The Sorting Hat continued to muse, "Death metal… there's plenty to draw from there, but it's hardly appropriate for the Start-of-Term Feast. So, I swapped in themes of battle and courage instead. Seems to work!"
"Ah… but that won't do either! That's far too Gryffindor! As the Sorting Hat, I can't play favorites. I'll have to think some more… Oh! Albus, have you found a band yet?"
"Band?" Dumbledore looked up from another stack of paperwork. "I'm thinking of inviting the Weird Sisters."
"They're quite popular with the younger crowd, and their style isn't all that different. What do you think?"
"I trust your taste!" The tip of the Sorting Hat gave a delighted twitch, as if chuckling. "I'll work on the lyrics a bit more…"
With that, the Sorting Hat fell silent, and the headmaster's office was once again filled only with the soft scratch of quill on parchment.
…
Night fell, and a knock at the door broke the hush.
"Come in!"
Dumbledore raised his wand and gave a gentle wave toward the towering stacks of paperwork.
Professor McGonagall appeared in the doorway, still dressed in her signature emerald-green robes—her favorite style.
Only the stack of already-reviewed files remained beside Dumbledore. "Good evening, Minerva!"
"Good evening, Albus." Professor McGonagall stepped forward and handed over a letter, sealed with a blue stamp of crossed wands.
"It's rare to get a letter from them at this hour…" Dumbledore accepted it but didn't open it, simply setting it aside.
"This is the Hogwarts partnership list for this year." He slid the stack of documents toward Professor McGonagall. "Same as always—give it a look and pass it on to the Board of Governors."
Professor McGonagall nodded and quickly leafed through the papers, a hint of displeasure creasing her brow.
"Professor Lockhart's books are rather expensive. The existing scholarships won't cover everything."
Dumbledore propped his chin on his hand, rolling his neck from side to side. "I'm well aware. That's why I've written a request—the Board of Governors will approve an additional scholarship fund."
He tapped the desk lightly, humming under his breath. "Minerva, I've been up to my ears in work lately. From your perspective, how do you find Professor Lockhart?"
A tea set materialized before Dumbledore, accompanied by a plate of colorful macarons.
Professor McGonagall's lips thinned even more as she eyed the steaming tea. She spoke at last, her tone as measured as ever: "My opinion hasn't changed since before term began, I'm afraid…"
"The position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor really doesn't suit him." She was as diplomatic as ever. "Professor Snape also asked me to pass along his regards—and to inquire why you didn't pick him."
"He has you ask me that every year." Dumbledore took a bite of macaron, a twinkle in his eye. "I've been waiting for that question—without it, something felt missing."
"As far as I know, aside from his disastrous first lesson, Lockhart seems to have continued surprising the students in subsequent classes."
Professor McGonagall glanced again at the stack of files. "Albus, you've been busy all afternoon, so you probably haven't heard about his latest mishap…"
"Fred and George—the Weasley twins—they blew up the iron cage, and the pixies escaped."
"The pixies snatched Lockhart's wand and then pointed it at… ahem… pointed it at… cough, cough, cough!"
She broke into a fit of coughing, though a barely suppressed smile tugged at her lips.
"Sounds like I missed a… well, an unfortunate incident." Dumbledore's mouth twitched with amusement. "Perhaps he's in need of some Blood-Replenishing Potion?"
"How undignified of me!" Professor McGonagall quickly regained her composure, though it was unclear if she meant herself or Lockhart.
She exhaled and continued, "It was only a minor injury—Poppy had it healed in a second."
"Back to the point! With Fred and George's talents—and their close ties with Hufflepuff—I'm afraid by tomorrow, the whole school will have heard about it."
"Albus, these past two years… especially this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts professor—it's really… well, you know what I mean. Do you think You-Know-Who's curse is real?"
Dumbledore's expression grew grave. "That's something I can't say for certain—just as I still can't say for certain whether Voldemort is truly gone."
"What I do know is that the Defense Against the Dark Arts post is… unique. We need a new professor every year, and even I find it challenging…"
"During the years we fought Voldemort, the cost was far too high. Now, there are precious few wizards qualified to teach the subject—our options are limited."
Professor McGonagall nodded, sighing softly. "I do understand."
Dumbledore went on, "Minerva, you must know—I'm certain Voldemort will return."
Professor McGonagall nodded firmly. "Of course."
Dumbledore laced his fingers together, leaning forward. "I sensed Quirinus' odd behavior, and the break-in at Gringotts confirmed my suspicions."
"Albania was Voldemort's hiding place, and Quirinus just happened to travel there. If my guess was right, it was better to keep Quirrell close—better the devil you know."
"Having a target is better than having none at all… I wanted to observe Voldemort and try to help Quirinus. I must admit, if not for Wyzett…"
He paused, fingers tightening. "If not for Wyzett's help in revealing another side of Quirinus, things might have ended very differently."
"As for Professor Lockhart—the knowledge in his books is actually quite useful." Dumbledore flicked his wand, and Wanderings with Werewolves soared to his side.
He opened the book, leafing through the heavily annotated pages. "Minerva, have you read this one? It's rather interesting."
"I once visited Professor Marlowe Forfang about a certain matter—he's the leading authority on werewolves. I accompanied him to Armenia…"
"Professor Forfang told me he'd found clues—there might be a wizard in Armenia who has magic capable of freeing werewolves from their tragic fate."
"Werewolves?" Professor McGonagall adjusted her glasses. "So the story in the book… is it about this Armenian wizard?"
"Exactly!" Dumbledore flipped Wanderings with Werewolves to three-quarters through and slid it over to Professor McGonagall.
"The Homorphus Charm?" Professor McGonagall quickly zeroed in on the key detail.
Dumbledore nodded. "It does exist. It can temporarily weaken a werewolf, making them easier to control, but it doesn't last long."
"It's an extremely obscure bit of magic—so difficult to master it's nearly vanished. Only a handful of people know of it anymore."
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