What Was So Good About That Little Dumbledore?

Clearly, Hermione didn't think Anne was holding back; on the contrary, she believed her dueling skills had improved significantly.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to fight Anne so evenly.

She even fantasized that with her talent, she might be able to rival Pabbie and Cassandra in a while.

The reason is simple: Professor Slughorn paid special attention to her duel.

As Anne and Hermione put down their wands, Professor Slughorn asked, "My dear, may I ask your name?"

"Hermione Granger, sir." Hermione was a little excited, her face flushed.

Professor Slughorn immediately became alert. He thought of a name, a very famous name.

"Granger? Granger? Are you related to Hector Dagworth - Granger, the founder of the Extraordinary Potions Society?"

Hermione denied it without the slightest hesitation. "No, it shouldn't be, sir—I'm Muggle-born."

But Slughorn didn't show any disappointment. On the contrary, he smiled and looked at Hermione and then at Harry sitting next to her.

He remembered the person Harry had mentioned on the train.

"Oh, right! 'I have a best friend who's also Muggle-born, and she's the best student in the whole year!' I'm sure that's the friend you're talking about, Harry?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said.

"Very good, very good. Add a well-deserved twenty points to Miss Granger of Gryffindor," Slughorn said kindly.

The Slytherin students immediately looked like wilted eggplants, especially Draco. He and Blaise were picking at their nails, pouting and whispering something, while giving Ron a smirk as they spoke.

Hermione turned to Harry with a smug look and whispered, "You really told him I was the best student in the whole year? Oh, Harry!"

"Come on, what's so great about that?" Ron muttered, sounding annoyed. "You're the best student in the whole grade—I'd say the same thing if he asked me!"

"Hey," Harry said quickly, "Don't be jealous, Ron. I just mentioned it casually, I didn't mean anything by Hermione smiled, reached out and ruffled Ron's hair, but then made a "shh" gesture so they could hear Slughorn.

Ron finally broke into a smile.

Harry sighed.

Poor Tom.

Forget it, he's my buddy, he's my buddy—

"Sir, I'm sure you know my grandfather Abraxas Malfoy?"

Harry looked up and saw Slughorn walking past the Slytherin table.

"I knew him," Professor Slughorn said, glancing at Draco. "I was saddened to hear he died, but it was to be expected, considering he was so old and had Dragon Pox— "

However, he changed the subject.

"I also know your great-aunt, or rather, your great-great-aunt. She is the witch worth mentioning. In addition, your great-grandfather Ignatius Malfoy and your great-great-grandfather Septimus Malfoy were both outstanding figures of their time."

Draco seemed pleased, but he failed to grasp Professor Slughorn's implied meaning.

That meant that your grandfather was too incompetent and didn't deserve to compete with his father, aunt, and grandfather, or even be compared to them.

Your father won't do it either.

"That idiot," Ron said in a strained voice, laughing gleefully.

When class ended, Harry suddenly saw someone waiting for him at the door.

It was Abercrombie, a second-year student. He was very happy to see Harry and jumped around waving to him.

"They all told me you were taking Defense Against the Dark Arts," Abercrombie said. "So I came and told them one by one. Headmaster Dumbledore asked me to pass on a message to you. He said he'd be waiting for you in the Headmaster's Office and had something to say to you. He also said he likes Sour Sherbet Lemon."

"I understand." Harry smiled and patted Abercrombie on the shoulder, watching the young man skip away.

Suddenly, Harry realized that his mindset seemed to have changed a little.

Young people, huh? Haha!

"I need to go to the Headmaster's Office," he said to Ron and the others. "You guys go eat in the Great Hall first; I probably won't be back for dinner."

"Are you going to stay in Professor Dumbledore's Headmaster's Office drinking maple syrup?" Ron made a not-so-small joke. "Then I can only wish you a day spent squeezing into Professor Snape's office like Flobberworm." Harry echoed.

"But I still don't understand," Ron said, scratching his face. "Sour Sherbet Lemon? Doesn't he like sweets? Why would he say he likes this sour stuff? You know, even my mom, who loves sour things, can't quite handle this kind of sour candy."

"Who knows?" Harry shrugged.

After saying goodbye to a few friends, Harry hurried through the long corridor. Suddenly, he saw Professor Trelawney turn the corner, washing a dirty Poker Cards, reading the numbers on the cards and talking to himself. Harry quickly slipped behind a statue.

He really didn't want to see Professor Trelawney; what if she was staring at him and saying something weird?

It wasn't that he was afraid of the Prophecy, but rather that he found them extremely ominous.

"Two of Spades: Conflict;" Professor Trelawney muttered as she walked past Harry's hiding place. "Seven of Spades: Ominous sign; Ten of Spades: Violence; Jack of Spades: A dark-haired young man, likely upset and unwilling to be interrogated."

She stopped and stood on the other side of the statue where Harry was hiding.

"Ugh, this can't be right," she said, annoyed. Harry heard her walking away as she enthusiastically reshuffled the cards, leaving only the smell of sherry behind her.

Harry waited until he was sure she was far away before he quickly left the statue and walked all the way to the place in the Seventh Floor corridor where the Waterspout Gargoyle was placed.

"Sour Sherbet Lemon," Harry said.

The Waterspout Gargoyle jumped aside, and the wall behind it split in two, revealing a movable spiral staircase behind it. "Actually, you don't need to say the password, esteemed Mr. Potter," it said obsequiously.

Harry still didn't quite understand how a stone statue could make such an expression.

He stepped onto the stairs, spiraling higher and higher until he finally arrived at the door to Dumbledore's office with its brass door knocker.

Harry knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

It was Dumbledore's voice.

"Good evening, Professor," Harry said as he walked into the Headmaster's Office.

"Ah, good evening, Harry. Sit down," Dumbledore said with a smile. "I imagine you've had a pleasant first week of School Opening?"

"Yes, Professor, thank you," Harry said.

"Would you like some Sour Sherbet Lemon?" Dumbledore pulled a bunch of colorful little candies from the drawer. "These candies are all different flavors, there's strawberry, lemon, raspberry, cranberry, and so on—"

"No, thank you." Harry waved his hand politely in response.

He didn't have any particular fondness for sour or sweet things, unlike Dumbledore who couldn't live without sugar.

"Then I'll have two first." Dumbledore chuckled and picked up a piece of candy, putting it in his mouth.

While Dumbledore was eating candy, Harry sat down in the chair and looked around the office.

The round office looked the same as always: the long-legged table was decorated with many exquisite silverwares, which spun around and emitted small puffs of smoke.

The portraits of the old Headmaster, both men and women, were all dozing off in their respective frames, while Dumbledore's magnificent Fawkes, stood on a branch behind the door, watching Harry expectantly.

Harry knew that the colorful bird wasn't looking at him, but at his and Veratia's Phoenix.

No wonder that bird's eyes were full of expectation; it was expecting its Fiona.

Dumbledore finished his candy, smacked his lips, and then said to Harry, "Harry, please forgive me for calling you here so hastily. Professor Slughorn has found me. He asked me whether the curse on the position of Hogwarts Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor has been lifted. He doesn't want his old bones to suddenly fall into this position."

Finally, Dumbledore added, "Of course, I'm not urging you, but I have to be responsible to the professors at the school."

Harry: ——

What you're saying is just you pressuring me.

But this was indeed a matter that needed to be addressed, so he nodded and said, "Don't worry, Professor, I'll call Veratia right now and ask when she'll be free to come over."

After saying that, he took out Crystal Ball.

He did know why Dumbledore didn't call Veratia himself; the reason was simply that he was a little embarrassed.

After all, he and Veratia weren't very familiar with each other, and Veratia had quite a few opinions about the old professor Dumbledore.

Of course, Harry understands Veratia; if it were him, he would have already dismantled Dumbledore's old bones.

The call connected, and the person who answered was a woman Harry didn't recognize.

"Hello, Mr. Potter," she said.

"Do I... do I know you?" Harry asked tentatively.

"I am Miss Grindelwald's new secretary, Anna Rosier," Anna said, bowing slightly. "Miss Grindelwald specifically introduced you to me before."

"I understand," Harry nodded. "Ms. Rosier, where is Veratia?"

"She's in a meeting," Anna said. "Should I ask her to come over?"

"No need," Harry said. "Just tell her when she's finished her meeting. It's nothing important."

"Okay," Anna said.

After hanging up the phone, Harry and Dumbledore looked at each other.

"It seems Veratia has changed her secretary." Harry was trying to make conversation. "If nothing unexpected happens, Miss Farley has probably already returned to the British Ministry of Magic."

"Speaking of which, I remember Miss Farley became Sirius's girlfriend, right?" Dumbledore's eyes lit up at this— Harry could see it was the gleam of gossip.

No, you're such an old man, why are you being so gossipy?

"Yes." Harry yawned. "That was a year ago—oh, last Christmas."

"When do they plan to get married?" Dumbledore asked curiously. "Sirius is not young anymore, and he—well, now that he's Minister for Ministry of Magic, he really should be thinking about marriage."

"We're tentatively planning to get married this Christmas, if all goes well," Harry said with a grin. "Sometime a few days before Christmas, when everyone at Hogwarts is on holiday, so we can all attend the wedding."

"Good timing," Dumbledore laughed heartily. "Looks like I'll be able to attend his wedding. I just wonder if there will be any of my favorite dishes at the banquet."

"Of course it's a good time. Veratia had an Eastern wizard calculate this auspicious day, saying it's suitable for marriage, though I don't know what that means," Harry shrugged. "If you ask me, Veratia is a really good woman."

Dumbledore coughed twice and looked at Harry with some confusion.

Why are you praising your girlfriend right from zero frames?

It's like everyone knows you have a great girlfriend.

Just then, Harry's phone suddenly rang.

He answered the phone, and Veratia's image appeared above the Crystal Ball.

"Harry," she smiled, "What made you think of calling me?"

"You must have forgotten, we also promised Professor Dumbledore we'd help Hogwarts remove the curse from the Defense Against the Dark Arts," Harry said, rubbing his forehead. "Besides, Professor Slughorn wants to meet you, do you remember? He's one of the next three freshmen; he was a sophomore when you enrolled—"

"I seem to remember you, Slytherin, right?" Veratia smiled and said, "Okay, I'll be going to Britain later, probably after dinner—by the way, have you met my new secretary Anna? She's Ms. Ms. Rosier's great-niece."

Hearing this, Harry shook his head.

"I thought she was Ms. Rosier's granddaughter," he said.

"How could that be?" Veratia chuckled. "You know how much Ms. Rosier likes Gale —never mind, let's not talk about that."

"Yes," Harry sighed as well. "Sometimes I really want to ask Ms. Rosier what's so great about that little Gale that she's been infatuated with him for so many years."

"Pah!" Veratia suddenly exploded, "I want to ask Gellert that too! What's so great about Dumbledore? "Harry didn't have time to mute, so he coughed twice and reminded Veratia, "You—change the subject, dear sister, I'm in the Headmaster's Office right now."