Looking at Professor McGonagall's nonchalant expression, Kael somewhat irritably scratched his head.
Ten thousand Galleons? It would be a miracle if the school board agreed to that. Not even Dumbledore's influence could make them fork out so much money, let alone mine.
"Alright, alright," Kael sighed, "How did Professor Dumbledore do it before?"
"Which aspect are you referring to?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"In dealing with these issues," Kael mumbled quietly.
"So, you're planning to follow his approach?" Professor McGonagall glanced at Kael.
"What else can I do?" Kael slumped back against the chair and mumbled quietly, "I could be sleeping at home, but you all insisted on dragging me here, even tricked me with textual traps. What else could I do?"
At this point, Kael sighed silently, "Since I'm pretending to be Dumbledore, I should handle the work according to his habits to avoid being found out."
"It's good that you think like this," Professor McGonagall nodded.
"So how does Professor Dumbledore handle these matters usually?" Kael rummaged through the parchment on the desk, "Is there always this much every day? I always thought being the Hogwarts Headmaster was quite a leisurely job."
"Of course not, these were piled up before the holiday," Professor McGonagall thought for a moment and said, "He had already left the school by then, so it's been about three months now."
"Three months worth?" Kael sat up again.
Based on the amount of parchment on the table, averaging two to three days per sheet, it's not unbearable if that's the case.
Kael rummaged through the drawer on Dumbledore's desk and found a gold-red Quill... Truly Dumbledore's wealth, even the Quill uses Phoenix Feather.
But now it's changed its owner.
"What should I do now, agree or reject?" Kael found a bottle of ink and opened it, placing it on the table.
"Are you sure you're following Dumbledore's way?" Professor McGonagall asked again, seemingly confirming something.
"Of course," Kael said.
"Alright then," Professor McGonagall nodded.
Next, under Kael's incredulous gaze, she picked up the thick stack of parchment on the table and tossed them all into the fireplace without leaving a single sheet behind. Then, with a wave of her wand, flames immediately erupted in the fireplace.
The firelight reflected on half of Kael's face.
"Is this Dumbledore's way of dealing with things?" He was a bit stunned, "So straightforward?"
"No, this is my way," Professor McGonagall said, "As the Chief Warlock of the International Confederation of Wizards, Dumbledore always sets time aside for more important matters, so from long ago, I have been completing some of the school's duties on his behalf."
"But he's no longer the Chief Warlock," Kael said. "He's even been expelled from the International Confederation of Wizards."
"That only happened recently," Professor McGonagall said, "And even after that, he's still busy looking for clues related to You-Know-Who, leaving little free time.
"Surely you know that starting two or three years ago, he seldom stayed at the school consistently."
"That seems about right," Kael thought for a while and said.
Especially last year, Dumbledore's appearances at the school were few and far between. Most of the time, it was Deputy Headmistress Professor McGonagall handling affairs.
"You were right about one thing," Professor McGonagall said as she waved her hand to extinguish the flames now that the parchment in the fireplace was burned almost completely.
"If only considered for Hogwarts, being a Headmaster is indeed a very leisurely job."
As she said this, Kael clearly felt a trace of helplessness in Professor McGonagall's tone.
The double workload for a single salary—it's only because her relationship with Dumbledore is good.
"I thought I might finally get to relax a bit this year," Professor McGonagall looked at Kael, seemingly with some expectation in her eyes.
It's foreseeable that this year's Quidditch will certainly be even more exciting than previous years. If Kael can help shoulder the duties actually belonging to the Headmaster, she would have the free time to focus on the team and competition.
Maybe she could even help train the team.
Professor McGonagall had several Quidditch play strategies in her mind, all thought up while watching matches, but she had too many duties, never finding time for in-depth research.
This year is a good chance, considering it as rare relaxation before a major battle.
As for Kael's capability, Professor McGonagall had no worries. From how he handled affairs in the Ministry of Magic, it was clear he's not clueless and did quite well.
For instance, last holiday's Dementor bounty plan he devised was perfect.
So many Dementors, shockingly resolved within a single month, a feat previously deemed impossible.
And what the Ministry of Magic offered was only an Auror position.
No, it wouldn't even count as an offer.
Lupin is a wizard with very good abilities in all aspects, more than suitable for the Auror role. Looking at it this way, the Ministry of Magic not only offered nothing but actually gained a talent.
Then there's Sirius, although he was the one paying, the Black family isn't short on money; what he cares about is letting his friend live under sunshine.
Definitely, much of it is due to friendship, and a small part, Professor McGonagall guessed, might be Sirius wanting to amend something.