The Great Hall was very noisy.
The first-years were lining up in a single file, waiting for Professor McGonagall to bring back the Sorting Hat.
The other older students sat at their respective House tables, either chatting or greeting acquaintances, younger siblings, and friends among the first-years.
But by now, some had already noticed that there were two people at the long table where only Professors were allowed to sit who shouldn't have been there.
Ron pointed out the old man sitting next to Sherlock to Harry and Hermione, the one with a magical eye.
"That's Mad-Eye Moody, formerly an Auror for the Ministry of Magic. He retired a little while ago; my dad told us about it. He has a very strange temper, doesn't have many friends at the Ministry, and most people are a bit afraid of him. But he truly is a formidable Auror. My dad says that during the darkest years of the Wizarding World, he was already an ace among the Aurors."
Harry scrutinized the short but fierce-looking one-eyed old man. Judging by his appearance, he certainly didn't seem like someone easy to get along with.
However, he seemed to have a good relationship with Professor Cavendish, as the two had been discussing something the whole time.
Just as Harry was about to look away from Moody, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye, standing behind Cavendish and watching him chat with Moody with a dazzling smile that made people lose their focus.
"I wonder what this retired Auror is here to teach us this semester..."
Just as Ron was wondering, Harry suddenly interrupted him.
"Wait, Ron! Look there!"
Hermione and Ron followed Harry's gaze and immediately saw the person he wanted them to see.
They all opened their mouths wide and cried out in surprise.
"Ms Hilke!"
After recovering from his initial shock, Sherlock immediately understood why Hilke had appeared here.
"You really have given me a surprise," he said helplessly.
Hilke leaned back against the chair, a smile still playing on her lips.
"Why can't I see any 'surprise' on your face?"
Sherlock glared at her and asked.
"When did you go to Dumbledore to look for a job?"
"Not long after I bought the house, Dumbledore told me there happened to be a vacancy in the Castle."
"So you took the place of Victor, the original Arithmancy Professor?"
"Are you unhappy?"
Hilke sensed something was wrong from Sherlock's expression; her voice became noticeably more cautious.
Sherlock sighed deeply and patted Hilke's head.
"I'm not unhappy, it's just that Hogwarts really isn't a very safe place, especially this year. I'm happy you could become a Professor here, but you should have told me beforehand."
The corners of Hilke's mouth clearly turned from an upward curve to a downward droop, but this time she did not pull her head away from Sherlock's hand.
"If I had told you beforehand, would you have stopped me from coming?"
Sherlock thought for a moment.
"Perhaps I would have considered it. If Dumbledore really couldn't find anyone, I could have taken on the Arithmancy class as a part-time job."
"You know absolutely nothing about the subject!"
"I can read; I could just read from the textbook."
"You'll teach the students wrong!"
"Normal Arithmancy is like that anyway, and the students are learning just the same."
"That's misleading the students!"
"It's not very important knowledge anyway; your safety is much more important than that."
"Then why can you come here, but I can't!"
"I can face these dangers; you cannot, and there's no need for you to."
"I'll say it again, I'm not a child! I'm a year older than you! You don't need to take care of me like you're taking care of a child!"
Hilke's voice grew louder and louder, attracting the attention of the other Professors at the long table. Even Dumbledore, who was sitting in the middle, turned his head to look over.
Sherlock looked at Hilke's stubborn face, paused for a moment, and finally shook his head with a smile.
"Alright, perhaps my thinking was indeed a bit flawed; I apologise to you. But I still want to emphasise once more that starting this year, Hogwarts will be a bit different, and you must pay attention to the places you need to."
Hilke didn't look at him again; she was clearly still angry, only saying coldly.
"I'll know for myself."
The surrounding Professors tacitly avoided paying deliberate attention to the two of them, but each had a meaningful smile on their face, secretly observing them from the corners of their eyes.
Meanwhile, down in the hall, some students had also noticed Hilke's appearance.
She wasn't wearing a hood and was dressed in a dark green robe, making her stand out exceptionally well among the group of elderly Professors who could be called old Wizards and Witches.
While the students were whispering about this newcomer—a beautiful young witch with her eyes covered by a black silk ribbon—Harry and his friends also noticed something was wrong.
"Ms Hilke and Professor Cavendish seem to have had an argument," Harry said worriedly.
He had chatted with Hilke once before the World Cup final, and because of his good relationship with Sherlock, Hilke hadn't shown that cold attitude, which gave Harry a very good impression of her.
Ron was full of question marks.
"Weren't they just fine when they first met? How did they start arguing just like that? It must be that Ms Hilke made the Professor angry!"
Hermione glared at him.
"It's obviously Professor Cavendish who said something to upset Ms Hilke. Didn't you see the Professor seem to apologise at the end?"
They only discussed it for a moment before the Sorting Ceremony officially began, and the Sorting Hat, placed on a four-legged stool by Professor McGonagall, began to sing its annual, ever-changing Sorting song.
The first-years put on the hat one by one and were sorted into different Houses. Then the feast began, and Dumbledore introduced the new Professors for the year to the students.
"Because Professor Vector of the Arithmancy class wishes to try a new life, the position of Arithmancy Professor this year will be filled by Ms Vera Hilke. As a former employee of the German Ministry of Magic's Department of Mysteries, I believe she will be able to teach you much more knowledge."
"At the same time, in order to prepare for a large-scale event, we will be suspending the Quidditch House Cup this semester. We have also invited Alastor Moody to take on the role of Castle Guardian. He will be primarily responsible for the safety within the Castle and will also assist Filch in strictly enforcing school rules. I hope certain students will take note."
"Finally, I am very pleased to announce that the Triwizard Tournament, which has been suspended for a century, will be held again at Hogwarts after this year's Halloween!"