Hogwarts: Who made her a professor?

Chapter 451 Sorting and the Dinner

"When will Hagrid be back?"

On the way out of Hogsmeade Station, Bassheda asked.

"I don't know either," Belvina said. "Professor Dumbledore said Hagrid's progress is not going well."

As early as when Voldemort had just returned, Dumbledore had arranged for Hagrid to go in search of the giants, but it wasn't until the Triwizard Tournament was over that Hagrid found an opportunity to leave.

Giants are a powerful and undeniable force in the magical world. Thanks to their enormous size, giants possess extremely strong attack power and resilience; they are natural-born warriors.

Both Dumbledore and Voldemort wanted to bring the giants to their side and gain their powerful strength.

Only the Ministry of Magic was indifferent to giants. Belvina and Amelia wanted to win over giants, but the opposition from the Ministry was too strong, so the two had to give up.

"So, do you think Maxim and Hagrid's relationship will blossom during this journey?" Bassheda asked again. "I never expected that Maxim would be willing to go with Hagrid to find the giants."

Nowadays, the giant tribes all live in remote mountains, and it is not easy to find them.

Moreover, giants are warlike by nature, so finding them and negotiating with them is no easy task, and sleeping in caves over mountains is hardly elegant.

"I'm not a love expert, nor did I travel with them, how would I know!"

Belvina then changed the subject, saying, "I really hope they can get together. I'm especially curious about what their children would be like!"

Will the child of these two mixed-race giants be as tall and imposing as his grandmothers, or as ordinary as his grandfathers? Will he be as elegant and intellectual as his mother, or as rugged and wildly beautiful as his father?

At this moment, Belvina decided to support Hagrid and Maxim's relationship and sincerely hoped that the two would get married.

"Um—I have a question—" A blush crept across Bassheda's face, "Is Hagrid's age really okay?"

Belvina, who immediately understood, couldn't help but blush. She knew that Hagrid was born in 1928, which meant that Hagrid met his soulmate Maxim when he was 66 years old.

"Maybe—I mean maybe—maybe the hybrid giant's physique is special, and his sixties are the perfect time for him to fall in love and get married?" Belvina said uncertainly. "After all, he still has the capacity to love."

Inside the carriage, the little train whistled along, while outside, a cool evening breeze whistled past.

The Thestrals between the shafts pulled the carriage tirelessly, rumbling towards Hogwarts, finally stopping with a clang beside the stone steps leading to the oak gate.

The two princesses emerged from the musty-smelling carriage, braved the cold night air, and climbed the steps into the warm and bright castle.

The foyer was bathed in the red glow of torches, and the sound of students' footsteps echoed incessantly. Belvina and Bassheda stepped onto the stone-paved floor and turned right into the auditorium.

The enchanted ceiling of the auditorium, like the sky outside, was pitch black, without stars or moon.

Bassheda walked to her seat in the faculty section, flanked by Paul Bernard and a new face—Karedy Boubagi.

Belvina walked to the other end of the faculty seating area and sat down next to Snape with obvious disdain. In particular, when Snape looked over, Belvina exaggeratedly covered her mouth and nose.

"It's so good to see you're still alive, Severus," Belvina said in a muffled voice. "I'm so happy."

"You don't need to repeat that to me every time we meet," Snape said dismissively. "And are you sure you'd be happy because I'm alive?"

"You can't say that!" Belvina still covered her mouth with her hand. "Although I hate you from the bottom of my heart, I don't wish for your death. I'm not that vicious."

"Ha!" Snape sneered, turning his face away and ignoring the annoying Belvina.

However, Belvina had no intention of letting Snape off the hook. She kept harassing the Potions Professor with her knees under the table.

"If my memory serves me right, you've always wanted to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, ever since I was in school, haven't you?"

What do you mean by "bringing up the sore spot"?

The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is changed every year, and over the years, so many professors have come and gone, but Snape has never been chosen.

This summer, Dumbledore couldn't find a suitable new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and Snape thought his chance had come, but what happened?

As a result, Snape was once again relegated to the sidelines. Dumbledore preferred to have the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement return to the school to teach rather than let Snape get his hands on Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"If you can't speak, you can shut your mouth. I won't treat you like you're mute."

Snape glared at Belvina and continued, "If you really can't learn to speak properly, I don't mind giving you a hand."

Aside from Severus Snape, there are very few people in the entire magical world who would dare to threaten the Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement so directly.

"Look at you!" Belvina said slyly. "I was just trying to be kind and comfort you, and what did you do? You threatened to poison me!"

"Ha!" Snape sneered again. "I really thank you, Director Black. How about I inquire about you too?"

Before Belvina could stop him, the Potions Professor's concern was already out of his mouth: "I hope your body will soon be worn down by the heavy workload, and I hope you will soon be defeated by your illness."

Belvina was once again shocked by Snape's malice; his blessing contained no blessing at all, but was full of curses.

"Oh, and let me give you a friendly reminder," Snape said, emphasizing each word, "the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor is cursed. Guess how long you can hold out?"

That damned Dumbledore! That damned Snape!

If it weren't for Dumbledore's insistence, Belvina would not have returned to school, much less accepted the cursed position.

It wasn't that Belvina was afraid of the curse, but rather that she felt there was no need to confront it head-on. She understood the principle that "a daughter of a wealthy family should not sit under a dangerous roof."

"Don't worry, Severus, even with a curse, I'll outlive you!" Belvina said through gritted teeth. "The day you die, I'll dig you out of your grave and scatter your ashes!"

"Don't worry, I won't treat you like that when you die," Snape said slowly. "At most, I'll put a line on your tombstone that reads: Here lies the ugliest and stupidest woman in the world."

Severus Snape won this round; Belvina Black lost completely, she was on the verge of collapse.

Before Belvina could explode with anger, the doors of the Great Hall opened, and Professor McGonagall led in a group of seemingly shaken freshmen.

When Professor McGonagall brought out the triangular stool and the tattered Sorting Hat, the buzzing in the Great Hall gradually subsided, and the annual Sorting Ceremony was about to begin.

However, before the sorting ceremony officially begins, the anxious freshmen have to endure one more song, because the sorting cap concert is an annual tradition.

The Sorting Hat's new song soon filled the Great Hall, loudly singing about the friendship of the four leaders, loudly singing about their differences, and even singing about Salazar Slytherin's departure.

At the end of the song, the Sorting Hat also warns the school and its students, urging everyone to unite closely, avoid internal divisions, and be wary of the menacing enemies outside the school.

The Sorting Hat's appropriate warning to the school is rare, even in Hogwarts' long history of a thousand years.

Amid applause and whispers, Belvina instinctively wanted to speak to the person next to her, but when she habitually turned her head, she suddenly realized that the person next to her had been replaced by Snape.

The thought of being closely associated with the detestable Severus Snape made Belvina feel as if she could smell the pungent odor of hair oil.

Similarly, Snape didn't want to work closely with Belvina either. The two had disliked each other for a long time, and they wouldn't have reluctantly chosen to cooperate if they didn't have a common goal.

As the Sorting Hat song ended, the Sorting Ceremony officially began.

This year's sorting began with Euan Abercrombie being sorted into Gryffindor and ended with Rose Zeller being sorted into Hufflepuff.

As in previous years, after the Sorting Ceremony came Dumbledore's address, which was very brief and could be summarized in one sentence: "Let's eat."

After an incredibly lavish dinner, Dumbledore once again stood up and, as was customary, announced the new school year's guidelines and revealed the new annual-disposable professor.

"This year, we have three changes to our teaching staff. We are delighted to welcome Professor Grapland back, who will be teaching your class on protecting magical creatures."

Dumbledore said, "We are equally pleased to welcome Professor Bubbaggie as our new teacher of Muggle Studies!"

A polite but not enthusiastic round of applause filled the auditorium, even though everyone admired Professor Bubbaji's courage in teaching Muggle Studies under the current circumstances.

The students, filled with doubt, all looked at Belvina on the faculty bench. Why was she still at school after becoming the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement this summer? Wasn't the Department of Law Enforcement busy?

As for Belvina's new position at the school, the students already had the answer: the Muggle Studies class had been taken over by Bubbaji, so there was only one course left.

At this point, Dumbledore continued, "Finally, let us welcome Professor Black back to us with applause. She has gladly agreed to fill the vacancy in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

You're so naive! You old rascal, you're really wicked!

Although she inwardly cursed Dumbledore as a grumpy old man, Belvina still stood up and greeted the students.