286: The New DADA Professor Smith White
Helga Hufflepuff, seated at the staff table, met Rhys's gaze across the Great Hall from where he sat at the Slytherin table. From those eyes, she saw a flicker of something different.
Helga silently thought to herself: Hopefully those Dementors have enough sense not to cause trouble, or she and Salazar would have to deal with it.
And judging by Dumbledore's tone, he seemed rather displeased about the Dementors being stationed outside the school too? That made her feel slightly better.
After reminding the students of the usual cautions, Dumbledore began announcing this year's staffing changes at Hogwarts.
"I regret to inform you all that Professor Kettleburn, who taught Care of Magical Creatures, has retired. His replacement is none other than our very own Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin!"
As Dumbledore finished the introduction, Lupin stood up and waved to the young witches and wizards below.
After a year of nurturing at Hogwarts, he looked much healthier, and his robes had been replaced with a well-fitted, new set. Returning to the school had given Lupin a new lease on life.
The hall was filled with a mix of sighs and applause. Over the past year, Lupin had won over the students as a dependable teacher. Thankfully, he hadn't left entirely—just changed positions, and the one he transferred to suited him well.
A few students even had ambiguous smiles tugging at the corners of their mouths: the "curse" was becoming more prestigious!
The professors at the staff table reacted in various ways.
Snape, for one, was extremely displeased about Lupin's continued employment: just thinking about having to work alongside Remus Lupin for the rest of his life made him want to hand in his resignation and flee.
The remaining professors didn't show much emotion—except for Helga.
At this moment, she was studying Lupin with a curious gaze.
She knew this teacher was a werewolf, one who had been cured using the Human Restoration she and Rowena had invented. Now, she was observing Lupin like a doctor examining a patient.
"Our gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid, will also be serving as the Teaching Assistant for Care of Magical Creatures!" Dumbledore's next announcement caused an uproar at the Gryffindor table.
The young Gryffindors clapped enthusiastically, celebrating for Hagrid. Hagrid himself blushed deeply, his wild black beard barely concealing a truly heartfelt smile.
Helga glanced at Hagrid and raised an eyebrow: such an obvious half-giant—her gaze shifted briefly to Flitwick, and she muttered silently to herself: and there's a half-goblin too—they were able to attend Hogwarts and even become professors.
Hogwarts was far more open and accepting now than it had been a thousand years ago.
She couldn't help but wonder: What did Salazar think about this?
Rhys had no particular thoughts on the matter. What mattered to him was whether a person was "reliable." Hagrid and Flitwick were undoubtedly reliable, so he naturally welcomed them joining Hogwarts.
After the applause died down, Dumbledore moved on to introduce the main highlight of the day—the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
In truth, most of the students already suspected it would be that unfamiliar witch, but everyone was eager to hear how Dumbledore would introduce her.
"Finally, to fill the vacancy in Defense Against the Dark Arts, we have Professor Smith White. She is a very special witch—" Dumbledore turned to look at Helga, seeking her approval to reveal her old secrets.
Helga Hufflepuff had no objections—after all, that so-called "secret" was fabricated from the start.
"She is a witch from several centuries ago."
Boom!
The Great Hall erupted in an instant.
Before this, Helga—who looked utterly ordinary, like an old granny from the countryside—hadn't drawn much attention. But the moment she was labeled as someone from centuries ago, she immediately became the focus of every student's curiosity.
Everyone looked up, carefully observing the Hufflepuff founder seated at the staff table, hoping to discern something from her face.
Which era did she come from?
How could she have lived for hundreds of years?
Just how old was she, really?
Countless questions sprang up in the young witches' and wizards' minds, but no one had yet dared to voice them. The Great Hall briefly fell into silence.
In the end, Fred from Gryffindor suddenly stood up and loudly asked, "Professor White, how did you achieve immortality?"
Helga smiled and stood up, replying that she hadn't used any kind of magical means—she had simply been trapped in a special ruin.
Fred became even more curious, but unfortunately, Helga didn't continue on that topic. Instead, she turned to speak to all the students in the Great Hall.
"The rain outside is really pouring, isn't it?"
Although it seemed a bit off-topic, in Britain, weather truly was the universal conversation starter. With that simple sentence, Helga instantly resonated with the students, who all began complaining about the miserable weather.
"In this kind of weather, everyone should have something warm to drink." Helga smiled as she looked down at the students, then drew her wand.
With a flick of her wand, a small copper cup appeared in front of everyone—including the professors—and steaming hot mulled wine rose up from the bottom of each cup, filling it to the brim.
After that, she twirled her wand again, and the handles of the copper cups sprouted decorations corresponding to each house.
The students watched all of this unfold, one and all stunned by Professor White's spellcasting abilities.
"Cheers!" Helga raised her cup and saluted the whole school.
"Cheers!" The students, caught up in the cheerful mood, all lifted their cups in response and drank the hot mulled wine in one go.
As the warm liquid hit their stomachs, the chill brought on by the cold rain was driven out of their bodies, and fine beads of sweat formed on everyone's foreheads.
As Rhys swallowed the mulled wine, he inwardly grumbled about Helga's "public drinking" stunt—wasn't she the one just complaining about students getting drunk in the Hogsmeade pubs?
"Mulled wine is nice, but don't go overboard," Helga said once everyone had set their cups down. With another flick of her wand, every cup was refilled—with clear water this time.
"What kind of drinks do you all like?" Helga asked the students another question.
"Butterbeer!"
"Pumpkin juice!"
"Cola!"
The hall buzzed with a mix of enthusiastic, overlapping responses.
Helga ignored the strange, unserious requests and the drinks she'd never even heard of, instead choosing the safe and universally accepted option: pumpkin juice.
Raising her wand and pointing it lightly toward the hall, the clear water in each student's cup instantly turned into a golden-orange pumpkin juice.
Students: ?!
They each took a sip, and upon realizing it was genuinely pumpkin juice, the excitement in the Great Hall grew even stronger.
Without even teaching a single lesson, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had already left a strong impression.
Only Malfoy looked extremely sour. He stared in silence at the copper goblet before him, decorated with a snake-shaped engraving.
Helga, observing the students' reactions, curved her lips into a faint smile: after tonight's little display, she didn't believe that swindling merchant would be able to sell off those three goblets!
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