great-warnovel Chapter 204 The New Professor
Chapter 204 The New Professor
Chapter 204 The New Professor
The annual board meeting concluded in this atmosphere.
Although they were all awkward, the wizards from all sides left one by one through the fireplace, leaving only Hermione, Dumbledore, and McGonagall in the headmaster's office.
"You should have told me beforehand," Hermione complained.
"I was completely unprepared."
Dumbledore laughed heartily: "I originally planned to wait until the start of the semester to talk about it, but the purebloods were pressuring me, so I brought it forward."
"The Aurora Messengers have no idea what other stories they'll come up with next," Hermione said, frowning.
Dumbledore seemed unconcerned: "I've heard of those people before. They usually live in the Arctic Circle and lead a primitive, unsavory life."
"Last year I had the Longbottoms investigate them, but they seem to be just a group of wizards with strange beliefs. I don't know what Malfoyburg used to bribe one of them."
Hermione puffed out her cheeks: "Okay, I only care about who the new defense class professor is. I hope he's someone easy to get along with."
She looked at Dumbledore: "Now that relations with Malfoyburg have soured, shouldn't the new professors no longer be limited to those they've nominated?"
Dumbledore looked down at her and said, "Oh, I think you'll be disappointed. Our relationship with Malfoy Castle is forever entangled in a game of strategy, and this connection is very difficult to sever."
He said with a joking smile, "Moreover, just yesterday, they decided on the new professors and dean."
Hermione exclaimed in surprise, "They can't elect a Speaker, but they can elect a Headmaster?" She thought that given the inherent flaws of these nobles, they would eventually have to drag it out until the end of summer vacation and reluctantly elect a Slytherin wizard who had no connection with anyone.
"After relations with Hogwarts cooled, the position of Headmaster of Slytherin became less attractive, and it was more likely to become a position that was caught in the middle, which made any wizard with a brain unwilling to take it."
Dumbledore explained, "So in the end they chose Barty Crouch Jr., after Crouch Sr. died."
He was dismissed from all his posts, and now he's been reinstated, seemingly given a prestigious new position, but in reality, it's a form of exile, a banishment from the center of power.
It turned out to be an acquaintance!
He was originally expected to become the Headmaster of Slytherin and Professor of Defense Studies last year, but because of his father, the nobles would not stand idly by and watch the Crouch family grow stronger. This year, Barty Jr., without his backer, has become the best candidate to take on this hot potato.
In terms of seniority, this person has served as the Chief of the Legal Enforcement Division for a long time; in terms of ability, he graduated from Hogwarts with a score of 0; in terms of background, his father is the former Speaker of the House of Malfoy.
On the surface, the nobles' recommendation of him as the head of Slytherin fully demonstrates their respect for Hogwarts. Moreover, they did not mistreat Crouch's son because of his death, but instead gave him an important position, showing that the nobles were kind and righteous.
In reality, Barty Jr.'s good performance goes unrewarded, which is to be expected; his bad performance makes him a convenient scapegoat, relieving everyone of the pressure from Dumbledore, which satisfies everyone.
"Would Barty agree? He's a very shrewd man; he might just run away," Hermione wondered.
Her several encounters with Little Barty last year left her with a bad impression of him. He was cunning, adept at manipulation, and capable of using all sorts of means and schemes to achieve his goals—a typical aristocratic demeanor.
"He has changed a lot since his father died," Dumbledore remarked.
"The oppression from the pure-bloods also made him see the true colors of those 'colleagues' more clearly. He became more composed and more pessimistic. For him, accepting this position and getting away from the political vortex of Malfoyburg might actually be a good thing."
Hermione shrugged. "That would be best."
"But let me make this clear: if he's still the same kind of person as Lucius, I can't guarantee I won't hit him!" she said sternly, looking reluctant.
McGonagall smiled faintly and said, "Although you are only a teaching assistant, you have a great deal of autonomy, and even professors cannot interfere with you too much."
"But you need to think about how to arrange your classes as soon as possible. You need to make sure that the 7th grade students can trust you."
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Hermione nodded. She had planned to bring the Royal Carria Academy's teaching model here. Although she was only a teaching assistant for the Defense Studies course, it was a good start, and she could take it one step at a time.
Reform the Hogwarts education system.
Dumbledore walked to the window and gazed at the distant city of London: "Not only students on leave, but perhaps the number of new students from wizarding families this year will also decrease significantly."
"Although eliminating the basilisk has made our professors much safer when it comes to student recruitment, the number of new students this year is likely to decrease rather than increase."
Hermione reassured her, "In a way, it's a good thing, because it frees up more of our energy to deal with the situation in the Scottish Highlands."
McGonagall sighed. "That's exactly what I'm about to say. The situation at the original Hogwarts site is not optimistic."
She walked to the long table and tapped the surface with her finger.
Suddenly, the long table changed; the wood shifted and deformed like clay, quickly forming a huge, long, rectangular sand table.
Dumbledore and Hermione also came over to observe together; it was a complete topographical map of the Scottish Highlands.
"During this time, I led a few older students to survey the situation on the high ground. Although we had the help of the Radiant Stone magic, we were unable to penetrate too deep into the heart of the original site," McGonagall said in a deep voice.
"We fly at extremely high altitudes on broomsticks and use telescopes to gather information. This may not be accurate enough, but it's the best we can do for now."
She pointed to a perfectly circular shoreline by the lake and said to Hermione, "This is the original site of Hogwarts, but it's now submerged."
"The Black Lake experienced a severe drought that nearly dried up over the past fifty years. Now it has recovered and the water level has even risen, completely filling the crater left when Hogwarts left."
She said with a serious expression, "We approached Black Lake from downstream and discovered traces of mermaids, but unfortunately, fifty years of isolation and radiation mutation have completely deprived them of the possibility of communication."
"They are more like beasts than intelligent beings now," she sighed.
"The waters have become quite dangerous; they ride Grindelwald and the Kelpie, hunting down any creature that dares to approach the water's edge."
Dumbledore frowned. "Didn't you see the giant squid?"
Hermione asked curiously, "I also read in 'A History of the School' that there's a giant squid in the Black Lake, and there's even a legend that it's Gryffindor!"
McGonagall shook her head: "If it's still alive and living in harmony with the mermaids, I don't think that's something to be thankful for." Fifty years of radiation mutation have turned the mermaids into ferocious, bloodthirsty water monsters. If that giant squid has also turned into a sea monster, it will probably be very difficult to deal with.
Although it might not be able to withstand two full-force shots from Hogwarts, to the older generation, the giant squid was once part of the school. It would gently tickle the soles of students' feet with its tentacles and push children who fell into the water ashore. Dumbledore and McGonagall couldn't bear to kill it.
The White Wizard paused for a moment, then asked, "What about the Forbidden Forest?"
McGonagall traced a dark forest along the lakeshore, making the image clearer: "When we left, the shockwave and fire nearly burned the Forbidden Forest to the ground, but now, this magical forest has flourished again."
She frowned: "The trees have become twisted, and the vegetation has become distorted to varying degrees. Just looking at it from a distance gives people an uncomfortable feeling."