Among the heads of the four houses at Hogwarts, Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout both showed a hint of astonishment. Of course, they knew that Hogwarts could defeat its rivals and secure the opportunity to host the Triwizard Tournament, with Amos Dumbledore contributing greatly. However, they were unsure whether Dumbledore's decision to have Amos give the speech was based on those reasons.
Professor McGonagall looked at Amos with encouragement in her eyes, while the head of the Slytherin house showed no signs of discomfort, but his pitch-black eyes always seemed to flicker towards Amos and Dumbledore.
Amos wiped the cream around his mouth with a napkin as if he hadn't picked up any strange signals, shrugging slightly as he nodded,
"No problem, Headmaster Dumbledore..."
The below of the auditorium was still boisterous, and on the four long tables there, Dennis, the new wizard of Gryffindor house this year, was patiently describing to others how he fell into the water. Hagrid sent out a rescue signal. Fortunately, Professor Brian flew over and pulled him out of the water.
Neville still looked eager, and whenever someone discussed the Quidditch World Cup final and the duel that night, he would prick up his ears to try to catch every detail. Hermione narrowly avoided spilling her full juice glass as she had just learned from the barely headless Nick that there were more house-elves in the Hogwarts kitchen than anywhere else in Britain.
On the Slytherin side, Draco was rolling up his sleeve, boastfully showing his scar to Sabini, claiming it was from the Quidditch World Cup final that night when his family fought a masked wizard together.
At the Ravenclaw table, there was a sudden outbreak of giggles, and at the same time, Harry, caught in the act of eavesdropping, pulled his embarrassed gaze away.
None of the young wizards had yet perceived that they were standing at the threshold of a transition between two eras.
Ding, ding, ding——
The dessert plates before the young wizards were cleared in an instant, and a crisp clinking sound interrupted the buzz in the Great Hall, leaving only the sound of howling winds and rain pounding.
The young wizards were surprised to see that Professor Brian had risen from the teachers' table, while Dumbledore remained comfortably seated in his chair, smiling at them.
Gazing down at the rows of eyes filled with curiosity and confusion, Amos smiled.
"Welcome, welcome you back to Hogwarts, as we are about to enter a happy new school year, there are a few new announcements that you should know--"
"What's going on?" Ron shrugged, puzzled, looking at Harry. "Why is Professor Brian?
"Hush!"
As Hermione, who was angry about the house elves, turned her face and made a serious gesture with her hand.
"---Before we embark on a happy new school year, there are a few things you need to be aware of, first, as always, the Forbidden Forest beyond the grounds is off-limits to students. And Hogsmeade village, students in years one through three are not allowed to visit ---"
Dumbledore's opening speech each year was more or less the same, and the older students had grown tired of listening to it. It was a rare occurrence this year when something new was expected, but Professor Brian's speech still contained the same content, leaving many senior wizards disappointed.
"Is there anything new, Professor Brian?"
Feeling a bit dry, Fred waved his hand and shouted, and then he quickly received Professor McGonagall's severe glare.
"Something new..."
Amos blinked his eyes, speaking in a humorous tone,
"Let me see. Ah, there it is. After a review by the Student Safety Office, this year, the items prohibited in school have decreased from 437 last year to 385. Of course, some of these newly-licensed items may still be used inappropriately in the castle but are allowed outside. The specific detailed list is available at Mr. Filch's office for those who are interested and want to check."
Amos smiled at the Weasley twins. He guessed that no one else would do something like that, except for them.
Fred and George locked eyes, their eyes filled with an inexplicable excitement.
Since they joined Hogwarts, the length of the list of prohibited items at Filch's office had been increasing at an alarming rate each year, and this was the first time this year that the list had been reduced compared to last year. Does this mean that in the future, the school environment will become more relaxed?
"Guess what interesting things Professor Brian might let into Hogwarts?"
Harry heard Seamus ask a question, and then someone immediately answered it.
"It's definitely going to be big poop, he's even using this for his classes!"
"---And there's another piece of bad news to share with you all. This year, the House Cup Quidditch matches will not be held."
Standing at the top, Amos clearly saw that the two excited twin brothers' faces suddenly froze. They opened their mouths wide in amazement and couldn't say a word. Their embarrassed appearance wasn't an exception; most people, except for those who had already heard the news, like Celedrick and Draco, looked shocked and sad.
"This is because a major event will start in October and last the entire school year, taking up much of the professors' time and energy---But I believe you'll find great pleasure in it. I'm very happy to announce to you all that this year at Hogwarts---"
Professor Brian's raised voice was interrupted by a streak of lightning across the ceiling, followed by thunder cracking outside, shaking the glass windows with a crackling sound and the doors of the Great Hall being slammed open with a bang.
A man stood at the doorway, leaning on a long cane, wrapped in a black travel cloak. The young wizards who were eagerly waiting for Professor Brian to reveal the answer turned their heads and looked at the stranger by the Great Hall entrance. Another streak of lightning suddenly flashed across the ceiling, illuminating the stranger and revealing a long grey-white mane of hair as he began to walk towards the teachers' table.
"Who is he?"
Lightning illuminated his face incredibly clearly. Hermione had never seen such a face. It was like one carved from an old, rotten log, with the engraver having only a vague concept of what a human face should look like and not being very skilled with the chisel, every inch of his skin was covered in scars, his mouth was like a twisted, gaping maw, and his nose should have been prominent but wasn't.
"It's a no-brainer! It must be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor!"
Ron drew a sharp breath and said,
"Take a look at that face---Clearly an expert in defense against the dark arts!"
The most terrifying thing about the man who burst into the opening ceremony wasn't his face, but his eyes---one eye was very small; the other was very large, round like a coin, and a vivid bright blue. The blue eye blinked relentlessly, moving up and down, left and right, completely unrelated to the normal eye---and then, the blue pupil turned upside down and disappeared into the man's head, leaving only a large white pupil visible.
As the man walked in, Dumbledore rose from his seat, smiling as he waited for the man to approach, and Amos also fixed his attention on the stranger.
Alastor Moody.
Supposedly, the most outstanding Auror in the Ministry of Magic in recent years, he took down some of the most stubborn holdouts after Voldemort's downfall. Amos knew who this man was, but that knowledge came from Dumbledore's prior briefing, not from him actually knowing the retired Auror. Since Amos graduated and went into the workforce, the Auror Office Director was already Rufus Scrimgeour by then.
"Alastor ran into a bit of a situation, so he's a little late..."
Dumbledore and Moody exchanged a few words, then turned to look at Amos and said, "Perhaps, you can also introduce the new professor to the students this year..."
"Delighted."
Amos nodded and smiled, reaching out his hand to shake the 'legendary Auror' who had been scanning him several times.
(The end of this chapter)
