The Hogwarts Emerald

Chapter 73 Grover Cecil
On the morning of September 3rd, the sky over Hogwarts was covered with owls. Countless owls were hovering around the campus, and the letters they carried were not for the students who had just returned to school.

In the auditorium, confused students were chattering about the reason why the school was occupied by owls. However, after discussing for a long time, no one came to a definite conclusion. Everyone just suspected that it might be related to the new professor.

The first class of the new semester is Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class. Transfiguration is a very difficult subject. Scheduling this course as the first class of the new semester is really a disaster for students.

In the first grade, Ada and her classmates learned how to transform objects, but today the object they transformed was a beetle, and they needed to turn the beetle into a button.

It seemed that the students had cleared their minds of last year's lessons, which made today's Transfiguration class particularly difficult. Professor McGonagall walked around the classroom with a stern face, and the students' performance really made her anxious.

They either pointed their wands at the beetles and ran around, or poked them to death with excessive force, and some angry students even slapped the beetles to death. The beetles were consumed very quickly, and their bodies were scattered in every corner of the classroom.

You are the worst class I have ever taught! Professor McGonagall roared in her heart.

Professor McGonagall wanted to go see Ada, who was in desperate need of comfort, or else she was afraid she would not be able to control herself and beat all the students present to death.

As soon as she walked behind Ada, she saw George, who was sitting next to Ada, light his beetle directly with his wand. A small puff of black smoke floated up, and Professor McGonagall's blood pressure soared along with the smoke.

Fortunately, Ada did not disappoint Professor McGonagall. She placed the beetle on the desk, pointed her wand at it, and whispered a spell. The beetle successfully turned into an exquisite button with E.T. engraved on it, which were the initials of Ada's name.

Extra points, this must be extra points. Seeing Ada successfully cast the spell, Professor McGonagall's blood pressure finally returned to normal, and she was no longer dizzy or dazed.

In the afternoon, we have Defense Against the Dark Arts. Students come very early. There is a new professor every year. Each professor has his or her own teaching style. There is always a professor that you will be satisfied with.

The students are still very interested in Grover Cecil, who has just taken office. As long as his performance is not too bad, the students will give him a good review.

In the classroom, Professor Cecil was sitting by the window, smoking a black pipe. The window was open, and the smoke he exhaled drifted outside through the open window.

When the bell rang, Professor Cecil put away his pipe, walked back to the podium and began to call the roll. His voice was a little hoarse, but it was not unpleasant to listen to. Every time he called a student, he would look at the student carefully through his thick glasses.

After calling the roll, he closed the roster with a snap, and Professor Cecil, who was leaning on the podium, began his first class.

"I think everyone must be curious about why so many owls suddenly appeared in Hogwarts this morning?" The students under the podium nodded, and Professor Cecil continued, "These owls came because of me."

Ignoring the students whispering to each other, Cecil said, "After your parents learned that I became your new professor, they lodged a solemn protest to Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic. They felt that someone like me should not be in school, but should be locked up in Azkaban for life."

These words aroused the students' curiosity. Why was this professor so hated that people wanted to lock him up in that terrible place, Azkaban, for life?

"Why do you think he was locked up?" Fred asked curiously.

"Maybe he is a dark wizard?" Ada whispered her guess, "Or he is a lunatic."

Professor Cecil pressed down with his hand, and the classroom immediately became quiet. It was not because of his prestige, but because everyone was really curious. Professor Cecil said, "I am a dark wizard. I like to study dark magic, and I have even done a lot of wrong things for this." The students were shocked. There was actually a dark wizard in the school! Some of the timid ones, like Patricia Stinson, were ready to run away.

"Don't worry, I won't attack you. I am not the same person as my predecessor." Professor Cecil said with a smile, "I don't want to go back to Azkaban again."

"That place is really terrible. People who are imprisoned there will lose all happiness." Cecil said slowly, "I paid a heavy price for the mistakes I made. I lost many years of freedom... and happiness."

George whispered, "Why is Dumbledore looking for a dark wizard released from Azkaban? Is it true that he can't find anyone?"

"Maybe the salary offered by Hogwarts is not enough for people to sacrifice their lives for it?" said Fred.

"Can't you be more serious?" Angelina patted Fred. "I think Dumbledore must have his considerations for making such an arrangement. He must trust Professor Cecil."

"Have you forgotten last year's benefits?" George asked.

"Before he taught at Hogwarts, who knew he was a Death Eater?" Angelina asked, "Many people knew that Cecil was a dark wizard."

Cecil continued to talk about his own things at the podium, and he didn't care even if the students were discussing in low voices in groups of three or five below.

"What do you think, Ada? You are the one who has the most contact with Dumbledore among us." Angelina poked Ada's shoulder.

A person who studies black magic must be proficient in it, and he must also be good at defending against it. Such a person is very suitable to be the professor of this course.

Of course, there is another premise, that is, this person will not threaten the safety of students. This is also what the parents of students are worried about. It is very normal for them not to trust such a person.

"I think he should be able to teach us some real things, things that can be used after graduation." Ada said, "Whether he can stay in Hogwarts to teach is not something we can decide."

Cecil stood on the podium, looked at the students below and said, "Although I haven't used black magic for a long time, I still think that black magic is necessary. Magic should not be divided into black and white. It is unfair that magic becomes black magic just because someone uses it to do bad things..."

"Okay, that's all. Let's get back to the topic." Professor Cecil signaled for everyone to be quiet. When no one was talking in the classroom, he continued, "I have learned about Foley's teaching progress. When it comes to the Dark Arts and Defense Against the Dark Arts, you are as innocent as a blank piece of parchment. So in the next year, I will teach you what the Dark Arts is and how to defeat it."

Cecil turned around and wrote down today's lesson on the blackboard. With his back to the students, he made a joke and said, "If I can finish teaching this year safely!"

Although the students were whispering among themselves, the atmosphere in the classroom was still very depressing. A dark wizard had brought too much fear to the students, and with this joke, the fear was alleviated a lot.

In the following time, Cecil never spoke any nonsense, nor did he spread his own views. Instead, he told students how to define black magic according to the contents of the book in simple and easy-to-understand language.

Students were not allowed to use wands in this class. Professor Cecil was the only one speaking at the podium the whole time. However, the students did not feel impatient at all, because Cecil brought them a whole new world and let them know that Defense Against the Dark Arts is not just about waving a wand.

(End of this chapter)