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Chapter 30: Faculty Gathering
Chapter 30: Faculty Gathering
Life as a professor at Hogwarts is incredibly busy.
Courses for seven different year levels and after-class assignments almost entirely occupy Sherlock's time, from waking up at 7 in the morning until 11 at night, when he might finally get some rest.
At the same time, he must allocate part of each day to self-study and self-improvement, striving to reach the same magical proficiency as the original occupant of his body as soon as possible.
After all, only the enhancement of one's own abilities provides the most reassuring sense of security.
On the Saturday of the first week of the school year.
Sherlock had a rare morning without assignments to grade, finally taking a break from the complex magical knowledge he usually deals with. He had a moment of leisure in his office, reading a well-known book of fables from the magical world, Tales of Beedle the Bard. He was just starting "The Warlock's Hairy Heart", a story with a valuable lesson, when a gentle knock came from outside his office door.
Sherlock closed the book and put it in a drawer before speaking.
"Come in."
The person who entered was not one of the students Sherlock had expected to ask a question, but rather Professor Mcgonagall, the Head of Gryffindor.
"Do you have a moment, Sherlock? Every Saturday, a few of us professors who are free meet up in Hogsmeade for a drink."
Sherlock instinctively wanted to decline, but Professor Mcgonagall continued before he could respond.
"Today, Slughorn will be joining us. You haven't seen him since your mother's funeral."
Hearing the name Slughorn, Sherlock was taken aback.
The name was unfamiliar to him, yet he had a vague feeling that this person had appeared in the original story.
Seeing Sherlock's expression, Professor Mcgonagall explained further.
"You might have forgotten, but Slughorn used to be the Head of Slytherin at Hogwarts. Your mother, Sally, was one of his star students."
"When Sally and your father were planning your christening, they even considered asking him to be your godfather. He was very willing, but other circumstances prevented it. However, Sally and he remained close until her passing, and he attended her funeral. You were only three at the time."
"After that, he went into seclusion, and no one knows where he lives. Recently, he heard that you had taken the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts. He specifically came to Hogsmeade today to meet you."
Professor Mcgonagall's expression was serious.
"I think you should meet him, Sherlock. He seems to have something important to tell you, something related to your parents."
Sherlock hesitated.
He had not intended to participate in the faculty gathering, not out of fear of exposing himself, but because he had already assessed the situation during his first week at Hogwarts.
There were only three and a half professors in the castle who were familiar with Sherlock.
Professor Mcgonagall and Dumbledore need not be mentioned, and there was also Professor Flitwick, the Head of Ravenclaw during the original occupant's student days. The half-professor was Snape.
He was considered half because Sherlock had not yet figured out Snape's true feelings toward him.
According to the original story, Snape had always coveted the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, so he should logically be hostile to every new appointee.
However, when Sherlock encountered him in the castle, Snape did not display any obvious dislike or hostility.
Instead, from the complex look in Snape's eyes, Sherlock detected a hint of guilt!
That feeling was just too strange. Sometimes, Sherlock would even doubt if he had gone crazy, wondering how he could possibly detect guilt in Snape’s eyes.
Since he couldn’t figure it out, Snape was only counted as half.
Even with the three and a half professors he was familiar with in the castle, none of them truly understood the original owner’s true thoughts.
During his student days, the original owner was like a wary hedgehog, using his coldness as a shield to protect himself, leaving no one to know what he was thinking, except for his overt admiration for Dumbledore.
So, unless Sherlock was courting death, there was no way he would expose himself.
The main reason was that he had a rare half-day off today and didn’t want to waste his energy on socializing.
However, after Professor Mcgonagall mentioned that Slughorn wanted to see him because of something related to the original owner’s mother, Sherlock felt he should make the trip.
The biggest secret about the original owner came from his mother. Even the crescent-shaped birthmark on his left arm gave Sherlock a premonition that it was somehow connected to that madwoman.
To uncover these mysteries, he had to deal with these people.
With that in mind, Sherlock nodded at Professor Mcgonagall and said, “I’ll go.”
Hearing his agreement, Professor Mcgonagall’s face showed relief. “At 10 AM, at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. Flitwick and Hagrid will also be there. See you then.”
After Professor Mcgonagall left the office, Sherlock checked the time. It was already 9 AM, leaving him only an hour before the meeting.
He took out a few books he had borrowed from the castle library, intending to return them within the hour.
Due to Sherlock’s exam preparation plan for the upper-year students this semester, the library was already bursting at the seams even before the end of the term.
Almost all the students who came to study were focusing on the Defense Against the Dark Arts exam papers.
Since last year’s Defense professor was Quirrell, most students’ exam results were poor. Sherlock had intentionally made the questions a bit more challenging.
This left the upper-year students who took the exam feeling somewhat disheartened.
Those who cared about their grades were so determined that they almost wanted to tear the exam papers apart, just to understand every question.
Seeing the significant improvement in Hogwarts’ study atmosphere, Sherlock felt very pleased after returning the books.
He left Hogwarts Castle and took a leisurely stroll by the Black Lake before heading to Hogsmeade. He had heard there was a Giant Squid in the lake and wanted to see if he could spot it.
However, Sherlock came with high hopes, but the squid didn’t show any interest.
Just as he was about to leave Hogwarts for Hogsmeade, a commotion from the Quidditch pitch caught his attention.
The Gryffindor and Slytherin teams had gathered, seemingly in the midst of an argument.
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(End of Chapter)
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