Volume 4: The Sea and the Ship Heading North Chapter 270 The New Transfiguration Professor
"As you can see, Durmstrang will be welcoming a new group of guests tonight."
Without any unnecessary formalities, Grindelwald went straight to the point of the evening.
"These are students from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, led by Dumbledore. Their professors are fighting on the French front to uphold justice for all wizards. For their safety, we are temporarily letting them stay here."
"I hope you can get along with the guests in a polite and friendly manner. After all, Durmstrang trains a group of excellent wizards, not a group of uncivilized barbarians."
He spoke at a high volume, loud enough for the entire auditorium to hear him even without the use of an amplification spell.
The students of Durmstrang obviously attach great importance to rules. When their headmaster is speaking, no one dares to whisper. Everyone sits upright, even the youngest first-year students stand with their backs straight. This is very different from Hogwarts.
"It's time to eat."
Jon breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that he was not going to tell the entire auditorium about his appointment as professor of Transfiguration.
If it was really announced in public like this, Jon would really not know what to do. Anyway, he couldn't let him reject Grindelwald in public and not give him any face.
I guess there's no need for Grindelwald to get angry. More than half of the professors sitting on the podium will stand up and give him a green light.
After Grindelwald finished speaking, all kinds of delicious food suddenly appeared on the surface of every long table.
As if to take care of Jon and the others, there were quite a few British specialties, such as fish and chips, on the table where the Hogwarts students were sitting.
However, the students of Hogwarts had no intention of touching the hometown delicacies, and only took some foods like Munich sausages and German roast pork knuckles.
After the meal started, the atmosphere in the hall was obviously much more relaxed, and even some bold Durmstrang students came to the long table at Hogwarts.
"Hi, my name is Diane Rozier."
The tall girl with blonde hair who looked about the same age as George and Fred introduced herself.
She spoke fluent English and behaved very politely. From her last name, Rosier, one could tell that she was related to the vice-president of the school by blood and was French.
"Can I sit here?"
She looked at Lee Jordan who was sitting next to the empty seat. Lee was devouring the half pork elbow he had just snatched from George without any gentlemanly manners. Although they had no shortage of food on the Hogwarts, the food was not very good. A feast like tonight's could only be had during the Christmas dinner.
"Oh, sure, go ahead."
At this time, Li Cai shifted his attention a little from the pork elbow. Seeing that the person coming was a beautiful girl, his movements began to become gentle again. He coughed twice and wiped the greasy corners of his mouth with the napkin beside him.
It’s not that Li fell in love with this girl, but they were guests of Durmstrang after all, and they had to pay attention to the reputation of Hogwarts students when they were in someone else’s school.
Diane sat down surrounded by Lee, George, Fred, and several other fifth graders.
She had obviously chosen this place intentionally. In her eyes, these Hogwarts students were not led by professors, so the leaders among them must be among the senior students.
This girl from Durmstrang didn't have any special thoughts. She was just .
Not only her, in fact most of the students at Durmstrang were curious about these students who had been in exile.
They had more or less seen some news from Britain over the years, and in the newspapers, the Hogwarts coach was naturally a wanted criminal wanted by the Ministry of Magic, and was being hunted down all the time.
Compared to the students of Hogwarts who yearn for a comfortable campus life, the students of Durmstrang are more interested in hearing stories about their adventures on the run from them.
But this is a Nordic magic school after all. There are not many students who can speak English, and even fewer students with extroverted personalities who are willing to come and communicate tonight.
Diane was the only one. She came from a pure-blood family in France. Because of her family background, she was fluent in three languages: English, French and German. She was also the sixth-grade girl class leader at Durmstrang. She had no problems with language or personality, so she became the first person to come into contact with Hogwarts students.
"How did you come to Durmstrang? Did the headmaster bring you here from France?"
As soon as she sat down, she asked excitedly.
George shrugged;
"No, we set out from England before Halloween last year and sailed along the North Sea to the Norwegian Sea for about three or four months. We were picked up here by the professors from Durmstrang today."
It's no secret about their itinerary.
Long before the dinner started, George and the others had a brief discussion with Jon, making it clear what could be said and what should be kept secret, and not to be revealed unless someone specifically asked.
"From the North Sea to the Norwegian Sea? Did you come here by ship?" Diane asked.
"Yes, we stayed on the boat all the time and didn't go anywhere."
As Fred spoke, he pushed a grilled fish away with disgust. Because many fishing competitions had been held and the spoils had gone into everyone's stomach, basically every student in Hogwarts would have no interest in food such as fish and shrimp in the short term.
"Don't complain. At least when we were in the North Sea, you and Jon got off the boat together and went to Azkaban Island for a tour. We were the ones who stayed on the boat the whole time."
A girl from the grade named Araya complained.
Hearing her words, Fred's face began to become beaming.
"Hey, don't say that. There's really nothing interesting to see on that prison island. But you know, the battles there are very exciting. I killed two British Aurors! I also broke into Azkaban prison and confronted those Dementors!"
He was obviously showing off to Diane who had just sat here, and he was not disappointed. Diane looked surprised and interested.
"You took out two Aurors by yourself? And you were able to defeat the Dementors?"
Fred got what he wanted. He coughed lightly and waved his hand as if he didn't care.
"You can't call just one person. There's a third-year student following me who helps a lot."
As he spoke, he kept winking at George, Li and the others. The fifth graders were all trying to hold back their laughter. Fred wasn't lying, the third grader had indeed contributed the most.
But Diane didn't know the inside story. A third-year student at Durmstrang had only just learned the Stunning Spell and the Universal Curse-Removing Spell. It was good enough that they didn't lag behind when facing the Aurors, so she thought Fred was just being modest.
Just as she looked at Fred with admiration, thinking that he was the leader of the Hogwarts students, a childish voice ruthlessly exposed Fred's disguise.
"You're lying! Nick told me that Jon subdued those two men. You just helped cover for them!"
As a ghost, Gabrielle naturally could not enjoy the dinner tonight. She had not tasted human food for a long time, so she floated sadly above the table for a long time. After being comforted by Jon, she saw a Durmstrang student sitting down with George and the others, so she floated over curiously.
Then she heard Fred's "big words", and the righteous Gabrielle would certainly not let anyone take away John's credit.
Fred spread his hands helplessly.
"I'm not lying, didn't you hear me? I specifically said that Jon contributed the most."
Gabrielle crossed her arms in front of her and looked at Fred with suspicion. Although she was young, she was not a little girl who could be easily fooled.
Diane was a little confused and didn't understand their conversation. A normal person would not think that a third-year student defeated two Aurors.
"Jon is that...third grader?"
"Why, we don't usually think of him as a third grader, he's our captain, Captain Green."
Fred said with a smile.
The joke just now was purely a recurrence of his nature, and he had no intention of coveting Jon's achievements.
He pointed at Jon, who was cutting a steak on a plate not far away, frowning and thinking about how to refuse Grindelwald's invitation.
"See? That's him."
Jon has an outstanding appearance, handsome looks, and soft yet tough features. However, precisely because of his outstanding looks, he gives people the impression that he can make a living entirely by his looks and that his magical talent is mediocre.
The most important thing is that he is only fourteen years old this year. At this time, he is at most a teenager. Among all the students of all ages in Hogwarts, he is not particularly eye-catching.
Jon didn't care what Fred and the others were doing. He didn't feel too relaxed because Grindelwald didn't announce his appointment as professor of Transfiguration before the dinner started.
Even though this was the first time they met today, Jon had always known that Grindelwald was not a wizard as easy to get along with as Dumbledore.
Although he was not as crazy as Voldemort, he was once known for his evil and was completely indifferent to the lives of the weak and worthless.
Jon, who was arguing with him, was also very tactful and knew that even if Grindelwald had some admiration for him, he was not in the right to refuse the request now, not to mention that the matter itself was good for him.
Just as the dinner was coming to an end, Grindelwald, who was sitting at the seat of honor, clapped his hands, and the entire auditorium fell silent in an instant.
"It's getting late, everyone. I have one last announcement to make before we end today's dinner."
His calm voice spread to every corner of the auditorium, and at this moment, Jon also had a bad feeling in his heart.
"In addition to welcoming the students of Hogwarts to Durmstrang tonight, Professor Spence Johnson is usually under too much pressure from work, so I found him a new Transfiguration professor to share his pressure. Jon Green will become the new Transfiguration professor starting tomorrow. I will make specific arrangements for which grades he will be responsible for later."
After hearing Grindelwald's words, the Durmstrang students in the auditorium all showed puzzled expressions, not understanding why they had to find a new Transfiguration professor at this time, but there was no big commotion. They just looked around to find who the professor named "Jon Grindelwald" was.
The professors sitting on the podium, including Johnson who had been assigned the position, all had strange expressions on their faces but were not surprised. It was obvious that they had already known the news in advance at the dinner just now.
At the long table in Hogwarts, the students looked confused. What Grindelwald had just announced was not in English, and they didn't understand what he meant. Only the Durmstrang girl sitting at the long table looked at Jon in disbelief.
Jon had a headache. He didn't understand what Grindelwald said, but that didn't mean he couldn't guess what the old man announced. He rubbed his temples, knowing that he couldn't escape today no matter what.
"Why don't you stand up and meet everyone, Mr. Green?"
Grindelwald looked in the direction of the Hogwarts table, and this time he spoke in English.
Following his gaze, the eyes of all the students in the auditorium also gathered here, but after seeing these Hogwarts students, they became even more confused, because there were no adult wizards sitting at this long table.
Noticing the focused eyes around them and what Grindelwald said to Jon, the students of Hogwarts finally guessed that what happened in the auditorium was related to Jon. They all looked at Jon blankly. Except for Hermione, no one understood why Grindelwald mentioned his name in public.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Jon sighed and relaxed. He stood up from his chair with a look of dejection on his face and looked at Grindelwald with a downcast face.
"Can't we really discuss this matter with Professor Dumbledore before making a decision?"
At this time, Grindelwald actually revealed an inconspicuous smile.
"Of course I will inform him. With the relationship between him and me for so many years, would I steal his students?"
All the students in the hall, whether from Durmstrang or Hogwarts, looked at each other in confusion. Some of them did not understand the conversation between the two.
Don’t you have any idea whether you have robbed the money or not?
Jon secretly rolled his eyes in his heart and couldn't help but sigh
Professor Dumbledore, if you don't do something, your students will be kidnapped!