Chapter 49: Do You Still Remember the Leader Who Gave a Speech on the Playground in the Bitter Cold?

The opening banquet had been underway for nearly half an hour. The main courses on the long tables of the four houses had long since been cleared away, replaced by various post-meal drinks, fruits, and desserts.

Students who still had some room in their stomachs began to nibble on these delicious sweets. Meanwhile, Ron and Harry, who were already stuffed, could only slump in their seats with protruding bellies, staring blankly at the table full of desserts. They had eaten far too much during the main course—so much so that their stomachs could not physically hold a single extra morsel.

At the teachers' table, Dumbledore was whispering something to Professor McGonagall beside him. Due to their age, the two had not eaten much; they had finished their own dinners long before the desserts arrived, as post-meal sweets were not something they cared to indulge in.

"Ahem! Students, ladies and gentlemen? Please, quiet, listen to me, please..." After seeing that everyone had mostly finished eating, Dumbledore stood up from the staff table, signaling for the students to be quiet. It was now time for his speech as Headmaster.

However, having been well-fed, the students of the four houses were currently busy chatting and joking in their respective seats in the Great Hall, completely oblivious to the fact that their Headmaster was about to deliver an important address.

For instance, the Weasley twins of Gryffindor were teasing little Ginny across the table, making her face flush bright red within moments; it was unclear exactly what they were saying. Harry and Ron, meanwhile, had continued their original topic, whispering to each other while occasionally glancing over at Hermione as she sampled her dessert. The students of the other houses were largely the same, talking loudly or softly about whatever interested them.

Observing the reaction of the students below, Dumbledore felt a sense of awkwardness. Aside from a few prefects attempting to exert control over their respective houses, the rest of the students had completely ignored him, Dumbledore, and remained engrossed in their own conversations.

The opening banquet of every term was a routine time for the Headmaster's speech. Generally speaking, Dumbledore never liked to say much; he would usually just utter a few random words and announce the end of the session. He recalled that during the last school year, he had merely hummed a few unrelated syllables before dismissing everyone.

This was because, during his travels in his younger years, Dumbledore had witnessed the leaders of certain Muggle schools. Those people would actually catch a group of students on the playground on a freezing winter morning to deliver long-winded speeches. They would drone on incessantly until their faces turned red and their necks strained, continuing until the sun rose without any thought of stopping. They completely disregarded the immense resentment and murderous glares of the students shivering on the playground. Those leaders seemed to believe that the longer they spoke, the more they could assert their presence, unaware that the students on the field were itching to drag them down from their high platforms and give them a good thrashing!

Therefore, since becoming Headmaster, Dumbledore had taken this as a lesson. His speeches to the students were never long; unless it was something of extreme importance, he had no desire to say more than a single word. Most of the time, he would simply make a few noises, say a few words, and then pack up and leave.

But the current situation was somewhat special. He, Dumbledore, had to say a few more words—but only a few! He guaranteed it wouldn't take more than five minutes! In fact, it wouldn't even take five minutes. Yet, to his surprise, when he tried to speak, the students below refused to give him any face? It was simply outrageous! He couldn't be blamed for his next move, so he pulled the Elder Wand from his sleeve and pointed it at his own throat.

"SILENCE!!" A massive wave of sound swept through the Great Hall. After the sonic wave passed, leaving the students' eardrums aching, they finally pulled their hands away from their ears, quieted down, and looked toward their Headmaster in unison.

Seeing that the spell for a loud voice had worked reasonably well, Dumbledore nodded with satisfaction. He slowly moved the Elder Wand away from his throat. The old man was quite pleased with his magic; in his view, his prestige was still quite intact. See? They quieted down, didn't they? The students still loved and respected him as always.

"Ahem! Students, today this old man wishes to say a few more words. First, a new school year has arrived—welcome back to Hogwarts!" Just as Dumbledore finished his first sentence, before he could even pause, a sudden burst of thunderous applause erupted, lasting for a long time.

Dumbledore had to wave his hands several times to quell the disruptive applause, which left him feeling quite annoyed! *I haven't even finished speaking, what are you clapping for? Are you trying to cause trouble on purpose? Oh! I see, the ringleaders are the Weasley twins? Very well! I'll remember you two! Wait... what was I about to say next? Oh no! I've lost my train of thought! I've forgotten my lines!*

Stunned for several seconds, Dumbledore simply stared awkwardly at the students below, unable to continue because he had actually forgotten what he was supposed to say next! After a long moment, it was Professor McGonagall who noticed the Headmaster's predicament. She cleared her throat twice to remind him about little Annie—the subject of their earlier discussion.

Oh! Right! That was it! Yes! About little Annie! Thanks to McGonagall's timely reminder, Dumbledore finally snapped back to reality and remembered what he had been preparing to say.

"Ahem! Ladies and gentlemen! I presume you are all aware that certain events have occurred in the wizarding world recently. I believe you are all familiar with the Gringotts incident. So..." Once again, before Dumbledore could finish, a wave of noise rose up as students ignored his speech and began whispering among themselves.

"Whoa! I know about this! I've read every single newspaper issue about it!" a Slytherin student said boastfully to a confused classmate.

"Pfft! I know too. It's about that Gringotts Wizarding Bank thing, right?" another Slytherin replied disdainfully. In her view, surely no one in the wizarding world was ignorant of the Gringotts incident.

"What are you guys talking about? What incident?" asked a third-year Slytherin, looking completely lost. Seeing everyone around her discussing something with such excitement, she had no idea what was going on. She had just spent her holidays on vacation; why was she suddenly so out of the loop? Had she missed something?

"What?! You actually don't know?" The people around her looked at her in shock. *Is she from a Muggle family? But that can't be right; I've never heard of a Slytherin coming from a Muggle family. Then how could she not know?*

"I... I spent my holidays at my grandfather's castle in the countryside. It's very remote and the location is kept secret—even owls can't get in. So, of course I don't know!" Her grandfather's home was actually a place protected by Fidelius Charms; without the permission of the Secret Keeper, no person or animal could find it. She hadn't left the protected area of the castle the entire holiday, and since her grandfather didn't want to be disturbed by worldly affairs, her ignorance of the Gringotts incident was perfectly understandable.

"Oh! I see. Well, let me tell you then. Those Goblins at Gringotts really had a bad time this time! They..."

Dumbledore watched with a dark expression as the students below descended into heated discussion and chaos. He had to wave his hands several times to try and pull the attention of the arguing students back to him.

*Fine!* Dumbledore took a deep breath. *You've forced my hand. I'm going to use the big one!*

He pointed his wand at his throat once again. Seeing this, the nearby professors hurriedly covered their ears, while some more elegant professors tapped their heads with their wands, likely casting noise-shielding charms on themselves.

"SILENCE!!!"

A roar even more massive than the previous one swept out, making the entire Great Hall seem to tremble. Then, with a loud *嗡嗡~ (buzzing/ringing)* sound, a violent echo of tinnitus rang in the students' ears.

Dumbledore retracted his wand again and looked down at the dazed, dizzy students, nodding with satisfaction. *There. Finally quiet? Do you really think I have no temper? When I truly lose it, even I am afraid of myself!*

"Students! This term, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be introducing a special elective course. The timetable will be distributed to your prefects shortly. This course will teach you entirely new knowledge that does not exist in the wizarding world. Most importantly: this course does not count toward your grades. Attendance is entirely voluntary! However, as your Headmaster, I must remind you: if you are able to attend, it would be best that you do." Dumbledore looked down at the students, who were now curious but no longer dared to talk without permission, and nodded contentedly.

"Now, please welcome your new elective teacher: Professor Annie, Professor Annie Haste!" Dumbledore led the applause, but he found it somewhat awkward to realize that, aside from himself and a few professors, very few students responded. They were all staring blankly at the little girl standing up from the staff table.

"Hello everyone! My name is Annie. It is a pleasure to meet you all!" Annie drifted gracefully from the staff table, hovering in mid-air at the same height as Dumbledore, and performed a perfect, ladylike curtsy to the students of the four houses.

This term, she would serve as a specially appointed professor at Hogwarts, specifically to teach students magic from the world of Valoran—a result negotiated during her last meeting with Dumbledore. In return, Dumbledore would spend the year preparing the various magical materials required to activate the Space Gem magic circle. After a failed attempt with a spatial gate, Annie intended to prepare a more precise and perfect array to activate the Space Gem during the stone's charging period.

"Whoa!" After Annie finished speaking, the Great Hall erupted into excitement once more. Some people were only just realizing that the little girl sitting at the staff table was Annie.

*That little girl! She was the one who orchestrated the entire Gringotts Wizarding Bank incident!* It had been quite some time, yet even now, nearly half the pages of the *Daily Prophet* were still analyzing the Gringotts affair. People were eager for any new information regarding the event.

Currently, various opinions on the matter were still being fiercely debated in the *Daily Prophet*. Everyone had their own perspective, but the one common denominator was the recognition of Annie's strength. Although some assessments remained highly controversial, the entire wizarding world essentially agreed on one point: this little girl named Annie was a powerful witch with strength not inferior to Dumbledore or the Dark Lord!!

As the banquet ended and everyone began to leave, Ron felt a bit lightheaded on the way back to the Gryffindor Common Room. He had never imagined that such a powerful little girl would actually be teaching them magic. *Wasn't she only eight years old? And she's already a specially appointed professor at Hogwarts? That's just... well, given her strength, it's only natural for a witch on par with Dumbledore to serve as a professor.*

*And thinking about myself when I was eight? What was I doing then? Probably playing in the mud? Or trying to steal treats my mum had locked in the cupboard?* Ron thought for a moment and then quickly shook his head. *Better not compare. The emotional damage would be too great.*

"Hey, Hermione! Do you think... uh, Professor Annie is actually going to teach us anything?" Ron felt a bit unnatural calling a girl much younger than himself "Professor," but he was very interested in the content she would teach. Since it didn't count toward grades, required no exams, and meant no homework, it was worth attending.

"Hmph! I have nothing to say to you!"

Hermione, of course, knew exactly what Annie would be teaching; those details had been finalized with Dumbledore in the Headmaster's office. However, she had no intention of telling Ron and Harry right now.

Who told them to keep gossiping about her behind her back just now? Things like *'Hermione using a little girl's strength to rob a bank'* or *'Hermione riding on someone else's coattails'*? Look at them—what kind of things were they saying? Are they even friends? Don't think she couldn't hear them just because they were whispering! There is a thing in this world called: the Eavesdropping Charm! Without even wanting to acknowledge them, Hermione rolled her eyes and quickened her pace.

(End of Chapter)