Now that Voldemort was truly dead, the curse he had left upon the Defence Against the Dark Arts position had naturally disappeared as well.
Snape felt that he could finally sit securely in this role for the long term.
As for what would happen to the Potions professor position he originally occupied?
No rush.
Wasn't he just about to announce it?
Snape continued calmly:
"As for the position of Potions professor previously held by myself…"
"It will now be taken over by student Arthur."
Although having a student serve as a professor sounded extremely strange—
No one in the Great Hall objected.
On the contrary—
The moment Snape finished speaking, Fred and George Weasley immediately took the lead in applauding, causing the entire hall to erupt into thunderous cheers.
The students' reaction was even more enthusiastic than when Snape became Headmaster.
After all, Arthur had already substitute-taught Potions before.
And his teaching ability had completely won over students from all four Houses.
A professor who was absurdly handsome and genuinely talented at teaching?
The students couldn't have been happier.
Only Arthur himself looked utterly stunned.
He immediately linked his spiritual power to Snape's consciousness and asked in confusion:
"When exactly did I agree to teach your classes?"
Yes.
Snape had never informed Arthur beforehand.
Because he knew perfectly well that with Arthur's dislike of troublesome responsibilities, there was no way he would agree easily.
So Snape had simply forced the issue first and informed him afterward.
Rather than answering Arthur's question directly, Snape merely said:
"In exchange…"
"All future exams, tests, and homework assignments for you will be permanently exempted."
"And furthermore…"
"You may freely decide whether or not you attend any other professor's classes."
Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly.
"All subjects?"
Snape nodded.
"All subjects."
"Deal."
Arthur agreed instantly without the slightest hesitation.
Compared to teaching Hogwarts students, exams and assignments were far more troublesome to him.
Not because he couldn't do them—
Quite the opposite.
They were simply too easy.
So easy that Arthur felt they were a complete waste of time.
To him, there was little difference between spending several minutes finishing an exam and then sitting uselessly in the classroom afterward…
Versus going to the Black Lake to fish for a while and perhaps playing a few small games along the way.
What?
You're saying he could just hand in the exam early?
True.
But if he had the option to skip exams and homework entirely, why wouldn't he take it?
Especially since he could now freely choose whether to attend other classes at all.
This was basically:
A student's identity.
A professor's待遇.
Why would he refuse?
So Arthur agreed immediately.
The professors seated at the staff table didn't object either.
They knew perfectly well what kind of monster-level genius Arthur truly was.
And they had all witnessed the final task of the Triwizard Tournament.
Even Hermione—who was still inferior to Arthur—had already grown powerful enough to duel Voldemort head-on.
There was no possible way Arthur himself would be weaker than her.
The applause in the Great Hall lasted for quite a while before finally settling down.
Snape then continued with his first official speech as Headmaster.
Truthfully, the important matters had already been covered.
The only remaining topic was introducing Melina as a transfer student.
"The next matter," Snape said flatly, "concerns a new fifth-year transfer student joining Gryffindor this term."
"Her name is Melina."
"She is a distant cousin of Miss Ranni."
The students reacted with complete calmness.
After all, Ranni herself had already set the precedent.
Another mysterious cousin appearing wasn't particularly shocking anymore.
Only the Ravenclaw students silently added Melina to the list of people absolutely not to provoke.
Just being "Ranni's cousin" was enough to terrify them.
After all—
Ranni was the terrifying woman who had once single-handedly stormed the Ravenclaw common room.
After introducing Melina, Snape gave a few routine closing remarks before ending the speech entirely.
Next came Hogwarts' traditional annual event:
The Sorting Ceremony.
Yes.
Even though Snape had become Headmaster, Professor McGonagall still handled the Sorting.
If Hogwarts ever had an award for "Most Overworked Teacher," it would unquestionably belong to McGonagall.
During Dumbledore's tenure, the vast majority of Hogwarts' internal affairs had been delegated to the Deputy Headmistress.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore himself spent much of his time hiding in the Headmaster's office eating sweets and pondering how best to cultivate his Chosen One.
Of course, that didn't mean Dumbledore neglected his duties.
He mainly handled Hogwarts' external affairs.
Negotiating budgets with the Board of Governors.
Preventing excessive Ministry interference.
Managing relations with other schools during events like the Triwizard Tournament.
Most of those responsibilities happened outside the castle itself.
Which was why it often looked like Dumbledore was simply slacking off.
Still—
No one could deny that McGonagall was an exceptionally dedicated teacher.
And thus—
A brand-new school year officially began.
At least in Arthur's opinion, this term was destined to be peaceful.
After all—
Voldemort was dead.
Even the God of Death had been killed.
Arthur refused to believe some new monster could still crawl out afterward.
Oh, and one more thing—
This term, Hermione decided to find herself a new responsibility.
So she ran for Gryffindor Prefect.
The results were utterly one-sided.
The combined votes of every other candidate didn't even amount to a fraction of Hermione's total.
After all—
Who in Gryffindor—or even Hogwarts as a whole—would dare refuse face to the Triwizard Champion who had personally fought Voldemort?
…
That same evening, Melina became the third girl—after Hermione and Ranni—to openly walk into Arthur's dormitory in front of the entirety of Gryffindor House.
Watching Arthur walk into the dorm with Ranni on one side and Melina on the other…
The Gryffindors had long since run out of words to describe their envy.
The upper-year students looked so accustomed to the scene that some first-years nearly began believing Gryffindor dormitories were mixed-gender housing.
Before the boys could get excited and the girls could start panicking—
Newly appointed Prefect Hermione stepped forward and pinned a notice onto the Gryffindor bulletin board.
It was the first-year dormitory assignment sheet.
Clearly showing that male and female dormitories were completely separate.
Only then did the freshmen finally realize:
Mixed dormitory privileges existed solely for their absurdly handsome upperclassman.
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