Chapter 985: Dumbledore's Gift
Chapter 985: Dumbledore's Gift
After the opening ceremony feast, Professor McGonagall, in her role as Headmaster, invited several professors to join her in the Headmaster's office on the eighth floor.
First was Professor Saxia, along with the remaining three Heads of Houses.
Although Professor Slughorn hadn't received a direct invitation, his thick skin ensured that no one would dare turn him away.
"Oh, and before I forget," said McGonagall, turning to Kyle and Conna as she reached the door, "you two should come along as well. As new professors, it's important to familiarize yourselves with the specifics of your roles."
"Headmaster, I'm no longer a new professor," Kyle replied.
While the Ancient Runes class was infrequent, with only one lesson per week, it was still part of the curriculum.
"But this is your first time teaching Alchemy," she pointed out.
"Fair enough," Kyle conceded, quickly following her.
Since the start of the school year, the Headmaster's office had undergone a significant transformation. Many of the mysterious silver artifacts had been removed, along with some of the cabinets, making way for a large bookshelf.
The shelf was filled not only with books but also with numerous seven- and eight-foot-long scrolls of parchment, mostly professional newspapers and magazines like 'Transfiguration Today'...
Overall, the office now resembled a true Headmaster's workspace.
The only constant were the portraits of past Headmasters, feigning sleep as usual.
Upon entering, Professor Saxia immediately located Professor Umbridge's portrait and greeted her warmly.
"Trust me, it's quite enjoyable to work at Hogwarts after retirement," Umbridge said with a smile. "I'm glad I made that decision."
Umbridge had once been a Healer at St. Mungo's before joining Hogwarts as Headmaster, mirroring Saxia's own journey.
"I hope so too," Saxia said softly. "I just wish the students wouldn't be too mischievous."
St. Mungo's also had Umbridge's portrait, and they were familiar with each other. The same went for Phineas Nigellus Black, Armando Dippet, and Dumbledore, whose portraits, though not present at St. Mungo's, were well-acquainted with Saxia. This reunion of old friends... Well, at least for Armando and Dumbledore, who were Saxia's longtime friends.
"Honestly, why couldn't you have accepted my invitation when I was Headmaster?" Dumbledore sighed. "I had asked you countless times before this."
"Because I could tell that you didn't genuinely want me as the Potions professor," Saxia replied. "Perhaps, in your eyes, Slughorn was a better fit." She waved her hand dismissively.
"I'm just kidding. I had mostly finished my work, and I couldn't just leave during a crisis and let those young Healers face Voldemort and his Death Eaters alone.
"Someone had to stand in front of St. Mungo's, and I was willing to be the first."
A moment of silence fell over the Headmaster's office.
Professor Slughorn opened his mouth as if to speak but then thought better of it. Professor Flitwick couldn't help but wipe away a tear.
Few knew that St. Mungo's had always been one of Voldemort and the Death Eaters' targets. Its peace was maintained not only by Dumbledore's covert assistance but also by the efforts of Headmaster Saxia during her tenure.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Saxia seemed unbothered by these revelations and proactively changed the subject. "Millie, did you call us here for something specific?"
"Well, I'd like you to take on the role of Head of Gryffindor House... if you don't mind," McGonagall said.
Since her appointment as Headmaster, the position of Head of Gryffindor had been vacant, a role she had previously held alongside her duties. However, it had taken up a significant portion of her time.
Being a Head of House came with a prestigious title, but it also meant dealing with countless daily tasks, which, while not necessarily crucial, were undoubtedly tedious.
These tasks included addressing students breaking the rules by venturing into the castle's forbidden areas at night, roaming the corridors in the wee hours, or even first-years challenging monsters on their own...
These responsibilities fell to the Heads of Houses, who would then inform the Headmaster if necessary. In other words, whenever a student broke the rules, the Head of their respective House was responsible for handling the situation.
In the case of Gryffindor, due to reasons everyone understood, Professor McGonagall had become the busiest Head of House.
In contrast, Professor Sprout was the least busy, enjoying as much free time as the other professors, tending to her delicate plants in the greenhouses daily.
With Hogwarts back on track this year, Professor McGonagall, already burdened with the Head of Gryffindor duties, felt a bit overwhelmed.
In truth, she had wanted to delegate the Head of House position last year but hadn't found a suitable candidate.
She had initially thought Professor Slughorn would be a good fit, but he had declined, citing his non-Gryffindor background.
She turned to Saxia and asked, "I remember that you graduated from Gryffindor, right?"
"That's right," Saxia nodded, "I did attend Gryffindor."
"Then it's most fitting for you to be the Head of House."
"Yes, yes..."
"The Headmaster is right."
Saxia was still hesitating, but the other professors around her began to persuade her to accept the role.
Apart from some undisclosed reasons, Saxia was indeed qualified for the position of Head of House.
"But I don't know what I should do," Saxia said.
Although she was stating a fact, the others didn't seem to mind... Could the former St. Mungo's Head be stumped by the role of Head of House?
It was obviously impossible.
"It's okay, I believe your assistant, including our new Alchemy professor, would be more than willing to help," they assured her.
Kyle and Conna, on the outskirts of the crowd, unconsciously looked up, seemingly unaware that they were also involved.
Conna was the first to snap out of her daze and nodded.
Although she didn't know what a Head of House should do, since Professor McGonagall had said so, she decided to agree for now.
She nodded, and naturally, Kyle didn't refuse either.
After that, they were no longer the center of attention.
This time, Professor McGonagall seemed to have organized a meet-and-greet, allowing the new Gryffindor Head of House to meet everyone.
Additionally, a new course schedule was created.
This was an annual process, and last year, due to Dumbledore's sudden return to a century ago, this process was completed in Professor McGonagall's office at the time, so Kyle was unaware of it.
When the new schedule came out, Kyle took a look. Whether it was intentional or not, his Alchemy class was scheduled for the last day.
However, this also gave him some relief.
If the class were to start tomorrow, he might not have been fully prepared. Now, with this timing, he had ample time to prepare for the first lesson.
Professor McGonagall mentioned a few things to keep in mind, and the professors prepared to leave.
Conna remained with Saxia.
The relationship between the two was similar to that of Kyle and Newt, and in a sense, they were like teacher and student.
After they left, Snape also followed, walking towards the door. However, as he passed by Kyle, he suddenly stopped.
"Good luck, Professor of Alchemy," he said, his voice drawn out with a hint of mockery, "I hope you won't be too disappointed when you see the empty classroom."
His words carried a mocking tone.
"You must feel honored to have surpassed Professor Burbage."
Kyle grimaced but remained silent.
He understood Snape's implication; as a new course, the number of students choosing Alchemy this year was pitifully low. When all the grades were combined, there were only fifteen students, while Ancient Runes had sixteen.
In other words, Alchemy had directly broken Ancient Runes' long-standing monopoly, becoming the course with the fewest students at Hogwarts.
However, Kyle wasn't surprised. As a new course, students in the fourth year and above would certainly not sign up, so those fifteen students must all be from the third year.
But Ancient Runes had five grades, so it was normal to have more students than Alchemy.
Seeing that Kyle wasn't engaging, Snape, feeling a bit embarrassed, didn't continue. He shook his head vigorously and strode towards the door.
Kyle still didn't move.
It wasn't until all the professors had left that he looked up at Professor McGonagall.
"I know what you want to ask," Professor McGonagall smiled, "This was Dumbledore's idea. He seems to want to give you a surprise."
"This is hardly a surprise; it's more like a shock," Kyle commented, "Fortunately, I guessed it in advance from Hagrid, or I wouldn't have been able to react in time in the Great Hall."
"Perhaps that's what he intended," said the portrait of Armando Dippet, his voice echoing in the room.
Not a single headmaster, including Dumbledore's own portrait, refuted this statement. Instead, they all feigned ignorance and stared blankly at the stones on the floor.
"Perhaps... that's how it is," Professor McGonagall stammered, "But as a school governor and the main funder of the Alchemy classroom, I couldn't refuse his little decision.
"However, I've arranged your course as late as possible. Additionally, since there's only one grade, you only need to teach once a week. I believe you can handle this minor inconvenience."
"No problem, Headmaster," Kyle nodded.
He had also looked at the Alchemy course content earlier. The textbook was 'Basic Alchemy: From Magical Script to Symbols' written by Professor Viktor.
It covered the most basic content, and Kyle could deliver the lesson without even referring to the textbook. However, he was concerned about something else.
"Headmaster, has Professor Dumbledore returned?"
"Impossible." Professor McGonagall waved her hand and took out a letter from her drawer. "All of that was pre-written in this letter."
"The letter... has it been in the Headmaster's office this whole time?"
"No," Professor McGonagall shook her head. "To be honest, I only received this letter a week ago, and it was delivered to Hogwarts along with a massive brass furnace."
"A rotating furnace, they said."
"A Substance Transformation Furnace," Kyle blurted out as he stood up.
This was exactly what he had been worried about. While the curriculum could be easily managed, the only concern for the Alchemy class was the Substance Transformation Furnace.
Especially for young wizards with almost no grasp of Magical Script, this tool was indispensable.
To be fair, he had hesitated many times, as Hogwarts had very few students studying Ancient Runes, and he wondered if anyone would even choose Alchemy.
After all, the Magical Script required for Alchemy was more intricate and complex.
But now, Dumbledore had made the choice for him and even sent the Transformation Furnace.
"That's right, that's the name." Professor McGonagall said, "I'm sorry, I'm not very familiar with Alchemy, and I've never heard of using a brass furnace to create magical items."
"Most people haven't," Kyle smiled, "This furnace can replace Magical Script, greatly reducing the difficulty for beginners."
"Apologies, Headmaster, but may I ask where it is?" Kyle asked eagerly.
"The third floor, near the staircase..." Professor McGonagall hesitated, "But I'll take you there myself."
The two left the Headmaster's office and arrived at an empty classroom on the third floor.
This was where Professor Lockhart had previously taught Defense Against the Dark Arts, and now it, along with the adjacent classroom, had been converted into the Alchemy classroom.
After removing the wall in between, it became the largest classroom in Hogwarts.
The brass furnace was placed on the left side of the room.
Kyle opened the door and stepped inside.
"How does it feel?"
"Exactly the same."
"What?"
"Oh, it's identical to the one I saw at Beauxbatons."
"In fact, it was sent from Beauxbatons."
Headmistress McGonagall couldn't help but recall the scene when she received the furnace.
Five massive Thestrals descended from the sky, creating a huge pit upon landing due to their weight.
Only the Thestrals of Beauxbatons could deliver such a heavy item.
"Beauxbatons..." Kyle was taken aback.
He had always assumed that Dumbledore had made the Substance Transformation Furnace himself, but now it seemed like he had commissioned it from someone.
"Headmaster, did Professor Dumbledore's letter mention anything else?"
"No," Professor McGonagall took out a piece of parchment from her pocket and opened it.
The content was sparse, only requesting confidentiality and a surprise for Kyle.
Kyle glanced at the envelope again, which only had the address, and he couldn't tell if it was recently written.
"Is there a problem?"
"No," Kyle shook his head, coming back to his senses.
Regardless, Dumbledore had helped him solve the most troublesome issue. With the Substance Transformation Furnace, teaching the class would be much easier.
Kyle circled the furnace, touching and examining it until curfew before leaving.
Headmistress McGonagall had left at some point, and the dark corridor was now empty except for Kyle.
As he walked towards the castle's exit, he pondered how to teach this Alchemy class.
While Dumbledore's furnace could help with the Magical Script issue, Alchemy students couldn't rely on it forever. Learning Magical Script was essential.
Even at Beauxbatons, only lower-level students were allowed to use the furnace, serving as their transitional period for learning Magical Script.
But at Hogwarts... the number of students choosing to study Ancient Runes was notoriously low.
Kyle walked towards his wooden cottage along the grounds, gazing at the castle in the moonlight. Suddenly, he thought of the Hogwarts map he had once created.
Perhaps he could seek help from Fred and George in Hogsmeade.
The biggest difference between Alchemy and Ancient Runes was that the alchemical items were incredibly valuable.
Compared to exam scores and a certificate that might not even be necessary, the allure of shiny Galleons seemed more motivating for young wizards.
(End of Chapter)
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