Before anyone quite realized it, two full years had passed since the death of the Dark Lord whose name could not be spoken.
And when mentioning that Dark Lord, it was impossible not to think of Hogwarts Headmaster Jon Hart. It was he who had destroyed the Dark Lord and restored peace to the entire wizarding world, earning himself the Order of Merlin, First Class.
Two years later, his reputation in the wizarding world had only grown more dazzling. Many witches and wizards believed his ability and prestige were in no way inferior to those of the former Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.
In particular, the "Reform of the Magical Application of Muggle Technology" he had promoted received widespread praise.
The Quidditch reforms he had proposed were also being carried out one after another. Many believed the new rules would make Quidditch even more popular.
…
At Hogwarts, many things had changed over the past two years.
Professor Pomona Sprout had announced her retirement. She preferred to spend more time with her beloved plants.
However, Headmaster Hart had already found a new Herbology professor: Neville Longbottom, a student who had graduated from Hogwarts just one year earlier.
Mr. Longbottom had earned an O in Herbology on his N.E.W.T.s. However, considering he had not taken Potions at N.E.W.T. level, many people were doubtful about his future teaching career at Hogwarts. Some even believed he had only gotten the position because of his personal relationship with Headmaster Hart.
Meanwhile, Deputy Headmistress Professor Minerva McGonagall had gradually stepped back from the front line. Her position as Deputy Headmistress was now being temporarily filled by Potions professor Severus Snape.
After Professor Snape's name was cleared, the entire wizarding world came to know that he had been working for the Order of the Phoenix all along and had sacrificed a great deal to defeat the Dark Lord. Since then, his temperament had become much more agreeable than before. When awarding and deducting House points, he no longer seemed nearly as biased, and he had even won the affection of some students from other Houses.
As for the position of Head of Gryffindor House left vacant by Professor McGonagall, many rumors claimed that Headmaster Hart intended to appoint Professor Rubeus Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures professor. However, many Gryffindor students were strongly opposed to this.
Rubeus Hagrid himself, on the other hand, seemed completely confident.
Madam Vinda Rosier, the "new" Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who had joined Hogwarts two years ago, had also been warmly welcomed by the students over the past two years. She was highly capable, though also very strict.
At the same time, Professor Rosier was the only teacher in the past fifty years to serve as Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for two consecutive years. The "absurd theory" that the Defense Against the Dark Arts post was cursed gradually faded into nothing.
In short, under Headmaster Jon Hart's leadership, Hogwarts had gradually shed Albus Dumbledore's influence and, overall, was developing in a better direction.
…
At the same time, many outstanding graduates had left Hogwarts.
For example, "the Boy Who Lived," Harry Potter, had graduated from Hogwarts one year earlier. He was now a trainee Auror, receiving three years of specialized Auror training. The Auror in charge of his training was Cedric Diggory, who had been two years ahead of him.
Cedric Diggory was already considered the finest Auror in the Ministry of Magic's Auror Office, despite his youth. He had made significant contributions to hunting down the remnants of You-Know-Who's followers, and had also shown an unusual talent for dealing with dangerous half-breeds and dark creatures, particularly vampires and werewolves.
No one knew exactly where that skill had come from, but in Auror work, where tracking, negotiation, restraint, and combat often mattered just as much as spellwork, it had made him exceptionally valuable. He remained the youngest Head of the Auror Command in history.
As for Potter's friend Ronald Weasley, he had gone to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, the joke shop opened by his two older brothers, Fred and George Weasley, and become a shop assistant there.
The three Weasley brothers' joke shop had also defeated Zonko's Joke Shop, becoming the most popular joke shop in the British wizarding world.
As for Hermione Granger, when she graduated from Hogwarts, she received at least ten offers, including one from the Ministry of Magic. But she rejected every single one of them. Very few people knew what Miss Granger had gone off to do.
Rumor had it that she was secretly organizing and carrying out the liberation of house-elves, despite the considerable risks.
Draco Malfoy married Pansy Parkinson, who had been in the same year as him. After graduation, he went to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic and began working there. Because of his cordial relationship with Headmaster Jon Hart, this was extremely beneficial to his prospects at the Ministry.
Hannah Abbott returned to the family-owned Leaky Cauldron and became a server there. Rumor had it that she was studying for a St. Mungo's healer's license and wanted to become a healer at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
Ernie Macmillan also went to work at the Ministry of Magic, though his workplace was the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes.
After graduating, Ginny Weasley became a freelance reporter, mainly providing articles for The Quibbler. Rumor had it that she and Harry Potter were already a couple.
Miss Luna Lovegood, who had graduated at the same time as Ginny, became the editor-in-chief of The Quibbler. The two of them worked well together, and the magazine's sales kept reaching new highs.
Of course, we could not forget Headmaster Hart's old friend, Mr. Zacharias Smith. During an exchange between Hogwarts and Durmstrang Wizarding School, Professor Stark, Durmstrang's Divination professor, spoke with Mr. Smith and concluded that he was very talented.
So after Zacharias graduated from Hogwarts, he went to Sweden for further study in Divination. Rumor had it that he would be Hogwarts' next Divination professor after Professor Sybill Trelawney and Professor Firenze.
…
Some traditional wizarding families had also undergone a reshuffling.
The Malfoy family still retained its glory. During yet another moment of choosing sides in the wizarding world, they had made the right choice.
Even so, gradual decline remained unavoidable. Mr. Lucius Malfoy seemed to take this quite lightly and did not seem to care much. He was now one of Headmaster Jon Hart's loyal supporters.
The Greengrass family was also facing decline.
After several months of interrogation by the Ministry of Magic, Mrs. Diana Greengrass was finally cleared of all charges. However, she also announced that she was leaving the Ministry entirely and resigned from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.
She now lived in seclusion at Greengrass Manor.
It was worth mentioning that Mrs. Greengrass's daughter, Miss Daphne Greengrass, joined the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures one year ago after graduating from Hogwarts.
It was said that she was doing exceptionally well there, with much of her mother's brilliance from her younger days.