0221 New Year

Words : 2095 Updated : Sep 25th, 2025

After the spectacular distribution of protective charms was completed, the opening ceremony continued with its traditions. The atmosphere in the Great Hall had shifted from wonder to anticipation for what announcements might come next. Dumbledore announced the appointment of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor—Remus Lupin. Upon hearing this familiar name spoken aloud, Harry was surprised to notice that there was indeed an additional familiar face at the staff table, seated quietly between Professor Sprout and Professor Sinistra. The man's graying hair and robes were unmistakable, even from a distance. Remus had actually become their new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor! The revelation hit Harry like a bolt of lightning. Harry's mind raced back to the broadcast he had heard on the train, where Professor Westeros seemed to have mentioned Remus's name during his announcements. At the time, with all the chaos and his own distressed state after the Dementor attack, he thought he had misheard or imagined it. But now it seemed his ears had been working just fine—there had been no mistake. No wonder Remus had suddenly left his position at the Professor's plantation this year. He had found new employment, and what employment it was! It must be said that the position of Hogwarts professor sounded more respectable and prestigious than tending to plants at a plantation, no matter how exotic or valuable those plants might be. Harry felt genuinely happy for Remus. Unlike Professor Quirrell, who could only nervously recite passages from dusty textbooks while stammering through lessons, and the insufferable Lockhart, who was all flashy appearance and theatrical gestures with no substance whatsoever, Remus was not only genuinely magically powerful but also completely reliable as a person. With him teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, they would surely learn something of real, practical value, knowledge that could actually help them in dangerous situations rather than useless theory or fabricated adventures. Compared to Harry's obvious enthusiasm, which was written across his face in the form of a broad grin, the other students' reaction to this new professor was much more passive and unresponsive. They had grown depressingly accustomed to getting a completely new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor every single year, as if the position were cursed to never hold the same person for long and it indeed was. Most of them had already resigned themselves to the fact that they would undoubtedly be seeing another new face in that role next year, and the year after that, and so on. The pattern had become so predictable that it was almost a running joke among the older students. But with Adrian leading by example, rising to applaud with genuine enthusiasm, most students were still willing to give this new professor a warm round of applause, even if their expectations remained cautiously low. "Oh, thank you all very much," Remus stood up gracefully, his robes rustling softly as he moved, and warmly acknowledged the students with a modest nod and a grateful smile. Harry was happily applauding with enthusiasm when Ron suddenly tapped him sharply on the shoulder with his elbow. "What's wrong?" Harry asked Ron in confusion, still clapping but now distracted by his friend's concern. "Look at Snape's expression," Ron whispered urgently, pointing discretely toward the other side of the staff table where Snape sat in his usual black robes. Harry followed Ron's gaze and immediately saw Snape staring at Remus with a sinister, predatory gaze that seemed to burn with malice. His pale, sallow face was so dark with anger and hatred that it could almost drip ink, and the raw hostility in his black eyes was completely unconcealed. He made no attempt to hide his feelings, as if he wanted everyone to see his disgust. This familiar hostile look immediately made Harry understand the situation. Snape's level of disgust for Remus probably rivaled his hatred for Harry himself. Perhaps something deeply unpleasant had happened between Snape and Remus in the past. Harry found this completely understandable; given Snape's notorious personality of finding fault with everyone and everything, having numerous enemies throughout the wizarding world was perfectly normal. Dumbledore's speech gradually came to an end with his traditional words of welcome and warning, and almost immediately, exquisite, delicious food began appearing continuously on the tables throughout the Great Hall. Steaming platters of roasted meats, bowls of fresh vegetables, baskets of warm bread, and countless other delicacies emerged as if from thin air. The feast officially began, and the hall was filled with the sounds of conversation, laughter, and the clinking of silverware against plates. Adrian slowly savored a spiced piece of pumpkin pie, its crust flaky and golden, while listening with half an ear to Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick chat energetically about old stories—most of them revolving around Remus and his infamous school days. The Marauders had certainly caused quite a bit of chaos during their time at Hogwarts, providing plenty of entertaining material for conversation among the faculty who had been there to witness it. Unfortunately, except for Remus, who sat quietly at the table looking somewhat embarrassed by the attention, the fate of the other Marauders seemed rather tragically unfortunate. Two had sacrificed themselves in the service of the fight against Voldemort, dying as heroes but dying nonetheless. One had gone to prison for allegedly betraying his friends and then escaped to become a fugitive. When Adrian considered the full scope of their story, it was quite lamentable indeed—such promising young men, all brought low by war and betrayal. Soon, the feast ended smoothly with the traditional disappearance of the last crumbs and the final satisfied sighs of well-fed students. The next day dawned bright and clear, and the new term at Hogwarts officially began with all the excitement and nervousness that accompanied fresh starts. In the morning, Adrian appeared punctually in the Great Hall for breakfast—according to his experience with the rhythms of school life, in the first few days of each term, the house-elves were always particularly enthusiastic about their work, making breakfast especially abundant and varied. While Adrian was enjoying a particularly delicious hot meat pie, several students approached him one after another. Among them were two familiar faces—Percy, looking as formally correct as ever in his pressed robes, and his girlfriend Penelope. The remaining visitor was a Slytherin student. "Professor Westeros, there's something we'd like to ask you about," Percy said formally, holding up his protective charm. "Penelope wants to know how this charm was made. She's always been particularly interested in this type of magical item and their construction." "Indeed," Penelope smiled warmly, "In fact, last night I spent several hours trying to replicate your charm using the same enchantments and rune patterns, but the results were somewhat disappointing. I can't seem to achieve the same level of magical resonance." "Hmm, Miss Clearwater," Adrian set down his knife and fork, looking at Penelope with surprise and obvious approval. "That's quite admirable initiative on your part. May I see your results?" He didn't mind this academic curiosity at all; in fact, he was quite supportive of students taking such active interest in understanding the magic they encountered. Moreover, in his experience and impression, Penelope was an exceptional Ravenclaw—very clever, with consistently top grades across all subjects. Her position as Ravenclaw prefect was also well-deserved. After hearing Adrian's encouraging words, Penelope eagerly pulled out a charm of the same size and general appearance from her pocket—but obviously, she hadn't had access to lightning-struck wood or any of the other specialized materials that Adrian had used. Adrian took the charm carefully and examined it, turning it over in his hands and running his fingers along the carved runes. The runes themselves were almost perfectly replicated, showing remarkable skill and attention to detail. "Very good work already, Miss Clearwater," Adrian nodded approvingly, "I dare say I couldn't have executed the rune work more perfectly myself. Your technique is excellent." "Really?" Penelope's face lit up with a delighted expression, but soon her brow wrinkled with confusion as she asked, "Then why doesn't it work properly? The magical flow seems blocked somehow." "The problem lies in the materials, not in your execution," Adrian explained with a patient smile. "I used a very special type of magical wood that I cultivated myself over many years, and the rune system I designed can only function properly when carved into this specific type of wood. The magical properties are essential to the charm's effectiveness. Please don't doubt yourself—what you've accomplished is already excellent work." Penelope breathed a sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing as she finally solved the puzzle that had troubled her all last night. She continued with gratitude, "Thank you so much, Professor Westeros. I was beginning to think it was my own inadequacy causing the problem." After successfully resolving Penelope's concerns, Adrian turned his attention to the Slytherin student who had been waiting patiently nearby. "What about you? What questions do you have? Is it about the charm, or something else?" "Yes, sir," The Slytherin student said hesitantly, also taking out his protective charm. He turned it over to reveal the back and pointed at the decorative pattern carved there with uncertainty. "I'd like to know what this is supposed to represent." "Oh," Adrian glanced at the pattern and said cheerfully, "It's just a decorative pattern I added to make each house's charms unique." Indeed, Adrian had carved different symbolic patterns on each house's protective charms as little personalized surprises. "Is that... is that supposed to be a worm?" The Slytherin student asked hesitantly, his coming as a whisper as he squinted at the carving. Adrian's cheerful smile suddenly froze on his face. Then he said quietly, "That's a snake..." The Slytherin student's face immediately flushed with embarrassment as he realized his mistake. How to put it... this pattern was indeed somewhat abstract and open to interpretation. At this moment, Percy also took out his protective charm, looking at the pattern on the back with a tactfully complex expression that said he was trying very hard to be polite. "So... this should be a lion, shouldn't it? I always thought it was a spaniel." Adrian stopped talking completely and just silently ate his remaining pie. Halfway through breakfast, when the initial hunger had been satisfied and conversation had settled into a comfortable rhythm, new class schedules began to be distributed by the house prefects. Third-year students found their schedules suddenly cramped and overwhelming due to the addition of various elective courses that they had chosen the previous term. Harry looked at his schedule with alarm and found that his previously abundant free time had decreased significantly. Where he had once enjoyed leisurely afternoons and peaceful evenings, now every hour seemed to be filled with classes, study periods, or homework time. He couldn't help but look at Hermione with a mixture of concern and curiosity, because she seemed to have chosen every single elective course available to third-year students. He didn't think the remaining spaces on any normal schedule could possibly accommodate so many different classes. Hermione was also intently studying her new schedule at the time, but unlike Harry's expression of growing panic, her face showed an expression of pure, delighted satisfaction. That look of absolute joy made Harry think she was viewing a report card completely filled with Outstanding grades rather than a schedule that would challenge the limits of human endurance. Hermione sensed Harry's concerned gaze and turned to him with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen something disturbing." "Nothing serious," Harry said carefully, not wanting to offend her enthusiasm. "Could you show me your schedule? I'm curious about how you're managing to fit everything in." "Oh, of course," Hermione replied brightly and handed over her schedule. After Harry took Hermione's schedule and glanced at it, he couldn't help feeling deeply confused and somewhat alarmed. Because just this morning at nine o'clock, according to the parchment in his hands, Hermione had three completely different classes scheduled to attend simultaneously—Divination with Professor Trelawney, Muggle Studies with Professor Burbage, and Arithmancy with Professor Vector. This was obviously, physically impossible for any normal human being to accomplish, even with the most efficient time management in the world. ________________ You can read more chapters on: /IamLuis

0221 New Year

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