Beyond The Veil「 The Veil Trilogy Part Ⅲ 」

[05] Unexpected Defense Professor

Professor McGonagall led me to the castle and showed me the area specifically designed for the teachers. She showed me the room that was assigned to me after Madam Hooch and also gave me the keys to her office and the quidditch gear rooms.

Then she left after saying that I should change into the Professor robes and join them all in the Great Hall for the feast.

I found the robes in the closet, the same black billowy robes that the Professors wore over their regular clothes to distinguish them from the rest of the student population. I looked in the mirror as I put on that robe, securing it by tying the ribbons carefully.

In a sense, I was ready to go down. But for some reason, I decided to put my hair up in a bun. Perhaps, the sense of being one of the Professors was settling in and I had to look the part.

With a flick of my wand, I set my hair into a French twist that Fleur had taught me. Still, I would stand out as the rest of the professors had lots of experience and I was just a fresh graduate.

But with the robes and the hairstyle, I was sure that I wouldn't get mistaken for a student.

My luggage was yet to arrive so I gave my room a last look before locking the door and stepping out. I had never been to that part of the castle before but thanks to memorizing the Marauders Map, I knew exactly what way would lead me to the Great Hall.

In next to no time, I was standing at the second entrance of the Great Hall that was right behind the high table. Only the teachers used that entrance so it felt weird to be there.

Taking in a deep breath, I opened the door and stepped inside the Great Hall. It seemed very strange to me to see the house tables from that perspective.

That day marked a new beginning for me in Hogwarts and I had vowed to make the best of the opportunity I was given.

"Miss Weasley, come here," Professor Sprout's gentle voice shook me out of my thoughts and I nodded, politely greeting her.

Professor McGonagall was there too and she silently gestured to me to take the empty seat next to Snape. Not the perfect place to sit but I didn't want to cause a scene right then so I sat down after mumbling a greeting to him as well.

He only turned his head up higher and that reminded me of the first time I had seen Narcissa Malfoy with her usual haughty expression. But now I knew that she wasn't like that all the time, thanks to that encounter at the Quidditch World Cup two years ago.

I saw a new face at the table too, guess he would be the one teaching Defense this year.

He was a jovial-looking man with a round face that sort of reminded me of Harry's Uncle Dursley. I hope he doesn't have Vernon Dursley's personality though. We certainly have had enough terrible Defense teachers in the past few years.

The Sorting Hat's song that year was quite grim as it hinted at wars and depressing times. After that, the Sorting Ceremony started.

My eyes traveled to the Gryffindor table where much to my surprise, Harry was sitting with a red nose and casual Muggle clothes.

It seemed like he had gotten his nose broken and fixed in a very short time. What could have happened to Harry?

But the Sorting ended and before my thoughts could wander, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore came to his podium to give the start of term speech. I straightened in my seat because I knew that he was going to introduce the new additions to the staff.

He made the usual speech but I could sense that his tone too was more solemn than usual. You-Know-Who's return was obviously affecting everyone and Dumbledore was well aware that we were standing on the brink of war.

"This year, we have two wonderful people joining us," Dumbledore spoke up, "first we have Miss Katerina Weasley who will be replacing Madam Hooch as the Flying and Quidditch Instructor."

Applause sounded and I had to stand up and bow to accept it. I did as expected and saw that the Gryffindor table was cheering the loudest. Well...

"And secondly, we have my dear old friend Horace Slughorn joining us as the Potions Professor."

Potions?

Wait, what?

I turned to my right to see Snape as if wondering why there would be a need for Potions Professor when he was right there...

Wait...

Did he just smirk at me?

"And Professor Snape will be teaching Defense Against The Dark Arts this year."

Oh...

So Dumbledore finally agreed to let Snape have the position he had been eyeing for years. In other words, he finally accepted to put Snape up to be sacrificed to the curse on the Defense post.

Shut up, Katerina, you shouldn't be thinking that. I rebuked myself because I still hadn't forgotten the episode with Umbridge. I somewhat felt guilty about what happened to her just because I had wished so much for her to get jinxed by the curse.

I don't want that repeated even if the person in that position is Snape, the one teacher I have hated most.

Snape dramatically stood up and accepted the applause that was coming only from the Slytherin table.

After that, Dumbledore added a few more instructions for the students, then concluded the speech and the feast began.

Unlike the tables set for the students, I didn't see any food set in front of the teachers at the table. That was strange...

"You just have to wish for anything you want to eat, dear," Professor Flitwick spoke, kindly telling me as I was new, "and here it appears."

I looked in surprise as the food he had wished for appeared on his plate and he started to eat. Guess I will give that a try too.

I wished for baked beans and warm tomato soup. In an instant, the plate in front of me transformed into two bowls; one containing baked beans and the other containing soup.

Wow...

"The perks of being a teacher," Professor Flitwick smiled at my reaction.

"Thank you," I remarked, dipping my head in a respectful nod. Then seeing that everyone else was digging in, I started to eat my dinner too.

Being a teacher was a wholly different experience and there was a lot for me to learn even then to adjust to everyone else who had been teaching there for so many years before me.

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