Unexpected Offer

"I thought resurrection was a very common thing," Anthony said, glancing at Dumbledore's silver-white beard covertly, "I mean, it's very common for you."

To be honest, the other person looked like he had been there for centuries. If the kind old man had told him that he had been resurrected five times, he would have believed it.

"Actually no, Mr. Anthony. You shocked Rufus and me," Dumbledore smiled, "But I think you misunderstood. What you experienced was not resurrection."

Scrimgeour said with a straight face, "I thought you were going to try to convince me that this was a case of resurrection."

"No, Rufus, I am not so old that I have lost my respect for the rules of magic," Dumbledore said. "If you ask me, I would say that Mr. Anthony experienced his first awakening when he was twenty-seven years old. A magical riot. 

Dumbledore's blue eyes looked at Rufus gently, "I may not be a Potions Master, but you should believe that an old man might be able to tell the difference between Veritaserum. I must say, you are a little aggressive in your treatment of our guests."

"The necromancer and Azkaban escapee," muttered the head of the Auror. "He's just lucky that Mad-Eye isn't here."

Anthony frowned and said, "But I really..."

Dumbledore interrupted him, "I believe you are not trying to lie, kid. But the truth is not necessarily the truth, is it?" He gave Anthony a sharp look from behind his crescent-shaped glasses, and Anthony made no further attempt to argue.

At that moment, he looked so much like his middle school teacher—what if his teacher suddenly decided to change gender, grow a beard, change his eyes to blue, somehow break the bridge of his nose, and take a liking to dark blue robes and hats— And he has always been a little in awe of middle school teachers.

Scrimgeour took his silence as acquiescence, "A natural necromancer who experienced time magic, Dumbledore, you are giving me a problem. What should I do, send him to the Department of Mysteries?"

His yellow eyes stared intently at Dumbledore, like a lion waiting for its prey.

"Of course not, Rufus," Dumbledore smiled, "Although no one can deny Mr. Anthony's talent, he has not received formal magic education after all. Yes, of course, this is my dereliction of duty, so I sincerely would like to suggest that you allow me to make amends for this, okay?"

Scrimgeour and Dumbledore looked at each other.

"Dumbledore, you want to Vouch for another dark wizard?" he asked.

"If you want to understand it that way, then yes," Dumbledore became serious. "I don't want to argue with you anymore. He will come with me. This is an indisputable fact for me. Think about it, a person who can come and go out freely in Azkaban. He is a necromancer who can move a legion of undead which are laid under this prison".

"Even...even if, we could kill this possibility early!" Scrimgeour whispered fiercely, "with a Dementor's kiss."

Dumbledore gave him a meaningful look, "Think about history. You have read more detailed history than what is in the textbook. Think about it."

Scrimgeour sat back down at the table. He suddenly looked quite tired.

"Hogwarts is a magic school for minors." He finally said, "Twenty-seven years old is not a minor in any way."

Dumbledore thought, "That's true. Well...perhaps, Mr. Anthony, would you like to come to Hogwarts to take up a position?"

Anthony considered it carefully.

"I don't have a better choice, do I?"

"I'm afraid not," said Dumbledore apologetically. "Cashier sounds really great, but I guarantee that teaching positions at Hogwarts are stable... usually. In that case, Anthony - please allow me to call you that - I would like to welcome you on behalf of Hogwarts..."

"Oh, no." An artificial voice sounded in the fireplace. Anthony was startled. There was a woman's head suspended in the fire, grinning with a big mouth like a toad.

"Umbridge, it's good to see you," Scrimgeour said, sounding completely unconvinced. "What orders does our respected Minister Fudge have?"

"Ahem, I'm sorry to interrupt you. But I do want to remind you that if you let the Necromancer to teach cute children, the people will not be particularly happy." Umbridge said, "You know who they will ask You're the one who complained, right?"

She said delicately, "Besides, even if you decide not to pursue the matter of undead magic...oh, the Aurors will understand, right? Just tell them that this is what Dumbledore meant. According to Article 73 of the International Statute of Secrecy, we must at least destroy his wand. Since he claims to have no wand, as a rule, he should be deprived of his spellcasting ability."

She spoke without even looking at Anthony as if discussing what to do with a statue. 

Anthony interjected, "Take away the ability to cast spells?"

Somehow, even as a head in a fireplace, Umbridge was able to achieve a condescending gesture of intimacy. She smiled and said, "The life without hands may not be easy at first, but you will get used to it, my dear."

"I'm afraid that won't work, madam. I still need my hands to count the goods." Anthony looked directly at her, "And I don't need hands to cast spells."

Umbridge screamed and disappeared.

Scrimgeour jumped up from his seat, "What did you do?" A beam of red light shot straight from his wand to Anthony, but was blocked by blue light halfway, "Dumbledore!"

Dumbledore shook his head, "Quirinus will come back as Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. If you remember, he was previously a Professor of Muggle Studies. And considering Anthony's experience, I think he is just perfect. Qualified to teach Muggle Studies."

At this time there was a knock on the office door. A chubby face came in and smiled kindly, "Oh, Albus, what a surprise! I heard you had a little problem."

"Minister." Scrimgeour stood up and nodded to him, "Headmaster Dumbledore wants to appoint Mr. Anthony as a professor at Hogwarts."

"Ah, Albus, you always amaze me." Fudge nodded, "Of course, there is no problem at all. As long as Mr. Anthony accepts the punishment he deserves for his illegal behavior, he will become an innocent magical citizen again. Whatever career he wants to have is fine."

Anthony cleared his throat. He didn't understand why these Ministry bigwigs were so good at treating him like a statue.

"I am an innocent citizen," he insisted, saying the "yes" clearly.

Dumbledore smiled at him, almost making him feel like he was being unreasonable.

Dumbledore turned to Fudge and simply asked, "And what does it cost him?"

"The Necromancer has repeatedly violated the law of secrecy and resisted the Ministry of Magic's mission..." Fudge pondered, "Oh, why didn't Hogwarts register this wizard? Now things have become much more complicated. Let's take it lightly, Like? Take away the ability to cast spells?"

Dumbledore apologized for the school's negligence and rejected Fudge's plan.

The Headmaster of Hogwarts proposed that he vouch for future professor.

Fudge was defeated and said with some annoyance, "Of course, Albus, of course! As long as you want!"

Scrimgeour said nothing the whole time.

Anthony was amazed.

Dumbledore put his hand on his shoulder: "Okay, Anthony, we still have some contracts to sign. Maybe you would like to go back to Hogwarts with me?" His hand revealed an attitude that could not be refused, "If we're lucky, we can catch the afternoon tea."