The Chosen One

Snape stared at the car, whose wheels were still spinning uselessly, his face so dark it seemed ready to drip water.

Just then, the car's rear door was violently shoved open, and two bedraggled figures tumbled out, narrowly avoiding another vicious strike from the Whomping Willow.

They were Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

Snape's lips pressed into a thin line as he strode forward, his black robes billowing even more fiercely behind him like an enormous enraged bat.

He practically lifted the two still-shaken boys by their collars, one in each hand.

"Come with me." His voice was low and dangerous, as though a storm was being held back beneath it.

Perhaps because Lin Du, an "outsider," was present, he did not immediately unleash his venomous remarks. Even so, the oppressive aura around him was enough to leave Harry and Ron trembling in silence.

Lin Du followed quietly behind, watching Snape escort the two boys toward the castle.

He could hear Snape's muttered words squeezed through clenched teeth: "lawless," "reckless," "Gryffindor idiots," and the like.

They arrived outside Professor McGonagall's office.

Snape briefly explained what had happened to Professor McGonagall. "Potter and Weasley drove a flying Muggle machine and crashed into the Whomping Willow." Beneath the icy surface of his sallow face, anger burned fiercely.

Professor McGonagall's expression swiftly changed from surprise to stern disappointment.

With Lin Du present, Snape seemed to be barely maintaining the last vestiges of courtesy and did not launch into a lengthy roaring tirade at the boys in the corridor.

After "handing over" the culprits to Professor McGonagall, he turned away grimly and gestured for Lin Du to leave with him.

On their way back to the Great Hall, the atmosphere was even more stifling than before.

After walking in silence for a while, Lin Du recalled the faint lightning-shaped scar on the black-haired boy's forehead and asked curiously, "That boy just now... was Harry Potter?"

Snape gave a short, cold snort without slowing down, his voice brimming with undisguised disgust. "That's right. Harry Potter, just like his father—reckless, arrogant, conceited, and utterly contemptuous of school rules."

Lin Du had originally wanted to remark, "Flying to school in a car—that certainly has a very... Gryffindor flavor to it." But seeing Snape's dark expression, which looked ready to erupt at any moment, he wisely swallowed the words and merely said dryly, "Indeed... far too impulsive. Very dangerous."

Snape did not respond again, but the pressure around him seemed to drop another degree.

When they entered the Great Hall one after the other, now already packed to capacity, they immediately drew every student's attention.

At the staff table, Dumbledore gave them a gentle nod. Professor McGonagall had also returned, though the anger had not yet faded from her face.

Lin Du sat in the empty seat beside Snape and could clearly feel hundreds of curious gazes focused on him.

Before the feast began, Headmaster Dumbledore rose as usual to give a speech.

He briefly welcomed both the new and returning students, said a few customary words about vigilance and diligence, then turned his gaze toward Lin Du. His blue eyes twinkled behind his half-moon glasses.

"At the same time, I am pleased to introduce our new Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts for this school year—Professor Lin Du." Dumbledore smiled and gestured with one hand.

At Dumbledore's prompting, Lin Du rose calmly and faced all the students in the Great Hall.

He wore simple, well-fitted dark robes, and his posture was straight. His Eastern features appeared composed beneath the flickering candlelight, while his neatly combed black hair stood in stark contrast to the disheveled appearance of many of the surrounding wizards.

He merely gave a slight nod to the students below without saying more, then sat back down.

That brief glimpse immediately stirred an irrepressible commotion and a wave of whispers among the four long tables, louder than before.

"He looks so young!" a second-year Hufflepuff girl whispered to her companion.

"He's from the East! His hair and eye color are so unusual..." another Ravenclaw girl said, peering curiously at him.

"I hope he's more reliable than Quirrell... at least he doesn't smell like garlic all over." A third-year Gryffindor boy muttered.

"Merlin, I just hope he doesn't make us read that mind-numbingly boring Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection for another whole year." A seventh-year student wearing a prefect badge sighed, his tone full of dread at the memory of past misery.

Mixed in with the discussion were more specific comments about his appearance.

At the Slytherin table, several older boys exchanged meaningful looks. One of them drawled, his voice quiet but loud enough for those nearby to hear:

"Let's hope this year's Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts isn't just a well-dressed pretty face. This class doesn't need another useless fool who can only follow the textbook."

However, many witches—from younger students to older ones—held entirely different opinions.

"He... is rather handsome, isn't he?" A fourth-year Gryffindor girl lightly nudged her best friend with an elbow, a faint blush on her face. "He seems so calm and refined. Sitting next to Professor Snape, they have completely different styles."

"I agree," said her friend, a Ravenclaw girl, pushing up her glasses as she gave a serious assessment.

"And don't you think? He has a... well... very distinctive Eastern charm. Even if... ahem, I mean, even if his teaching is about as good as Quirrell's, at least he's pleasant to look at. Classes probably won't be so boring."

Her words drew a round of hushed laughter and agreement from several girls nearby.

Clearly, after experiencing Professor Quirrell's oddness, the students had formed complicated and divided first impressions of the new professor's appearance and temperament.

A few minutes earlier, inside Professor McGonagall's office, Harry and Ron had just survived a terrifying ordeal and received a severe warning from Professor McGonagall. They stood with their heads lowered, dejectedly listening to the reprimand.

Naturally, they missed the first surge of discussion about the new professor in the Great Hall.

"...Such recklessness is simply unheard of! Not only was it extremely irresponsible toward your own safety, but it also caused serious damage to school property and greatly increased the risk of exposing Hogwarts to Muggles!"

Professor McGonagall's voice had sharpened with anger. "Gryffindor will lose one hundred points because of this! Each! I hope you will both reflect on your actions!"

Harry and Ron went pale. One hundred points!

They could almost imagine the sort of "welcome" awaiting them when they returned to the Common Room.

When Professor McGonagall finally finished scolding them and, looking somewhat weary, dismissed them from her office, the two boys practically fled toward Gryffindor Tower.

While climbing the stairs, Ron finally caught his breath and whispered with lingering fear, "Merlin's beard... that was terrifying. I thought Snape was going to turn us into bat specimens on the spot! The way he looked at us, he practically wanted to kill us!"

Harry nodded heavily, his heart still pounding. "He looked furious... like cold air was pouring off him. But it seemed like, because that new professor was beside him, he held back from using the nastiest words to curse us out on the spot?"

"Definitely!" Ron said firmly.

Then curiosity temporarily overwhelmed his fear. "But speaking of which, that new teacher... he's our new Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, right? He looked pretty impressive. Did you see how he pulled Snape aside just now? And he actually walked beside Snape, looking completely calm, like he wasn't afraid at all."

Harry also recalled that brief but unforgettable scene: the black-haired professor's steady movements and unruffled expression.

A faint spark of curiosity rose within him. After Quirrell's stuttering strangeness, perhaps Professor Lin, who had come from the East and seemed calm in a crisis and somewhat bold, really could bring something different?

At the very least, he had indirectly kept Snape's fury from completely erupting on the spot. That was already a pretty good start.