Around two o'clock in the afternoon, Aaron could already see the spire of Hogwarts Castle.
Out of respect, and also out of fear of the various protective spells cast on Hogwarts Castle, Aaron landed slowly by the lake.
As expected, there was already someone waiting for him there.
It was a tall man like a little giant, with messy hair and beard. When he saw Aaron, he laughed and greeted:
"Aha, here, here, long time no see, Aaron."
Aaron landed smoothly, stretched out his wand, and the flying carpet shrank into a small ball and slipped into his pocket. He looked around: "Hagrid? Did Professor Dumbledore ask you to wait for me here?"
"Yes, the castle strengthened its defense measures last year. Professor Dumbledore was afraid that you wouldn't be able to get in." Hagrid patted him on the shoulder, looking very happy.
"This is too troublesome for you. I think I'll remember the way home."
Hagrid didn't care: "What does this mean? I just happened to come back from Knockturn Alley. Okay, let's leave now... I think you haven't been back for two years, right?"
Hagrid waved his hand, hailed a horseless carriage, and got on it with Aaron.
"Three years," Aaron replied.
He had a good relationship with Hagrid when he was in school at Hogwarts. At that time, everyone didn't like this rude and somewhat confused gamekeeper, but Aaron thought he was very good, although he was indeed a bit unreliable at times. Spectrum.
For a while, Aaron was obsessed with potions and tried many novel formulas, but some of the ingredients were difficult to find—without visiting Snape's storage room.
Thanks to Hagrid, he asked Aaron to help him take care of those magical animals, and some of the materials they shed became Aaron's reward.
In those years, Aaron spent a lot of time hanging out with Hagrid, and ate a lot of chewy rock biscuits in his hut.
"Haha, Dumbledore is very optimistic about you, Aaron. I heard that he plans to let you be a teacher here..." Hagrid said carelessly.
"Be a teacher?" Aaron's heart suddenly became hot. Since his application for a teaching position failed three years ago, he has not tried again, but this does not mean that he has put the matter behind him.
On the contrary, returning to Hogwarts to teach had always been a tempting option for him.
When he went to Hogwarts this time, he didn't think about whether Dumbledore had such intentions, but since they didn't point it out, he couldn't rush to pounce on him.
Looking for a job is like courting a mate, it all depends on who can keep their composure, and you must not show your affection first, otherwise you will easily fall into a passive situation - this can be testified by silver and the fourth house.
The carriage quickly arrived at the castle. Hagrid led Aaron to the eighth floor and came to a gargoyle stone beast. He scratched his head:
"What's the password...Lemon Olaf, no, sour popping candy, no, damn..."
"Try 'Zizi Honey Candy'?" Aaron stepped forward.
"Ah, by the way, it's 'Zi Zi Honey Candy'. How did you know about it?" Hagrid looked very happy.
"You guessed it, Professor Dumbledore gave me some of these candies back then as a reward for appearing on "Transfiguration Today."" Aaron shrugged.
The gargoyle jumped to the side, and the wall behind it cracked to both sides, revealing a slowly upward spiral staircase. At Hagrid's signal, Aaron climbed the stairs and moved towards the principal's office.
Hagrid stood below and blinked at Aaron: "I wish you good luck, Aaron. Maybe I will be able to see you again at Hogwarts soon."
…
The principal's office is a large and beautiful round room. Many slender-legged tables are filled with curious silverware. The phoenix Fox perches on a tall gilded perch behind the door. Many predecessors are hung on the wall. Portrait of the principal.
There is also a circular stone platform opposite the door. There is a large table on the platform with claw-shaped corners. Surrounded by tall bookshelves, the Sorting Hat was placed on a shelf behind the desk, seemingly napping.
Dumbledore didn't seem to be here, so Aaron stood there waiting.
While he was waiting, he looked at the weird silverware on the table. Some were spinning, while others were emitting small streams of silver gas.
Some of them were magical research instruments that he recognized, but most of the silverware was unfamiliar to him.
Maybe it was Dumbledore's own invention, he thought.
"You arrived earlier than I expected, Aaron." A gentle voice came, interrupting Aaron's thinking.
A tall and thin old man walked out from behind the stone platform - there was probably a hidden door or something. He had long and shiny silver hair and a silver beard that could almost be tucked into his belt. He wore a purple robe outside his robe. wearing a cloak, and a pair of gentle blue eyes revealed behind the half-moon glasses.
Albus Dumbledore.
"Hello, professor." Aaron greeted.
"Hello, Aaron, long time no see." Dumbledore stepped forward, his eyes filled with the joy of reunion:
"You are still so young and full of vitality... I am very happy that you followed my advice back then. You must have traveled to many places in these years."
"Not many..." Aaron said modestly.
"Ah, then you must be very knowledgeable." Dumbledore smiled, but Aaron felt that there was something weird in his smile.
"I just heard a very interesting rumor recently, I think you must know:
Not long ago, in Marseille, France, five Aurors from the local Ministry of Magic were knocked down by a mysterious man while performing their tasks, and the weapon he used was actually just an umbrella. "
When he said this, he glanced at Aaron inadvertently. Aaron looked at his nose and heart, looking like "I'm just here to eat melon."
Dumbledore then sighed:
"It's really strange. It seems that I have to write to Pierre and suggest that he strengthen the training of the Aurors - five Aurors who have experienced hundreds of battles can actually be defeated by simple fists and kicks. "
"You are right, Professor." Aaron said righteously:
"As an Auror, the front line against the dark forces, he was beaten to the ground by a Muggle. How can this make the magical citizens believe that they can ensure everyone's safety?"
"Muggle?" Dumbledore asked with great interest, "How can you be sure that person is a Muggle?"
"As a guess, I think there should be no traces of magic detected at the scene?" Aaron asked nervously.
"Indeed not, but how can a Muggle be so capable?"
"Who knows, maybe he is a retired urban soldier king or something." Aaron said nonsense.
"oh?"
Dumbledore looked at Aaron with a playful look.
Aaron touched his nose and said with some guilt: "This shouldn't be a serious magic accident, right?"
“If the public doesn’t know about it, it doesn’t count.”
"What does the French Ministry of Magic mean?"
"Five Aurors can't defeat a Muggle of unknown origin. I don't think Pierre wants this to spread." Dumbledore said in a slightly playful tone.
"Huh~"
Aaron finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Dumbledore's words gave him a dose of reassurance and made him completely relieved.
Dumbledore smiled and did not talk about it any more. Instead, he pointed to the chair in front of him and motioned for Aaron to sit down.
Aaron then chose a high-backed armchair that looked very comfortable. As soon as he sat down, he heard Dumbledore ask:
"Would you like a drink, coffee, tea, something else?"
"Just tea, thank you."
Dumbledore waved his wand, and a beautiful teapot emerged from the air. It poured emerald green tea into two cups.
"I happen to have some tea here. It was given to me by a friend who lived on the 'Longhu Mountain' when I traveled to the East. It's very good. You can try it."
As he spoke, he added two sugar cubes to the tea cup.
Principal, Oriental tea does not have sugar added...
Aaron's face twitched, but he still took the tea cup and took a sip. It was indeed very good tea, but it was a pity that it was beyond recognition because of the addition of sugar.
Dumbledore frowned as he drank the tea - maybe the tea was still too bitter for him.
He put down the teacup and looked at Aaron:
