hotmtlnovel Chapter 80 Suspicious Figures! Quick Verification!
Chapter 80 Suspicious Figures! Quick Verification!
Dudley scanned the area.
He saw the old doorman, Argus Filch, standing silently at the entrance of the auditorium with a gloomy and indifferent expression, watching others eat. He also received the lowest-level D-rank regret that the system had unlocked on this person.
He also noticed a beautiful, smiling, charming, and approachable young witch at the faculty seating area.
Dudley hadn't noticed it before, but now he realized that this witch had exceptional social skills and could get along very well with a group of professors with different styles and personalities.
Although she wasn't wearing a headscarf, she was anything but simple.
Of course, Snape, with his gloomy and expressionless face, wasn't particularly fond of this witch.
Dudley asked Percy, who was standing nearby, and learned that the witch was Ecclesiastes Hunter, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor whom Dumbledore had recently hired.
This is a character who did not appear in the original story, and there are many suspicious points about him.
Especially after Dudley observed the expressions and demeanor of the other professors and staff but failed to identify any problems, the suspicion surrounding this beautiful witch grew even stronger.
Voldemort's main soul is currently very weak. Whether it's for the sake of absorbing life force and magic, or to reduce restrictions on movement and make it easier to search for the 'Philosopher's Stone', it's unlikely that he would possess a student.
Most of the professors for other courses at Hogwarts are quite capable and know each other well. It would be difficult to parasitize these people, and it would be easy to expose their flaws.
The most suitable candidate is a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor who changes frequently, possesses authority, magic power, and vitality, and is relatively unfamiliar with other professors, making him less likely to be seen through.
Thinking of this, Dali immediately called out quietly to his cousin:
“Harry, look in the direction of that young female professor in the faculty seating area, and carefully feel if the scar on your forehead is throbbing.”
"Yes, cousin!"
Harry immediately did as Dudley said, turning to look at the faculty seating area.
After staring at it for a long time, the scar didn't hurt, but my anger was starting to rise uncontrollably.
Snape, that old bat, probably thought Harry and Dudley were watching him, because he barely ate anything and just sat there, engaging in some disgusting staring contest with the two brothers.
"Forget it, Harry!" Dudley stopped Harry's actions. "This trick won't work. After the event, I'll find an excuse for us to go and meet this beautiful professor."
"Okay, cousin!"
……
After a while, everyone had eaten and drunk their fill.
The leftover food on the plate disappeared, collected by the house-elves in the kitchen.
Dumbledore rose again to give the students his final admonition of the night.
To summarize:
1. Forests are dangerous and should be avoided;
2. As requested by Administrator Filch, magic is not permitted in the corridors;
3. Students who are interested in becoming Quidditch players can register with Professor Hooch, who teaches flight. The registration process will be conducted in the second week of enrollment.
After saying this, Dumbledore, ignoring the unpleasant looks on the other professors' faces, like a mischievous old man, directed everyone to sing the Hogwarts school song.
It also conjured a long ribbon that floated in mid-air, constantly twisting and changing to form a string of English lyrics, serving as a teleprompter.
In an instant, a chaotic cacophony of strange songs emerged, each one different from the last, off-key and with inconsistent melodies.
Many students were just going through the motions, trying to get by, and what they sang wasn't even the school song.
Fred and George, those mischievous twin brothers, were even more outrageous; the tune they sang was an English funeral dirge.
Even Dali was speechless.
After listening to the whole thing, Dudley thought that the tune he sang with Harry was the best, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, what a beautiful melody.
When the music ended, Dumbledore finally announced the end of the performance, instructing the prefects of each house to take their students back to their dormitories to sleep.
Dudley disobeyed, stood up, and with a smile, led Harry straight to the professors who were also getting up to go back to their offices to rest.
"Professors, I've become a teaching assistant. I'll need your guidance in the future! Come, let's get to know each other!"
Dudley was very enthusiastic. After quickly reaching the faculty seating area, he bent down and shook hands with the short Professor Flitwick, following the principle of proximity.
Professor Flitwick was delighted and cheerfully wanted to say something to Dudley, but before he could speak, Dudley let go of his hand and went to shake hands with the other professors.
Harry followed Dudley to smooth things over. As soon as Dudley let go of his hand, Harry quickly took over, grasped Professor Flitwick's hand, and shyly offered a rationale for Dudley's behavior, saying that his cousin was just too happy today and asked for his understanding.
And so on.
Dudley and Harry had a clear division of labor and acted swiftly.
Before Dumbledore and the faculty could even figure out what was going on, Dudley had already successfully shaken the hand of the beautiful Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
As expected!
The fact that he did not suffer any backlash from the weakened version of the Love Protection Magic proves that the female professor had no intention of killing him.
If Voldemort were to parasitize her, he would certainly be in a dormant state right now, otherwise something unexpected would surely happen.
Dudley's mind raced, but he remained outwardly calm. As before, he quickly released her hand and shook hands with the next professor, though he kept a portion of his attention on the outcome of Harry's handshake with the female professor.
Two seconds later, everything was normal.
The original Mother's Love Protection spell on Harry wasn't triggered either, and it seems the scar on Harry's forehead isn't hurting.
Even though we're so close, there's still no reaction. Could it be that Dali has misunderstood someone?
Dudley was pondering this when his gaze suddenly met Snape's face, which disgusted him. The fake smile he had been putting on could no longer be maintained, and he immediately pulled a long face, ignoring the old bat and shaking hands with the next professor.
Snape's outstretched hand immediately froze in mid-air.
Harry, who was following Dudley, also showed no respect for Snape, ignoring him completely.
Snape angrily lowered his hand, his gloomy, expressionless face becoming even more somber.
Hogwarts offers eight compulsory courses and five elective courses, for a total of thirteen courses, taught by thirteen professors.
However, Professor Binns, the historian of magic, is a ghost and does not eat in the Great Hall, so there are twelve professors present.
Dudley and Harry quickly gave them a perfunctory response.
To make it seem more plausible, Dudley and Harry also shook hands and greeted Madam Pomfrey, the school doctor, and Madam Pince, the librarian.
He bumped fists with his good friend Hagrid, nodded to Dumbledore, and then turned and left.
The whole process was extremely fast; the students from the four colleges, each in their respective lines, had not yet completely left the auditorium.
Dudley and Harry quickly caught up with Percy's Gryffindor team after a brisk walk and a jog.
The Hogwarts faculty and staff were left standing there, bewildered and confused.