At lunchtime, the long table in the Great Hall was moved to the wall, and a table that could seat twelve people was placed in the center. When Harry, Dobby, and Hermione came downstairs to eat, the professors were already seated at their places.
Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Professor Flitwick sat calmly in their chairs, while the caretaker Filch, was chatting with Director Lorne. Filch even took off his brown coat, which he always wore, and put on a dark, worn-out tailcoat.
Besides Harry and Hermione, only three students remained at the school: two first-year students and one fifth-year Slytherin student.
"Merry Christmas," Dumbledore, having returned to school sometime earlier. "It would be too disjointed for us to sit separately. Would you mind if we dined together?"
Harry shook his head. The two first-year students, having stumbled into a high-level situation, were already too excited to speak, while the fifth-year Slytherin student was ashen-faced and refused to communicate.
"Did you think I was going to give you another lecture?" Dumbledore spoke, as if a squirrel were hiding inside. "No way, let's eat right now."
Harry was starving, and seeing that the professors had already started eating, he eagerly reached for a potato.
The Great Hall doors suddenly opened.
Harry, holding a potato, was unsure whether to eat it or not. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw Professor Trelawney Divination teacher.
Perhaps because it was Christmas, the amount of metallic sequins on her clothes was even more excessive, and paired with her green undershirt, Harry even suspected that she was dressed as a Christmas tree.
" Sybill, it's a pleasure to have you here." Dumbledore immediately conjured a chair and invited Trelawney to sit down.
Trelawney's voice was ethereal, and her stress on each word was off. "I was looking at the crystal ball, Professor, and I saw myself abandoning solitude and joining the feast of destiny—forgive me for being late."
"Not late at all, we've just started our meal." Dumbledore gestured again to the chair beside her.
"I can't, Professor. If I sit down, we'll have thirteen people, which is Grim number. Whenever thirteen people dine together, the first person to stand up is sure to be the first to die."
"We're willing to take the risk, Sybill," Professor McGonagall said impatiently, "Sit down, the turkey's getting cold."
"Some of us will always be the first to die, even if no one gets up," Hermione argued quietly.
"It's a pity Lupin isn't here, otherwise we could have made fourteen... That shouldn't be an ominous number, right?" Lorne suddenly spoke up, sitting next to Harry.
"You should know why Professor Lupin isn't here, right?" Professor McGonagall, one of Hogwarts' most rational twins, served Trelawney a bowl of tripe soup and launched into a surprise attack.
"Of course, Minerva," Trelawney replied coldly, "He's a pitiful man. I've known everything about him, but I won't go around proclaiming my omniscience. Instead, I always pretend to be completely clueless about Divination."
Lorne curled his lip. To be honest, if he had to choose a charlatan from everyone present, it would definitely be Professor Trelawney.
Divination is like the Wizarding World within the Wizarding World, something truly mysterious and enigmatic. Although Professor McGonagall is a wizard, she believes in the scientific and absolute nature of knowledge and has never liked Divination or the eccentric Professor Trelawney.
The other most rational of the twins, Hermione, also likes to perfect herself by arranging and combining absolutely rational knowledge. She will dislike any subject that is outside her cognitive scope and has no obvious practical use.
At the dinner table, Professor McGonagall and Professor Trelawney were at each other's throats, constantly bickering. Harry even heard Dobby laugh Dobby times beside him.
"Wait," Lorne suddenly stood up, "As the Head of General Affairs Office at Hogwarts, I have something to say."
"Oh my god, darling, how did you get up?" Professor Trelawney screamed, covering her mouth.
" Quiet down, Sybill," Professor McGonagall snapped, then turned to Lorne reassuringly. "Don't worry, there won't be any executioners lining the Great Hall doors to chop your head off. You can continue, Lorne."
"Let me offer a toast," Lorne said habitually, then immediately corrected himself, "Oh, no, I mean I've never had the chance to have a private get-together with the professors before. It's a rare treat to have everyone together today. I've only been at Hogwarts for less than three years, so I hope the professors will offer me much guidance."
The professors were completely baffled. They knew Lorne's character all too well; he would never say such things without a reason.
Sure enough, Lorne chuckled the next second, " The General Affairs Office also wanted to prepare some nice gifts for all the professors for Christmas this year, but it seems that Professor Dumbledore forgot to approve my funding."
It's no wonder Lorne Dumbledore in public; the headmaster has been elusive lately, and Lorne's visits to his Headmaster's Office have all been fruitless.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Doesn't the General Affairs Office have purchasing authority? Go ahead and buy it. Because of the Dementor ' attack, the Ministry of Magic has approved a significant increase in the budget for Hogwarts."
Lorne's words got the adults at the table talking, and they began to comment on each other's work. McGonagall and Professor Trelawney openly praised but subtly criticized each other, and they argued sharply.
Dumbledore patted Snape on the arm, praising him for his dedication to Hogwarts and for never bringing up the topic of a raise, no matter how busy he was.
Then he turned his attention to Lorne: " Lorne too, Hogwarts can't lose you. I'm very relieved to have the school in your hands."
He lauded Lorne's professional abilities to the skies, but made no mention of the salary issue, since Lorne had indeed asked Dumbledore to raise the professors' salaries several times.
Lorne gave a wry smile, "I have no regrets about my salary, Professor."
The meal was a great success, with Dumbledore even blowing his beard and drinking mead. He demonstrated his fireworks magic to the younger students, which resulted in Professor McGonagall secretly confiscating his dessert.
With Lorne being the first to stand up, everyone else ignored Trelawney's curse and left their seats.
Professor Snape walked past Harry, wiping his mouth and sporting slicked-back hair. Harry could even smell the Potions emanating from his robes.
Hermione followed Professor McGonagall to her office, Harry figured the two of them definitely had a lot to talk about.
As for himself—after glancing at the other professors still seated at the table, Harry straightened up and gave a slight bow. "Professors, I need to speak with Professor Lupin. Do you know where he is?"
Professor Trelawney covered her mouth. "Darling, I don't recommend you go see him at this time—"
Lorne suddenly interrupted, "It's alright, I also need to see him. I'll take you with me."
He turned to Dumbledore and Professor Trelawney: "Don't worry, Dobby will be coming with us too. Nothing will go wrong."
Dobby already jumped off the chair, but he was too short for anyone to notice.
Dobby was prepared long ago.