Chapter 54: The First Step to Becoming a Successful Mage: Laying Down the Staff (Part I)

Although this classroom on the third floor was already the largest in Hogwarts, the sheer number of people crowded inside, combined with the fact that even the windowsills were packed with students, meant that the air could not circulate quickly. Consequently, the atmosphere in the classroom felt unpleasant—stiflingly muggy, with the air growing increasingly turbid.

Even though Headmaster Dumbledore had just cast several consecutive spells to cool the room and freshen the air, there had been little improvement.

After all, there were simply too many people here. Humans constantly emit heat and breathe out air; the Headmaster couldn't exactly act as a human air conditioner, continuously casting spells for the students, could he? He was the Headmaster, not a caretaker—there was a world of difference in that single word!

Thus, that old rogue Dumbledore had stopped after casting a few spells. He felt his approach was foolish; perhaps, for the next public lecture, he would prefer to simply use an Undetectable Extension Charm to expand the classroom several times over.

Some impatient students checked the time. There was about a minute or two left before 7:00 PM. Generally, before a class began, Hogwarts professors would arrive at least ten minutes early to prepare.

Now, as the time drew near, the students couldn't understand why the new Professor Annie had not even shown a shadow of herself. Did she share Professor McGonagall's hobbies? Did she like transforming into animals or turning invisible to spy on the students?

Not seeing the professor for the public lecture, the students below the podium began to whisper. The resentment was even greater among those standing in the aisles; some even began to complain loudly. They had been squeezed together for nearly ten minutes, and yet the professor hadn't even appeared?

Could Professor Annie have had an emergency? Was she unable to come? Or had she simply stood them up because she didn't want to teach? At the very least, there should have been a notice; what was the point of letting this massive crowd squeeze in here like this?

"Professor Dumbledore, um, where is Professor Annie? Why hasn't she arrived yet?" Harry was also feeling a bit anxious, so he turned his head and whispered the question to Headmaster Dumbledore, who was sitting beside him.

Hearing Harry's inquiry, Dumbledore frowned in thought. After a moment of contemplation, he finally pulled a pocket watch from his pocket. He opened it and, indeed, the time had arrived; it was nearly 7:03 PM.

He was also quite puzzled, wondering if little Annie had run into some unexpected business. But he had seen her idling around Hogwarts Castle recently, and he hadn't heard of her having any particularly important matters to attend to. It was truly strange.

"Be patient, Harry. Sometimes, only through patient waiting can one harvest delicious fruit. Perhaps Professor Annie will arrive any moment?" Just as Dumbledore finished speaking and was about to ask Hermione Granger, who was sitting two seats away, an unusual surge of magical fluctuation suddenly erupted on the podium.

With a loud *pop!*, a burst of blue arcane magic exploded out of thin air, and in the next instant, Annie appeared at the side of the large classroom's podium.

The teachers and students who had been complaining or muttering fell silent instantly. They stared blankly at Professor Annie Hatta, who had suddenly Apparated onto the podium.

Annie's golden hair was caught with some withered, tattered leaves, and her fiery red dress was covered in bits of dried grass. There was even a piece of a dead tree branch stuck in her small red hood.

Clearly, before coming here, Professor Annie Hatta had been busy with something, to the point that she hadn't had enough time to even tidy her appearance.

Many uninformed students watched in a daze. Looking at this clearly unreliable new professor, they couldn't help but doubt whether she could truly teach them anything useful. She lacked any sense of authority; she looked like nothing more than an ordinary young girl.

Hermione, on the other hand, covered her forehead in exasperation. She knew it would be like this; little Annie had surely forgotten about the class. She was probably off playing wildly somewhere just now, and only rushed here once she suddenly remembered.

And looking at her now, had she been crawling through bushes? She hadn't seen her have such a hobby during the holidays.

In contrast to the other students' focus on outward appearances, the expressions of Dumbledore and Snape were somewhat solemn. The strength Annie had inadvertently revealed was far beyond their expectations. Especially Snape; from his expression, it was clear his mood was far from calm.

Though this had seemed like a simple teleportation spell similar to Apparition, they both knew: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was protected by a defensive array laid by the four founders. Within the protective range of the entire castle, no one—except for the four founders and the Headmaster—could Apparate or cast similar spatial teleportation spells without breaking the defensive array.

And what had Snape just witnessed? Little Annie had teleported directly under their very noses. The implications were profound and demanded deep thought.

In this situation, either Annie had stolen the security permissions of Hogwarts, allowing her to teleport or Apparate at will; or Annie's strength was far beyond that of the four founders, so great that she could ignore the protective permissions entirely! Since Headmaster Dumbledore was present and could confirm that the defensive array and permissions were perfectly intact, the latter possibility became much more likely.

Dumbledore, who had long since prepared himself for little Annie's strength, did not react with the same shock as Snape. After all, this wasn't his first time encountering her. He merely felt a sense of wonder, accompanied by a secret relief. In his view, it was a good thing little Annie wasn't a madman like Tom; otherwise, the wizarding world would truly be in for a lot of trouble.

"Hello! Um... good evening, everyone!" Annie looked up at the magical clock on the wall. The timing seemed just right; she wasn't too late.

She didn't mind being a minute or two late. After all, she was the professor now, and no one dared call her late! It was said that being late was a teacher's privilege!

What Annie didn't expect, however, was that her very first class would be so popular. Seeing the large classroom packed to the brim, with people occupying every available inch of space, she wondered: had most of the staff and students of Hogwarts come? This was wonderful!

"I shouldn't be late by many minutes, right? But that's not important. Let me tell you something fun! Just now, I ran into a beautiful unicorn in the Forbidden Forest. We became friends and ran through half the forest together—it was so much fun! In the end, I almost got into a fight with some centaurs. If the big guy hadn't warned me, I might have actually forgotten about class! Can you believe it?

Haha! It was a unicorn, you know! I've never seen one before. I even gave it a name..." Annie began to narrate incessantly.

Well, poor Hagrid had yet to be remembered by name by Annie, only by the nickname "Big Guy." Even more pitiful were the students below. What Annie didn't realize was that her words were a psychological critical hit to the teachers and students, dealing infinite damage.

One must realize that others had worked hard to fight for seats for her public lecture; some had even arrived half an hour early. Those who couldn't get a seat had to sit on windowsills or squeeze into the aisles. For some, those thirty minutes had been incredibly uncomfortable; some had even held their bladder, afraid that if they turned their heads, someone would take their spot! And now, she was standing here saying this? That she almost forgot because she was playing? Fine, does anyone know where the Hogwarts anonymous complaint box is located?

"Ahem..." Sensing the terrifying magical energy of countless resentments gathering behind her, Headmaster Dumbledore quickly interrupted Annie. "Dear Professor Annie, shouldn't we begin the lesson now?"

"Ah? Oh, right, class!" Interrupted by Dumbledore, Annie finally remembered why she had rushed back. It was for class! Easy!

Although she had no teaching experience, little Annie was quite confident. After all, she had been a student for a long time back in New York. She was confident she could roughly mimic the teaching methods of Teacher Maine and the others.

Hmm... right, what was I planning to teach tonight? Annie began to rack her brain. Evocation magic? Divination? Conjuration? Necromancy? Spell modeling? No, none of those! Oh! I remember! Wandless Magic! That's the one!

"Alright! Then let us officially begin the lesson! Now, first, take out your textbooks." Annie prepared to start the class. She mimicked the manner of Teacher Maine, acting like a little adult, walking to the front of the podium with her hands behind her back in a serious manner.

However, when she realized the podium was as tall as she was and completely blocked her view, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and simply float up to stand on the podium.

This move startled the students below who had just been doubting her abilities. No wand movement, no incantation, and no wand, yet she could perform a spell similar to a Levitation Charm. She truly lived up to her reputation; she was indeed a powerhouse capable of taking on Gringotts and the Ministry of Magic. They felt that perhaps they might actually learn something useful today.

"Oh! I almost forgot, we don't have textbooks, so never mind!" Standing on the podium, Annie realized after seeing no movement from the students below that her public lecture required no textbooks.

"Alright, then, before we officially begin, can anyone come up and demonstrate wandless magic first?" Standing on the podium, Annie looked down at the teachers and students. However, it seemed no one dared to be the first to step forward; everyone was just staring at her with wide eyes.

"Just cast any random spell, and you'll get house points!" Annie knew there were several funnel-like objects over in the Great Hall, allowing professors to award or deduct points based on student performance.

Upon hearing that points could be awarded, a large group of people raised their hands instantly. Since any random spell would do and it could earn points for their house, why wouldn't they?

"Then I choose you, Hermione! Come up and perform a random spell for everyone!" Annie pointed directly at Hermione, whose hand was raised high.

*You must be biased! Definitely!* Everyone knew Annie and Hermione were close. To pick her name specifically when points were on the line—if that wasn't favoritism, what was? If there weren't other professors present in the classroom, they would have certainly started booing.

Annie was unaware of what others were thinking. After all, she wouldn't randomly cast Legilimency on people; it was very impolite. If she knew what the other students were thinking, she would certainly cry injustice.

Because besides Hermione and that old man Dumbledore, she didn't know anyone else! With so many hands raised, was she supposed to just point at someone and say: "You, you, you—you! What are you looking at? I'm talking to you! Come up front and perform!"

...

(End of Chapter)