From Azkaban

"I should be the one to say this. I've been away from school for many years. I never thought I'd be able to come back one day. I haven't seen you for a long time. I really miss you, Headmaster Dumbledore."

The two palms, one old and one young, gently clasped each other; one hand was wrinkled and stiff, full of decadence, while the other was firm and elastic, full of youthful vigor.

Locke and Dumbledore shook their hands gently and then let go tacitly, both of them looked at each other with smiles on their faces.

For some reason, Snape, who was standing aside and watching this scene, seemed to have two worlds appear in his sight, one was Locke, and the other was Dumbledore.

"Regarding Mr. Cazier's coming to Hogwarts to serve as a professor, I am here......"

After some bland conversation, Dumbledore, as the headmaster, finalized Locke's position as professor of alchemy.

"Locke Kazir..."

After Locke and Snape left, Dumbledore sat in his chair in the Headmaster's office, thinking about the student he remembered, but had very little impression of.

But soon Dumbledore stopped thinking about it, time will tell.

Volume 1: Chapter 103 Billion Points

The Sorting Ceremony is a necessary process before entering Hogwarts. Four colleges, four groups, ultimately leading to the same life.

In the Hogwarts Great Hall, as night fell, the candles hanging high above the hall lit up one by one. Under the magical starry sky, senior students walked into the hall one after another, gradually filling up the four long tables.

The students of Slytherin and the Serpentine Garden looked the same this year as in previous years, elegant, arrogant, and liked to look down on students from other houses, especially Gryffindor.

"Hey, everyone, be careful. Don't tell me that you haven't been informed by your parents. Slytherin will have to change from now on."

At the Slytherin table, a young man who looked much older than the other students was looking at the Slytherin students around him with a serious expression.

"Of course, of course. We can't bully those Muggle wizards anymore. We have to have a good relationship with them. Demian, you don't need to tell me this. My father has been nagging me about it countless times."

"Honestly, I really don't understand what that gentleman is thinking. He himself is a pureblood, why does he care about those mudbloods?"

A Slytherin who was also in the seventh year took over the conversation and spoke with a puzzled look on his face, but as soon as he finished speaking, he was covered by the mouth of several people next to him.

"Are you looking for death, Siman? How dare you question that adult, and say it so loudly!"

As he spoke, several Slytherin students who covered his mouth quickly looked around. Fortunately, the banquet had not started yet and there were not many people around, so they probably didn't hear what he said.

"Watch your words, Sman. Not everyone is our friend. Even though most of the pure-blood families have already come under that lord's command, the relationship between them has not changed much."

Demian, the leader of this small group, released his grip and spoke in a low voice with a serious expression.

"Yes, and that gentleman doesn't plan to show up right now, so don't say that kind of thing again, otherwise if someone hears it and reports it to that gentleman..."

The student who took over the conversation didn't say anything more, but his meaning was obvious.

"Yes, yes, I know what you said. I just said it casually. I won't do it again next time. I won't do it again."

As a fairly qualified Slytherin, Sman naturally understood that he had just spoken out of turn, and immediately put on an apologetic smile.

"In short, we just need to do what we are supposed to do. There is no need to question the arrangements made by that adult, because that is not what we are supposed to do, and we are not qualified to do so."

"During this holiday, you should all be able to feel the changes in your family. So if you want to live a better life with your family in the future, and if you want your family to become strong again, you should do your best to complete the tasks assigned by that adult, instead of raising self-righteous doubts with your own poor wisdom."

Demian observed the situation around him while speaking in a low voice with a serious expression. At the end of his words, he glared at Sman, who was trying to apologize next to him.

Situations like this were happening all over Slytherin House, in small groups, then in individual years, and finally in the six prefects of the boys' and girls' dormitories.

Just like the rigid hierarchy of pure-blood families in the wizarding world, in Slytherin College, the students are naturally divided into orderly levels.

...................

"Professor, which house do you think Harry will be sorted into?"

In the corridor leading to the great hall, Locke and Snape were walking one after the other, Locke in front and Snape half a step behind.

Just now, Locke, who had just left Dumbledore's office, asked Snape to take him to see the core of the magic network area that Snape had brought into Hogwarts, and confirmed that its operation did not conflict with the flow of magic in the Hogwarts campus itself.

"Of course it's Slytherin. Harry has perfectly inherited her current talent for potions. A child as outstanding as her will definitely be assigned to Slytherin."

Faced with Locke's question, Snape answered without hesitation, and his calm face inexplicably exuded a strong sense of confidence.

"Oh, Professor, you are so confident. Did you do something?"

Hearing Snape's affirmative tone, Locke smiled and teased, but to his surprise, Snape nodded decisively.

"Your wisdom is truly admirable. It is indeed as you said. I did make some preparations in advance."

Snape's tone and expression were still so calm, as if he would have no other expression except in front of Harry.

"A little? A hundred million points, maybe?"

With a smile on his face and shaking his head slightly, Locke was indeed somewhat convinced of Snape at this time. No one could snatch the position of the old father from him.

While chatting and laughing, Locke was the first to walk through the doorway and into the bright and spacious auditorium.

"What a familiar yet strange scene..."

Walking slowly onto the stage and finding his seat, Locke put his hand on the back of the chair, looked at the noisy scene below, and let out a sigh.

This sigh contains a lot, including the familiarity inherited from the memory of the previous life, the strangeness from the memory of one's previous life, and the sense of déjà vu of movies and TV shining into reality.

While Locke was leaning on his chair and sighing, the other professors around him were all looking at him quietly.

Thinking that Locke had just come in with Snape, the professors turned their attention to Snape.

At this time, Snape had already taken his seat. Next to him was the new professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts this year, Quirrell. On the other side of Quirrell was Madam Hooch, the one who taught broomstick riding.

"Ahem"

Just as all the professors focused their attention on Snape, a light cough was heard. It was Dumbledore, and all the professors' attention shifted again and focused on him.

Seeing that all the professors were looking at him, Dumbledore took two steps forward with a kind smile, stretched out his hand and introduced Locke to the professors.

"Please allow me to introduce to you all, this is our new alchemy professor at Hogwarts, Professor Locke Cazier."

After hearing Dumbledore's introduction, many professors showed an expression of understanding on their faces, but then they felt surprised.

Because Locke teaches alchemy, which is a very difficult subject, and the wizards in the magic world who master this knowledge are basically older.

There are some young people like Locke, but they are basically of average quality.

But Locke is obviously different, because to be able to come to Hogwarts as a professor, his own level must be very high. After all, alchemy is not Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Locke Cazier..."

After hearing Dumbledore's introduction, some professors did not react much. However, Professor Sprout, the head of Hufflepuff, was different. After hearing the name, she looked at Locke's appearance carefully. The more she looked, the more familiar she felt.

Volume 1: Chapter 104: Treasure

In addition to Locke's predecessor as dean of the academy, Professor Flitwick of Ravenclaw also looked thoughtful after hearing Dumbledore's introduction, and remembered Locke first.

"Locke Cazier, are you Locke Cazier? The Locke Cazier from Hufflepuff who was sent to the infirmary twelve times in one semester by herbs?"

That being said, this was Professor Flitwick's main impression of Locke's predecessor, which was mediocre in every aspect.

The reason why Snape was able to remember Locke so quickly was entirely because he had an excellent memory. After all, he was a potion dealer, and having a bad memory would not do.

"Ah! Yes! I remember now! It's you, the one..."

Professor Sprout looked at Locke, and the words were halfway out of her mouth, but she swallowed them back.

There was no way. Now Locke was a professor of alchemy and her colleague. She couldn't say that he was a silly student.

"Ha, silly Kazir, I was right, professor."

Locke knew what Sprout was going to say, so he took over the conversation with a smile on his face, pulling out his chair and sitting down while speaking.

Seeing Locke's easy-going and indifferent attitude, the two deans relaxed a lot and started chatting with Locke.

During the conversation, the two professors asked about Locke's recent situation. Locke naturally couldn't say that he had just graduated from Azkaban, so he could only make up something casually.

During the conversation, Locke's eyes would occasionally fall on Qiluo who was talking to Snape, or to be more precise, on the back of his head which was wrapped in cloth.

"It seems that the main trajectory has not changed. Quirrell in this world has become a vessel for Voldemort."

While chatting with the two deans, Locke observed the residual soul of Voldemort lodging in the back of Quirrell's head.

In Locke's eyes, the situation of Quirrell and Harry, who were possessed by Voldemort's residual soul, was completely different.

Compared to Harry, whose soul was only entangled with Voldemort's residual soul, Quirrell's body or even his entire spirit was being slowly eroded by Voldemort's residual soul.

To put it simply, Quirrell is like a piece of food, and Voldemort is "eating" all the essence in his body bit by bit, not just his vitality.

"This guy has no intention of letting Quirrell live. But he is also right. He is just a pawn and his status is not as high as Peter Pettigrew."

While Locke was chatting with the two deans and taking the time to observe Quirrell and Voldemort, Weasley finally spotted Locke sitting in the teacher's seat among the students below.

The two men who saw Locke widened their eyes, a little bit unbelieving. After they reached out their hands and pushed each other tacitly, they realized that what they saw was not an illusion.

"This is no fun, George."

"Our expedition is over, Fred"

The Weasley twins looked at each other and lowered their heads in frustration. Now that Locke was in Hogwarts, their plans for night tours and adventures would have to be put on hold indefinitely.

There was no way. They didn't want to be punished by Locke. The two brothers who didn't believe in evil had experienced it when they were studying at Malfoy Manor.

The two brothers sat uncomfortably on the stools, watching Professor McGonagall lead the freshmen into the hall and begin to read out the sorting rules.

"George, where do you think little Ron will be sorted into, Gryffindor? Or Slytherin?"

If it were before, the two brothers would not even think about this question, but now, they are not sure.

"You already have the answer, don't you, Fred?"

"Then let's talk about it together?"

"certainly"

"Gryffindor!"

"Haha, I knew Fred"

"That's right, George, you know"

Amidst the jokes, the two brothers' recent frustration completely disappeared, and the sorting ceremony in front of the stage began.

"Hannah Abbott"

The sorting ceremony began, and the freshmen were sorted into four colleges one by one. Soon it was Harley's turn.

"Um....."

The moment Harry put on the Sorting Hat, it began to feel conflicted. Sensing Harry's superficial thoughts and personality traits, it really wanted to sort Harry into Gryffindor.

But after thinking of those eyes emitting cold green light, the Sorting Hat obeyed its will.

"Slytherin!"

With a loud shout from the Sorting Hat, the long table of Slytherin House instantly boiled over because they had Harry.

"?"

Dumbledore, who was sitting in the main seat, was surprised when he heard the name called out by the Sorting Hat. Then, perhaps out of intuition or for some other reason, he turned his gaze to Locke. However, he immediately looked at Snape and just saw a smile fading from the corner of his mouth.

"Severus?"

Dumbledore was well aware of Harry's situation. Whether from the perspective of her parents or her personality, it was impossible for Harry to be sorted into Slytherin.

The sorting ceremony ended quickly, and Ron was admitted to Gryffindor as expected. Several children sitting at the long tables of their respective colleges also noticed Locke sitting in the faculty seat.

But in this situation, it is impossible for them to go up and say hello to Locke.

Everything went on as usual after that. The headmaster came on stage and briefly introduced Locke (mainly because Hogwarts had not had alchemy classes before, so an introduction was needed), and then the meal began.

As the banquet began, everyone started eating enthusiastically, except Locke.

"With such a huge amount of magic, it's no wonder that Hogwarts itself can maintain its magic without any maintenance."

There was a faint light covering Locke's eyes. At this moment, his perception was viewing the entire Hogwarts Castle from another level.

Just now, as the first child was sorted out by the Sorting Hat, Locke, who was well prepared, immediately captured a surge of ancient and powerful magical fluctuations.

Following the clues, Locke soon entered another perspective and saw the Hogwarts Castle filled with magic and magical power.

"So Voldemort doesn't understand what treasure is. Not only did he destroy treasures to make Horcruxes, but he also destroyed a lot of Hogwarts."

Looking at the huge magical power that was spreading throughout every corner of Hogwarts and flowing according to various magical laws, Locke was filled with amazement.

"This is a ritual magic that has been running for nearly a thousand years, and the magic power has accumulated for nearly a thousand years. The entire Hogwarts has completed its transformation during this period of time and has become a living building. I wonder what a huge treasure is buried here."

To be honest, Locke originally came to Hogwarts only for its talents, students and library, but now Locke finds that his vision is too narrow.

“I can’t imagine how many treasures are buried here, left behind by time.”

Locke thought of the first founders of Hogwarts, the generations of wizards who had grown up in Hogwarts, the Room of Requirement which had also been around for nearly a thousand years, and the legendary secret chambers and secret passages.