Sirius's Change

Before today, Kyle had never imagined that Sirius would come to Hogwarts as a professor... and Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at that.

No wonder he became the first Gryffindor in the House of Black; he was truly brave.

Kyle just hoped that he wouldn't be locked up in Azkaban again for some inexplicable reason when the semester ended. Of course, if that happened, Kyle wouldn't be surprised.

Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts... well, that's a notoriously short-lived position in the Wizarding World, so nothing is surprising.

Professor Dumbledore gets turned away every year because of this, and his reputation has been getting worse and worse in recent years, which is inextricably linked to this incident.

However, Kyle quickly realized that Sirius was probably already on Dumbledore's list, and even if he didn't come this year, he would probably be asked to be a professor later... After all, this position is really hard to fill.

Given Sirius's personality, he most likely wouldn't refuse.

After Sirius was introduced, the dinner party came to an end.

Snape was the first to stand up, his face grim as he strode out of the Great Hall.

But as he passed Sirius, he heard an undisguised sneer.

"Hmph..."

Snape paused, turned around, and looked at him coldly.

"Oh, isn't this our hero..." Snape said expressionlessly. "I thought you would be crying at home because of those who died because of you... but it seems I was wrong. Your feelings for Harry Potter don't seem to be that deep."

"Shut up, you Snivellus." Sirius's expression quickly turned cold. "You should know very well who killed James and Lily... If you hadn't gone to tell your master..."

"Two professors."

Professor Dumbledore appeared just in time, interrupting the two who were locked in a heated argument.

He said with a slight headache, "I don't think the Great Hall is a good place to chat. How about we grab a cup of tea? I just found a really good black tea recently."

"No," Snape scoffed. "I don't want to have tea with Dementor for lunch; the rotten smell makes me uncomfortable."

"Me too..." Sirius retorted without backing down, "I'd rather have tea with Dementor than sit across from someone like you."

Dumbledore more troubled. Although he had expected this to happen, he hadn't anticipated that the two of them would become so tense so soon after they met.

Fortunately, their voices weren't loud, and the Great Hall was noisy, so the students didn't hear what they said...

Cedric, who was organizing the younger students into lines, glanced towards the High Table and muttered, "Kyle, Snape, and Black seem to have a strained relationship."

"That's normal," Kyle said casually. "He doesn't get along with any of the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts ... Don't glare at me, Kanna, it's true."

"Think about it, from Oren in first grade, to Quirrell, Lockhart, Lupin... isn't it all the same?"

Kanna hesitated for a long time before finally letting out a helpless sigh.

Snape's relationship with the other professors wasn't exactly good, but it wasn't bad either, except for the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts... Even just mentioning them would elicit a sarcastic remark from Snape, and that was a fact that even she couldn't refute.

Fortunately, the topic didn't continue. Once the seats in front became available, the three of them led the younger students back to the common room.

the next day.

I watched all of your matches that day.

In the Entrance Hall, Sirius stopped Kyle, who was on his way to breakfast. "That was amazing! That old turtle Karkaroff actually deducted a point from you. I really want to teach him a lesson."

"You're a professor now, you need to be mindful of your image," Kyle reminded him.

"Yes, I'm a professor now..." Sirius said. "I never thought I'd be able to come back here, especially as a professor... When Professor Dumbledore agreed, I thought I was dreaming."

Dreaming? Perhaps so in other subjects, but Defense Against the Dark Arts... honestly, Dumbledore would love for someone to volunteer.

Having one more person is just right, as a backup option. If one of them can make it to the next school year, he won't have to keep getting turned away.

Kyle looked Sirius up and down.

He was wearing a brand-new robe, and his previously messy hair was neatly combed and pulled back.

Moreover, after a period of recuperation, his complexion improved significantly; his previously sallow face became rosy and radiant, and one could vaguely see glimpses of his youthful handsomeness...

"Aren't you worried?" Kyle asked. "This position has always been a yearly contract, without exception."

"I've thought about this," Sirius said confidently. "I joined halfway through, and there's Alastor Moody ahead of me. Even if there's a curse, it won't affect me..."

And most importantly, all the previous professors had their own problems, which ultimately forced them to leave Hogwarts, but I didn't, and neither did Professor Moody...

"Besides, we're both pretty skilled; even if we encounter Death Eaters or something, we can handle them."

Seeing his confident expression, Kyle didn't say anything more.

After all, even if I told him, he might not listen... So be it.

"Have you seen Harry?" Kyle asked.

"Ah, I saw him." Sirius couldn't help but chuckle. "We talked for a long time last night, and he even wanted to stay in my office... Of course, I'd be happy to, but I just got here today, and there's nothing in the office. I can't exactly make him sleep on a chair."

"On another note, how come I never noticed before that the furniture at Hogwarts is so old? Those chairs look older than me."

"That's always been the case." Kyle shrugged.

That's the downside of Hogwarts; if something breaks, you can fix it with magic, so there's no need to buy new ones... The School Governor members obviously wouldn't spend that much extra money to replace the school's desks and chairs.

The two then walked towards the Great Hall together, and chatted about the Triwizard Tournament.

"How's the second clue coming along?" Sirius asked. "If you need anything, feel free to ask me for help... but you have to come secretly, don't let anyone else find out. The Triwizard Tournament rules state that professors aren't allowed to help."

"There are still three months left, no rush... Oh, and I haven't thanked you yet."

Kyle said, "That Firebolt was a huge help. If it were my previous Nimbus 2000, I wouldn't have been able to dodge twenty-nine Bludger, let alone get rid of the Dragon."

"It's quite a coincidence," Sirius said with a smile. "I originally wanted to give you a set of solid gold constellation ornaments as a gift for Champion, but Professor Dumbledore told me you might prefer a broom... and the Quidditch shop staff also said that the Nimbus 2000 is indeed quite outdated."

"Professor Dumbledore?" Kyle asked in surprise. "He suggested you give me a broom?"

"Ah...yeah." Sirius shrugged. "We met at the Ministry of Magic. I happened to be there that day helping them investigate Crouch."

"Thank goodness he said that! See, it's come in handy now!"