Sherlock had no objections to the decision Dumbledore had made.
He was indeed somewhat interested in the creature that had fled from Germany and was causing trouble in the British Wizarding World.
After chatting with Dumbledore for a while longer about other matters, Sherlock left the Headmaster's Office.
He went to the fifth floor; he had learned from Dumbledore that Hilke, the Unspeakable from the German Ministry of Magic, was staying in a lounge here.
Sherlock knocked on the door. No one responded from inside, but the door suddenly creaked open a crack on its own.
He hesitated for a moment before finally pushing the door open and walking in.
The room was very dark. Although it was a cloudy day, it wasn't so dark that one would normally need to light a lamp indoors.
Clearly, the room's occupant had drawn all the curtains, deliberately creating such a dark atmosphere.
The only source of light in the entire room was a table in the centre, on which sat a candlestick; the weak candlelight could only illuminate a space of less than half a metre nearby.
The Witch named Hilke sat quietly before the candlestick, a pale blue teacup placed in front of her.
Sherlock frowned as he walked in. Before he could speak, Hilke spoke softly.
"Please close the door."
He turned and shut the door tight. The entire room returned once more to silence and gloom, with only the candlelight on the wooden table illuminating Hilke's fair, smooth chin.
Even in such an indoor environment, she still wore the hood of her robe over her head; only the bottom third of her face was exposed.
Sherlock walked to the wooden table and sat down opposite her.
"Why not open the curtains?"
"In the dark, one sees clearly."
Sherlock noticed there was no tea in the cup before her, only a layer of fine tea dregs covering the bottom.
Tasseography.
One of the most widespread and convenient forms of divination in the Wizarding World, and a compulsory part of the Divination Class at Hogwarts.
This woman was clearly a diviner, but she didn't speak with any of the mystical rambling typical of normal diviners; instead, she was straightforward, never using three words when two would suffice.
Sherlock stared at the tea dregs in her cup for a long time but couldn't make heads or tails of it.
It wasn't that he hadn't studied divination; it was that he had absolutely no talent for it. The so-called laws of fate and the trajectory of the world seemed like nothing but a chaotic mess to him.
"What are you divining?"
"Its purpose."
Sherlock narrowed his eyes.
"May I know what this 'it' is?"
Hilke seemed to tilt her head up slightly. Although Sherlock could at most see the tip of her fair, upturned nose—above which was only darkness under the large hood—he inexplicably felt a gaze watching him.
"Are you Dumbledore's monitor?"
Her words were so blunt that Sherlock couldn't help but cough twice.
"Ahem, you misunderstand. I am the accompanying personnel here at Hogwarts to assist you and make your actions more convenient."
Hilke lowered her head again, returning her gaze to the tea dregs at the bottom of the cup, and Sherlock felt that gaze vanish.
"It relies on emotions to accumulate power," Hilke's voice was cold and ethereal.
"I cannot share information about it, but if you are Dumbledore's monitor, you can follow me when I look for it and learn about it yourself."
There was no pretence; she spoke very bluntly and explained her reasons clearly.
This caught Sherlock off guard, but it also made him relax.
He also disliked speaking in riddles. Since even this woman was being so direct, he wouldn't continue to beat around the bush.
"Fine. If you have something to do or find anything about it, come find me at the Professor's office on the third floor."
Hilke nodded slightly.
Their brief exchange ended there, and Sherlock turned to leave the room.
After he left, Hilke continued to stare silently at the tea dregs, motionless, like a statue cast in concrete in the darkness...
At dusk, it began to rain heavily outside.
The Great Hall was already decorated, and the Professors were mostly seated on the high platform, waiting for the students to arrive so the start-of-term feast could begin.
Hagrid sat beside Sherlock, his large face—mostly hidden by his thick beard—clearly flushed with excitement and agitation.
This year's Care of Magical Creatures Professor, Silvanus Kettleburn, had peacefully retired from the school.
He was indeed old enough, and with his crippled limbs, Sherlock had felt a bit sorry for him when he first arrived at Hogwarts and saw such a disabled elderly man still teaching.
Taking over his post was Rubeus Hagrid.
But to be honest, Sherlock held reservations about whether he was actually up to the task.
Hagrid was, of course, a generous, kind, and enthusiastic person, and he could be the most loyal friend you could have.
In terms of professional knowledge, he also possessed expert-level insights and experience regarding Magical Creatures.
None of that was wrong.
However, his perception of certain Magical Creatures was clearly and drastically different from everyone else's.
Due to his unique constitution, some highly dangerous Magical Creatures seemed less dangerous to him, which made him subconsciously assume this was true for everyone.
Like last semester when he told Harry and Ron to go into the Forbidden Forest to find Aragog to learn the truth about the past.
He thought that once Aragog knew Harry was his friend, the spider would treat them just as he treated Hagrid.
But the reality was that if Sherlock hadn't been there, Harry and the others would likely have died right there, becoming spider food.
However, Dumbledore was willing to give him a chance to try, and Sherlock also felt that perhaps after becoming a Professor, Hagrid would understand this and change.
Soon, all the students except for the first-years arrived in the Great Hall. They were a bit later than usual, and every one of them looked shaken.
While the train was approaching Hogwarts, Dementors had boarded to conduct a search.
These creatures were clearly not very well-behaved during the inspection, inevitably getting rough with the students.
Fortunately, Sherlock's assistant for this year, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teaching assistant Remus Lupin, was also on the train.
He used the Patronus Charm to drive back the Dementors, ensuring the students didn't suffer too much harm.
But once the students reached the school and word got out, Madam Pomfrey hurried over to bring chocolate to the few students most severely affected.
After being influenced by a Dementor, eating something sweet is the easiest way to alleviate the discomfort.
Harry had fainted on the train again.
This was the second time he had fainted upon seeing those ghostly things.
Crucially, this time it was in front of so many students in the carriage, making him feel exceptionally embarrassed.
He had barely stepped off the train before Malfoy started mocking him for it.
So, in the Hospital Wing, he declined Madam Pomfrey's kind offer for him to lie there for the night, insisting on returning to the Great Hall for the feast.
Finally, after confirming he was truly fine, Professor McGonagall agreed to his request and let him return to the Great Hall to eat.
By the time Harry returned to the Great Hall, this year's Sorting Ceremony had ended. Before the feast began, Dumbledore announced a few things.
The first was naturally that starting this semester, Dementors would be stationed at all school exits to discourage students from sneaking out, even if they were wearing an invisibility cloak.
The second matter was the introduction of the two newly appointed Professors.
"Because your Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Professor Cavendish, will have his energy divided by other matters this year, the school has hired a teaching assistant to share his teaching load. Professor Lupin has generously agreed to assist Professor Cavendish in teaching. Starting this semester, he will teach Defence Against the Dark Arts Class for years one through four, while Professor Cavendish will continue to lead the fifth to seventh-year students as they prepare for their upcoming Wizarding Level Examinations."
Lupin's attire looked very shabby compared to the other well-dressed Professors.
When Dumbledore introduced him, scattered applause broke out in the Great Hall, mostly from the students he had protected on the train.
The three of them—Harry, Ron, and Hermione—also joined in the applause, though Harry frowned and asked curiously,
"What will Professor Cavendish be busy with this year? Why did the school hire a separate assistant just for him?"
Hermione shook her head, looking somewhat distressed.
"Professor Cavendish won't be teaching us this year. His classes are the best I've ever had. I wonder how good this new Professor Lupin is; I hope we can learn something real from him."
Ron was quite confident about it.
"Based on Professor Lupin's performance on the train, he definitely won't be a useless hack who only reads from the textbook like Quirrell in our first year."(TN: Reasonable doubts.)
While they were chatting, Dumbledore also announced the second new Professor, which was Hagrid.
Harry and the others were happy for Hagrid because what Hagrid had always hoped for was to become a teacher at Hogwarts.
After the events of the Chamber of Secrets last semester, his name had been cleared; now he could use magic openly and serve as a Hogwarts teacher.
After Dumbledore finished his brief introduction, the feast officially began.
At the teachers' table on the high platform, Sherlock had his first real contact with his assistant for the year, Remus Lupin.
"First time meeting you. Hello, Professor Lupin."
Sherlock raised his glass and lightly clinked it against Lupin's.
From his appearance, Lupin looked like a down-and-out middle-aged man; his health also seemed poor, his face showing an unnatural paleness.
But from the smile on his face and his words, one could tell he was a mild-mannered person.
"It's not the first time, Sherlock—I hope I can call you that. Although you were very, very small the last time we met and probably don't remember, this should actually be our second meeting."