Chapter 453 Conversation

As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, countless delicacies suddenly appeared on the empty long table in front of everyone.

Now the hall became lively. The students who had been sitting on the train for a whole afternoon immediately rushed to eat, especially the freshmen. Perhaps it was the first time they saw such a scene, so they became particularly excited.

To be honest, Mike couldn't understand their behavior. After all, the food on the table was almost unlimited within the specified time, because the house elves in the kitchen would replenish it continuously, so there was no need to do this.

However, even if he didn't understand it, Mike was still very happy, because such a lively scene was really happy to watch. Now the hall was even completely filled with laughter.

After watching the excitement for a while, Mike cast his eyes on the faculty and staff seats again.

When Dumbledore was speaking before, Mike had been paying attention to his arm.

But unfortunately, it seemed that there was a powerful shielding spell attached to it, so even Mike couldn't detect Dumbledore's true situation.

However, from what Mike observed with his naked eyes, Dumbledore's injuries were horribly serious.

After coming to this conclusion, Mike's mouth finally turned up, and he immersed himself in the feast.

Happy times are always short, and this buffet only lasted about half an hour.

This time was a bit short for seniors like Mike who had a strong desire for socializing, but it was enough for those freshmen and junior students. After all, their meals were really just pure meals. Some freshmen with small appetites were full after ten minutes of the feast.

After all the food on the plates in front of everyone disappeared, Dumbledore slowly stood up from his chair, walked to the podium and said:

"Well, this feast is finally over, and now I really have a lot to say to you. First of all, it is still Mr. Filch's request. He asked me for the 404th time to tell you not to make trouble in the corridor. In addition..."

Dumbledore began to talk about the same old things as in previous years. Mike had no interest in this, so he looked away

. In a corner of the faculty seat, Professor Slughorn was pulling Professor Flitwick to talk to him constantly, as if they were reminiscing about the past, but Professor Flitwick looked a little impatient, and obviously didn't want to talk to Slughorn.

On the other side, Hagrid sat with Professor Trelawney of the Divination class. This was really a strange thing, because Trelawney, a witch with a strange temperament, usually did not leave her small attic, and even held classes in the classroom under her attic.

But this is understandable. After all, she was tortured by Umbridge last year and was almost kicked out of Hogwarts. So it is understandable that she wants to show up more often and make her presence felt.

"…Today, we are very happy to welcome a new professor - Professor Slughorn!" Dumbledore's voice suddenly became much louder. "He was a former colleague. After some discussion, he decided to return to his old job and serve as the professor of Potions at Hogwarts this year!" Upon hearing this,

Mike immediately looked over and saw Professor Slughorn, whose name was called, waving to the students in the auditorium with a smile. He was responding to the enthusiastic cheers of the students.

But the embarrassing thing was that there was no applause from the audience, let alone cheers.

Now everyone is concerned about only one thing, that is, since Slughorn's arrival has taken away the position of the professor of Potions, what should Snape do?

Originally, the boy in Slytherin who was invited to lunch was ready to applaud, but was forcibly stopped by Draco on the side.

Gradually, the muscles on Slughorn's face became stiff, and a hint of rich red was slowly rising to his earlobes.

Mike smiled slightly when he saw this, and then he stood up and began to applaud.

His action made the Ravenclaws around him stunned, and they stood up almost reflexively and began to applaud with Mike.

Then, it was Hufflepuff, then Gryffindor, and finally there was sparse applause from the long table of Slytherin.

The expression on Slughorn's face became a little better. He looked at Mike gratefully, and then glared at Draco on the Slytherin side fiercely - he saw all their little movements just now.

Dumbledore still had that smiling face, looking at the thunderous applause in the auditorium, he suddenly raised his voice, and said in a super high voice that overwhelmed all the applause present:

"At the same time, Professor Snape will be the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts for the next year!"

As soon as these words came out, a very dramatic scene appeared.

The hall, which was originally filled with thunderous applause, suddenly became quiet. Everyone stared at Dumbledore with wide eyes and looked at him in disbelief.

Snape moved. He did not stand up to greet everyone like Slughorn did. Instead, he sat lazily in his seat and waved his hand expressionlessly.

The Slytherin table was in an uproar. They slapped the table crazily and cheered loudly. Draco was the most excited. He climbed onto the table excitedly and kept waving his arms at the staff seat.

At this time, students from other colleges finally reacted. Everyone gathered together and whispered. For a moment, the hall instantly became as noisy as a vegetable market.

"Why are they so happy?" Franklin looked at the Slytherin table with a puzzled look, "I don't understand, is the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor higher in status than the Potions Professor?"

A member of the Ravenclaw Mutual Aid Society replied:

"You know, Snape's dream is to become a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and now, he has finally got his wish."

"That's it?"

"I guess so, maybe they think that Snape will give them more preferential treatment after becoming the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, otherwise their behavior cannot be explained." Another Ravenclaw said, "But it's no big deal, after all, Snape's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor won't last long. You know, this position is cursed, and no one can hold this position for more than a year.

But to be honest, this is really ironic. A Death Eater actually became the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, ha ha ha!"

As soon as these words came out, a mocking low laugh came from the Ravenclaw table.

At this time, Mike was staring at Snape without saying a word. He didn't know why, but he always felt that Snape was not happy at the moment, but looked a little irritated.

After leaving the students alone for a while, Dumbledore finally spoke again. This time he used an explosive spell to attract everyone's attention, and then he slowly said:

"I believe that everyone in this hall is well aware that Voldemort and his followers are causing trouble everywhere and growing stronger.

I need to emphasize that the current situation is very dangerous, and each of us at Hogwarts needs to be extremely cautious to ensure our own safety.

The castle's magical fortifications have been strengthened during the summer vacation, which has given us more effective protection.

But each of us students still needs to be vigilant at all times. Here, I sincerely implore you to strictly abide by every safety regulation set by the teachers, no matter how annoying those regulations are, especially for those students who can't sleep at night and like to wander around."

Dumbledore paused when he said this, his eyes swept over Harry and his three companions, as well as Mike and others.

"Well, your beds are waiting for you, and they are as comfortable and warm as you expect." Dumbledore continued, "I know your top priority now is to get a good rest and prepare for tomorrow's class, so let's say goodnight."

After that, Dumbledore raised his wand with his intact arm, and then the four long tables in the hall were neatly stacked on both sides, leaving a large open space.

Those who lost their seats said goodbye to Dumbledore one after another, and then walked neatly and slowly to their respective college lounges under the leadership of their respective grade leaders.

This year's opening dinner ended a little bit, and many students had already begun to yawn at this time, especially some first and second year students who had been playing crazy all day, and now they could hardly open their eyes.

The professors also began to leave, and they still had to prepare for tomorrow's classes tonight.

And Dumbledore continued to stand on the podium motionlessly, watching the students slowly leave the hall with a smile.

Until the last student disappeared, he extinguished the candles in the hall and turned to walk upstairs.

"Dumbledore, I think we need to talk."

An old voice suddenly came from the darkness. Dumbledore's eyebrows jumped, and he was stunned for a moment before saying:

"Horace, is there anything that can't be discussed tomorrow? You still have an early class tomorrow."

Professor Slughorn came out of the darkness, and he said seriously:

"No, I must talk to you now!"

Dumbledore was silent, he stared at Slughorn, and the two looked at each other for a long time before Dumbledore sighed:

"If you insist on doing so, then okay. Let's go to my office."

After that, Dumbledore turned around and continued to walk upstairs, and Slughorn followed him.

The two remained silent all the way, and Dumbledore walked very fast, so that Slughorn could only jog to keep up with his speed.

Soon, Slughorn's breathing began to become rapid.

Perhaps to ease the awkwardness of silence, or simply to slow down his pace so that Dumbledore would notice him, Slughorn said:

"Hey, Dumbledore, is your hand okay? Do you want me to take a look? You know, I'm not only a master of potions, but also a pretty good healer."

Hearing this, Dumbledore's body stiffened for a moment, and instinctively put the injured hand wrapped in silk bandages into the sleeve of his robe.

"Thank you, Horace, but it's still not necessary. Severus has treated me, and I believe it will be healed soon."

"Okay then... But... Can you walk slower? Huh~ I can't keep up."

Dumbledore did not reply, but slowed down his pace calmly, which made Slughorn breathe a sigh of relief.

After a "long journey", the two finally arrived at the headmaster's office.

Slughorn collapsed on the sofa and gasped, while Dumbledore poured him a glass of water, then sat behind his desk and whispered:

"Tell me, Horace, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"Thank you! Phew~ This is really life-saving." Slughorn drank the water in the glass, then said, "McTownley, Dumbledore, I want to talk to you about McTownley."

Hearing this name, Dumbledore's expression froze, and after a while he asked:

"What do you want to know?"

"Do you know anything about the whereabouts of the Elive family? Why would McTownley's Los Santos Group openly sell the exclusive products of the Elive family? What is the connection between the two?"

Dumbledore was silent. Slughorn waited for a long time without getting a reply, and finally murmured absentmindedly:

"They... can't come back, right?"

"That's right."

"McTownley killed them all?"

Silence...

"Well, I think I know." Slughorn said excitedly, and at the same time he reached out to pick up the refilled water cup and took a sip, but his hand was shaking slightly, causing ripples on the water in the cup. "Then Mike is really strong!"

Seeing Slughorn's excitement, Dumbledore frowned and said,

"Horace, I give you a piece of advice, don't get too close to Mike, he is very dangerous!"

"You mean he is a villain who has done a lot of evil?"

"Of course not, even the Avery family incident has its reasons, and it can't be blamed entirely on him."

"That's good, isn't it? I think Mike is a good kid." Slughorn said with a smile, "Do you know how embarrassed I was on the stage just now? There were so many people, but no one welcomed me back to Hogwarts, even Slytherin, where I used to be the dean!

And then Mike stood up and gave me support. What a gentle gesture, isn't it, Dumbledore." Dumbledore

did not reply. He frowned, and his deep eyes seemed to be staring at Slughorn in front of him, and seemed to be staring at the unknown existence in the darkness.

But Slughorn's expression looked very relaxed. He stood up and tidied his appearance, then slowly walked out of the principal's office, saying as he walked:

"You should take good care of your injuries, Dumbledore, don't worry too much about me, I won't make the same mistake again."

With the creaking sound of the door closing, the entire office fell into complete silence. Dumbledore slowly leaned back, leaned his entire body against the back of the chair, and sighed deeply.

"Ah~"