New Teaching Assistants, Old Rivals

The visitors were Charlotte Hawk and Colton Sterling.

Charlotte was the female president of the Hogwarts student council, while Colton was the male president of the Newmontgard student council.

Back then, it was these two who recruited Sean, one after the other.

A familiar face...

But how did Colton end up at Hogwarts...?

The two pushed open the door and saw Sean inside. Charlotte, who had been cold and disgusted with Colton, put on a smile.

Good morning, Sean, it's been a long time.

Sean stood up and replied with a smile, "Long time no see, Charlotte. How have you been?"

Charlotte wrinkled her nose and snorted, "Everything was fine until we ran into that persistent guy."

Colton stepped out from behind her, as if he hadn't heard her talking to him at all, and then extended his hand to Sean: "Long time no see, Wallerup."

Sean shook hands with him. "It's been a long time, Mr. Sterling."

They had barely shaken hands when Charlotte pushed past Colton and put her arm around Sean's shoulder.

"Sterling, why are you pretending to be such a friend with Sean? If I remember correctly, you were quite rude to the Mr. and Mrs. Wallop when you were at their house."

Colton paid no heed to Charlotte's rude gesture. He simply stepped aside, elegantly smoothing out some wrinkles in his long coat, and calmly said, "Ms. Hawke, taking things out of context won't fool a smart person—besides, greeting Wallerup is basic courtesy, as Mr. Grindelwald always taught us, but you..."

Charlotte released Sean abruptly, then practically pressed her face against Colton's nose. "Oh? What did I do now? There's a difference in how close we are. Besides, while you're polite, your hypocritical gentlemanly manners are nauseating."

Colton didn't back down at all; he simply lowered his eyes slightly and said, "It seems we have some differences in our understanding of politeness, but I've always been well-trained, so I can understand... well, the differences between you and me."

"All you can do is talk the talk? I bet you didn't learn your lesson back in Knockturn Alley, did you?"

"A lesson? If you call the 'great achievement' of burning the hem of my trench coat with all your might a lesson, then I can accept it. I can even compensate you for the broken magic necklace."

Seeing that the two were about to pull out their wands again, Sean felt a headache coming on.

How come these two always end up arguing whenever they meet...?

He quickly stepped between the two, smiling, "Be mindful of appearances, be mindful of appearances. This is the Staff Room; Professor McGonagall and the others will be here soon."

Upon hearing this, Charlotte snorted and took a half step back. Colton nodded to Sean and also took a step back.

These two...

Charlotte goes without saying; Sean even went on an adventure with her during the Ashwinder incident. She is a wizard worthy of respect in terms of both character and ability.

Colton, despite having "you owe me a million dollars" written all over his face 350 days a year and a rather sharp tongue (only directed at Charlotte), is actually a decent guy after some observation. Moreover, now that Sean is Grindelwald's student and has intricate connections with Newmontgard, Colton can naturally be considered one of their own.

After separating the two and summoning two chairs with his wand for them to sit down, Sean asked, "I didn't even have time to ask how you two suddenly came to Hogwarts, Charlotte. When I received your Christmas present last time, you said you were still working in Knockturn Alley, collecting all sorts of medieval wizarding journals, right?"

Charlotte slumped back in her chair without any regard for appearances and said lazily, "It wasn't the day after I sent you the gift. Oh, by the way, thank you for the Transfiguration Dragon-hide Cloak, I really like it—ah, speaking of that job... humph, humph! Ask him! What a mess he's made!"

Sean turned his head with some confusion. He didn't know much about Charlotte's work, only that she changed jobs quite frequently after graduation.

On the other side, Colton sat upright in his chair, his hands on his knees, in an elegant posture.

"There's nothing to ask. The root cause of that incident was your carelessness. I was just reminding you out of kindness as a passerby. Whether it was physical violence or verbal abuse, you were the one who struck first. What does it have to do with me?"

Charlotte's anger flared at these words. She jumped up from her chair, pointed at the other person's nose, and shouted, "Is that a reminder? Mocking my job, cursing my employer?!"

Colton scoffed. "Employer? What employer would secretly use a Blood Loss spell on their employee? You're an adult wizard, you even fought me in the Triwizard Cup —though you lost. But you can't even detect this little spell? How disappointing..."

"What nonsense are you talking about! Do you think I wouldn't know he's a vampire? I already drank Sleeping Potion and used Invigoration Spell to maintain my sanity! As long as he drinks my blood, it's the same as drinking Sleeping Potion, understand? A little bit of my blood can be exchanged for the private manuscripts of famous medieval half-vampire wizards like Murray, and you've ruined all the plans I've been working on for so long!" Charlotte was furious.

"A plan?" Colton raised an eyebrow dismissively. "You must have failed your Care of Magical Creatures and Potions classes. How much of Sleeping Potion is mixed with blood? And would a vampire, who has the ability to purify blood, be affected? — Don't mention your diffusion spell that you put around. That stuff only diffuses gaseous Potions; it doesn't work on liquid Potions."

"So what if I fail? It's none of your business! I'll just forgo my salary for that month and quit!"

Colton's voice was icy. "What if that vampire isn't going to let you go? What if he wants to keep blood slaves in secret?"

"Him? Who are you underestimating, Sterling?"

"Even without him, based on your crude plans, your chances of falling for it are probably ten thousand times greater than mine."

The two got increasingly agitated as they talked—or rather, Charlotte got increasingly agitated, while Colton maintained his aloof demeanor throughout.

"It's always the same! Why are you so persistent? You ruined my plans last time too!"

"I just happened to be passing by and saw some idiot working for Goblin..."

"That's because what I want is in his hands!"

"To acquire treasures from Goblin? He's offering you this salary, and you dare to take this job?"

"And the time before that...!"

"That's because you're stupid..."

"That time a year and a half ago!"

"Your plan is still not comprehensive enough..."

"That very first time!"

"Didn't you notice those Dark Wizard behind you who were about to cast Stunning Spell on you? You're so careless right after leaving school. I'm disappointed in Mr. Dumbledore."

"You!"

The two recounted almost every grudge they had since graduation, and in the end, Charlotte once again bypassed Sean and stood in front of Colton.

The hot-tempered leader stood with her hands on her hips, her chest heaving violently.

Colton, on the other hand, didn't change his posture at all, only occasionally making sarcastic remarks about Charlotte.

Sean rubbed his temples; these two were really arguing non-stop...

However, he understood what he was hearing this time.

Charlotte's so-called frequent job changes basically involve dealing with all sorts of dangerous people in order to obtain more valuable items or information.

As for Colton, for some reason, he always seems to show up at the last minute, either disrupting Charlotte's plans or knocking out her employer—of course, afterwards the two inevitably end up fighting...

What kind of hot-tempered, impulsive female lead and aloof, arrogant male lead are these...?

It seemed like Colton was constantly sabotaging Charlotte's plans, but to Sean, it looked more like Colton was chasing after Charlotte, then showing up to protect her whenever things went wrong...

Thinking of this, Sean gave Colton a strange look. Colton had a cold expression on his face and only occasionally made sarcastic remarks in the face of Charlotte's reprimands.

This Mr. Sterling. Colton Sterling, he likes Charlotte, doesn't he...?

The key point is, even Charlotte couldn't win an argument with the other person...

"Stop, stop, stop, you two." Sean stood up again.

Let them sort out their own issues; this argument is just going to go on and on.

Charlotte, clearly outmaneuvered in verbal sparring, angrily withdrew her hand, crossed her arms, and looked displeased.

Colton didn't press his advantage; he simply adjusted his tie with elegance.

Sean looked at the two men with a headache. "Gentlemen, this is Hogwarts... Besides, I have no idea what you're doing here."

Charlotte growled in her throat like a lioness, her anger seemingly growing even stronger.

Colton explained to Sean, "Actually, I got the job and I'm now an assistant teacher for the Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, as is that Ms. Hawke who knows she's wrong but is very stubborn."

ha?

Charlotte paused, then lunged forward with bared teeth and claws, Sean quickly stopped her.

"Don't stop me, Sean! Let me bite this bastard to death! It's been almost two years! No, counting the year you disappeared, it's been almost three years! You bastard, why are you always there wherever I go? Even when I was trying to become a professor, you had to interfere!"

Wow, Charlotte is actually quite a composed person...

Colton glanced at Sean's actions and said calmly, "First of all, positions are given to the capable, there's no such thing as fighting for them. Secondly, I have Professor Dumbledore's approval. Finally, you should be thinking about how to teach your students well, not engaging in pointless arguments with me."

Charlotte paused, then became even more enraged. "Do you expect me to teach you?! Don't stop me, Sean, I'm going to bite him to death today!"

"Rude." Colton elegantly crossed one foot.

"I can't control these two nemesis... "Sean thought desperately.

Fortunately, the door was pushed open again, and Professor McGonagall walked in.

"Charlotte? What are you doing?"

The hot-tempered leader paused for a moment; Professor McGonagall was the professor she respected and feared the most.

Charlotte quickly stood up straight, slightly out of breath. "It's nothing, I just had a little playful fight with Sean because I hadn't seen him in a long time."

Sean: "..."

"From today onwards, you are a full-fledged teaching assistant. Be more composed, Charlotte."

"I understand, Professor..."

Colton's lips curled up almost imperceptibly, and he stood up to greet Professor McGonagall politely.

After exchanging pleasantries, Professor McGonagall said to Sean, "Sean, as you know, they are now teaching assistants for Defense Against the Dark Arts. So, you're colleagues now."

"I understand," Sean nodded. "Then, Professor Lockhart?"

Professor McGonagall showed a rare hint of annoyance. "Let him take charge of the theoretical instruction, Charlotte, and Mr. Sterling. The practical part is your responsibility."

"Yes, Professor," they said in unison, then glared at each other.

Sean nodded thoughtfully.

With the increased workload, Lockhart is completely unable to shoulder the teaching responsibility, so it makes perfect sense to bring back two very capable graduates as teaching assistants.

However, Sean was always puzzled as to why Dumbledore wanted Lockhart to be the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Now that the course was free of the curse, there should have been quite a few people willing to take the position at Hogwarts.

However, Lockhart has been quite well-behaved lately, not doing anything strange. Although it's a bit boring to just follow the textbook, at least you can still learn something by studying seriously.

Now, with two new teaching assistants, there's no need to worry about falling behind in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Also, Colton is quite interesting. Sean remembers that when he and Charlotte came to recruit students, they showed disdain for Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts...

It seems that liking someone can be quite powerful...

Under Professor McGonagall's intimidation, the two finally stopped arguing, and since they were both quite responsible, they started preparing their lessons seriously.

Sean also began preparing for today's lesson; he was going to give the first Transfiguration to the newly enrolled first-year students.

Whether it's the importance of the first lesson or Professor McGonagall's trust, Sean has to do his best.

However, since the task had been entrusted to him, Sean decided to teach the first-year students in his own way.

He's planning something big...

The morning flew by. After breakfast, Sean left the Staff Room, said goodbye to Charlotte and Colton who were still exchanging barbs with him from time to time, and strode toward the first-year Transfiguration classroom.

Upon reaching the door, he could already hear a low commotion inside. Sean smiled, pushed open the door, and went in.

The freshmen immediately shut their mouths and then looked at Sean with curiosity and doubt. Wasn't this Mr. Wallop the fourth-year student in charge of coordinating admissions?

Sean walked to the podium and smiled at everyone.

Let's do something big...