Chapter 9
"What's my purpose? Haven't you heard?" Lucian glanced at Snape, his expression rather strange.
"Heard what?" Noticing Lucian's look, Snape's thoughts stuttered for a moment—he suddenly realized that because of how low-profile Lucian had always been, he hadn't actually kept up with the other man's situation for quite a long time.
"I was invited by Dumbledore. If you don't know the reason, feel free to go ask him yourself."
Lucian shook his head and walked away without another word—Snape's attitude made it sound as though he had schemed and plotted desperately to come teach at Hogwarts. Although his own thoughts on the matter had slightly shifted by now, that still didn't give Snape the right to pass judgment.
After that, Snape didn't come to bother him again. Lucian smoothly helped Filch finish decorating the Great Hall.
The sun hadn't even set before everything was ready. Lucian even used a thorough *Scourgify* to maintain all the suits of armor in the castle, saving Filch a tremendous amount of work.
"Thank—thank you… You're the new Professor Lucian, right?" Filch thanked him rather awkwardly, then immediately put on a serious face to warn him.
"You'd better be careful of the troublemakers in the school. Take the Weasley twins, for example. Since you're a new professor, they might decide to play some nasty pranks on you later."
"Thanks for the warning. I'll keep it in mind." Lucian nodded. He didn't particularly mind Filch's tone; while there was still some time, he checked on the progress of his two assistants. Before he knew it, night had fallen.
"Let's call it a day here. Don't miss the Welcome Feast. The Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony is actually quite interesting—you two can go watch. If you're really interested, I'll ask Professor McGonagall whether she'd be willing to give you both a private Sorting later."
Jeffery and Camille nodded obediently and followed behind Lucian.
The moment they entered the Great Hall, Camille let out a soft, involuntary gasp. Even Jeffery looked momentarily stunned.
They quietly raised their heads, gazing at the ceiling above—hundreds upon thousands of floating candles burning brightly, a starry night sky twinkling overhead, and translucent silver ghosts drifting silently among them.
Lucian turned back to look at their reactions and suddenly felt a belated pang of guilt. All these years… had he perhaps neglected other aspects of their education?
On the surface Jeffery seemed very mature, but seeing him now, it was clear he was mostly imitating Lucian's behavior. Deep down, he was still very much a child.
As for Camille… well, there was no need to elaborate.
"You two can use Disillusionment Charms and watch from the back. I'll come find you after it's over." Lucian said goodbye to them and walked toward the staff table.
Not long after, some noisy sounds drifted in from the entrance, quickly growing louder—mixed with the excited shouts of children.
But soon the noise died down. The older students filed in like obedient quails and quickly took their seats.
Right after that, Professor McGonagall appeared at the front like a mother hen, leading a long line of tiny first-years into the hall.
As McGonagall brought out a four-legged stool and placed the tattered Sorting Hat upon it, a peculiar song suddenly rang out:
"You may think I'm not much to look at, But never judge by what you see, If you find a hat more handsome than me, I'll gladly eat myself for tea!"
The Sorting Hat performed its usual playful ditty, earning thunderous applause from the entire hall.
Lucian propped his chin on one hand, watching one small witch or wizard after another place the hat nervously on their head, waiting anxiously for their fate to be announced.
A scene so full of youth and vitality—even just watching it was enough to make one smile with fond nostalgia.
While Lucian was quietly enjoying the sight of the new students, a great many older students had also turned their attention toward him.
"Cool, new face! I bet anything that's our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor."
"He looks way too young… but he's got style. Kinda looks like a Quidditch star. Is there someone like that on any of the teams?"
"Doesn't matter who he is—do you lot still have any expectations for this subject? I gave up completely ages ago. No expectations, no disappointment. My advice? Just embrace the new professor with the same mindset as me: another year wasted."
After suffering through an entire year with Professor Quirrell, most Hogwarts students had come to understand just how ridiculous the subject of Defence Against the Dark Arts truly was at their school.
They had all wasted a whole year! Zero progress! Every day they just sat in class reading boring, absurd stories about things like vampires!
The older students had completely given up hope and started looking for other ways to learn. In truth, it wasn't just the past few years—the educational problems at Hogwarts had been piling up for a long time.
Even many officials at the Ministry of Magic couldn't cast a proper Shield Charm properly… It might be ugly to admit, but that was the undeniable reality of the British wizarding world.
Logically speaking, Voldemort's curse really was terrifyingly powerful—even Dumbledore couldn't break it? Or perhaps it was just an incredible string of coincidences that had somehow lasted for decades?
Lucian noticed a group of students discussing him, but he paid them no mind.
After the Sorting Ceremony ended, he approached Professor McGonagall and asked if his two assistants could have a turn with the Sorting Hat. He was met with a stern refusal.
"The Sorting Hat is one of the oldest and most sacred treasures of Hogwarts. Its purpose is to Sort new students—not to be used for 'fun' or 'testing'."
"I'm sorry, Lucian, but they are not Hogwarts students. I will not allow them to use the Hat."
"Understood."
Lucian nodded and was about to leave when he saw Snape approaching aggressively, escorting a boy with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Trailing behind them was a nervous-looking red-haired boy.
"Professor McGonagall!" Snape started to speak, but then noticed Lucian standing nearby. An obvious look of disgust appeared on his face. Before he could do anything, Lucian quietly slipped away.
It was only after he had taken both assistants out of the Great Hall that he suddenly realized—
That was the protagonist just now… Harry Potter and Ron Weasley? It seemed the story had truly begun.
He turned to look at his two assistants. "Sorry, it looks like the Sorting Hat isn't something we can just play with. I'll see if there's another chance later."
"It's just a boring ceremony. Not worth troubling yourself over, sir."
Camille openly expressed her disdain for the Sorting Hat, her expression bordering on icy. Jeffery smiled gently and told Lucian not to worry about it anymore.
After the doors closed behind them, Ron let out a long, quiet whistle. "I really thought we were done for," he said, grabbing a sandwich.
"Me too," Harry agreed, taking one as well.
Having arrived at school in a flying car, been seen by quite a few Muggles, and crashed into the Whomping Willow, they had caused quite a lot of trouble and at one point genuinely believed they were going to be expelled.
But Professor McGonagall had forgiven them in the end.
With no punishment handed down, the two of them quickly forgot just how serious the incident had been and began talking about other things.
Ron was already planning to brag about the whole thing to everyone. Harry, too, felt a quiet sense of pride deep down. That was just the Gryffindor spirit of adventure, buried right down to the bone. And today, they had one more story to add to the collection.
"Harry, do you remember that really cool guy standing next to Professor McGonagall earlier? I've got a feeling—he's definitely going to be our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor."