are wondering where to spend this amount of Galleons, I suggest that you use it all to build a potion laboratory. It will be beneficial to the school's teaching and research, and the research results can also be invested in our business."

"Does your lab need so many Galleons?"

“That’s a lot of it.”

"It's not necessary to use so many." Professor McGonagall listed them one by one, "We need a sum of money to repair the castle and renovate the owl shed. I plan to upgrade the shed to a tower, expand the greenhouse, and purchase new Quidditch brooms..."

"Where is my Charms Research Center?"

Professor Flitwick, who was sitting next to him, suddenly turned around and asked.

Professor McGonagall gave Snape a look. Snape was silent for a moment and cleared his throat. "Filius, we all agree that the investment in spell research is too great. We have no plans to set up a research center this year."

"Oh! This is discrimination!"

Professor Flitwick shouted, "Greenhouse, laboratory, even Transfiguration studio, you all have your own projects, only my Charms is not good enough, I will report you to Dumbledore! I am also a major subject!"

"..."

Dumbledore listened to the noise around him and slowly tasted the wine, his cheeks flushed from his tipsiness and a faint smile on the corners of his mouth.

……

“This is only available at Hogwarts…

"Only a house-elf can do this...

"Only magic flames can control the temperature."

With such thoughts in mind, I ate too much without realizing it.

At the long table in the academy, Loren leaned back slightly to relax his bloated belly, and said to Hermione who looked at him with a teasing look, "Let me tell you, although my cooking skills are not worse than those of the elves, the key to making these dishes delicious lies in the details. It will be difficult to eat them after graduation.

“You may think it’s nothing now, but after you graduate for a few years, you will miss the taste, and then you will regret it so much that you can’t sleep, wondering why you didn’t eat more.

“Try these while they’re still hot.

"Hey, I'll feed you."

"..."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

The atmosphere at the year-end dinner was lively. The seventh graders were somewhat different from the students in other grades. They still smiled brightly when they were talking and laughing, but became quiet when they were alone, with a slightly confused look on their faces.

Even when watching the play of Nick and Myrtle, there was a lot less chattering and laughter in this area.

Loren and Hermione were sitting at the Gryffindor table. They could hear the voices of their Hufflepuff classmates next door. Justin said, "My parents think the social structure of the wizarding world is too primitive. They don't want me to work in the wizarding industry. They want me to return to Muggle society. I don't know if they will recognize my Hogwarts diploma..."

This is the trouble of Muggle-born students.

Dean turned away, "I kind of want to work in the Muggle world, too."

Seamus, who had always been eager for adventure, was now a little worried. He came over with a wine glass. In it was wine made from water. It only had the aroma of wine but no taste of wine. "I love magic, but these jobs are either as shop assistants or taking care of dragons. They say that the Death Eaters and Voldemort have fallen completely, and the Ministry of Magic will only have dull jobs for many years to come. The curse breakers of Gringotts are often abroad..."

Parvati sighed, "My mother asked Padma and I to go back to work at the Indian Ministry of Magic. It's even more chaotic than Albania, with many evil wizards and evil Muggles. I heard there are cleanup operations every year, and if everything goes well, we can get promoted quickly, but we don't want to go back."

"That's great."

“Thrilling and close to home…”

Simo gnashed his teeth with envy, unable to suppress the melancholy in his heart. He tilted his head back and drank the rich-flavored wine with a resolute posture, feeling like a sad bard.

"Gulu..."

The bard's expression suddenly changed.

Oops, this is real wine!

Forget that you have learned that magic.

"Tsk..."

Loren grinned.

The middle and lower grades looked at them with slightly envious expressions, and felt a sense of anticipation and yearning for graduation in their hearts. However, they did not know that these graduates also envied them for being able to return to this school after the summer vacation.

Everything about graduation is filled with an indescribable beauty in my impression, the melancholy and expectation for the future, the regret for certain youthful throbbings, mixed into a faint smell of alcohol, slowly brewing in the years and memories.

The beautiful and indescribable years of my student days came to an end just like that.

(End of this chapter)