After eating a few steaks, salads, and desserts, Lorin took a sip of oriental white tea and smacked his lips in delight.
Just as he looked up to watch the young wizards, he noticed Harry Potter was also studying the staff table.
When their gazes met, Lorin materialized a goblet of red wine from somewhere, offered Harry Potter a polite smile, and drank it in one gulp.
Harry Potter was startled and quickly picked up his pumpkin juice.
But when he looked up again, the handsome white-haired man in the black-and-gold dress robes had already lowered his head to focus on a bowl of stew.
Yet fate is always a curious thing.
Harry Potter’s gaze wandered and eventually landed on Professor Quirrell and Professor Severus Snape.
The soul of Voldemort residing within Quirrell caused a sudden, sharp pain in Harry Potter’s scar.
Harry Potter clutched his forehead, nearly spilling his pumpkin juice.
Because of this, Professor Severus Snape was immediately stamped with a label of suspicion in Harry Potter’s mind.
*Tsk, poor Severus.*
*He has no choice but to take the fall for Quirrell.*
“Ron, who is that?”
“Oh, don’t look at him.
That’s the meanest professor at Hogwarts!
They say he’s extremely biased toward Slytherin…”
Ron Weasley seemed terrified of Severus Snape, quickly pulling Harry Potter’s attention back to the feast.
At the end of the banquet, when Lorin took his final bite of fruitcake, everything on the table vanished.
Albus Dumbledore stood up, and the Great Hall once again fell quiet, embracing tranquility.
“Now that we have all been fed and watered, I must ask for your attention as I give you a few start-of-term notices.”
“First-years should note that the Forbidden Forest is strictly off-limits to all students.”
“Additionally, please do not let your curious whims disrupt the school lives of other students in the common areas.”
As Albus Dumbledore spoke, he winked toward the Gryffindor table.
“Lastly, do not enter the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side, as this concerns your very survival in the castle.”
Lorin curled his lips inwardly at Albus Dumbledore’s words.
*A clumsy fishing trap.*
But Albus Dumbledore’s uncharacteristically solemn tone instantly struck fear into the young wizards’ hearts, and none of them dared to make a sound.
“Now, on to a lighter topic.”
Albus Dumbledore clapped his hands, a relaxed smile returning to his face.
“This is also the final matter for tonight.”
“I am delighted to announce that Hogwarts welcomes two new staff members this year!”
“First, the most outstanding graduate in the history of Beauxbatons Academy—Mr.
Lorin de Montmorency!
He will be taking on the role of Castle Administrator to help ease Mr.
Filch’s burden.”
“And Professor Quirrell, who will be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.”
Thunderous applause erupted in the hall, only subsiding when Lorin sat down.
Many young witches blushed, whispering excitedly to one another. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Words like “girlfriend,” “Beauxbatons,” “France,” and “handsome” floated into Lorin’s ears, giving him a rather uneasy feeling.
But when Quirrell stood up, only a scattering of polite, perfunctory applause echoed through the hall.
“Though I appreciate the warm welcome, the manners of Hogwarts students still leave much to be desired…” Lorin thought, taking it all in.
“Mr.
Montmorency, do you have a girlfriend?” a young witch called out loudly from below, prompting teasing chuckles from Professors Filius Flitwick and Sprout.
“Ah, Lorin, I must admit, you truly are the most handsome wizard I have ever seen,” Professor McGonagall said with a straight face.
“Y-Yes, M-Mr.
M-Montmorency,” a stuttering voice came from the other side of the staff table, making Lorin feel incredibly uncomfortable.
Along with Quirrell’s voice, a needle-sharp trace of magic enveloped Lorin, stealthy and probing.
“Hmm?”
Lorin narrowed his eyes.
A transparent, high-temperature magical ward instantly covered his body, and the prying magic snapped back like a tentacle burned by fire.
Lorin dissolved the magic just as quickly, leaving Professor Filius Flitwick momentarily wondering why the temperature in the Great Hall had spiked so strangely, though it returned to normal in an instant.
“Now, quiet down!” Albus Dumbledore called out, his booming voice echoing through the Great Hall.
“Starting tomorrow, you will begin your new classes.
Please make sure to prepare beforehand.”
“As for Administrator Montmorency, you will have to seek him out yourselves.”
*Bang!*
Albus Dumbledore’s wand shot a shower of gold and red sparks like a firecracker, drowning out the rising squeals and chatter in the hall.
“I don’t know what they’re so crazy about.
Just an annoying, pretentious show-off…” Ron Weasley muttered among the Gryffindors, immediately drawing furious glares from several nearby girls.
Seeing this, Harry Potter could only take a step away, casting Ron Weasley a helpless look.
Fortunately, Albus Dumbledore’s voice rang out again, saving Ron Weasley from his predicament.
“And now, let us perform the final tradition of our Sorting Ceremony: the school song!”
With that, Albus Dumbledore waved his wand in delight, conducting the air.
In the next moment, Lorin fully understood what it meant for everyone to sing to their own tune.
The Hogwarts school song clearly had no fixed melody, unlike Beauxbatons’ elegant, gentle tunes.
Everyone used their own rhythm to fill in the missing beats of the lyrics.
As for Albus Dumbledore’s conducting, it seemed more like a form of self-indulgent amusement…
Finally, as the Weasley twins—Fred and George—finished the last verse to the slow crawl of a funeral march, the Sorting Feast came to an end.
“Ah, music,” Albus Dumbledore said, blinking his slightly moist eyes.
“Always so moving.”
Lorin could only maintain a polite smile.
“Prefects, lead the first-years!”
Under the guidance of the house prefects, the young wizards slowly left the Great Hall, heading toward their respective common rooms.
“It’s just brilliant!” Harry Potter sighed in massive relief.
He didn’t have to be sent back to the Muggle world!
But why did the faces of Lorin and Severus Snape keep flashing in his mind?
…
As for Lorin, well-fed and satisfied, he quickly returned to his administrator’s office.
Although there shouldn’t be any trouble tonight, a routine patrol was still necessary.
One of the noble guidelines: Never neglect your duties.
This is a responsibility a noble must bear.
Taking off his expensive, exquisite dress robes, Lorin casually cast a few Scourgify charms, hung the robes neatly in the wardrobe beside his bed, and went into the bathroom to wash up.
“Oh, little Lorin, why so late today?”
“Sorry, Mother.
I was held up a bit by an interesting Sorting Ceremony.”
Lorin loosely threw on a pure gold silk bathrobe and leaned lazily against the bed, enjoying his blissful life after seven years of hard study.
“You…
Oh, by the way, Croke sent you fifty million francs.
Remember to go to the bank when you have time.”
“Alright…”
After finishing his nightly conversation with his mother, Lorin looked at the clock—it was nine-thirty.
He took out his Two-Way Mirror and called Fleur.
“Oh, darling, it’s so late today.”
“Darling, there was a feast I had to attend.”
Lorin shrugged helplessly, waiting patiently for Fleur to change into her nightgown and lean against her bed in the Beauxbatons single-room dormitory.
“Stop staring, Lolo.”
Fleur noticed Lorin’s wide-eyed gaze and generously tossed the blanket aside.
“So, how do you like your new working environment?”
“It’s great.
Some British wizards are quite interesting.”
Thinking of Professors Filius Flitwick and Sprout, Lorin looked at Fleur, who was holding the Two-Way Mirror with her knees pulled up, and smiled gently.
“Are you back at Beauxbatons?
Are you used to it?”
“It’s my fourth year already, how could I not be?”
Fleur giggled, covering her mouth, and gave Lorin an affectionate look.
“I have classes tomorrow.
Goodnight, darling!”
“Sweet dreams, darling.”
Lorin closed the silver-white, rose-patterned Two-Way Mirror and checked the time: 9:51 PM.
“Well, looks like I need to do a round of patrol in the castle.”
Lorin changed into a set of silver-white wizard robes, threw on a shimmering white feather cloak, and walked out of Silas Castle.