Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 168 New Professor

There were quite a few amusing incidents during this year's Sorting Ceremony. First, a Slytherin freshman ran to the Gryffindor long table, and then someone even left wearing the Sorting Hat.

Snape tried to call out to the other person, but whether it was his tone or something else, the moment he reached out his hand, the freshman let out a shriek and ran away like a startled rabbit.

Snape instinctively quickened his pace to catch up, but the freshman ran even faster, and the two of them ran one after the other for half the Great Hall.

For some reason, none of the other professors at the front, including Dumbledore, offered any help; they just watched with amusement.

It wasn't until the new student was almost out of the Great Hall that Snape suddenly remembered he could use magic. He took out his wand and angrily swung it forcefully.

The sorting cap on the freshman's head flew back into his hand with a whoosh.

"Is that all?" Ron smacked his lips, seemingly still wanting more.

Snape's expression just now was so interesting, a mix of bewilderment and surprise, and a flustered and somewhat disheveled look as he chased after the new student.

Unfortunately, Harry and Hermione were called away by Professor McGonagall and missed this exciting scene.

……

Although he didn't see it with his own eyes, Harry couldn't help but laugh when he rushed back to the Great Hall and heard Ron vividly describe Snape's embarrassing situation.

However, the sorting process had already ended, and he missed two good shows.

Fortunately, a sumptuous feast that would soon fill the entire long table was about to appear, which would also lift everyone's spirits. Harry looked expectantly at the golden plate in front of him.

After a long train ride and a terrifying encounter with Dementors, he felt so empty he could eat a whole cow.

But at that moment, Dumbledore stood up and spread his hands to signal everyone to be quiet.

In previous years, he never spoke before the banquet began; he would only speak about important matters after everyone had eaten and drunk their fill.

“Welcome,” said Dumbledore. “Welcome back to Hogwarts. There’s something important I must make clear before you all get too caught up in your delicious meal and your minds go haywire…”

“We’ve got some Dementors from Azkaban at our school, I’m sure you all know that…”

Hearing Dumbledore's words, people instinctively thought of the terrible scene they had experienced on the train.

Although most students didn't faint like Harry, they certainly experienced the feeling of their happiness being slowly drained away, which was a really unpleasant experience.

If it had gone on any longer, they probably would have fainted.

"...No one is allowed to leave the school while they are around," Dumbledore continued. "Any tricks, schemes, or disguises are ineffective against Dementors—including the Invisibility Cloak."

“But not Animagus…” Xiren secretly added in his mind.

Dementors don't have real eyes, but they can sense human emotions. That's why Dumbledore said the invisibility cloak is ineffective against them, because it can only block vision, not emotions.

However, this ability is only useful to humans, and not to animals.

Or rather, the emotions of animals are like those of fireflies and electric lights compared to those of humans—almost negligible.

He can jump around in front of Dementors whenever he wants.

As for what will happen if they are discovered... well, that depends on how long the Dementors can withstand the unicorn's soul.

Patronus spells are all unnecessary! If you really want to deal with Dementors, you need a unicorn. That's the real professional match. Especially since a unicorn in its spirit form makes up for its inability to fly. If the Dementor is lucky, it might even be left with a piece of its cloak.

Hmm...maybe.

Xilun lay on the table, rubbing his stomach. Theoretically, that was true, but nobody knew the real situation. After all, no one had ever managed to get a unicorn's soul to fight a Dementor before.

Should we try it out sometime, just to test the various possibilities of magic? Even if Dumbledore knew, he'd probably agree...

Xilun stroked his chin, seriously considering the feasibility of this matter.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore on the stage had already begun introducing the two new professors for the year.

One of them is Remus Lupin, who is this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

If Gilderoy Lockhart was radiant last year, Lupin was quite the opposite this year. His clothes were tattered and worn, with obvious patches, while the other professors wore their best robes, making Lupin appear even more ragged sitting next to them.

Fortunately, he doesn't really care about this... or maybe he's already used to it.

Amidst a sparse round of applause, Lupin sat down, and Dumbledore went on to announce the second new teacher, Hagrid, who would succeed Kettleburn as Professor.

Last month, thanks to the combined efforts of many people, he successfully removed his name from the Ministry of Magic's watch list.

This not only means that Hagrid has regained the right to use a wand, but he can also officially work at Hogwarts.

He should be a proper teacher, not a hunter's fieldman who doesn't even get paid.

Yes, the hunting ground guards didn't receive a salary, something Xiren only learned later.

Since Hogwarts didn't originally have a hunting ground keeper, this position was created by Dumbledore, and the board of trustees were naturally unwilling to pay extra for this new position.

The "salary" Hagrid has received over the years has actually been paid to him by Dumbledore himself.

But things are different now. Now that Hagrid has become the teacher of the Magical Creatures class, the school should be paying his salary.

Haig stood up nervously from the teachers' table, his face flushed red, his eyes lowered, staring intently at his hands.

“We should have known!” Ron shouted. “Who else would ask us to prepare a book that bites?”

After Hagrid sat down, the banquet could finally begin.

In the blink of an eye, all sorts of delicious food and drinks suddenly appeared in front of them, and everyone immediately began to feast.

Xilun took a little of everything in front of him and piled it up in a small mountain on his plate.

Xilun ate very quickly, and the "mountain" disappeared in just over ten minutes, followed by the appearance of a new one.

Harry and the others on the other side were dumbfounded. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought that Siren hadn't eaten for two days.

Siren didn't care what they thought; he had just experienced his first Animagus transformation and run a huge circle around the castle.

At that time, he was in a state of excitement because he was turning into a cat for the first time. He just felt it was interesting and fun, and he didn't feel anything else.

But now the excitement has worn off, and his whole body feels like it's falling apart, sore and weak.

His stomach was also growling loudly. He had been so hungry that he was dizzy when Dumbledore was introducing Hagrid earlier, and he could only try to distract himself by thinking about other things.

Now that he can finally eat, he certainly won't be polite, otherwise he might become the second student to faint.

Perhaps influenced by Xilun, everyone else's appetite improved considerably. At this moment, even the Dementors outside couldn't dampen their good mood. They ate and chatted, and the hall echoed with joyful laughter.

……

(End of this chapter)