Do You Remember the Leader Who Spoke on the Parade Ground in the Cold Winter?

The opening feast had been going on for over half an hour now, and the main courses on the tables of each house had long since been cleared away, replaced by various drinks, fruits, and desserts for after the meal!

Students who still had some room left in their stomachs began to nibble on these delicious sweets, while Ron and Harry, already stuffed to the brim, could only slump in their seats, staring helplessly at the table full of desserts! They had eaten far too much during the main course, so much so that there was no space left for anything else!

At the teachers' table, Dumbledore was quietly discussing something with Professor McGonagall beside him. Since both were older, they hadn't eaten much either, having finished their dinners long before the desserts arrived! Post-meal sweets were not something they could handle!

"Ahem! Ahem! Students! Ladies and gentlemen? Please quiet down! Listen to me! Please..." After seeing that everyone had more or less finished eating, Dumbledore stood up from the teachers' table, signaling the students to settle down. It was now time for him, as headmaster, to speak.

At that moment, with their bellies full, the students from the four houses were lounging in their seats in the Great Hall, chatting and joking, or discussing interesting things, completely unaware that their headmaster was about to make an important speech.

For instance, the Weasley Twins from Gryffindor were teasing little Ginny across the table, quickly turning their little sister's face red, though no one knew exactly what they were saying. Meanwhile, Harry and Ron continued their earlier conversation, whispering to each other and occasionally glancing over at Hermione, who was savoring her dessert. As for the students from other houses, it was much the same—each group was talking loudly or quietly about whatever they fancied.

Seeing the students' reactions, Dumbledore, as headmaster, found himself in an awkward spot! Apart from a few prefects trying their best to keep their houses in order, no one else was paying him any attention; they were all still chatting away about their own matters!

After every term's opening feast, there was always the customary headmaster's speech. Usually, Dumbledore never liked to say much; he would just mumble a few words and call it a night! He remembered that last school year, he had merely grunted a few incoherent syllables before dismissing everyone!

This was because, during his travels in his youth, Dumbledore had witnessed how some leaders in the Muggle world would grab a group of students on a freezing winter morning and deliver long-winded speeches on the playground! They would go on and on without pause, talking until their faces were red and their necks were thick, never stopping even as the sun rose, completely ignoring the students shivering in the cold, their resentment boiling over and their murderous glares! Those people thought the longer they spoke, the more they could assert their presence! Little did they know, the students on the playground were itching to drag them off the podium and give them a good beating!

So, after becoming headmaster, Dumbledore always took that as a lesson. He never spoke to the students for too long. Unless it was something truly important, he wouldn't say a single extra word! Most of the time, he would just grunt a few syllables and then be off!

But now, the situation was a bit special. He, Dumbledore, needed to say a few more things—but just a few, he promised it wouldn't exceed five minutes! Not even five minutes! Yet, when he wanted to speak now, the students below were showing him such disrespect! This was utterly outrageous! Well, they left him no choice! So, he pulled the Elder Wand from his sleeve and touched it to his throat.

"Silence, please!!" A massive wave of sound swept through the entire Great Hall, the shockwave rattling the students' eardrums. After it passed, they finally lowered their hands from their ears and fell silent! All eyes turned to their headmaster.

Dumbledore saw that the Sonorus charm had worked well and nodded in satisfaction. He slowly lowered the Elder Wand from his throat. The old man was pleased with his spell; in his view, his authority was still quite solid. Look, they quieted down, didn't they? The students still loved and respected him as always!

"Ahem! Students! Today, this old man wants to say a few more things. First, a new school year has arrived! Welcome back to Hogwarts!!" No sooner had Dumbledore finished his first sentence than a thunderous round of applause erupted, lasting for ages.

Dumbledore had to press his hands down many times before the disruptive applause finally stopped! This annoyed him greatly! I haven't even finished my speech, what are you clapping for? Trying to cause trouble, are you? Oh! I see! The ringleaders are the Weasley twins? Excellent! This old man will remember you two! Huh? What was I about to say next? Damn! I've lost my train of thought! I've forgotten my lines!

For several seconds, Dumbledore just stood there awkwardly, staring at the students in the hall, unable to continue! Because he had completely forgotten what he was going to say next! After a while, Professor McGonagall, noticing the headmaster's predicament, cleared her throat twice, hinting for him to look at little Annie beside her. That was what they had been discussing earlier.

Oh! Right! That was it! Exactly! It was about little Annie! Thanks to McGonagall's timely reminder, Dumbledore finally snapped back to reality and remembered what he had been about to say next!

"Ahem! Ladies and gentlemen! By now, you should all be aware that some things have happened in the wizarding world recently. I'm sure you've all heard about the Gringotts incident. So..." Once again, before Dumbledore could finish, a buzz of noise arose! The students, ignoring the headmaster's speech, began whispering among themselves.

"Wow! I know this! I know! I've read every related newspaper!" a Slytherin student boasted to a clueless classmate beside him.

"Pfft! I know it too! Of course! It's about the Gringotts Wizarding Bank thing, right?" another Slytherin student replied dismissively. In her view, no one in the wizarding world could possibly be unaware of the Gringotts incident.

"What are you all talking about? What exactly happened?" This came from a bewildered third-year Slytherin, looking around at the excited chatter. She had no idea what they were on about! She had just gone on holiday—how had she become so out of the loop? Had she missed something?

"What?! You really don't know?" The people around her stared in shock! Was this girl from a Muggle family? But that couldn't be right! Slytherin had never heard of a witch from a Muggle family, had she? So how could she not know?

"I... I spent the whole holiday at my grandfather's castle in the countryside! It's very remote, and the location is kept secret—owls can't even get in, so of course I don't know!" Her grandfather's home was actually a place protected by the Fidelius Charm. Without her grandfather, the Secret Keeper, granting permission, no person or animal could find it! And she had never left the castle's protection range the entire holiday, while her grandfather didn't want to be disturbed by outside affairs, so not knowing about Gringotts was understandable!

"Oh, I see! Well, let me tell you now—those Goblins at Gringotts really got the short end of the stick! They..."

Dumbledore watched with a face full of exasperation as the students below erupted into heated discussions again. This time, he pressed his hands down several times but still couldn't pull the arguing students' attention back.

Fine! Dumbledore took a deep breath. You've forced this old man's hand! Time for the big guns! So, he touched his wand to his throat again. The professors nearby quickly covered their ears, while some more elegant ones tapped their heads with their wands, presumably casting some noise-canceling charm on themselves.

"SILENCE, PLEASE!!!"

An even louder boom of sound waves swept out, making the entire hall seem to tremble! Then, a ringing echo buzzed in the students' ears.

Dumbledore put his wand away again, looking at the dazed students below with a satisfied nod. There, finally quiet, are we? Did you really think this old man had no temper? When I go wild, even I'm scared of myself!

"Students! This term, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be adding a special open course! The schedule will be sent to your prefects shortly! This course will teach you new knowledge that doesn't exist in the wizarding world! And most importantly: this course won't count toward your grades, and everyone can choose to attend or not! However, as headmaster, I must remind you here—if you can go, it's best to go and listen!" Dumbledore looked at the curious students below, who dared not start discussing again, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, now, let's welcome your new open course teacher! Annie! Professor Annie Hastur!" Dumbledore started clapping first, but he awkwardly noticed that aside from himself and a few professors, hardly any students responded. They just stared blankly at the little girl standing up from the teachers' table.

"Hello everyone! My name is Annie. Nice to meet you all!" Annie slowly floated up from the teachers' table, hovering in midair at the same height as Dumbledore, and gave a perfect curtsy to the students of the four houses.

This term, she would serve as a specially invited professor at Hogwarts, teaching the students some magical knowledge from the world of Valoran! This was the result of negotiations during her last meeting with Dumbledore. In return, Dumbledore would, within a year, gather all the magical materials needed to activate the Space Stone's magic array! Because after one failed Space Gate, Annie planned to use the time while the Stone was charging to prepare a more precise and perfect array to activate the Space Stone!

"Whoa~!" After Annie finished speaking, the entire hall buzzed with excitement again. Some people were only now noticing the little girl sitting at the teachers' table!

That little girl! She was the one who orchestrated the entire Gringotts Wizarding Bank incident! Even after all this time, the Daily Prophet still devoted nearly half its pages to the fallout from Gringotts! People were eager to see any new news about the event!

Even now, different opinions were still being hotly debated in the Daily Prophet! Everyone had their own take on the incident, but the one common point was the acknowledgment of Annie's strength! Though some assessments remained highly controversial, the entire wizarding world basically agreed on one thing: this little girl named Annie was a powerful witch on par with Dumbledore and You-Know-Who!!

After the feast ended and everyone began to leave, on the way back to the Gryffindor common room, Ron was still a bit dazed! He had never imagined that the powerful little girl would actually be teaching them magic! She was only an eight-year-old girl, right? And she had become a specially invited professor at Hogwarts! That was just too... well, her strength was undeniable—a witch on par with Dumbledore as a professor was only natural!

And when he thought about himself at eight? What was he doing back then? Still playing in the mud? Or trying to sneak the goodies his mom had locked in the cupboard? Ron shook his head quickly. Better not compare! The damage was just too great! It would be a critical hit!

"Hey! Hermione! What do you think Annie... uh, Professor Annie will teach us?" Ron still felt a bit awkward calling a girl much younger than him "Professor," but he was very interested in what she would teach! Since it didn't count toward grades, had no exams, and no homework, it was worth a listen!

"Hmph! No comment!"

Hermione certainly knew what Annie would teach! It had all been settled during that meeting in the headmaster's office with Dumbledore! But she wasn't about to tell Ron and Harry now!

Not after the way they had been badmouthing her under their breath! Calling her "Hermione, who used a little girl's strength to rob a bank"? "Hermione, a fox using the tiger's might"? What kind of talk was that? Were they even friends anymore? Just because they whispered didn't mean she couldn't hear! There was such a thing in this world called eavesdropping magic! Hermione couldn't be bothered to respond; she shot them a glare and strode ahead faster!

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