章 114: 114: Two New Professors and an Exchange Student
On the Thestral-drawn carriage, the ride was a bit bumpy as they headed toward Hogwarts.
As soon as Daphne saw John, she squeezed over to him, the awkwardness from last term finally gone.
Malfoy brought his two cronies with him, and this time he dragged the Weasley twins down and sat in the Thestrals with a proud look on his face. The smug look made the twins gnashing their teeth.
When they arrived at Hogwarts, they all got out of the carriage. John noticed that the Thestrals pulling the carriage looked a bit weary—likely from the combined weight of Goyle and Crabbe(?)
"You fainted, Potter? Did Longbottom really say the truth? You actually fainted?"
Turning his head, John saw Malfoy continuing his daily ritual of taunting Harry.
This had become Malfoy's routine.
Endlessly bickering with Potter, exchanging curses with Weasley, and bullying Gryffindors.
From John's perspective, Malfoy embodied everything Harry despised.
Harry had already been miserable enough, having fainted on the train, and now that Malfoy had found out, it was even worse.
But what really made it unbearable for Harry was that, as soon as he walked in, Professor McGonagall loudly called him away.
Now, everyone knew he had fainted on the train.
Harry and Hermione were called away.
John sat in the Great Hall and noticed a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows on one side.
"Hmm? A new professor?"
Puzzled, John looked up toward the staff table. Among the professors, a tall figure stood out the most.
Professor Kettleburn, who had been teaching Care of Magical Creatures, had retired, hoping to leave Hogwarts alive...
And so Hagrid had taken over his position.
This wasn't news to John. What surprised him was another professor.
Because John had sent a set of clothes to each of the security team members, Remus Lupin, thankfully, wasn't dressed in rags anymore.
With graying hair and noticeable wrinkles, even though Lupin had changed into a new outfit, it was clear that he hadn't lived an easy life.
What made John even more curious was the look on his Head of House's face—like he was harboring some deep-seated grudge.
"Did they know each other before?"
John rubbed his slightly hungry stomach. Using the Patronus Charm had drained his mind.
After all, most of his happiest memories involved food, and summoning a Patronus was like rewatching a livestream of his best culinary experiences.
With Professor McGonagall absent, the Sorting was handled by Professor Flitwick.
Professor Flitwick had to stand on a stool due to his short stature as he called out the names for Sorting. When the last student was sorted into Hufflepuff, John thought it was over. However, Professor Flitwick called out another name:
"Heinrich Edgar."
'Oh Shit....'
Everyone turned to see the figure in the shadows step forward.
Judging by his height and face, it was obvious he wasn't a first-year student.
The students began murmuring among themselves. Dumbledore explained, "Heinrich Edgar is an exchange student from Durmstrang. He will be spending this year at Hogwarts."
Durmstrang?
As soon as the name of the school was mentioned, the whispers grew louder.
Durmstrang was a famous magical school, known for its teaching of the Dark Arts.
Some of the more timid students were frightened by Heinrich's pale face.
When the Sorting Hat was placed on his head, it didn't even take a second before it called out "Slytherin!"
While everyone was murmuring and whispering, John was frozen since he saw Edgar. He remembered the letter Heinrich had sent him—so that's what it meant.
Malfoy, meanwhile, was excitedly waving at Heinrich.
Eh? John noticed this and found it odd. He asked, "You know him?"
"Of course, Edgar is a relative of the Malfoys."
Heinrich was two years older than Malfoy and had been placed in Slytherin's fifth year.
"Heinrich, it's nice to see you. Welcom to Slyt—"
Malfoy, thinking he had gained a new ally, stood up eagerly to greet Heinrich as he approached.
"Move aside!"
However, Heinrich frowned and ordered Malfoy to step aside immediately.
Without hesitation, Heinrich sat down in the spot where Malfoy had been sitting. His skin was unnaturally pale, like a vampire who hadn't seen sunlight for years.
What the fuck just happened?
As they met again, Heinrich said, "I told you we would meet again."
"I didn't expect you to be an exchange student," John replied with a wry smile, extending his hand. "Though we've met before, I still have to say, welcome."
"Edgars follow the strong. I will be by your side," Heinrich Edgar stated bluntly.
The Edgars were known for their loyalty to power, serving as the right-hand men of those in control.
John smiled slightly and replied, "Then you'll have to keep up with me."
Heinrich smiled back.
'...' Only Malfoy was left sulking.
They were supposed to be close relatives, yet Heinrich had come in and taken his spot, not to mention, stolen his ally as well.
'This is... this is... Forget it, I can't beat him anyway.'
With a sour expression, Malfoy pushed Goyle to the other side and sat down.
When Harry and the others returned, it was just as Dumbledore was introducing Heinrich Edgar.
Ron bet, "I'll wager a Sickle that guy's a vampire."
Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table. He hadn't expected an exchange student and had never even heard of Durmstrang before.
Ron explained that Durmstrang was a school known for teaching the Dark Arts, which made Harry instantly think that Heinrich must be a Dark wizard.
Dumbledore then introduced the two new professors: Remus Lupin and Rubeus Hagrid.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were stunned to learn that Hagrid had become a professor.
Of course, it made sense—who else would choose a textbook that bites?
"We have also welcomed a few Dementors from Azkaban to our school," Dumbledore announced. "They've been stationed here by the Ministry of Magic to carry out their duties. You've likely already encountered them, as they conducted a search on the Hogwarts Express."
As Dumbledore reached this point in his speech, he paused for a moment, his gaze shifting to John, who was still grumbling about how hungry he was.
"However, I must remind you all not to attack the Dementors lightly, as they are extremely dangerous," he continued.
"They are stationed at every entrance to the school. No one is allowed to leave the grounds without permission, and no tricks, disguises, or even invisibility cloaks will fool them."
That last line was clearly directed at Harry.
Dumbledore also emphasized that Dementors wouldn't heed anyone's pleas or explanations, so don't even think about doing anything reckless.
Once the speech ended, it was finally time for John's favorite part—food.
The golden plates filled with heaps of food, and John quickly speared a sausage with his fork, popping it into his mouth.
He ate fast.
'??!!' Heinrich, determined to keep up with John now that he had pledged to follow him, set aside his aristocratic manners and tried to match John's pace.
But after only a short while, Heinrich felt uncomfortably full.
Meanwhile, John was still devouring food as if it wasn't going to his stomach but disappearing into thin air.
In the end, this Durmstrang exchange student, on his very first day at Hogwarts, ate so much that he had to be sent to the hospital wing.
This made everyone wonder just how awful the food at Durmstrang must be.
As the clattering of knives and forks gradually quieted down, John finished off the last bit of chicken leg and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
While everyone else had leftovers on their plates, John's was spotless.
Daphne's eyes sparkled with admiration.
'Even the way John ate was so... cool.'
John thought for a moment and decided it would be best to go congratulate Hagrid.
The trio—Harry, Ron, and Hermione—were also there, and Hagrid, overwhelmed with emotion, gave John a big hug.
"Thanks to John here, he gave me loads of advice for my classes!" Hagrid exclaimed excitedly.
"John, you knew about this all along? Why didn't you tell us?" Ron complained, feeling a bit betrayed. No wonder John hadn't been surprised when he saw those strange books earlier.
John shrugged casually, "I wanted to give you guys a surprise."
"Fine," Ron said, grudgingly accepting the explanation, though he still hadn't forgiven the incident with his pants getting eaten by the book.
With that, the day came to an end, and John headed back to the dormitory.
Basil and Tom had already been sent up, and after hanging around for a bit, John decided to start his night patrols right on the first day.
He hadn't forgotten the thing he was most concerned about. Leaving the dormitory, he headed for the Room of Requirement.
Inside the Gryffindor's Secret Chamber, John searched for any research related to souls.
Perhaps it was because Gryffindor wasn't too interested in that kind of thing, but the chamber didn't have much on the topic.
He had no choice but to venture into the Forbidden Forest and enter the Slytherin's Secret Chamber, which contained numerous research manuscripts.
Among them were Horcruxes, but from the traces of ravage on them, it seemed that Slytherin was very dissatisfied with Horcruxes.
______
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