Everyone's attention was focused on the Forbidden Forest, so naturally no one noticed Aurora and the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. The little wizards were still chattering away, lost in discussion.
One group was the house already harboring prejudice against the Gryffindor headmaster, and the other was Gryffindor, getting more and more carried away in their twisted line of thought.
Putting them together was absolutely a huge scheduling mistake.
"If Hogwarts changes its name, will we have to change our school uniforms too? Does that mean we'll have to pay again? I'll get to ask my family for a few more Golden Galleons!"
"Oh! Who's going to tell Headmaster Dumbledore? I want to see Headmaster Dumbledore's reaction!"
"Headmaster Dumbledore wasn't around this morning. I bet he got the news and hid right away—after all, even the best succubus bloodline gets less effective with age!"
"That's just nonsense slandering the great Dumbledore! He's the pride of Gryffindor! There's no way his succubus bloodline stops working just because he's getting old!"
...
The students had clearly been misled by this morning's Prophet Daily, and some little wizard even tried to prove Dumbledore's charisma by mentioning the seven hundred Dumbledore dolls his grandmother had sold—apparently, his family had been running an alchemy wizard shop in Knockturn Alley for generations.
What's authority?
The numbers from this little wizard's family—now that's true authority!
"Do you guys sell Gellert Grindelwald dolls too?" Some little loudmouth asked, piquing the interest of the other nosy little wizards.
"Nope, our shop only does local business."
This little wizard, proud of his family heritage, probably didn't realize what his shop really sold. He gave a loud and solemn reply, sounding just a little too proud.
"It's not just Dumbledore—you know, we also sell Miranda Goshawk dolls. Those are actually the top-selling dolls, and they fetch three times the price of a Dumbledore doll."
Honestly.
The fact that he could still attend Hogwarts was probably the real miracle of wizard studies. But since all present were little wizards, none of them truly understood just how weighty that miracle was.
"I think my mom bought a Dumbledore doll from your place once. Looks exactly like the real thing, and it even moves! But I have no idea why she keeps it hidden in the barn."
"Do you take custom orders? I want my puppy made into a doll, too."
"Brilliant idea! Then I want my older sister made into a doll! Every time she hits me, I'll take out my anger on her doll—give it a good beating!"
...
Little wizards at this age are always so purehearted. They had absolutely no clue what the wizard shop actually did—they genuinely thought it just made display toys.
Some Slytherin little wizard, just to suck up to Aurora, even loudly complained that they ought to make Grindelwald dolls for the UK market too—a great wizard who's made his mark in history! Plenty of other little wizards cheered on this suggestion.
"..."
The Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts' veins bulged on his forehead.
It was obvious.
Among the new Slytherin and Gryffindor recruits, not one had the gift of true prophecy. What was happening now had already proved everything to the Divination teachers ahead of time. If any of them had the faintest bit of seer talent, they wouldn't be so clueless with danger looming ever closer.
The Fiery Fire conjured with Transformation might be burning only in the Forbidden Forest for now, but the students chilling in the castle might just manage to spark a show right here too—the kind that burns so thoroughly not even ashes remain.
"Calm down! Gra—Professor! You have to calm down!" Aurora could barely restrain Gilderoy Grindelwald's hands; her whole body hung off the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts' arm.
"They're just children, just kids talking nonsense." Aurora kept whispering to Gilderoy Grindelwald, and luckily, he didn't lose control in the end.
He shook Aurora off his arm, but didn't draw his magic wand. "Of course I know that. I just think it's very necessary to give some careful thought to what kind of lessons I should arrange next for our exemplary Gryffindor and Slytherin students in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class."
"Such cheerful little wizards—clearly they'll be excellent at handling Dementors. First years are probably old enough to learn how to survive in Azkaban conditions now."
"I'll set up a simulation classroom in the dungeons—I'm sure it'll be highly educational." Gilderoy Grindelwald's face didn't look like he was joking at all.
He swept his robe and strode right out of the Transformation classroom. Who knew if he was really off to catch Dementors and build that so-called simulation room.
The other little wizards still hadn't realized how serious the situation was.
Amid the endless chattering,
the little wizards were still happily discussing away.
Only Aurora's face was deathly pale. If Grindelwald actually brought in a few Dementors, that would be a disaster—she knew all too well just how useless her Patronus Charm really was.