Give Us Back Professor Quirrell

After talking with Dumbledore, Andy became even more determined to pursue magic.

Those conversations had seemed unrelated to magic, yet they had pointed Andy in a direction.

We learned magic, used magic, and made use of magic. But in the end, we still had to return to the essence of all magic—magical power.

Wizards grew old and died, but as long as they wanted to live, magical power could make their bodies "look" healthy and allow them to move freely.

This once again proved that Mind Power could influence magical power.

Along with the Obscurus—a product of dark emotions merging with magical power.

Everything seemed to be proving to Andy that the fusion of Mind Power and magical power was the ultimate answer to magic.

But...

What am I supposed to do?

Andy's magical power had become increasingly stable, and having lived through two lifetimes meant his emotions rarely fluctuated too wildly.

"Phew—"

Andy pulled the blanket over his head and went to sleep!

There was no answer to this question in the short term.

But between Hogwarts's thousand years of magical knowledge and the system Andy possessed, one of them would surely help him solve it.

The next day, Monday, September 16.

The moment Andy arrived at the Great Hall, he saw that the teachers' table was already full. Even Dumbledore had come to the Great Hall early.

The Great Hall was silent. The Little Wizards ate breakfast absentmindedly, glancing toward the teachers' table from time to time.

At Hogwarts, aside from major holidays and the start-of-term feast, the professors generally did not come to the Great Hall for meals.

The House Elves thoughtfully delivered the professors' three daily meals to their offices.

Today was an entirely ordinary day, yet all of Hogwarts's professors and its Headmaster had gathered in the Great Hall. Something important was clearly about to be announced.

The Little Wizards had already guessed the answer.

And Quirrell, who had guessed it as well, was slumped in a corner at that moment, silently waiting to die.

"Let's eat first," Hermione said softly, as though she too had sensed the atmosphere in the Great Hall.

When they reached the Ravenclaw table, Andy noticed that many Little Wizards had already finished eating but still had no intention of leaving.

Clearly, they did not want to miss this final moment either.

This was the result of the entire school's collective efforts.

After all the Little Wizards had finished breakfast, Dumbledore rose and walked to the podium. He swept his gaze around the room, and every Little Wizard turned their eyes toward him.

At that moment, the Great Hall was utterly silent.

"I regret to announce!"

Dumbledore declared, "Professor Quirrell will soon be leaving us for personal reasons, and your new Dark Arts Defence Professor will take up the post at the beginning of October..."

"Woohoo!!!"

"We did it! This is amazing!"

"This is everyone's victory!"

"..."

Cheers immediately erupted in the Great Hall, and every Little Wizard was ecstatic. Especially the Slytherins—this had been led by Slytherin. It was their victory.

Andy saw Malfoy surrounded by Slytherin students, who tossed him into the air in celebration.

No one cared about Quirrell, the man curled up in the corner, quietly waiting to die.

"Quiet!"

Only after the Little Wizards had cheered for quite some time did Dumbledore use the Sonorus Charm to stop the commotion.

He continued, "Before your new professor takes up the post, Defense Against the Dark Arts Class for First through Third Year will be taught by—Professor Severus Snape."

"..."

The Great Hall fell silent in an instant.

"Give us back Professor Quirrell!" An angry roar came from Gryffindor. It sounded like Fred, or perhaps George.

"Professor McGonagall or Professor Flitwick can teach us instead!" That was Harry's voice.

Andy felt that the few of them were probably not going to have a good week.

The Gryffindor Little Wizards adamantly opposed the arrangement, and the Great Hall became noisy again.

Andy looked around, pulled Hermione in front of him to hide himself, cleared his throat to alter his voice, moved a little closer to the Gryffindor side, and then shouted, "Make Professor McGonagall Headmaster!"

Whoosh—

The moment those words came out, the Great Hall first erupted in uproar, then instantly fell silent.

The Little Wizards from the other three Houses all looked toward Gryffindor, seemingly wanting to see which Little Wizard was so bold as to rebel right in front of Dumbledore.

Professor McGonagall's face darkened as well. She glared fiercely at George and Fred—although she had not seen who shouted it, she strongly suspected those two.

Hermione viciously pinched Andy's waist.

The Little Witch pursed her lips and glared at Andy, considering whether she should simply hand him over.

"Quiet!"

Dumbledore used the Sonorus Charm again. He first arranged substitute teachers for the other years, then said, "All right, children. You should go to class now."

Snape serving as a substitute teacher was clearly a done deal. Only then did Gryffindor realize—what had they just done? George and Fred looked as though their parents had died, while Harry's face had gone pale. They felt they might not survive the day.

There was one other person who looked equally devastated, his face deathly pale, so unsteady that he could barely stand.

Quirinus Quirrell!

He leaned against the wall in the corner, head lowered as he sobbed pitifully. His body shook uncontrollably, as though he were experiencing some immense terror, as though he might die the very next second.

Hermione could not bear it. "Should we go comfort Professor Quirrell?"

"Don't!"

Andy hurriedly stopped her. "Professor Dumbledore will comfort him. We don't need to meddle."

Hermione glared at Andy. "Isn't it all because of you?"

"There are plenty of pitiful people in this world. We can't help all of them."

Andy comforted her, "We should trust Headmaster Dumbledore. He may have already found Quirrell a job."

The name Dumbledore was very reassuring. Hearing Andy say that, Hermione stopped worrying needlessly.

"Let's go!"

Andy shrugged. "We have two Potions Classes in a row with Hufflepuff this morning. I think Professor Snape might not be in a very good mood either. How about we go comfort Professor Snape?"

At that, Hermione looked indignant too. "The Gryffindors have gone too far! Professor Snape may be a little strict, but he's knowledgeable, conscientious, and responsible in class. How could they say such things?"

"Exactly!" Andy nodded in fervent agreement.

Today's Snape had clearly transformed into Super Snape. Andy felt that unless he deducted Gryffindor's points into the negatives, this matter would not be over.

But in Hermione's eyes, today's Snape might simply have been even stricter and more responsible! While the students brewed potions, Snape radiated dark energy as he paced nonstop through both classes, sternly pointing out the Little Wizards' improper techniques.

He was only one step away from yelling in their faces that they had troll brains.