HP: Professor From Azkaban

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....

"The Headmaster was really frightened by what happened in the first half of the year; otherwise, he wouldn't have said that."

"Not necessarily. I think it's more likely Professor McGonagall forced the Headmaster to make that statement."

William had just finished returning the students' greetings when he overheard the younger professors discussing Dumbledore's earlier speech.

However, since Dumbledore had just announced the start of the feast, the entire Great Hall was bustling with noise. Even though they were seated at the same long table, there was no need to worry that the conversation would reach the Headmaster seated at the center.

"I never imagined I'd be so nervous in front of a bunch of students that my hands would sweat. How did you all get through it?" William cleaned the sweat from his hands with his wand as he half-jokingly asked the others.

"What else could we do? Everyone feels that way. You get nervous, but it passes. By the time you start teaching, the number of students in class won't feel overwhelming at all."

The one speaking was a young wizard in his twenties with slightly thinning hair; Professor Singed, one of the Alchemy professors.

"Come on, Alchemy classes are only offered to sixth years and above. My first lesson was with first years. Honestly, I was more nervous than the students."

The nearby professors all burst into laughter. Clearly, the shared anxiety of first lessons was a universal experience for both students and teachers.

Seeing their agreement, the speaker; Professor Adams, one of the Herbology professors; grinned. His years of working in the greenhouses had left him with impressively robust muscles.

"Guess how I managed to stop being nervous later?" Professor Adams teased, leaving a cliffhanger as he started working on a roasted potato in front of him.

"A gnome got into the greenhouse?"

"A student got bitten by a plant?"

"..."

"…"

After a while, Professor Adams proudly revealed the answer. "I didn't even know what to say at first. Then, a mischievous first-year stepped into a pile of dragon dung, panicked, and ended up diving headfirst into it. Once I cleaned him up with my wand, I wasn't nervous at all anymore."

He animatedly described the scene while cutting open the roasted potato. The golden, grainy texture of the potato shimmered temptingly under the candlelight.

William, who was about to dig into a piece of roast beef, quietly set down his knife and fork.

The same thing happened to the surrounding professors.

"Adams!"

William noticed a wand aimed at the young Herbology professor, but Professor McGonagall's sharp gaze swept over them, instantly restoring peace.

"Heh heh," Adams chuckled mischievously, then turned his attention to a juicy piece of lamb. "If you're not eating, don't mind if I do. I have to eat at least one meal a day in the greenhouse, after all."

"Go ahead, go ahead. Look at your manners and then look at Professor Lockhart over there. He's much better than you. I'd bet he didn't feel nervous at all during his first lesson."

"Of course not. It's the first time we've seen someone introduce himself again after the Headmaster's introduction. Honestly, did you see that booklist?"

"I did. It was like reading an article from the Daily Prophet. Honestly, I never thought he'd choose to take on the position--"

The speaking professor glanced at William. "Apologies, Professor William. Old habits die hard. I can't remember his name all of a sudden."

"Overall, I suspect he's here to deal with that curse. Who knows, Professor William, there might really be hope this time."

The professors speaking were all quite young; some were even still in training and hadn't officially started teaching yet. It was only the subject of Defense Against the Dark Arts that lacked enough qualified instructors, resulting in the absence of formal training or mentorship from senior professors before someone could begin teaching.

Hagrid, for instance, had years of experience handling magical creatures and, judging by the preferences of the previous professor, Kettleburn, was likely learning from him informally even before taking over.

So, this Professor Lockhart is really that influential among the younger professors?

William couldn't help but revise his impression of Lockhart once more. From the comments of the surrounding young professors, this professor; who looked more like a book salesman; seemed to be quite an extraordinary figure.

Boastfulness might be annoying, but if someone had enough skill, it could transform that impression into something admirable.

A person who was competent and enjoyed showing off wasn't merely boastful; they were confident in their abilities!

Unfortunately, Professor Lockhart didn't seem to notice the conversation happening at the corner of the table. At that moment, he was engrossed in discussions with the more senior professors. If William's guess was correct, those were likely Lockhart's former teachers.

This wasn't particularly surprising. After all, wealth uncelebrated back home was like wearing fine clothes at night; what was the point?

If even Dumbledore, the foremost white wizard, hadn't spoken against him, it indicated that Lockhart's abilities were indeed remarkable. Was it possible that this famous Professor was just another filler like William, who had come straight out of Azkaban?

With that thought, William's appetite grew.

The curse had already been diluted somewhat, and now his teammates; tied to him by the curse, seemed quite capable. If I work harder, maybe we could resolve the curse sooner than expected!

Thinking about that, William quickly filled his stomach and made an excuse to slip away, claiming he needed the restroom.

***

The three new treasure chests aside, the newly unlocked achievement made it worth the effort. Maybe tonight would bring a double dose of good fortune. A teammate with a chance of breaking the curse and some new special card that could directly enhance his abilities.

Avoiding others, William opened the system, skipped the treasure chests, and went straight to the previously dim achievement interface.

[Come and At Me If You Dare: Disliked by more than five people.]

Description: You can activate or deactivate this achievement at any time. When activated, your likelihood of being provoked increases slightly.]

Why would I ever activate this?

William ignored the achievement outright. He wasn't named "Chosen One" nor did he have that kind of combat prowess; activating it would just be asking for trouble.

[The Beginning of a villain: Truly impressive. You've managed to become disliked by a savior recorded in history books.

Description: You can activate or deactivate this achievement at any time. When activated, your efficiency in researching dark magic will improve, and you won't need to pay any cost. (To be fair, you've already paid the price in advance.)]

Recorded in history books?

William suddenly thought of all the books on Defense Against the Dark Arts he had acquired. Any book published in the last ten years had solemnly mentioned a boy named Harry Potter and his defeat of that being known as the epitome of dark magic.

We haven't even met, so where did all this hatred come from?

...

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