The opening feast had been underway for nearly half an hour. The main courses on the long tables of the various Houses had long since been cleared away and replaced with after-dinner drinks, fruit, and desserts!
The students who still had a little room in their stomachs began sampling the delicious sweets in small bites. Ron and Harry, who were already stuffed, could only sit slumped in their seats with their stomachs sticking out, staring blankly at the desserts covering the table! They had eaten far too much during the main course. Their stomachs couldn't fit another thing!
At the High Table, Dumbledore was quietly discussing something with Professor McGonagall beside him. Since they were both rather old, they hadn't eaten very much, and had finished their dinners before the desserts arrived! They couldn't manage after-dinner sweets!
"Mm! Ahem! Students! Ladies and gentlemen? Please be quiet! Listen to me! Please..." Only after he saw that everyone had nearly finished eating did Dumbledore rise from the High Table and signal for the students to quiet down. It was time for the headmaster to speak.
By then, everyone had eaten and drunk their fill. The students from the Four Houses were chatting away in their places in the Great Hall, boasting or discussing one amusing thing or another. They paid no attention at all to the fact that their headmaster was about to make an important speech.
For example, the Weasley Twins were teasing their little Ginny from across the table. It didn't take long for their little sister to blush furiously, though no one knew what they'd said to her. Harry and Ron, meanwhile, continued their earlier conversation, whispering about something and occasionally turning to sneak a glance at Hermione as she sampled the desserts. The students from the other Houses were much the same, chatting loudly or quietly about whatever they liked.
Seeing the students' reaction left Headmaster Dumbledore feeling rather awkward! Aside from a few Prefects trying their hardest to keep order in their Houses, none of the students had noticed him at all. They were still chatting away!
The headmaster's speech after the opening feast was a regular occurrence every term. Generally speaking, Dumbledore never liked to say much. He'd usually mumble a couple of words and then dismiss everyone! The previous school year, as he recalled, he'd only hummed a few unrelated syllables before announcing that they could leave!
When Dumbledore had traveled in his younger days, he'd seen certain leaders in Muggle schools. They'd actually cornered a group of students on the sports field on a freezing winter morning and delivered long speeches! They'd rambled on and on, talking until their faces were red and their necks bulged, and kept going even after the sun had risen. They didn't care in the least about the students' bitter resentment or murderous glares as they shivered on the field! Those people thought that the longer they spoke, the more they'd make their presence felt. Little did they know that the students on the field had long wanted to drag them off the platform and beat them up!
So, after becoming headmaster, Dumbledore had always taken that as a cautionary tale. He never kept his speeches to the students long. Unless something was particularly important, he didn't want to say another word! Whenever he gave a speech, he'd usually make a few noises, say a few words, and then turn on his heel and leave!
But the situation was a little unusual this time. Dumbledore had to say a few more things—but only a few. He promised it wouldn't take more than five minutes! It might not even take five! Yet now that he wanted to speak, the students below were showing him no respect at all! Outrageous! Well, then, he couldn't be blamed! He took the Elder Wand from his sleeve and pointed it at his throat.
"Silence!!" A tremendous roar swept through the Great Hall. After the sound waves, which made the students' eardrums ache, had passed, they finally took their hands away from their ears and quieted down! All of them turned to look at their headmaster!
Dumbledore saw that the Sonorus spell had worked rather well and nodded with satisfaction. Then he slowly lowered the Elder Wand from his throat. The old man was pleased with his spell. In his opinion, his prestige was still quite impressive. See? They'd quieted down, hadn't they? The students still loved and respected him as always!
"Ahem! Students! This old man would like to say a few more things today. First of all, a new school year has begun! Welcome back to Hogwarts!!" Dumbledore had barely finished his first sentence when thunderous applause suddenly broke out. It went on and on.
Dumbledore had to press down with his hands several times before he could stop the disruptive applause! It put him in a foul mood! The old man hadn't even finished speaking. What were they clapping for? Were they doing it on purpose? Oh! He saw! The Weasley Twins were leading them? Fine! The old man would remember those two brothers! Wait, what had he been about to say next? Damn! He'd lost his train of thought! He'd forgotten his lines!
Dumbledore stood there for several seconds, awkwardly staring at the students below, without continuing. He'd forgotten what he was supposed to say next! After a while, Professor McGonagall beside him noticed the headmaster's predicament. She cleared her throat twice to remind him to look at little Annie nearby—that was what they'd just been discussing.
Oh! Right! That was it! It was about little Annie! With McGonagall's timely reminder, Dumbledore finally came to his senses and remembered what he'd been about to say!
"Ahem! Ladies and gentlemen! I'm sure you've all heard that some things have indeed happened in the Wizarding World recently. I believe you're all familiar with the Gringotts incident, so..." Once again, before Dumbledore could finish speaking, a wave of commotion broke out! The students forgot all about the headmaster's speech and started whispering excitedly among themselves.
"Wow! I know about that! I've read every issue of the papers about it!" a Slytherin student said proudly to a classmate beside him, who looked completely bewildered and had no idea what was going on.
"Please! I know about it too! Of course—it's the Gringotts Wizarding Bank incident, right?" another Slytherin student replied dismissively. As far as she was concerned, there probably wasn't a single person in the Wizarding World who hadn't heard of the Gringotts incident.
"What are you talking about? What happened?" asked a bewildered third-year Slytherin student. As she watched everyone around her excitedly discussing it, she had no idea what they were talking about! She'd only gone on holiday during the break. How had she suddenly become such an outsider? Had she missed something?
"What?! You really don't know?" The people around her stared at her in astonishment! Could she be from a Muggle family? But that couldn't be right—had anyone ever heard of a Muggle-born witch or wizard in Slytherin? Then how could she not know?
"I—I spent the whole holiday at my grandfather's castle in the countryside! It's very remote, and its location is kept secret. Even owls can't get in, so of course I didn't know!" Her grandfather's home was actually protected by the Fidelius Charm. Without her grandfather's permission as the Secret Keeper, no person or animal could find it! She hadn't left the castle's protected area all holiday, and her grandfather didn't want to be bothered by the outside world's trivial affairs. It was only natural that she knew nothing about Gringotts!
"Oh! So that's why. Well, I'll tell you about it now. Those Goblins at Gringotts really got into trouble this time! They..."
Dumbledore stared down at the students, who were once again loudly arguing in excited groups. This time he pressed his hands down several times, but still couldn't draw the attention of the heatedly debating students back to him.
All right! Dumbledore took a deep breath. You've forced the old man's hand! He was going to bring out the big guns! He raised his wand and pointed it at his throat again. The professors beside him hurriedly covered their ears. A few more elegant professors tapped their heads with their wands, apparently casting some sort of noise-blocking spell on themselves.
"Silence!!!"
A roar even louder than before burst out and swept through the Great Hall, making the whole place seem to tremble! Then, after a loud vrrrmm, a violent ringing and echoing filled the students' ears.
Dumbledore put his wand away again and looked down at the students, who were now dizzy and disoriented. He nodded with satisfaction. There! They were finally willing to be quiet, weren't they? They'd really thought the old man had no temper? When he went mad, even he was afraid of himself!
"Students! This term, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be adding a special new open course! The schedule will be given to your Prefects later! This course will teach you some entirely new knowledge that doesn't exist in the Wizarding World! And most importantly: the course won't count toward your grades, and everyone is free to choose whether or not to attend! However, as headmaster, I must remind you that if you can attend, you'd be wise to give it a try!" Dumbledore looked at the curious students below, who now didn't dare talk among themselves again, and nodded with satisfaction.
"All right, now let's welcome your new open-course teacher! Annie! Professor Annie Hastur!" Dumbledore led the applause, but then found himself feeling a little awkward when he noticed that, apart from him and a few professors, hardly any of the students below responded. They simply stared blankly at the little girl rising from the High Table.
"Hello, everyone! My name is Annie. It's nice to meet you!" Annie slowly floated up from the High Table. When she was hovering at the same height as Dumbledore, she gave the students from the Four Houses a perfect curtsy.
This school year, she would serve as a specially appointed professor at Hogwarts, teaching students some of the magical knowledge of the Valoran World! They had negotiated this arrangement during her last meeting with Dumbledore. In return, Dumbledore would spend a year gathering all kinds of magical materials she needed to activate the Space Stone's magic array! After the failure of her first Space Gate, Annie planned to prepare a more precise, more perfect array this time, while the stone charged, to activate the Space Stone!
"Clap, clap!" After Annie finished speaking, the whole Great Hall buzzed again. Some of the students had only just noticed the little girl, Annie, sitting at the High Table!
It was that little girl! She'd masterminded the entire Gringotts Wizarding Bank incident! So much time had passed, but even now, nearly half the Daily Prophet was still devoted to stoking discussion about the Gringotts incident! People were eager for any new information about it!
People with different opinions were still fiercely debating the incident in the Daily Prophet! Everyone had their own take on it, but the one thing they all agreed on was that Annie was powerful! Although some assessments were still highly controversial, the entire Wizarding World had basically reached a consensus on one point: this little girl named Annie was a powerful witch, every bit as strong as Dumbledore and You-Know-Who!!
After the feast ended and everyone began filing out, Ron was still a little dazed on the way back to the Gryffindor common room! He'd never imagined that the powerful little girl would teach them magic! She was only eight years old, wasn't she? And she'd become a specially appointed professor at Hogwarts! That was just too... Well, her strength spoke for itself. It made sense for a witch as powerful as Dumbledore to serve as a professor!
And what had he been doing at eight? Playing in the mud? Or getting ready to sneak some of the tasty food his mother had locked in the cupboard? Ron thought about it for a moment, then quickly shook his head. Better not compare himself to her, right? The damage would be too great! It'd be a critical hit!
"Hey, Hermione! What do you think Annie... er, Professor Annie will teach us?" Ron still felt a little awkward calling a girl much younger than himself "Professor." But he was really interested in what she would teach! It wouldn't count toward their grades, and there wouldn't be any exams or homework! He could always go and listen!
"Hmph! No comment!"
Hermione, of course, knew what Annie would teach! They'd settled all of it with Dumbledore in the Headmaster's Office. But she wasn't about to tell Ron and Harry now!
After all, the two of them had been making fun of her behind her back just moments earlier! Calling her "Hermione the bank robber who relied on a little girl's power" and "Hermione the bully who hid behind someone stronger"! Just listen to them! What sort of things were those to say? Were they even her friends? They shouldn't think she couldn't hear them just because they'd spoken quietly! There was such a thing in this world as a listening spell! Hermione didn't even bother replying. She rolled her eyes at them and strode ahead.
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