Hogwarts: I'm Harry's older cousin

Chapter 358, Section 352: The Flying Pink Toad

The towering towers appeared even darker against the backdrop of the dark night sky. Only the entrance hall was illuminated by torches, glowing red, but even so, the light was still very dim. Sometimes, the path ahead was not clearly visible, and young wizards would often trip and fall.

"It would be much better if we used electric lights here."

Hermione looked at the little wizard who had tripped and fallen ahead and said to Dudley.

"Theoretically, Hogwarts is under a spell that forbids the use of things made by ordinary people. But having electric lights is really convenient."

Dudley thought of the car that Mr. Weasley modified in the original story, whose headlights could be used normally at Hogwarts. So, as long as it was magically modified, Hogwarts could also use electronic products.

While she was talking to Hermione, another young wizard tripped over a protruding step because he couldn't see clearly.

Compared to the brightly lit world of ordinary people, the wizarding world can sometimes seem quite backward.

Once a year, after four years at Hogwarts, Dudley and his friends knew everything about the place like the back of their hand, and entered the Great Hall with practiced ease. The sky was filled with flying ghosts, brimming with excitement. The opening banquet was always the happiest time for the Hogwarts ghosts; they hadn't seen many living people for the entire holiday.

Dudley and the others found a place to sit down, and soon Harry, Ron, Draco and the others also came over.

"I think that's our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Draco gestured towards the professors' seats, and everyone followed his gaze. Sitting next to Dumbledore was a short, stout man with short, curly, greyish-brown hair tied in a very unsightly pink bow, and wearing a fluffy pink cardigan.

"A toad?"

Harry blurted it out without realizing it, then quickly covered it up with a cough. Luckily, no one could hear him because they were too far away.

The discipline team all nodded in agreement, showing strong agreement with his description.

The main problem is that it looks so much like a toad. A toad-like face with droopy eyelids and protruding eyes.

Neville, who was silently holding his pet "Rif," quickly put it back in his pocket, afraid that his "kind" in the teacher's seat would see it. Dudley's habit had already spread throughout the discipline group. They would all put a fixed, invisible stretching charm in their pockets so that they could store a lot of things.

Soon, the new students began to arrive one after another, and the Sorting Hat started singing.

The lyrics this time are quite different from those in the past.

The four founders of the House were not only Gryffindor and Slytherin, but also had differing ideologies.

Otherwise, two colleges would suffice.

To be precise, the four houses have four different philosophies. Except for Hufflepuff, which treats everyone equally and only accepts students that the other three houses do not want, the other three houses only admit students that they agree with.

That's why there are four colleges.

As time went on, the gap between the group widened and their disagreements intensified.

Everyone wants to seize all the power.

The lyrics from the Sorting Hat also indicate that it's not just Slytherin who craves a voice; the other three houses feel the same way, and even Hufflepuff, who seems the most unassuming, is no exception.

The story ended with Slytherin leaving in despair.

The remaining three colleges did not get along harmoniously and work together as previously envisioned.

What's past is past, and we can't go back.

Finally, the Sorting Hat subtly sang about an enemy outside the school.

Most of the young wizards were baffled, and only a few understood its hidden meaning.

It is issuing a warning; it is issuing a warning to everyone in the school.

Dinner time passed quickly, ending when Ron had eaten his sixteenth chicken leg.

Dumbledore rose from his headmaster's seat: "We are delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

He introduced Umbridge politely but not very enthusiastically, and the auditorium responded with equally polite but not very enthusiastic applause.

The rest of Hogwarts didn't seem to like her very much.

Just as Dumbledore was about to say something more, Umbridge cleared her throat deliberately.

"uh-huh."

Dumbledore abruptly stopped speaking and looked at Professor Umbridge questioningly: "Our new professor has a few words he would like to say to everyone."

He then promptly sat back down, leaving the seat for the other person.

The other professors had different expressions. They had never seen a wizard interrupt Dumbledore, especially in such a public setting, not even Fudge.

"Interrupting Professor Dumbledore."

Ron sipped his orange juice and muttered under his breath, "It's a good thing our headmaster has a good temper. If it were someone else, like Professor Grindelwald, they would probably have thrown her out."

Draco raised an eyebrow in perfect agreement and said, "A toad flying?"

"Flying pink toad," even Neville chimed in.

Suppressed chuckles echoed around them, clearly indicating their agreement with the description "pink toad".

"Thank you, Headmaster." Umbridge stood up, flashing an overly sweet, insincere smile. "It's so good to be back at Hogwarts!"

Her voice was completely different from her appearance; it was high-pitched and sharp, as if she were deliberately mimicking a young girl's voice.

It makes people very uncomfortable.

She then launched into a long speech, filled with very formulaic content typical of public occasions, much like the speeches given by ordinary members of parliament.

Sometimes wizards can connect with ordinary people very quickly, especially in these areas.

As she spoke, the chatter among the young wizards below grew louder and louder.

"Fuggie has really strange tastes."

"His taste has always been peculiar, everyone knows that."

Almost no one took Umbridge's speech seriously, except for Hermione, who listened very attentively, but judging from her expression, she didn't like what Umbridge was saying.

"Dudley's right." Hermione bit her pen, her eyebrows almost furrowed. "This woman isn't just after Professor Dumbledore, she's after Hogwarts too."

By the time Umbridge finished her speech, all the young wizards were already dozing off; Dumbledore had never liked this kind of empty rhetoric.

"First-year students, this way, this way, follow me."

As the banquet came to an end, the prefects from the four houses began to gather the first-year wizards.

Starting in the fifth year, each college will have its own prefects to manage the students. Dudley and his classmates are now in the fifth year, which means that the discipline group is qualified to manage the male and female student council presidents and the 12 prefects.

"Inform Cedric that the disciplinary team will be holding a meeting soon, as they are almost ready to fulfill their official duties."

(End of this chapter)