"Oh, so Hogwarts Professors don't get Sorted?"
Thorne asked with a hint of regret as he followed Dumbledore and Snape into the Castle's interior.
The Castle corridors were deep and ancient, with moving portraits hanging on both walls. Occasionally, suits of armor shifted their positions on their own, making faint metallic clanking sounds.
However, in Thorne's eyes, the figures in these portraits were almost uniformly insects.
With vivid expressions and various poses, they looked for all the world like a wall of insect specimens engaged in "active communication."
In contrast, those suits of armor barely managed to maintain a humanoid silhouette, which gave him some small measure of comfort.
A bat and a Bee walked ahead of him, whispering something in low voices.
Thorne didn't care what they were talking about.
By comparison, he was far more interested in Hogwarts Castle itself.
[Current Special Environment: Hogwarts Castle (1.9%)]
The moment the system prompt popped up, he subconsciously looked around.
He had clearly passed through the reception room and the Great Hall and officially entered the interior of the towers, yet he had only explored 1.9%?
Thorne couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly.
This Castle was simply too large.
A flight of stairs appeared ahead.
He instinctively glanced at the two "bugs" walking in front, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind.
Since they could fly, why didn't they just fly up?
But as soon as the thought emerged, he snuffed it out himself.
Oh, right.
I'm the lunatic.
Everyone else is normal.
My apologies...
Snape suddenly turned back in distaste, glanced at Thorne, and then lowered his voice to say to Dumbledore:
"Are you certain he is truly fit for a Professor's position?"
"He seems to have less understanding of magic than even a young Troll—no, than a first-year student."
Dumbledore merely smiled slightly as the two of them stepped onto the spiral staircase.
"Severus, rest easy."
"The magic of this world is as vast as the sea, and within Mr. Thorne, there exists a type of magic we have never seen before."
His tone was relaxed.
"Besides, I haven't come unprepared."
"There will be an interview later, conducted by Minerva."
"At that time, you may also sit in and listen."
Snape fell silent for a moment.
"...Very well."
"I have no desire for a future colleague who is an utter incompetent."
"Don't say that."
Dumbledore added with a smile, "I think Thorne quite likes you."
He paused, his tone becoming somewhat teasing:
"Mr. mammals."
Snape's eyes were just about to glare.
Suddenly, a dull "thud" came from behind.
The two turned back simultaneously to see Thorne hanging on the wall in an extremely bizarre posture, hands gripping the wall, his body nearly perpendicular to the surface. Then, he suddenly kicked off the wall for leverage, springing himself upward.
Once, twice, three times.
With movements crisp and efficient, and almost no unnecessary pauses, he flipped himself up onto the second-floor corridor.
This scene left both Dumbledore and Snape staring in stunned silence.
"Damn it..."
Thorne muttered under his breath, "They took away my mantis claws, so climbing walls relies entirely on physical fitness. Really—"
He took a breath, making a mental note of it.
I'll have to find a way to make another pair later.
As soon as the thought passed, he looked up and found the Bee and the bat staring straight at him.
Snape's furry ears were pricked high at that moment, looking almost greasy and shiny in the dim light of the Castle.
Thorne shrugged, pretending nothing was wrong:
"Uh... your stairs here are a bit unruly."
Dumbledore smiled, his tone gentle: "Yes, indeed, this is a school of magic after all."
However, Snape was clearly not listening to their conversation.
His gaze was locked onto the hand Thorne had used to exert force while climbing the wall.
On that palm, a faint white light flashed and vanished, and the small abrasions on the skin were healing themselves at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"This..."
Snape muttered to himself, "Wandless Magic? Or something else?"
He looked up at Thorne, his gaze becoming truly serious for the first time.
Then, he tilted his head and said to Dumbledore beside him:
"I'll go put away the ingredients first."
"I'll be over in a moment."
Before his voice had even faded, he had turned and left, his black silhouette quickly disappearing around the corridor corner.
Thorne watched the back of the "big bat," his tone carrying a hint of sincere regret:
"Sigh... now that Professor Snape is gone, it feels like the whole Castle has dimmed a bit."
"His head seemed like it could even reflect light."
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed the compound eyes of the Old Bee beside him subtly squeezing into a "beaming" expression.
"Uh, what's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Dumbledore's tone was light, "Just a reminder, it's best not to say such things in front of Severus."
He paused and then added:
"Besides, you'll see him again very soon."
"We still have an interview."
"An interview?!"
Thorne's expression changed instantly.
"B-but I don't even have a resume!"
Dumbledore unhurriedly pulled a piece of parchment from his red robes, his smile remaining kind.
"It's quite all right."
"We can make one up right now."
—
"Name: Eric Thorne."
"Gender: Male (crossed out) Male."
Ugh, I stayed in the insect world for too long.
"Age: 22 years old"
"Education: University College London, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, Medical Entomology"
Well, the major is certainly relevant.
"Psychiatric History:...In short, has a cognitive disorder where everyone is perceived as an insect."
"Research Direction: Soul Magic"
"Work Experience: Intern Researcher at the Soul Sanctuary"
When he got to the last item, Thorne clearly hesitated.
There really wasn't much to fill in for this. If Dumbledore hadn't strongly insisted, and if he hadn't remembered he truly did have an experience in the Holy Nest, he wouldn't have written this down at all.
The resume was finally finished.
Thorne handed over the parchment and let out a soft sigh of relief. He then looked up and began to size up the interviewers opposite him.
In the very center was, naturally, the Old Bee Dumbledore, goes without saying.
Sitting beside him was Ms. Mosquito, a woman with an extremely serious aura, wearing dark green robes and a pair of thin-framed glasses. At the moment, she was looking down and reading Thorne's resume word by word, her eyebrows not even twitching.
Next to her was the bat Snape.
He looked up from time to time, sizing Thorne up with a scrutinizing gaze, having completely lost the undisguised contempt he'd had initially.
As for the reason, Thorne couldn't quite say.
On the other side was a massive earthworm.
She exuded a faint scent of earth, and her voice was gentle, giving off a very easy-to-get-along-with vibe.
However, what truly made Thorne's mood soar instantly was the last one.
A human.
That's right, for the first time, a human in the truest sense had appeared here.
It was a kind-looking gentleman, though he seemed barely taller than Thorne's knees, but that was enough to make Thorne want to weep with joy.
When he had first seen the other person just now, if he hadn't been mindful that this was an interview and the other was an interviewer.
Thorne would have almost lunged forward and given him a kiss right then and there.
At this moment, Thorne was staring at that human with a face full of smiles.
It was almost completely undisguised.
Thorne had absolutely no resistance toward the first human to appear in his field of vision.
"Buzz buzz buzz, Mr. Thorne."
"..."
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Mr. Thorne!"
"Eh?! S-sorry!"
Thorne snapped back to his senses and instinctively wiped the corner of his mouth.
Good, I really was drooling.
He immediately sat up straight and looked at Ms. Mosquito, who had just called him.
She pushed up the glasses on the bridge of her nose, her small eyes behind the lenses staring at him with obvious dissatisfaction.
"I see it says on your resume," Ms. Mosquito's tone was calm and professional.
"That you once conducted research at this so-called... 'Soul Sanctuary.' Then, I would like to ask, what was your research topic at the time?"