69novels Chapter 39 Acting Professor
Chapter 39 Acting Professor
Once all the little wizards were seated.
Dumbledore stood up: "I regret to inform you that our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Mr. Quirinus Quirrell, has suffered a serious injury due to a mistake in a magical experiment and will have to rest for six months."
The news caused a stir among the young wizards: "That's terrifying! Magical experiments are horrible!"
"The principal said it himself, which means this has nothing to do with Senior Ryan!"
"Yes, I knew all along that Senior Ryan had nothing to do with this!"
Harry clapped his hands happily. With Dumbledore's words, he thought Ron wouldn't be so fixated on his own ideas anymore.
He's celebrating too soon.
Ron was staring intently at the head table, lost in thought.
Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall opened, and Professor Quirrell appeared, staggering along!
He took two steps and stopped beside Harry. "Headmaster, I...have...something...to...say!"
The auditorium fell silent.
Could things take a turn for the better?
The thought crossed countless minds, and they were overjoyed, believing there would be some big gossip to hear.
Could it be that Professor Quirrell has come to expose Ryan's true colors?
Ron was overjoyed.
Does Professor Quirrell think that by helping him up, he can continue to be a professor?
Ryan was overjoyed.
Did Quirrell recommend me to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?
Snape was overjoyed.
The only one who wasn't surprised, Dumbledore, asked, "Quirinus, what's the matter?"
"I...recommend...the next...professor," Quirrell gasped, breathless.
Here he comes... Snape's aura returned to normal. He sat up straight, interlaced his fingers, and prepared to get up to receive the congratulations.
I've never even attended Professor Quirrell's class, so he definitely didn't recommend me. This is it... Ryan took off his sunglasses, put away his cane, and prepared to congratulate the chosen one, and then reiterate his own words of being unworthy of the task and hoping to work hard to become a professor in the future.
"Of course, of course, as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, your advice is very important. So, who would you recommend?" Dumbledore said.
"I...want...to...recommend...cough cough cough," Quirrell coughed.
Snape stood up, looking around with a smug expression. "Thank you."
Seeing this, Ryan also stood up, smiling broadly and feeling relieved: "It's a pity, but I trust Professor Quirrell's judgment, and congratulations to Professor Snape. I hope I can learn from the professor and become worthy of the position of professor at Hogwarts as soon as possible."
After the two finished speaking, Quirrell recovered from his violent coughing. He stared at the two people in the main seat and uttered his last few words:
"Mr. Ryan... Wells..."
"Oh, I trust your judgment, Quirinus," Dumbledore said, and everyone present, professors and students alike, couldn't help but chuckle at his words.
"Just... a suggestion, I hope... it'll be helpful. I'm going back..." Quirrell turned and left.
Ron's face was like a spilled palette of paints, a mixture of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple, looking as ugly as could be.
Finally, he sighed in despair.
But compared to others, Ron's complexion was relatively good.
At the main table, there were three people who stood up, exactly three people of different ages.
The old man looked at the two young people as if he had just noticed them: "Severus, Ryan, what's wrong? Is there something you need?"
Everyone looked over.
Even with Snape's years of honed facial paralysis, he couldn't ignore so many students.
Ryan's mind raced. He knew that what was needed at this moment was for the person involved to leave, to achieve a cooling-off effect. He needed to find a reason to leave.
"Headmaster, it's like this. Half a year ago, Professor Snape promised to help me concoct Felix Felicis. We suddenly remembered that tonight is the time when the Felix Felicis will be successfully concocted, and we're afraid of being delayed, so we're a bit anxious."
Ryan's face showed just the right amount of anxiety: "If the headmaster allows, I would like to leave with Professor Snape first."
Snape immediately nodded: "That's true."
"Felix Felicis, indeed a precious and miraculous potion." Dumbledore didn't contradict him and agreed to let the two leave early.
After thanking them and apologizing, the two left with increasingly steady steps, their calm demeanor tinged with a hint of anxiety leading many students to believe that they were truly concerned about the imminent completion of a precious potion.
"It's a real shame that the youngest acting professor in Hogwarts' history cannot receive everyone's praise due to some personal matters."
"I hereby announce that Mr. Ryan Wales is officially appointed as the Acting Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts!"
Dumbledore finished speaking.
Thunderous applause and cheers erupted.
At the head table, the professors, who were "free from personal matters," chatted happily.
"Dumbledore, while I agree with Lane, I still have some concerns," Professor McGonagall said. "He's still a child."
Professor McGonagall spoke, her voice growing softer and softer. She had never seen a child like Ryan who acted so recklessly before.
As the two were talking, a student suddenly expressed his dissatisfaction. Perhaps his voice was too loud, as the entire auditorium could hear him: "Let a fifth-year student act as professor! Hey! And he's an orphan!"
Upon hearing this, even students who hadn't clearly heard the source of the voice instinctively looked in the direction of Slytherin.
Slytherin's prefect, Marcus Flint, successfully drew everyone's attention.
When it comes to attracting attention, Mr. Marcus, with his troll lineage, may have a significant advantage.
His unusually large size and distinctive appearance made him quite impressive.
"Why are you all so quiet?" Marcus noticed that his friends, who had just been chatting away, had suddenly fallen silent.
The other kids gestured to Marcus, signaling him to look around.
"What are you afraid of? He's just an orphan. Does he dare to go against me? The Flint family has plenty of ways to make him go!" Marcus said, unaware of what was going on. He raised his head and met all sorts of gazes.
Marcus was especially struck by the gazes of the professors in the main seat, which made him break out in a cold sweat – something that had never happened before!
In the past, when he used his status as a prefect, Quidditch captain, or member of the Flint family to bully others, no professor would have reacted so strongly. At most, the professors would deduct some points or give him a few words of criticism.
But now, even the kindest Professor Sprout loathes him.
He couldn't understand why the professors would react this way to the conflict between students, and he was very alarmed.
"Can you see the situation clearly, Draco?"
"Senior Vio, I think Marcus has angered many people. His words do not conform to the current mainstream, which has aroused hostility."
"Anything else?"
What else...? Malfoy knew that Vio was giving him pointers, training his ability to judge the situation and interests, but he really couldn't figure out what else was going on.
"To assess the situation, you must first identify the most powerful entity to determine the next course of action. You've overlooked the professors; they are the most powerful people in all of Hogwarts," Vio said.
Professors?
Malfoy couldn't understand it; his mind was bound by the students' thinking, and he also failed to realize why the professor should be included in the judgment in a student conflict.
"When I was in second grade, Ryan told me a proverb: 'He who does not plan for the whole will not be able to plan for a part; he who does not plan for the long term will not be able to plan for the short term.'" Vio said, "Although I don't know why Ryan always likes to use ancient Eastern sayings, I have always kept his words in mind."
"In Hogwarts, the professors are in charge. Understand? Malfoy, the professors can remain silent or speak; it's their personal decision. A shrewd Slytherin shouldn't place their hopes on others."
"Besides, Ryan is a professor now, and Marcus is threatening a Hogwarts professor," Vio said, genuinely pleased.
Malfoy sensed the pride in Vio's tone; as a member of the Adventurers' Club, he himself felt a sense of pride.
He said softly, "I understand, Senior Vio, thank you for your guidance."
Then he chuckled, "When I first entered Slytherin, I thought the prefects were something special, especially since they claimed they'd take care of me. But now it seems..."
Goyle and Crabbe, sitting to Malfoy's right, kept stuffing food into their mouths, completely ignoring what Malfoy was saying. They just grunted in response and continued to engage in the battle of not wasting food.
"Still eating! Talking! You're all becoming like Marcus!" Malfoy roared.
Goyle and Crabbe paused for a moment, and seeing that Malfoy was silent again, they grunted twice and got back into the fray, mashed potatoes and pork knuckle in their right hands and creamy pea soup in their left, eating with gusto.
Malfoy's vision went black.