With extraordinary comprehension, I built a floating city at Hogwarts.

Page 446

Dumbledore stood up, opened his arms, and beamed with a bright smile. His booming voice echoed through the hall: "Welcome to our new students! Welcome to this family! And welcome back to our returning students!"

After he finished speaking, the auditorium erupted in enthusiastic applause.

When the applause subsided, Dumbledore spoke again: "I know you are all probably very hungry after your long journey. But before we enjoy this sumptuous dinner, I have a few words to say."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across every corner of the Great Hall to make sure every student was listening: "This year, there are two important changes in our faculty. First, I am very pleased to announce that Professor Grubland will be returning to Hogwarts to continue as the professor of Conservation of Magical Creatures."

As Dumbledore spoke, Professor Grubland stood up from the teachers' table. She smiled and waved to the students. The young wizards all recognized her, and another round of applause rang out from the audience.

Dumbledore continued, "Secondly, we have a familiar face returning—Professor Remus Lupin. He will once again serve as our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

Lupin stood up, and the applause from the audience instantly doubled. Everyone felt that he was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in the last five years.

Then, Dumbledore looked at Umbridge beside him. “Finally, I’d like to introduce a new face to everyone—Ms. Umbridge from the Ministry of Magic. She will serve as a special observer, evaluating and guiding our teaching…”

“Ahem…” Umbridge suddenly coughed twice, interrupting Dumbledore. Her face twisted slightly, seemingly displeased, but she still forced a smile and said, “Thank you, Headmaster. However, I would much rather introduce myself to the students myself.”

Dumbledore nodded slightly without saying anything more, seemingly acknowledging Umbridge's statement.

Seeing this, Umbridge regained some of his confidence.

She no longer wore a sullen expression, but instead tried to show her signature sweet smile, and said to everyone in a coy manner, "Dear students, I must say, it's so wonderful to be back at Hogwarts! Seeing you all reminds me of my days studying here."

She paused, as if reminiscing about those wonderful times, "More than forty years ago, I stood here just like you, excited and happy to put on the Sorting Hat and become a Hogwarts student. Those years were invaluable to me, and I hope to share my story and experiences with you."

Umbridge reminisced about her childhood, trying to get closer to the young wizards, but unfortunately with little success.

They weren't interested in her old stories, and nobody wanted to know how she got to be a class leader through hard work and tattling.

The audience below the stage was drowsy, and some even began to whisper among themselves.

"Couldn't we wait until after we finish eating to talk about it?" Levin heard Steve's complaint.

In the past, the banquet was always held first, followed by the speeches. I don't know why this school year is different.

Discontent spread through the auditorium, and some people began to whisper among themselves.

“She looks just like a toad, and a pink one at that!” Luna suddenly exclaimed.

Her tone was light and casual, as if she were talking about something trivial, but it elicited a small burst of laughter.

Steve nodded. "Indeed, no wonder we had to wait for her to finish before eating; we were afraid we'd throw up on the spot."

"So this is ah."

Everyone suddenly realized and understood Dumbledore's good intentions.

The reason behind it is heartwarming.

Zhang Qiu muttered under her breath, "I've heard people say that unmarried old maids like her are the most terrifying. Many of them become twisted because they haven't experienced the nourishment of love."

Her words immediately resonated with the girls around her.

Marietta rolled her eyes and said, "Didn't anyone remind her that she has bad taste?"

Luna whispered again, "I bet she's mentally twisted. Otherwise, who would dress up like a little girl at her age?"

Umbridge seemed oblivious to the commotion below, continuing her eloquent explanation of her plans and vision: "...Let us move forward into an enlightened, efficient, and rational new era, resolutely upholding what should be upheld, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and discarding what we should prohibit..."

It's all just correct but meaningless talk.

Umbridge's speech lasted for more than forty minutes.

The first half of the speech reminisced about the honors she had achieved during her student days, while the second half emphasized that Hogwarts would undergo certain changes under the supervision of the Ministry of Magic and improve its existing school rules.

“Thank you very much, Ms. Umbridge. Your speech was very inspiring, and I believe everyone has benefited from it.” Dumbledore waited for Umbridge to finish speaking before returning to the front of the stage.

"By now, I'm sure everyone is starving. So, let's enjoy our dinner!"

As Dumbledore finished speaking, delicious food descended from the sky, instantly piling up all sorts of delicacies on the five long tables: large chunks of beef, sweet pies, colorful vegetables, soft bread, sweet jam, and jugs of pumpkin juice.

The atmosphere at the banquet reached its climax when Headmaster Dumbledore stood up and announced that all teachers and students were dismissed.

The auditorium instantly came alive with the sounds of tables and chairs clattering, students laughing and talking.

Levin's gaze cut through the bustling crowd and landed on the Slytherin table. He saw Astoria warmly holding Gabrielle's hand, both of them beaming with joy.

It seems that Gabrielle will be fine in Slytherin, and he doesn't need to worry too much.

Turning around, Levin and Padma began to call the new Ravenclaw students to gather in front of them.

These eaglets seemed particularly well-behaved; they quickly gathered together, their eyes filled with anticipation and curiosity for their new life.

Levin seemed a little distracted. Seeing that the freshmen had gathered behind him, he then called to Zhang Qiu and Luna, who had been waiting for him, and led the group out of the auditorium.

Under the guidance of their prefects, the students lined up in an orderly fashion and headed toward their respective college's lounge.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out among the Gryffindor crowd.

Colin was secretly taking pictures of Harry with his camera when he suddenly noticed something and shouted, "Harry, what happened to your neck?"

Harry touched his neck, puzzled, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Hehe, a strawberry mark..." Fred leaned closer, a knowing look on his face, and teased, "Which girl gave you this?"

His words immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding Gryffindor students, who all looked over curiously.

What? Harry Potter has a girlfriend?

Ginny turned around and looked at Harry's neck. Sure enough, there was a conspicuous red hickey, like a strawberry imprint on his skin. She suddenly remembered what had happened on the train earlier and covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.

"This..." Harry felt the gazes of those around him and awkwardly touched his neck.

He was about to say that Ron was behind it, but he swallowed the words back. He glanced at Ron, thinking: If this were to come out, wouldn't everyone think there was something going on between him and Ron?

However, Ron was a straightforward person, and he explained without any hesitation:

"That hickey was left by me; I did it on the train."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone exclaimed "Oh—" and looked at the two of them with ambiguous eyes.

Ginny gaped in astonishment; she never expected her simple-minded brother to so honestly admit to it.

She glanced at Harry and saw an awkward expression flash across his face; he clearly hadn't expected Ron to be so direct.

Ginny thought to herself, "Didn't he realize that Harry didn't want to talk about this?"

She couldn't help but start to ponder Ron's motives.

Was he truly so naive as to be ignorant of social etiquette, or was his affection for Harry so deep that it could no longer be concealed?

Thinking about what happened last semester, Ginny felt it was the latter.

"Sigh, thank goodness I woke up in time and chose Levin," Ginny sighed inwardly.

She recalled her first day at Hogwarts, when she still harbored a sliver of hope for Harry.

But now it seems like a complete joke. If things really develop that way, she'll probably be competing with her brother for the same man, and she'll most likely be the loser!

The thought of this possibility made Ginny feel uneasy.

She'd rather compete with a hundred beautiful nymphs for Levin than with Ron for Harry.

It's not a question of whether we can win the argument, it's just that this is... disgusting!

She wouldn't be proud even if she won a fight with her own brother over a man.

But it's different now.

If Ron and Harry really got together… Ginny thought about it and decided it wasn't unacceptable, as long as they were happy. She might even genuinely wish them well, and perhaps even call Harry "sister-in-law"—or "brother-in-law"?

But now...

Ginny secretly opened her small bag, took out a small pentagonal mirror, turned it over, and saw a chocolate frog card in a small photo frame, with Levin's handsome face smiling at her.

Ginny gently stroked Levin's face on the card, the nausea in her stomach gradually subsiding. Now, she needed to wash her eyes properly.

--------------

The photo shows Gabrielle.

Chapter 502 Another Year of New Life

Levin and Padma led the new Ravenclaw students up a seemingly endless staircase. They went up eight floors, walked through a long corridor, and continued up another long spiral staircase. By the end of the journey, many young wizards had begun to regret being chosen for Ravenclaw.

Finally, after climbing a seemingly endless spiral staircase, they saw an old wooden plank at the end of the stairs with an eagle-shaped door knocker hanging on it. This was the entrance to the Ravenclaw lounge.

However, just when Levin thought he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, the freshmen suddenly became restless.

Once they were sure no professor was watching them, their suppressed excitement and anticipation burst forth, and they all surrounded Levin.

"Senior Levin, I'm a big fan of yours! Can I get your autograph?" A little wizard held up a quill and parchment, looking at Levin with anticipation.

“Senior Levin, you’re so famous in academia, you must know what egg divination is all about, right?” another young wizard asked curiously.

……

Levin was caught off guard by these questions; he hadn't expected the freshmen to be so enthusiastic towards him.

He looked around and saw the admiration and curiosity shining in the eyes of the young wizards, and couldn't help but feel a little helpless.

The young wizards had too many strange questions. Besides the one who asked about egg divination—a method of fortune-telling by breaking eggs—he also heard someone ask him if the lizard people were real, or if 2012 was really the end of the world. Clearly, they were deeply influenced by The Quibbler.

For a moment, Levin felt that investing in "The Quibbler" was simply asking for trouble.

So he could only smile and accept the quill pen, and began signing autographs for the new students.

At the same time, he tried his best to answer some "normal" questions and avoid those overly bizarre topics.

However, the freshmen's questions seemed endless. They surrounded Levin, chattering incessantly as if he were the most knowledgeable person in the world, capable of answering a hundred thousand whys.

The Ravenclaw upperclassmen, witnessing this scene, all wore expressions of unsurprised indifference. They made a few gloating remarks before returning to the common room. Only Cho Chang and Luna remained, quietly waiting for Levin...

When Parvati saw this, she tried to help, but the crowd of new students was so dense that she couldn't squeeze through.

She anxiously looked around, searching for a way to help them out of their predicament.

Just then, Zhang Qiu's voice suddenly rang out:

"【Guardian Angel】!"

As the sound faded, a gigantic, silver-glowing sphinx flew over.

Its appearance terrified the young wizards, who thought it was some powerful offensive spell and scattered in all directions.

However, when the Sphinx flew to their side, the young wizards were surprised to find that being in close contact with this mysterious creature brought them a strange sense of warmth and joy.

They all stopped in their tracks, staring at the Sphinx in awe and curiosity.