On the platform.
Headmaster Dumbledore spoke, "The second matter is that this year, we are welcoming a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor—"
His words were barely out of his mouth.
BANG!
A deafening noise echoed through the hall!
The doors to the Great Hall were slammed violently open!
Startled, the students whipped their heads around to look.
Hiss!
As they saw the figure appearing in the doorway, the entire student body collectively sucked in a breath of cold air.
His... what happened to his face?!
Even Dumbledore raised his eyebrows in surprise upon seeing him.
Connie Rosier's eyes widened, and she murmured in sheer shock, "Merlin, is that..."
Appearing before everyone's eyes was a face of incomparable hideousness!
It looked as though it had been meticulously beaten with a club, or perhaps he had fallen from a great height and landed directly on his face.
His features were almost entirely caved in. His nose was flattened against his face, looking as if it had been broken into several distinct sections in the past. There were traces of stitching across his skin, as if a shredded piece of cloth had been forcibly sewn back together.
Paired with a gaze that flickered with dark resentment, he looked simply like an evil spirit resurrected from hell!
"..."
The Great Hall fell into a dead silence.
The students watched as this ugly, ferocious man limped down the aisle. Their eyes were filled with shock.
"O-Oh my god!"
A Hufflepuff first-year was dumbstruck, whispering in fear, "Is that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor? He doesn't look like a good person..."
A gentle, kind voice suddenly sounded from right beside him.
"No, he isn't the new professor."
The Hufflepuff freshman blinked. "R-Really? You know a lot... then who is he?"
Immediately after, the answer came from the Auror captain sent by the Ministry of Magic.
Connie Rosier let out a scream that answered everyone's doubts:
"Merlin! Mr. Yaxley?! How did you end up like this?!!"
The arrival was not the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but the Ministry official sent to accompany him!
At this moment, Connie simply could not connect this hideous man before her with the elegant "old gentleman" from a few months ago!
What on earth happened during the summer holidays?
How did he get minced like meat for a filling?!
Yaxley forced the corners of his mouth into a smile. The movement pulled at the unhealed scars on his face, twisting his features further in pain.
"Heh, heh, I just encountered a minor accident... It's nothing serious. I will recover in a few months."
The moment he thought about how he had fallen one step behind Ethan Vincent...
How he had been pounded by giants, slammed again and again like a game of Whack-a-Mole...
It was a miracle he hadn't been beaten into meat paste.
The hatred in Yaxley's heart erupted uncontrollably!
The towering, magnificent bodies of the giants had become the nightmare of his every night since.
Fortunately, giants could not appear at Hogwarts. Unless there was a great war, he likely wouldn't see them again for a long time.
Ethan Vincent... that insidious, cunning brat. I will return the pain I suffered a thousand times over...
I will personally send you to hell!
All it would take was one Avada Kedavra.
Even a student could kill a powerful wizard with that spell! Magic was truly miraculous, was it not?
Yaxley firmly believed that killing an unsuspecting student in the castle—the environment where they felt most relaxed—would be a trivial matter.
The only thing he needed to consider was how to escape Dumbledore's pursuit after the murder.
Hoo.
He took a deep breath, casting a gloomy and obscure glance at Dumbledore.
But before that, I must endure. I need to shake off Dumbledore's surveillance... I can follow the Ministry's instructions for now and pay attention to this year's new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
If this new professor really has a connection to Ethan, I'll deal with them both!
Thinking this, Yaxley scanned the staff table.
Suddenly, he let out a puzzled sound.
Why were there no unfamiliar faces...?
Was this mysterious new professor also late?
Headmaster Dumbledore spoke again, his tone carrying a hint of distance and coldness. "This is another key official from the Ministry of Magic, Mr. Corban Yaxley."
Yaxley snapped back to reality and feigned politeness. "Apologies, I am late, Headmaster Dumbledore."
Hearing this, the students collectively let out a sigh of relief.
"So, it's not the new professor, just an Auror!"
The Hufflepuff freshman relaxed, speaking happily, "I thought Hogwarts professors were actually that terrifying! If it's an Auror, that makes more sense."
"Those ugly scars are medals of honor!"
"Hehehe~" That gentle voice chuckled lightly beside him again. "You have such a good heart. Truly a Hufflepuff student."
"Hehe." The freshman laughed shyly twice.
Suddenly, he felt something was wrong.
...Listening to that tone.
It sounded as if the person speaking wasn't a Hufflepuff student?
But this... this was the Hufflepuff long table, wasn't it?
Just then, the freshman glanced sideways and met the eyes of a student across from him.
—In those eyes was a look of tangible terror.
Justin Finch-Fletchley's eyes were wide open, his body shrinking away as far as possible. He spoke to the freshman with a trembling voice:
"Are... are you talking to yourself to scare people on purpose?"
"Huh? Talking to myself? I was talking to the upperclassman..."
"Stop talking nonsense! The Fat Friar isn't here either. You... where you're sitting..."
"...You're clearly in the very last seat on the bench!!"
As the words fell, it was as if a water bubble had been popped.
The freshman suddenly realized:
That's right.
I was sorted last, so I sat at the very edge of the bench.
There shouldn't be anyone beside me...
And it wasn't a ghost.
Then... who have I been having a conversation with this whole time?
In an instant, a chill shot up from the freshman's heels, raced up his spine, and rushed straight to the top of his skull!
"Heh heh..."
A soft chuckle rang out.
A cold, ghostly breath washed over the back of the freshman's neck, causing him to break out in a layer of cold sweat.
He heard the "helpful upperclassman" comfort him in a kind tone:
"Don't be afraid. I prefer dead people."
"Wuu... whimper...!"
Upon hearing this, the poor freshman's tears began to pour down his face.
On the very first day of school, he had experienced the harsh "warmth and coldness" of the world.
"Oh my, I just have a very good impression of Hufflepuff and wanted to experience it. You shouldn't be such a baby in front of your new teacher."
New teacher?
The freshman caught the keyword. Surprise rose in his heart.
The new teacher?
Is it the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?
...If it's a teacher, they shouldn't be terrifying, right?
Thinking this, the naive freshman gathered his courage. Squinting his eyes, he carefully turned his head to look.
Yes, this is Hogwarts, known as the safest place in the world.
Maybe... it's just a joke from the new professor...
And then.
When that face appeared in his line of sight, the freshman froze instantly.
His body automatically engaged its defense modules; his brain went protectively blank.
He could not move. He could not comprehend.
—Because that could not be called a "human" face at all.
There were no features. There were no basic human brows or eyes.
What existed... was only rings of swirls.
The grooves were distinct, the patterns clear.
Like a black hole, layer upon layer, sucking in a person's vision and will.
Placed anywhere else, it would be a perfect vortex.
But it simply should not be placed on a human face.
"Ah... ah..."
The freshman's pupils trembled as he looked up at the "monster" that had been standing beside him for who knows how long.
From his mouth came meaningless syllables, sounding like a scream blocked in his throat.
"How is it? Good looking, right? I also think this face is extremely handsome~"
The "Vortex Man" raised a hand.
With a gloved hand, he caressed his own terrifying face.
His tone was proud and delighted, just like a normal human being.
Inside the Great Hall.
The students sat with their mouths agape, staring sluggishly at the tall man who had suddenly materialized.
Their gazes were uncontrollably sucked into those layered swirls.
Even the warm yellow candlelight could not warm this dead atmosphere.
It felt as if they had suddenly walked into a graveyard.
Even Connie and Yaxley were frozen in place.
—We have to investigate this thing?
Are you serious?
Headmaster Dumbledore fell silent.
He stared with indescribable emotion at the "Vortex Man" who was complacently admiring himself, truly believing he was "very good looking."
Ethan, I only asked you to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
I didn't give you permission to transform into an eldritch anomaly and "pollute" the school.
"...Is it too late to drop out now?"
Someone asked with a sobbing tone.
They had voiced the inner thoughts of every new student.
—Request for Aid: The new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor seems to be an Alternate. What should I do?
Sob.
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