Chapter 984: Alchemy Class at Hogwarts
Chapter 984: Alchemy Class at Hogwarts
Despite Kyle's reluctance to travel by train, the journey was far from boring as he and Conna chatted and laughed along the way.
Professor Saxia occasionally joined in, but most of the time, she preferred to quietly observe the passing scenery outside the window, seemingly reminiscing about her own days as a student at Hogwarts.
By evening, the train arrived right on schedule, pulling up beside the Hogsmeade Platform.
Hagrid approached, holding a lantern and calling out for the first-year students to gather around him.
As was customary, he needed to lead the new students across the river to the castle.
"Long time no see, Hagrid!" Kyle leaned out of the window and greeted him.
"Long time no see," Hagrid replied with a cheerful wave.
"I've been waiting for you all day. I didn't expect you to choose to come to school by train. Didn't you always say that trains are too slow and boring?"
"I meant that it's boring to travel by train alone," Kyle corrected.
At that moment, Conna leaned out of the window and waved at Hagrid.
"Oh, Conna," Hagrid said with a smile, "Professor McGonagall told me. Congratulations on becoming an assistant professor at Hogwarts."
"Thank you," Conna smiled.
"By the way, Hagrid, you mentioned waiting for me all day. Is there something you wanted to tell me?" Kyle asked, looking at him. "Why didn't you use the parchment I gave you? You could have written on it, and I would have seen it."
"It's nothing. I just wanted to share some good news with you," Hagrid said with a broader smile, leaning in and lowering his voice. "But now that you're here, it's better to let Professor McGonagall tell you herself. I'm sure you'll be so happy that you'll jump for joy."
"Jump for joy..." Kyle raised an eyebrow. "What, is the school going to give me a raise?"
"No," Hagrid shook his head. "All professors receive the same salary. Only when you become a Head of House might you get a raise."
"So, I'm becoming a Head of House?"
"...Hagrid fell silent for a moment. "Kyle, if you need Galleons, I can lend you some."
"Galleons? I don't need them."
"Then why did you think of a raise?"
"Because only that would make me jump for joy."
Hagrid fell silent again, and so did Saxia in the carriage.
But honestly, a raise would indeed make one happy.
"Never mind, you'll find out soon enough. Also, Bathsheba sent you a gift, which I've put in your cabinet," Hagrid said before leaving. He needed to get the new students to the boats quickly.
Kyle, Conna, and Saxia joined most of the students in carriages and headed towards Hogwarts.
Conna seemed curious about the good news Hagrid mentioned and kept guessing what it could be.
Now it was certain that it wasn't a raise, and as for a promotion... there hadn't been any news of a vacant Head of House position.
Although Professor Snape, the Head of Slytherin, had been briefly dismissed for a while, after two hearings, Professor McGonagall immediately reappointed him as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and Head of Slytherin upon becoming the new Headmistress of Hogwarts.
He remained the Head of Slytherin and the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Surely, Professor McGonagall wouldn't appoint Kyle as the new Head of Gryffindor after becoming the Headmistress, would she?
But he wasn't even a Gryffindor graduate.
"You really should have asked Hagrid more questions," Conna couldn't help but say. "If you had asked more, he might have let it slip unintentionally."
It seemed that many people now knew how to extract secrets from Hagrid.
"It's fine," Kyle smiled. "Actually, he already told me."
"What?" Conna was taken aback. "How come I didn't know?"
"Didn't he tell us that Professor Burbage is back?"
Just then, the carriage came to a halt.
They had arrived, and ahead of them was the grand Hogwarts Castle with its gates wide open. Headmistress McGonagall stood at the forefront, followed by Professor Sprout, Professor Snape, Professor Slughorn, and Professor Flitwick, who was partially hidden behind someone's legs, with only a few strands of hair visible.
Kyle, the first to jump off the carriage, helped Conna and Saxia down.
The three of them ascended the stone steps.
"Welcome, Professor," Professor McGonagall said happily, embracing Saxia.
Professors Snape, Flitwick, and Sprout also appeared excited.
Although Hogwarts ranked almost at the bottom among all magical schools, it had an abundance of excellent professors.
The new Potions professor alone was enough to make the other magical school headmasters green with envy.
Slughorn was equally excited, his belly jiggling as he approached.
"Professor Horace Slughorn, it's an honor to work alongside you," he said.
"I know, Armando mentioned to me that he found an excellent Potions professor," Slughorn replied.
At this, Slughorn's face also began to twitch.
As they spoke, Kyle and Conna did not stay behind but walked together into the Great Hall.
"You still haven't told me what the good news is," Conna said.
"Didn't I?" Kyle looked around the Great Hall, as if searching for something.
"Did you forget? You were about to tell me when the carriage stopped."
"Well..." Kyle scanned the hall, then continued, "But these are just my speculations for now, and I'm not sure. Let's wait for the Headmaster's announcement at the start-of-term feast."
Conna muttered to herself, pondering once again why Professor Burbage's return to Hogwarts was good news.
Kyle is now the Ancient Runes professor, right? And this subject probably doesn't need two professors.
Conna didn't ponder for long. A few minutes later, Professor Saxia and Professor McGonagall entered the Great Hall together and took their seats in the middle of the staff table.
Following them was Professor Flitwick and two rows of new students behind him.
Kyle sat there, watching with interest.
Speaking of which, this was his first time attending the start-of-term feast as a professor in the true sense.
Last year didn't count, as he was sitting at the staff table but as Dumbledore.
The Sorting Hat's song, as always, left the new students wide-eyed, and for the first time, Muggle-born students experienced the wonder of magic firsthand.
Then, Professor Flitwick presided over the Sorting ceremony.
"Where did you go during the holidays?" Hagrid entered from the side door and sat next to Kyle.
"Bill told me he hadn't seen you," Hagrid added.
"I was trying out a new spell," Kyle replied.
"Oh, I think you should come back to visit the garden more often during your next holiday..." Hagrid's voice trailed off, or perhaps Kyle had discreetly cast the Ear-Closing Charm.
Although Hagrid had tried to lower his voice as much as possible, he forgot about his half-giant heritage, and even his intentionally lowered voice sounded loud to others.
Kyle didn't want too many people to know that the dragon that suddenly appeared the other day was his.
Even if some people had already guessed the truth, as long as he didn't confirm it, it remained a speculation.
Of course, if someone was overly curious and wanted to sneak into the garden to take a look, Kyle wouldn't stop them.
As long as they could handle the temperamental Hungarian Horntail.
Kyle subconsciously turned his head to look across the table, just in time to see Snape turn his face away.
"I read in a book that raising dragons requires frequent interaction with them; otherwise, they'll quickly forget about you," Kyle said.
Hagrid, sitting next to him, didn't notice Kyle's action and continued talking.
"Dragons are smart but can be foolish at times. You need to appear before them several times to avoid being considered an enemy."
"Don't worry, I understand," Kyle nodded, just as a golden fried pork chop appeared in the golden dish.
By the time Kyle finished talking to Hagrid, the Sorting ceremony was over, and it was time for the feast.
The start-of-term feast was arguably the grandest event at Hogwarts, and every year at this time, the house-elves in the kitchen would pull out all the stops to prepare this sumptuous feast.
This year, there seemed to be some additional French dishes.
Kyle spotted the Sorcerer's Fish Soup and Beef Bourguignon, not as authentic as the French cuisine he had tasted at Beauxbatons, but still impressive.
Soon, the desserts on the plates also disappeared, and everyone put down their utensils.
Professor McGonagall stood up from behind the table, and the laughter echoing in the Great Hall immediately quieted down.
"Welcome, new students, to Hogwarts, and of course, welcome back to all the senior students. Before the feast ends, I have a few announcements..."
"First, Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to inform you that no items purchased from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes are allowed on school grounds.
"And regarding Quidditch tryouts..."
Compared to Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall's speech was more concise, reflecting her no-nonsense personality.
After the announcements, she introduced Professor Saxia, the new Potions professor, and Conna, the assistant professor.
Kyle watched as Conna stood up, her fists clenched tightly, her entire body tense as if she were gripping the castle through her shoes.
He felt like laughing, but suppressed the urge due to the fear of future consequences.
The students below had two different reactions upon hearing Saxia's name.
Some politely clapped calmly, while others gaped in surprise, craning their necks to get a better view of the staff table.
Obviously, those who reacted calmly were the ones who didn't know Saxia.
It wasn't surprising; Saxia wasn't Dumbledore, and especially in the last few decades, she rarely appeared outside of St. Mungo's, so it was natural that many hadn't heard of her.
Saxia remained calm, waving her hand and taking her seat, and Conna hurriedly followed suit.
Then she began to stare at Professor McGonagall.
There was something else on her mind, a guess she had made along the way.
If there was anything unusual, Professor McGonagall would surely announce it at the crowded opening feast.
"Meanwhile, I have another piece of good news to announce," Professor McGonagall's voice quieted the buzzing hall once more.
"This year, Hogwarts will be adding a new subject... Alchemy!"
"Alchemy?"
"Alchemy?"
The word echoed throughout the hall, and everyone wondered if they had misheard.
The Hogwarts course schedule had been the same for centuries; why would they suddenly add a new subject?
Contrary to expectations, the students didn't look happy; instead, most of them furrowed their brows.
"But Professor, what about our exams if a new subject is added?" a Ravenclaw from the fifth year asked loudly.
He was due to take the O.W.L. examinations this year, and if the new subject was included, it might affect his grades.
"You don't need to worry about that," Professor McGonagall had to raise her voice to drown out the buzzing below, "The exam subjects remain unchanged. In fact, Alchemy will only be offered to the third years.
"I believe those in the third year have already noticed that on this year's course selection, there's an additional option for Alchemy."
Hearing this, the fifth and seventh years finally breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as it didn't affect their exams, that was fine.
"But Professor, where's our new professor?" Ginny couldn't help but ask.
She had looked around and, aside from Saxia and Conna, there were no new faces at the staff table, and they both taught Potions. One was in charge of the fifth and seventh years, and the other taught the first and second years.
Who, then, was the professor for Alchemy?
Unlike Ginny's confusion, Conna had an idea the moment she heard the name of the subject, and immediately looked at Kyle.
"The professor in charge of Alchemy is here..." Professor McGonagall smiled.
Kyle stood up as if he already knew, at the same time Professor McGonagall stretched out her hand.
When Hagrid mentioned Professor Burbage's return, he had already guessed it.
Professor Burbage's return would surely mean teaching Ancient Runes again, and that subject didn't need two professors.
Adding Hagrid's good news, the answer was clear.
He was still a professor, just changing subjects to teach this newly added Alchemy.
But what puzzled Kyle was that he hadn't received a letter from Hogwarts.
A change of subject required advance preparation and confirmation of new textbooks, so Hogwarts should have informed the professor beforehand.
Kyle was sure he hadn't received any letters from Hogwarts during the holiday.
Even though he had been busy with the Horcrux Spell, he hadn't locked himself away; he was still able to receive letters.
But among them, there was only one letter from Hogwarts, the one asking him and Saxia to take the train together, and no others.
But with Professor McGonagall's character, she shouldn't have made such a basic mistake, right?
This was also why Kyle hadn't told Conna about this earlier.
The hall erupted in thunderous applause, even louder than when Saxia was introduced.
Perhaps this was also related to most students knowing Kyle; after all, he was the only professor hired right after graduation, and almost all students above the third year knew him.
...
(End of Chapter)
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