The Opening Banquet

During the rest of the journey, aside from the necessary inspections of the carriages, everyone's conversation revolved around Moody, who had been attacked, and the Death Eaters.

They were eager to know whether the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts would be replaced this year, or whether Sirius would be in charge alone.

If it's the latter, will Sirius be attacked?

The train continued northward, and the weather remained unpredictable. It started raining again, and the raindrops tapped intermittently on the window, making one feel drowsy.

Suddenly, the lights in the carriage came on.

"We'd better change our clothes," Qiu said, glancing out the window. "We should be there soon."

Fred and George began to put on their robes, and Cedric opened the box door in advance.

Finally, the train slowly slowed down, and a commotion arose as everyone crowded into the aisle, preparing to disembark.

Because the Prefect needed to maintain order, Kyle and the others were the last to leave the carriage.

A man carrying an oil lamp called out loudly for the first-year students to pass, but the lamp was much lower than in previous years.

"Look, that's not Hagrid." Fred noticed something was wrong and asked, "Do you know who she is?"

She was a witch, and unlike the unkempt Hagrid, her hair was neatly styled and meticulously trimmed.

At that moment, she was shouting loudly, calling for the first-year students to gather in front of her.

However, no one had any recollection of this person.

"She is Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank," Kyle suddenly said. "A somewhat well-known Magizoologist who has published many articles about Unicorn."

"Fantastic Beasts ..." George couldn't help but say, "Is the school going to replace Hagrid with another one?"

"Probably not." Kyle shook his head. "I think Hagrid just had something come up, which is why he asked her to help welcome the new students."

If he wasn't mistaken, Hagrid and Madame Maxime should still be in the Giant ' territory... trying to persuade them to join the Order of the Phoenix instead of the Death Eaters.

However, this task is not easy.

Giant are inherently brutal, and the Death Eaters ' ideology is clearly more in line with their nature... Of course, all of this depends on whether Hagrid can persuade them.

Without paying any more attention to Grubbly-Plank, the group walked with the crowd toward the carriage.

Along the way, Kyle noticed that Kanna would glance at him every now and then.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," Kanna shook her head. "You just seem to be in a good mood. Is something making you happy?"

"I guess so... but was I that obvious?" Kyle touched his face.

"It wasn't obvious, but I could tell," Kanna said with a smile. "And you didn't slack off on the train either...you were always pushing the Prefect tasks onto Cedric."

"She's right," Cedric said quietly from the side.

"Don't worry, it won't happen again next time." Kyle chuckled dryly.

"That's for sure," Cedric said irritably. "I'm in seventh grade this year, graduating next year. I can't possibly come back just to help you maintain order."

"That's a good idea," Kyle said with a smile.

He's in a really good mood today, mainly because of last night.

After Newt recounted in detail the scene of his encounter with Voldemort that day, and the entire process of how the Death Eaters used it to cause him trouble afterward, Newt finally put away the parchment and did not mention writing a letter to Dumbledore again.

Of course, Kyle also promised him that he would never release the contents of the chest unless he encountered Death Eaters.

To be honest, that was exactly what Kyle was thinking, so he agreed very readily.

Now he has three trump cards, his safety is maximized. To put it bluntly, even if he encounters Voldemort, he can hold his own for a while and then make a comfortable escape.

In this situation, he would naturally be very happy.

Although he tried his best to restrain himself, Kanna still saw through him.

However, Kanna didn't ask any further questions. The group boarded an empty carriage and slowly made their way towards the castle.

A dozen minutes later, the carriage stopped in front of the stone steps leading to the oak gate, and Fred was the first to jump down.

He glanced towards the field from a distance.

"Hagrid's Hut has no lights."

"That's for sure." Qiu also came down. "If he were here, there would be no need for Ms. Grubbly-Plank to help with the newborns."

"Hurry up and go inside, it's really cold outside."

"Oh, okay." Fred quickly followed the crowd up the stone steps.

They walked through the warm Entrance Hall and headed right toward the main door leading to the Great Hall, preparing to attend the upcoming opening banquet.

"Look, I told you they'd get here eventually," Kyle said, pointing to the Gryffindor table as soon as they entered the Great Hall.

There, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were waving their hands incessantly.

They were sitting in the front seats, clearly the first to arrive.

If Kyle is not mistaken, Mrs. Weasley must have used Apparition to send them to Hogsmeade and then returned to school from there.

This is also the fastest method.

Fred and George immediately went over to ask them the question that had been troubling them all the way, and Cho also went to Ravenclaw.

Kyle, Kanna, Cedric went to the Hufflepuff table and found a row of empty seats next to it.

As soon as he sat down, Cedric looked eagerly toward the High Table.

"Oh, it's alright."

Sirius was still sitting in his original spot, which meant that the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts had not changed this year.

Finding a reliable Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts these days isn't easy. While Sirius isn't as good as Professor Moody, he's still quite good, much better than Quirrell or Lockhart.

The only problem now is that nobody knows how long he can continue teaching.

Cedric hoped he could make it through the semester, since he would graduate next year, and then it wouldn't matter what kind of professor came along.

That's a question Kyle should be considering.

Thinking about this, he suddenly noticed that Kyle was staring blankly at the High Table.

What are you looking at?

Kyle shook his head.

He was a little surprised not to see Umbridge, but he quickly realized that this was normal.

Because of his own situation, the other party should be busy dealing with the people from Wizengamot right now, since he had already sent the formal application to Amelia Bones of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement via owl a few days ago.

Judging by the timing, Wizengamot should be making some moves by now. As the person being highlighted, Umbridge doesn't have time to come to Hogwarts.

That's great, I don't have to deal with that dim-witted idiot anymore.

Kyle's mood improved considerably, and even the Sorting Hat's song sounded pleasant now.

To be honest, the song created by the Sorting Hat this year wasn't very good. It seemed like they added something extra on top of a good original song, which was a piece of advice for all students, reminding everyone to unite.

Most students were discussing it amongst themselves, but only those who knew the truth understood that it was a reminder from the Sorting Hat.

After the Sorting Hat song ended, Professor McGonagall came out with a list of new students. She glared sternly at the students who were whispering to each other, and everyone immediately fell silent.

Professor McGonagall glanced at the list in her hand and loudly announced the first person's name.

"Euan Abercrombie".

A nervous-looking boy stumbled forward and was eventually sorted into Gryffindor.

A round of enthusiastic applause immediately filled the Great Hall.

Gradually, the long line of new students shortened until, half an hour later, the last person was assigned to Hufflepuff.

Kyle and the others clapped.

The banquet officially began, and various delicacies appeared out of nowhere on the table. The group, who had only managed a couple of bites on the train, forgot all about discussing anything else and immediately began to enjoy the food.

Kyle picked out a beef rib for himself and then put one on Kanna's plate. This was House-elf -elves; he had tried it once last year as a treat for himself, and it tasted quite good.

As is customary, desserts follow the main course.

Kyle tried the pudding that Kanna recommended; it had orange marmalade in it, and it was sweet and sour, perfect for finishing the meal.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the food on their plates was completely gone. Dumbledore stood up, and the Great Hall fell silent once more.

"Alright, while we digest this delicious meal, I ask everyone to be quiet for a moment and listen to my usual remarks about the new semester."

Dumbledore said, "First-year students are not allowed to enter the Forbidden Forest, nor are older students."

"Also, there are two changes in our teaching staff this year. First, Professor Moody is unable to continue teaching due to some special reasons, but Professor Black has agreed to take over the remaining three grades."

A round of applause erupted in the Great Hall, but silence remained around the Slytherin table.

They didn't want Sirius to stay in school, just as Gryffindor desperately wanted Snape expelled.

Dumbledore continued, "Also, I am pleased to introduce Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will teach you Care of Magical Creatures until our gamekeepers return."

Professor Grubbly-Plank stood up and nodded to everyone.

A round of polite applause filled the Great Hall.

"Finally, this year's Quidditch selection will take place in the second week after the start of the school year."

"Great." Cedric waved.

He'd been waiting for this.

Quidditch Match was canceled last year because of the Triwizard Tournament, and he waited a whole school year before finally hearing the news again.

"Kyle, we're sure we'll win the Quidditch Cup this year, right?" Cedric asked excitedly.

"Yes, that's right," Kyle said. "The championship is definitely ours, as your graduation gift."

"That's fantastic," Cedric said with a smile.

"Since you're so happy..." Kyle patted him on the shoulder, "Then the next batch of freshmen will be in your hands, okay?"

"No problem," Cedric blurted out without hesitation.

However, he soon noticed the constant sounds of tables and chairs clattering and murmurs coming from around him.

Just now, Dumbledore announced the disbandment of the dormitory, and everyone is preparing to return to their dormitories.

At this time of year, the Prefect of each college are responsible for guiding the new students and taking them to their dormitories.

Clearly, Kyle had pushed his own task onto him again, and he had agreed without really understanding what was going on.