When Kyle stepped into the school gate, he was greeted by Filch, who looked impatient.

Before, because of the cat named Mrs. Norris, Filch's attitude towards Kyle was much better than that towards others, but it was different later... probably after Umbridge came to the school.

She trusted Filch very much and gave him great power, including but not limited to confiscating items at will and reading parcels and letters.

For the first time, Filch tasted what it felt like to be in power.

It wasn't until Umbridge left the school that Filch, who had been beaten back to his original form, returned to his previous self, hating every student equally... and the graduates.

"I don't know why the headmaster wanted you to come back." Filch still had that disgusting tone, "But I must remind you, don't try to do anything bad, I will be watching you..."

But before Filch could finish his words, a huge figure knocked him away.

"Get out of the way, you old bastard!"

Hagrid came up from behind and, without even much effort, knocked Filch to the ground with his butt.

"Welcome, Kyle." Hagrid was much more enthusiastic, and he stretched out his big hand and patted Kyle's shoulder vigorously. "I didn't expect to see you in school again. Come with me, I'll take you to see Dumbledore, he asked me to pick you up."

"Oh, okay." Kyle pulled his feet out of the wet, soft ground.

Didn't Hagrid know how strong he was?

My goodness, those two hits almost brought out his Iron Armor Curse.

Kyle looked back and saw that Chris had already Apparated away, so fast that it seemed like he was completing a mission that was of no benefit...

Just like he said, he was only responsible for sending people to school, and that was enough as long as he had an explanation.

Okay.

Kyle didn't even look at Filch as he followed Hagrid towards the castle.

"If that old idiot gives you trouble again, just beat him up," Hagrid said. "You're not a student now, so you don't need to be polite to him."

"Yeah." Kyle nodded.

"Everyone hates him, that old idiot." Hagrid muttered again, "I bet he'll be the first to defect when You-Know-Who attacks Hogwarts, just like he did when that toad was here last time.

"I don't know why Dumbledore allowed him to stay in school."

"Maybe the vice-president has his own considerations," Kyle said.

"Deputy Headmaster... Oh, by the way, I almost forgot that Dumbledore has become the Deputy Headmaster. To be honest, I can't feel any changes at all."

"You really should have come earlier."

"What?"

"This year's Halloween party," said Hagrid. "Everyone thought there wouldn't be any shows this year, but Professor Slughorn used his connections to invite a zombie dance troupe. It was really great."

“What a shame,” Kyle said.

Things had been happening one after another recently, and he didn't even realize Halloween had passed.

However, he had never heard of the Zombie Dance Troupe, nor did he know what kind of zombie it was, or what the difference was between it and the Skeleton Dance Troupe.

The two talked as they walked into the castle.

Just as Hagrid said, the change of headmaster did not have any impact on Hogwarts. Students went to class, chatted, played Quidditch as usual...it was still the same as before.

“We will definitely win the championship this year!”

"Yes, victory will definitely belong to Gryffindor!"

…

Several students holding brooms walked past the two of them. They were probably new members of the team. Kyle didn't recognize any of them.

"Is the Quidditch match about to start?" he asked.

"Hufflepuff and Gryffindor," said Hagrid. "Gryffindor is in great form this year. You should know why. After you graduated, Harry's Firebolt has been unbeatable."

As he spoke, he couldn't help laughing out loud.

Harry and Kyle were both among Hagrid's few student friends. Before Kyle graduated, he would always struggle with which side to cheer for during every Quidditch match.

There is no need to worry about it now, just go with Gryffindor.

And Harry loved Quidditch, Hagrid could see that, but unfortunately, he never won a championship.

Harry was already in seventh year, and Hagrid naturally hoped that he could get a Quidditch cup of his own before graduation.

"Speaking of Quidditch." He turned to look at Kyle, "You must have received invitations from many professional teams."

“There are some,” Kyle said.

The last time he went home, he saw a thick stack of envelopes, all of which were invitations from various Quidditch teams, wanting to invite him to serve as a substitute chaser.

Yes, substitute.

Official competitions and school competitions are two different things. Even if Kyle performs well, he cannot directly become a formal player.

Unless he can sweep the regular players with a crushing attitude like Viktor Krum.

But Kyle wasn't interested.

Quidditch is a game with seriously unbalanced rules. It's okay to play it as entertainment, but it's better not to devote yourself to it. Kyle doesn't want to fly on a broom for several days every time he plays a game.

So he didn't even open the letters, and they were left unopened on the table.

As for whether Harry can win the championship this year...it's hard to say.

Hagrid probably forgot that the school's Quidditch matches had standardized on broomsticks. In other words, even though Harry had the fastest Firebolt, he couldn't use it.

…

The two came to the eighth floor, and Hagrid took Kyle to the principal's office.

"Starfish... this is the password."

The gargoyles jumped aside.

Apparently, after Professor McGonagall became headmaster, she even changed the scope of passwords.

When Dumbledore was the headmaster, his passwords were usually his favorite candies and sweets. As for Headmistress McGonagall...

Starfish... Starfish hanging upside down? This is a classic Quidditch goalkeeper move. As a loyal Quidditch fan, it is not surprising that Headmistress McGonagall would choose this password.

The two walked up the stairs into the principal's office.

But to Kyle's surprise, he saw not McGonagall, but Dumbledore, still sitting behind the table.

"You're here..." Dumbledore stood up happily.

"Oh, don't get me wrong." After noticing Kyle's strange look, he explained, "Minerva felt that it was too noisy here, so she insisted on moving the principal's office to her original office."

Too noisy?

Before Kyle could ask, he heard a sharp crash.

In the portrait on the wall, Armando Dippet was holding a long-handled axe that was taller than him, and was fighting with Phineas.

The sound Kyle heard just now was made when weapons collided with each other.

Not far from the two of them, there was someone watching the fun with great joy... Dumbledore.

After he stepped down as principal, a portrait of him was added here.

"How strange! Why are there suddenly so many weapons in these portraits?" Dumbledore muttered to himself, glancing at Kyle intentionally or unintentionally.

"Do you know what this is about?"

"Hmm... that..." Kyle's eyes dodged, "Maybe the headmasters found it somewhere else. There are many portraits of Hogwarts. Maybe there is an armory in the portrait of a knight."

"Really?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "What about the paint in the cupboard? I remember there was a lot left, but when I was preparing my portrait, I only found a little."

"Perhaps we remembered it wrongly." Dumbledore in the portrait looked over and said with a smile, "Albus, we have been the headmaster for almost forty years. It is normal to remember some details wrongly."

While speaking, he even winked at Kyle, as if to say... Just leave it to me, don't worry.

"Perhaps," said Dumbledore. "Thank you for your hard work, Hagrid. Could you please go look for Minerva again? She should be finishing get out of class soon."

"Okay." Hagrid turned and left.

Kyle looked Dumbledore up and down. "May I remind you, Professor, that you are only the Deputy Headmaster now."

"Yes, that is right," said Dumbledore, "but there are matters which must be discussed here. Minerva has only changed her office; she will always be here."

In just a short while, Armando Dippet had already cut a cross on Phineas's butt, causing him to scream in pain.

"I have to say, it's much more lively now." Dumbledore in the portrait sighed, and Dumbledore outside the portrait also nodded, quickly reaching a consensus.

Kyle wanted to ask something else, but when he saw that Dumbledore had no intention of continuing, he shut up.

About ten minutes later, the door of the principal's office was pushed open.

Minerva McGonagall walked in from outside.

"Headmaster, you are here." Dumbledore stood up quickly.

It was visibly that the corner of McGonagall's eye twitched, as if she was not used to the current Dumbledore.

"You should continue to call me Professor, just like we said before."

"Well, Professor McGonagall," Kyle said, "my dad told me that I could come work at Hogwarts?"

"That's right." Professor McGonagall nodded. "I wonder if you would like to."

We all knew each other, so we didn't waste time on polite conversation and just got straight to the point.

"Can I ask what professor it is?" Kyle asked cautiously, "It won't be Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"As far as I know, Severus has no intention of sharing his work with anyone else," Dumbledore said. "But if you have this idea, you can discuss it with him."

"Ah, that's not necessary. I don't want to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at all." Kyle breathed a sigh of relief.

If it's not this, then the others will be fine. He glanced at Professor McGonagall, "Is it the Transfiguration class?"

Professor McGonagall is too busy to handle both being the headmaster and teaching? "I'm actually fine." Professor McGonagall said expressionlessly, "In my opinion, the current situation is no different from before."

Dumbledore looked away guiltily.

He had been away from Hogwarts for a long time because of other things, and all school matters were left to Professor McGonagall.

In other words, Professor McGonagall had already been sharing the work of the headmaster since then, and her job was even easier after she became the headmaster's regular employee.

Because she no longer needed to consider Dumbledore's opinion, many things could be solved on the spot, which saved a lot of time.

"He's not the Transfiguration professor either..." Kyle was confused now.

Apart from these two courses, there seems to be no shortage of professors for other courses.

"It's Alchemy," said Dumbledore.

This answer made Kyle's head snap up.

"Remember what you told me before? Alchemical items are becoming more and more popular in the wizarding world."

Dumbledore pulled out a stack of parchment from a drawer. "I have thought about this carefully and visited other countries. I think what you said makes sense. Hogwarts needs to keep up with the times."

He spread out the parchment, which contained detailed procedures, including the location of the alchemy classroom, textbook selection, and even the course schedule.

"Wait." Kyle didn't react yet.

When he told Dumbledore those things, he was really just saying them casually and never thought they would succeed.

Why now...

"Did the school board agree?" Kyle couldn't help but ask, "Opening a new course requires a lot of Galleons. Have they agreed to pay for it?"

"Most of them disagreed." Dumbledore shook his head. "They thought that Hogwarts was good enough as it was now, and there was no need to offer a course that... well, could be solved with only Galleons.

“They think it’s more convenient and quicker to just buy the finished product rather than learn alchemy.”

“How many people disagree.”

"Eleven."

"Then why are we still talking about this?" Kyle spread his hands. "Alchemy is the most expensive course, bar none. The school directors don't support it, and we can't let the students bring their own materials."

"I haven't finished yet." Dumbledore smiled and said, "Although all eleven directors disagree, one person is very interested and has promised to provide a sum of money to support the plan of opening a new course."

"What's the use of one person?" Kyle sighed. "The preparation work, various instruments, materials, and subsequent investment, all of these will cost at least tens of thousands of Galleons. Can he come up with so much?"

"Of course, I still have quite a bit of savings."

…

"Wait a minute." Kyle looked at Dumbledore in confusion, "You have a deposit...what does that mean?"

"That school director is me." Dumbledore smiled even more happily.

"It just so happens that one of the school directors moved to Romania some time ago because he was afraid of Tom and the Death Eaters, and a position just happened to be vacant."

"So you took his place?"

"That's right," said Dumbledore. "The headmaster cannot be a governor, but the deputy headmaster can. I just meet this requirement."

"..." Kyle didn't know what to say for a moment.

From principal to school director... Dumbledore was promoted. At least in name, the position of school director has more weight than that of principal.

Kyle still felt it was a bit of a dream. As a school director, if he agreed to be the professor of alchemy, Dumbledore would not make things difficult for him, right?

Can you take back what you said before about calling Dumbledore 'sir'?

"How about it, are you willing to be the first alchemy professor?"

Professor McGonagall's words brought Kyle back to his senses.

"When?" he asked. "Certainly not now."

"You're right." Professor McGonagall nodded. "The course selection for the third year has ended. We can't add a new course at the last minute."

"We just have this plan now." Dumbledore then added: "And given the current situation, it is better for Hogwarts to remain as it is."

"Once we defeat Tom, I will go to Beauxbatons and ask Professor Victor for more specific details.

"Also, the material conversion furnace required for alchemy classes also takes time to make. This is a huge project, and I can't guarantee that I can succeed in one go."

It's just a plan.

After hearing what they said just now, Kyle thought that the alchemy class had been put on the agenda. After all, it still has to wait until the threat of Voldemort is resolved.

Kyle smacked his lips, feeling a little full from eating so much biscuits.

He also knew in his heart that this was necessary.

With Voldemort and the Death Eaters watching covetously outside, it was impossible for Dumbledore to abandon the students of Hogwarts and spend his time on refining the converter.

"If that's the case, why did you let me come here now?" Kyle asked, "If you don't need to teach, I have no problem with just holding the professorship."

You don't have to teach and you get paid, only a fool would refuse that... The salary of a professor at Hogwarts is not low.

Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore are not fools, especially Dumbledore who is still a school director and the one who pays the money.

"No, no, no, the school has limited funds, and every Knut needs to be spent on something useful."

Look, the stingy face is revealed immediately.

"The reason I asked you to come to Hogwarts is mainly to get you out of Tom's sight." Dumbledore explained: "You caused him a lot of trouble some time ago. I'm worried that he will be angry and go to trouble you at all costs."

"Besides that, being a good professor is not an easy thing. You have to adapt in advance... At the same time, it can also be regarded as an assessment by the school directors."

"Okay, which class?" Kyle asked.

"Ancient runes."

Professor McGonagall said, "Bathsaida is planning to go on a long journey and has asked me for leave several times, but Hogwarts can't find a second professor who can take over the ancient runes, so I have never agreed."

"Ancient runes," Kyle thought.

He hadn't expected this.

But this course is not bad. It can be said to be the easiest course in Hogwarts... There is one class per week, and students from four colleges take it together.

If the schedule was tighter, a week's worth of classes could be completed in one day. There would be no professor in the entire Hogwarts who taught an easier course than this one.

And more importantly, ancient runes are also closely related to alchemy.

“I suggest you give it a try.”

Seeing that Kyle was silent, Dumbledore said meaningfully: "The headmasters you know, including Minerva and I, have all been professors in the school.

“Whether it’s salary, developing abilities, or improving one’s reputation, this is a very good job.

"Even Tom applied to become a professor several years in a row."

"Okay, I agree." Kyle said, "Starting from when."

"Don't worry about that." Seeing Kyle nod in agreement, Professor McGonagall immediately smiled with ease.

"That's great. I finally don't have to listen to Bathsheba coming to me again and again to nag me." She turned and walked out. "I'll go prepare the relevant documents."

"Congratulations." Dumbledore also smiled and said, "Do you need me to prepare a dormitory for you? The school has teacher dormitories, which are usually next to the office."

"Ah, no need." Kyle shook his head. "I plan to live next to the Forbidden Forest and be a neighbor of Hagrid. Is that okay?"

"Of course, if you insist," Dumbledore said with a smile, "Hagrid would be very happy if he knew. He has always wanted to have a neighbor."

"That's great," said Kyle, who was also very happy.

Although living in a castle is convenient, it restricts one's movements. It is better to be outside.

The Forbidden Forest was large enough and the environment was good. Apart from the Care of Magical Creatures class, no students would disturb him.

You are much freer living anywhere than in a castle.

…

(End of this chapter)