"While the Dementors are stationed at Hogwarts, no one is allowed to leave the school without permission, because no tricks, gimmicks, or disguises can deceive the Dementors, and even the Invisibility Cloak cannot deceive them.
The nature of Dementors does not understand begging for mercy or excuses, so don't give them a reason to hurt you. I hope that the prefects of each House and the newly elected Head Boy and Head Girl can shoulder their responsibilities and ensure that no student comes into conflict with the Dementors."
Dumbledore looked at the students seated at the four House tables. A smile that made people feel inexplicably calm and trusting appeared on his face. He said, "Let's talk about some pleasant topics now that the serious one is over.
I am very happy that two trustworthy new teachers have joined our Hogwarts staff this school year.
The first is Professor Lupin, who has readily agreed to come to Hogwarts to fill the vacancy of the Defense Against the Dark Arts position..."
At this moment, only sparse applause sounded in the Great Hall.
This was not because anyone had anything against Lupin, but because the two previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professors had been too memorable. One was a coward, and the other was a fraud who deceived the world and stole credit. In addition, Lupin looked too shabby—just like a beggar from Knockturn Alley—which really made everyone lose hope in him.
"Sean, look at Professor Snape."
Hearing Blaise's words, Sean, who had been daydreaming, snapped back to his senses and turned his eyes to their Head of House.
Snape's face twitched at that moment, full of a hatred and anger that even his well-practiced Occlumency couldn't completely hide—worse than when he first looked at Harry.
Frowning slightly, Sean's old good impression of Lupin—formed from novels and films in his past life—quietly vanished. Maybe Lupin was a good man to some, worthy of respect, but for his own Head of House, Lupin was nothing more than an old tormentor, a schoolyard bully who'd left scars Snape would never forget.
"Next," Dumbledore continued, "before I introduce our second new teacher, I must regretfully inform you that our Care of Magical Creatures professor, Professor Kettleburn, officially retired at the end of last term, so that he can better look after what's left of his limbs.
But while I regret Professor Kettleburn's retirement, I'm delighted to announce that his position will be filled by none other than our Keeper of Keys and Grounds—Rubeus Hagrid!
In addition to his duties as Keeper, Professor Hagrid will now teach Care of Magical Creatures."
As Dumbledore finished, warm applause rose through the Great Hall. Of course, most of the enthusiasm came from Gryffindor, then Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. As for Slytherin, the applause was scattered—mainly provided by Crabbe and Goyle.
Watching the students clap, Dumbledore nodded with a kind smile and said, "Alright, that concludes the important announcements. Now, please enjoy your meal—
Let the feast begin!"
With that, a grand spread of food appeared on the four House tables.
Sean reached out, cut himself a thick slice of beef, and started eating it with mashed potatoes.
Lately, Sean's body had fully hit puberty, and the rapid growth had strengthened his two innate talents—Troll Strength and Troll Spiked Hide—making him hungrier than ever. After sitting through Dumbledore's speeches, he was starving.
Blaise and the others were long used to Sean's appetite, and most of Slytherin knew about it too. But the new first-years were shocked. Some of them even forgot to eat, staring wide-eyed as Sean demolished the food in front of him.
Hogwarts had clearly prepared for Sean's appetite by now—whenever he cleared a plate, more food appeared right away. He would never run out.
After the feast, students from the four Houses returned to their respective common rooms under the lead of the prefects.
On the way, Sean spotted Samuel and Irina, who were now seventh-years. Both gave him a brief nod in greeting. He also noticed Barrett, who had been promoted to seventh year as well. Oliver Fawley and his circle had graduated this year — the old faces were gone, and new ones were taking their place.
These days, the Slytherin Brotherhood Reserve Organization was basically under Samuel and Irina's control. Since the two were firmly allied, another faction within the Brotherhood had quietly thrown its support behind Barrett, pushing him as their new voice in Hogwarts. It was Barrett himself who'd quietly updated Sean about all this.
There was other news too: Oliver Fawley had formally joined the Slytherin Brotherhood and landed himself a promising role at the Ministry of Magic. With the Brotherhood's backing and the weight of the Fawley name, few could compete with Oliver's prospects now.
Back in the common room, the new fifth-year prefects handed out elective course registration forms to each third-year and explained the basic rules for picking subjects.
Sean glanced at the five electives on the list, picked up a quill, and calmly checked off all five. He was determined to secure the Time-Turner — this year's plans would hinge on having it.
Before bed, the prefect collected the forms.
But just as Sean was about to drift off, there was another knock at his door. The same prefect informed him that Professor Snape wanted to see him in his office at eight o'clock the next morning.
Sean knew at once what this was about — Snape would be handing him the Time-Turner. He simply nodded, washed up, and went to bed.
The next morning, Sean rose at seven, got ready, and had what for him counted as a "light" breakfast — enough for seven people.
Then he said a quick goodbye to Blaise and made his way to Snape's office.
He knocked. The door swung open, and the moment he stepped inside, Sean froze.
He wasn't alone with Snape. Sitting there were Dumbledore and Remus Lupin — clearly in the middle of a discussion. From the look on Snape's face, it was obvious he'd rather be anywhere else than speaking to Lupin.