✨ 300 gems = 1 bonus chapter
✨ 500 gems = another bonus chapter
***********
After the opening banquet ended, Professor Dumbledore stood up again. The Great Hall fell silent once more.
He mentioned a few important points for the young wizards. He told them not to go into the Forbidden Forest. He also told them not to cast spells in the corridors.
Dumbledore's expression was not very serious. So, these reminders probably would not have much effect.
At least, when Dracula, sitting in the professor's seat, glanced down at the students, he clearly saw the eager expressions in the eyes of many Gryffindor students. They looked ready to try their luck.
After finishing the warnings and a notice, Dumbledore's expression suddenly became solemn.
'Finally, I must tell everyone,' he said seriously, 'anyone who does not want to encounter accidents—or a painful and miserable death—should not enter the corridor on the right side of the 4th floor.'
A few laughs seemed to come from the students below, as if they thought Dumbledore was joking.
Dracula curiously turned his gaze to the short Professor Flitwick beside him. 'He does not look like he is joking,' Dracula asked.
'Oh! Indeed not,' Professor Flitwick replied in his usual high-pitched voice. 'Albus seems to be protecting something. Some time ago, he asked several of us core subject professors to set up some interesting challenges. These are to prevent that thing from being stolen by thieves.'
'Oh? How come I do not know about this?' Dracula asked. 'Is Defence Against the Dark Arts not a core subject?'
'Defence Against the Dark Arts is, of course, a core subject! Cough—although it has not enjoyed the treatment of a core subject for decades…' Professor Flitwick stroked his small moustache and said sheepishly. 'But it is normal that you do not know about this, Professor Dracula. You were away when Albus asked people to set up the challenges. So he had Quirrell arrange it for you.'
'I see,' Dracula nodded.
The next moment, he saw the smile on Professor Flitwick's face freeze.
Standing in the very centre of the professor's seating area, Dumbledore faced all the students. He flicked his wand gently. A long golden ribbon fluttered out of the wand. It twisted and coiled high above the tables like a snake, forming lines of text.
'Everyone choose their favourite tune,' Dumbledore said. 'Ready, sing!'
Hearing the "singing" of the entire faculty and student body, Dracula's expression also froze.
'Wait—1000 years have passed, and Hogwarts still has not found someone to compose a melody for the school song?!'
In the noisy, argument-like "singing", Dracula loudly asked Professor Flitwick beside him.
Professor Flitwick was happy not to sing with everyone. He stood on his chair and said loudly, 'Every headmaster believes this is a Hogwarts tradition. No one is willing to break it!'
Dracula was speechless. He did not know what expression to make.
He vaguely remembered that Rowena Ravenclaw had written the words to the Hogwarts school song 1000 years ago. However, music in England at that time was still very basic. People would only play bagpipes and simple stringed instruments called monochords.
The 4 founders did not want the school song's tune to lower the style of Hogwarts. So, they simply passed down the lyrics. They hoped that future generations would have talented wizard composers to create a moving melody for the Hogwarts school song.
Who would have thought that later headmasters would see not composing a melody as the founders' deep meaning? They constantly followed the tradition of a "free tune." This even continued to this day, 1000 years later.
Forcibly enduring the school song until the very end, Dracula returned to his office.
The Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's office was on the 3rd floor. It was connected to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom on the 2nd floor. Each time he taught, the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor only needed to open the side door of the office. Then he would walk down a short flight of stairs to easily reach the classroom.
Dracula could not be sure if this layout had always been like this. Or perhaps Dumbledore had specifically arranged it to stop him from jumping out of windows.
In the office, which had a dark, gothic style of decoration, Dracula met with his teaching assistant, Quirrell.
'So your method of removing the garlic smell is to cover it with an even worse stench???'
Before Quirrell even entered, Dracula frowned. He set up a dark barrier, firmly trapping Quirrell behind it.
'Pro… Professor Dracula, you must understand… understand me,' Quirrell stammered from behind the barrier. 'Because I encountered a… a vampire in Romania. And to… to prevent him from co… coming to find me, I can only do this.'
Hearing Quirrell's reason, Dracula's eyes flickered slightly.
'You have seen a Romanian vampire?' he asked curiously.
'Ye… Yes.'
'How are they doing now?' Dracula's attitude became slightly more serious. He straightened up in his chair and looked at Quirrell.
'Wh… What's the situation?' Quirrell looked at him blankly.
'Their habits, behaviour, way of doing things, mental state, the well-being of the clan—things like that.' Dracula put on a smile that he thought was kind. He even endured the stench to let Quirrell into the office from behind the barrier. 'Do not feel too pressured. Just talk about it.'
'Um…' Quirrell was a little dazed. He stammered, 'It is… it is no different from usual. Vampires are still as brutal as before—with pale faces, ug… ugly faces, and thin bodies…'
'He pounced on me as soon as he saw me. He wanted to suck my blood. I… of course I did not want to. So I fou… fought with him. We… we fought for a long time. And I used… used a spell to cha… chase him away…'
'Enough! That is all nonsense!'
The more Dracula listened, the darker his face became. Finally, he could not listen anymore and slapped Quirrell out the door.
'I do not care what reason you find! Get rid of the smell on your body, or get fired—choose one!'
Quirrell stumbled out the door. His head hit heavily on a pillar in the corridor.
He reached out his hand to rub his aching head. But as his hand reached halfway, a faint, vicious curse echoed in his mind.
Quirrell quickly pulled back the hand that was about to press on the back of his head. He stood up and slipped away from Dracula's office.
However, he had only walked a few steps when he was suddenly grabbed back by an invisible hand.
'One more thing.' Dracula spread out another barrier to block the smell. He asked from behind the barrier, 'I heard you set up the challenges for the thing Dumbledore is guarding? Do you know what he is protecting?'
Hearing Dracula's question, Quirrell tensed up all over.
'I… I am not very clear. I am only responsible for setting up one of the cha… challenges,' he said cautiously.
'I guess you do not know either,' Dracula curled his lips. 'So what did you put in the challenges?'
'A… a troll.'
Quirrell was thrown out of the office again. His head hit the same pillar.
'No wonder you stink so much. It turns out it is the smell of a troll,' Dracula frowned in disgust.
'Get rid of your troll from Hogwarts immediately! I will set up the challenges!'
***********
Get access to advanced chapters at my P@treon.
p@treon.com/meowthtl