Chapter 262: Chapter 262: The Sorting Hat's New Song (Edited)
The hat twisted, its brim opened like an open mouth, and it began to sing.
[Long ago, I was a new hat, before Hogwarts was built.
The four founders of Hogwarts, to build the best magic school in the world.
Wizards, back then, were not in a good position. The Church's rope, the King's guillotine!
Hardships were not a shackle, and Hogwarts was soon constructed.
Friendships were true and strong, teaching was pleasant and harmonious.
Goblin wars were quelled, the enemy's tentacles were mercilessly severed.
The songs and dances of the hall couldn't be stopped, and the table was never empty of good food.
The fire of wisdom burns in the classrooms, the songs of courage resonate in the skies.
Pure blood, wise minds, extraordinary courage, equal minds.
Noble qualities are difficult to combine, disagreements bring small disputes.
Disputes grow, schools fall, schools fall.
Endless fights, endless fights,
Former friends turn against each other, old enemies return.
Blood and fire, soldiers and spears.
The strife finally ends, but Slytherin chooses to depart.
Harmony, unity, disagreement, rivalry.
The era of wizards has passed, and a new era is yet to come.
A storm is approaching, can a house with broken pillars take shelter from the storm?
Know the dangers, read the signs, the lessons of history warn us!
The enemy outside the school is watching, the students inside are ignorant.
The great and the powerful will raise the last refuge for us,
We still have time to celebrate, or to sharpen our swords.
I have spoken clearly to you, I have sounded the alarm.
Remember the words left to us by the Four Greats.
Courage! Wisdom! Pride! Inclusion!
The sun sets in the west, the moon rises in the east, the sun and the moon change, the old and the new are constant.
Come, come and put me on! Don't be afraid! Don't panic!
Leave everything to me, for I am a thinking magical hat!]
The hat fell silent again, and after a moment of silence, the Great Hall filled with whispered applause.
In the Great Hall, the students mingled with those around them, and Tom applauded like everyone else, but with much to ponder in his stomach.
"Is there something different about this year's song?" Hermione raised an eyebrow. Usually, the Sorting Hat only described the qualities and styles of the four houses and then made it clear that it was the house that divided the students. It wasn't the Sorting Hat's job to give advice to the school.
There was a hint of unease in Hermione's voice, "There have been so many strange things this year that I wonder if this hat has issued a similar warning before." Hermione looked at the ghost of Ravenclaw house, Lady Grey, who had just floated in and was sitting next to Tom.
"Well, yes. It does so when the Sorting Hat believes it has a duty to warn the school..." she said coldly.
She abruptly stopped when Professor McGonagall took out a parchment and gave a stern look to the students mingling on the stage. They all fell silent. In the absence of Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall was the number one authority in the school.
Tom sat silently on the platform, listening as Professor McGonagall called the new students up one by one, placing the Sorting Hat on their heads and assigning them to the house that suited them best.
His hands became restless, first sliding under the table, then moving up to Hermione's lap. He tried to write on it, but his hand was held back by Hermione's. He had to settle for the next best thing, writing on Hermione's hand: "The army is coming, the army is coming."
Hermione felt a tingling in her hand but understood Tom's actions and replied, "We can always trust Dumbledore."
Lady Grey noticed their small exchange, glanced at Tom, who was enjoying himself, rolled her eyes, and turned her head away.
Once the last of the new students had been sorted into their houses, the Sorting Ceremony came to an end.
Professor McGonagall put away the Sorting Hat, moved the stool aside, and returned to the platform where Headmaster Dumbledore used to speak.
"I would like to say a few words before we all enjoy our sumptuous feast," Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and waited for the noise in the Great Hall to settle before speaking. "I see many of you wondering about the absence of Professor Dumbledore, and I think it's important to address it so that no one suspects anything. Professor Dumbledore has to make many important decisions in the magical world, and today he had a crucial meeting he couldn't leave, so he asked me to officiate the opening ceremony in his place. Tomorrow, you will see Headmaster Dumbledore enjoying breakfast pudding right here."
The young wizards felt relieved to hear that it was an impromptu meeting, but a flicker of doubt struck them. What kind of meeting could it be that Professor Dumbledore would prefer to miss the opening ceremony rather than attend?
After sharing her thoughts with the young wizards, Professor McGonagall continued, "As you are undoubtedly aware, Dementors from Azkaban attacked the Hogwarts Express this afternoon. I regret to inform you that the school will be hosting several Dementors on Ministry business this school year."
At this point, Professor McGonagall's face turned grim for a moment. Both Dumbledore and she, along with the other professors, were truly unhappy about the Dementors patrolling the school, but they couldn't make excuses.
"There will be Dementors stationed at all entrances and exits of the school, and I must clarify in advance that no one will be able to leave the school without permission. No trick or disguise will deceive the Dementors, not even an invisibility cloak." Professor McGonagall said this without looking at either of them, but both Harry and Ron knew it was directed at them.
"Dementors are not like wizards, they don't understand requests or excuses, they have their own way of behaving. So I warn you: don't give them any chance or reason to harm you. It is the responsibility of the Head of House and the newly appointed Prefect to ensure that no student conflicts with a Dementor."
Percy, sitting at the long Gryffindor table, puffed up his chest and looked serious as he surveyed the table. At that moment, no one in the Great Hall made a sound; they all remained silent.
"And now, here are two pieces of good news," Professor McGonagall continued, taking a moment to compose herself. "This year, we have two new members of the faculty. I am delighted to welcome two new colleagues."
"Two?" The young wizards on the platform were astonished. A new professor wasn't a surprise, as the Defense Against the Dark Arts position at Hogwarts was an annual turnover, but who was the second professor?
Their eyes scanned the professors' table and finally settled on an empty seat.
Chapter 263: Chapter 263: Time-Turner (Edited)
A quick glance at the staff table revealed that, apart from Headmaster Dumbledore and the new professor teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Silvanus Kettleburn, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, was also absent. Everyone assumed that the old professor had retired.
The young wizards were not surprised at all. On the contrary, they wondered why he was retiring now.
Kettleburn was a Hufflepuff, but his reckless nature often made it seem like the Sorting Hat had made a mistake by not placing him in Gryffindor. His relationship with the former Headmaster, Armando Dippet, had always been tense due to his personality. He had gone through sixty-two trial periods during his time at the school! It was like teaching in between being fired. When the old professor retired, he only had one arm and a half-leg, probably the price of recklessness and daring. But despite that, he still traveled to the Fire Dragon Sanctuary in his free time...
This fierce man finally retired this summer. Given that the position of a Hogwarts professor is permanent, the young wizards thought the professor would teach until he died! However, strangely enough, two professors had left, but there was only one new face on the teaching staff.
Professor McGonagall extended her hand towards Lupin's position, "The first is Professor Lupin, who has agreed to fill the vacancy for Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Professor Lupin stood up, acknowledging the audience. However, the applause in the Great Hall was sporadic, due to his shabby clothes and the unreliable predecessors.
Lupin sighed inwardly, still pessimistic about the future of the job. In fact, he wouldn't have come to Hogwarts if Dumbledore hadn't promised to provide him with a Wolfsbane potion every month. Lupin had never been involved in education and had no idea how to teach, so he tried to remember what his teachers had taught him when he was in school and drew inspiration from them.
He was so inspired that he decided to go to the castle after the opening ceremony to find a magical creature that would be perfect for the first lesson.
But after a few seconds, the applause at the long Gryffindor table suddenly grew louder, because Snape showed a mix of anger and hatred, and his thin yellow face almost twisted.
The reaction from the Gryffindor lions also made Lupin feel better.
As if she hadn't seen Snape's reaction, Professor McGonagall continued after the applause for Professor Lupin had died down: "I regret to inform you that our Care of Magical Creatures professor, Professor Kettleburn, retired at the end of last term. In order to have more time to enjoy his old limbs, his position has been filled by none other than our gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, who will also be teaching."
The Great Hall erupted in applause. Hagrid's large face turned red, and a big smile hid behind his thick black beard.
"Well, that's all the announcements, everyone, let's eat!" Professor McGonagall said. The next moment, the plates in front of them were filled with food, and the cups were filled with drink. When the last of the cake disappeared along with the pudding, Professor McGonagall announced that everyone could return to their dormitories.
Tom and Hermione left the Great Hall together, but Professor McGonagall suddenly appeared behind them.
"Yodel, Granger. You'll have to accompany me to my office first."
Hermione shivered, unconsciously thinking that Professor McGonagall was going to interfere between her and Tom, but when they arrived at the office, she realized that Professor McGonagall was going to talk about something different than what she had thought.
When Professor McGonagall entered the office, before Hermione could say anything, she waved her hand and conjured two pieces of parchment.
"I have received your registration forms. It seems you have chosen all your classes. Why did you do that? Some classes seem unnecessary to me, like Muggle Studies. You two must already know a lot about Muggles."
Hermione felt relieved and explained, "Professor, it's because I'm a Muggle that I wanted to take Muggle Studies. I wanted to know how Muggles are perceived from a wizard's point of view. I've also heard that these classes can affect our future careers, so I believe all classes should be taken with caution. It takes at least a semester to understand their content! Besides, since the school does not prohibit taking all the classes, it's only fair that I take them all."
A flicker of appreciation gleamed in Professor McGonagall's eyes as she looked at Tom.
Tom: "Me too."
Professor McGonagall: ...
She felt a bit perplexed, but there was nothing she could do about it. It was true that Hogwarts did not have a maximum number of subjects that students could take in one school year, and with Tom and Hermione's good grades, it really allowed them to take advantage of the situation.
She adjusted her glasses and took out an envelope from her desk drawer.
"Indeed, Hogwarts will not reject your request." She opened the envelope and pulled out a long, thin golden chain with a small, shining hourglass pendant. On the surface of the hourglass, there was a small inscription: [I mark every inch of time but never beyond the sun. My worth to you is measured by your purpose.]
"A Time-Turner," Professor McGonagall said gravely, "An alchemical device for time travel. The number of turns of the hourglass represents the number of hours back in time, but remember, you must not go back more than five hours without causing unpredictable damage to both the Time-Turner and its user."
"You must not tell anyone about its existence. I dare say I had to write a hundred letters to the Ministry of Magic to obtain this Time-Turner... just so you could attend multiple classes at the same time!" Professor McGonagall placed the Time-Turner in Hermione's hand. "Miss Granger, promise me you will not misuse it, that you will never use the Time-Turner for anything other than your studies, and Mr. Yodel, you too!"
Hermione looked at the Time-Turner in her hand. It didn't feel magical or special at all. She had been exposed to time travel, the Ministry of Magic's only went back five hours. She had seen the pharaoh directly five thousand years ago!
She still had a Time-Turner made by the pharaoh.
Seeing Miss Granger's indifferent face, Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. "This is something that can manipulate time. The Ministry of Magic has made hundreds of laws regarding it..."
Hermione: Well, yes, you're right. I swear I won't abuse it.
Professor McGonagall sighed. "Behave yourselves. Time-Turners are extremely dangerous. In the past..."
She recounted a few stories of wizards who had paid a terrible price for abusing the Time-Turner, and finally, as she escorted Tom and Hermione out of the office, she looked them in the eyes and said, "Respect time, and may no one ever see you using it!"
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