When Kyle and Dumbledore arrived at the Great Hall, they happened to run into Professor Flitwick walking out with an old hat and a three-legged stool.
It looked like they had missed the Sorting Ceremony.
When Dumbledore appeared at the entrance of the Great Hall, every student turned their eyes toward him.
They were highly curious about why Dumbledore had waited until now to join the feast.
Dumbledore walked straight toward the staff table, while Kyle slipped over to the Gryffindor table and sat down.
Kyle intentionally sat directly across from Ron. Only after confirming that the pocket near Ron's chest was still bulging did Kyle finally feel at ease.
It seemed Peter Pettigrew had no idea that disaster was looming, still staying by Ron's side in the guise of Scabbers.
Dumbledore was already standing at the front of the staff table, the candlelight making his silver beard sparkle.
"Welcome to Hogwarts for a new school year! I have a few things to announce."
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "First, the most serious matter. As you have undoubtedly seen at the gates of Hogwarts, there are Dementors from Azkaban here. They are here on official business for the Ministry of Magic."
"They will be stationed at all the..."
Dumbledore suddenly choked on his words. He had been about to say "all entrances."
But after Kyle had slaughtered nearly half of their population—while still ensuring that Azkaban's defenses remained secure—the Ministry could only spare a measly twenty or thirty Dementors to send to Hogwarts.
Each Dementor would have to cover a massive area just to keep the entirety of Hogwarts under surveillance.
But doing so would weaken their security to an extremely low level—so low that it wouldn't be any different from not sending any Dementors at all.
Therefore, the Dementors could only choose to guard a few key checkpoints, such as the castle gates.
"In short, do not approach those Dementors. Do not give them any excuse to harm you."
"Furthermore, this year I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks."
Dumbledore paused. "First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly agreed to fill the vacancy for the Defense Against the Dark Arts course."
Having shared the experience of fending off Dementors on the train, Kyle had a pretty good impression of Lupin.
At the very least, a professor capable of casting a Patronus Charm was no pushover, so he took the lead in applauding.
Led by him, all the students in the Great Hall joined in the applause.
Only Snape didn't applaud. On the contrary, a rare look of pure loathing surfaced on his usually expressionless face.
Even when facing Harry's face—which looked exactly like James's, and that was without Harry cross-dressing—he had never shown such an expression.
Kyle noticed Snape's expression. He, of course, knew the reason behind it.
When Harry's father, James Potter, attended Hogwarts, he had three close buddies.
They were Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin.
Just as Kyle and his friends had a resounding title—the Father's Sorrows—the previous generation also had a notorious group: the Marauders.
It was hard to say which side was more wicked—the Marauders or Snape—but the bad blood between them was very real.
Besides, Snape had been eyeing the Defense Against the Dark Arts position for years, yet Dumbledore had consistently refused to let him teach it.
Now that his old nemesis Lupin had snatched the job, compounding new grievances with old grudges, it was already a miracle that Snape didn't stand up right then and there to hit Lupin with a Sectumsempra. How could anyone expect him to applaud a welcome?
"As for our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued, "I regret to inform you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last term."
Dumbledore smiled slightly. "Our gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, will be stepping into the vacancy left by his departure."
This time, Kyle didn't need to lead; Harry's Savior Trio immediately brought the house down with cheers.
"The next thing I have to announce is the most important one," Dumbledore paused. "The start of this term's regular classes will be delayed by two weeks."
"In other words, there are no scheduled classes for these two weeks."
Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, the students, who had just quieted down a bit, instantly exploded with excitement. The entire Great Hall erupted into a frenzy of chatter.
Whether in the wizarding world or the Muggle world, having no classes was always the ultimate joy for students.
Genuine delight beamed from every student's face, and Ron, poor underachiever that he was, clapped with immense vigor.
Only the four members of the Father's Sorrows, who knew the inside scoop, watched everything unfold with cold detachment.
These people truly didn't understand how fortunes and misfortunes are intertwined. Now that the good news had been announced, an even greater catastrophe was about to descend.
Once the students' excitement finally died down, Dumbledore spoke again with a smile:
"I regret to inform you, however, that delaying classes does not mean a holiday. Given the success of last year's Muggle Art Appreciation course, the professors will be leading everyone in a two-week activity during this period."
"This will require a certain amount of your time and energy, but I am confident you will find great enjoyment in it."
Hearing the name of the "Muggle Art Appreciation" course, every student except the first-years instantly recalled the terror of being forced to stand at attention earlier that year.
Yet, following the fear came an intense wave of anticipation.
After all, their military training was entirely different from the half-baked drills of Kyle's past life, where schools couldn't even provide model guns and instead made students carry painted wooden sticks to pass off as firearms.
Here, they got to handle actual, physical firearms.
Aside from ordinary rifles, they could even get their hands on heavy firepower like machine guns, rocket launchers, cannons, and mortars.
The tank previously modified by Weasley Industries had also been dragged out of the Forbidden Forest by the Father's Sorrows. After some patching up, it had become one of the teaching aids for the Muggle Art Appreciation course.
The old headmaster's words acted like a depth charge, instantly triggering a massive commotion among the entire student body.
The cheers in the Great Hall surged to a crescendo once more.
Only the first-year newborns sat in utter bewilderment, completely clueless about what was happening.
Hermione massaged her temples in exasperation.
She knew exactly what kind of chaotic nonsense Kyle and his lot were capable of. If they kept this up, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry might as well be renamed the Hogwarts Military Academy of the British Wizarding World.
"We will carry out this activity on a house-by-house basis, led by your respective Heads of Houses."
"As for the specific details of the activity, you will find them posted on the notice boards in your respective common rooms after the feast concludes."
Those were the three major announcements Dumbledore had to make.
"I believe the important matters have been covered," Dumbledore said. "Let the feast begin."
Food and drink instantly materialized on the plates before the students.
The Great Hall echoed with laughter, chatter, and the clattering of knives and forks.
Almost every student was discussing the final announcement Dumbledore had just made—namely, the military training.
The students sitting near the Father's Sorrows were also chattering away, bombarding the four of them with questions.
After all, Dumbledore had explicitly mentioned the Muggle Art Appreciation course, which meant the Father's Sorrows undoubtedly had inside information.
Kyle quickly cleared the food on his plate while handling the overwhelmingly curious students.
Having finally managed to endure until the last small piece of pumpkin pastie vanished from the platter, Kyle called out to Ron, who was getting ready to slip back to the dormitory to sleep.
"Ron, come with me to the Headmaster's office. Professor Dumbledore needs to see you."
After a brief thought, Kyle stopped Harry as well. "Harry, you come along too."
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